IFG’s focus on Wellness came into the year by creating an employee led Wellness Committee.  The Wellness Committee met once-a-month to collaborate and create a fun, interactive program to engage employees and help them focus on their physical, mental, spiritual, occupational and financial well-being.  Thank you to the members of the committee for your hard work throughout the year!  Wellness Committee Members: Cristi Brooks (Sales Office), Christian Burgess (Laclede), Heather Bashaw (Grangeville), Christie Stockstill (Lumberton), Jason Nail (Lewiston), Zeke Barajas (Moyie), Holly Shreffler (Sales Office), Mark Higbee (Athol) and Cheryl Jeffords (Communications). After one full year of promoting the Essential Six discount (with over 90 employees who earned the $50 per month off their insurance premiums) we added a component to include spouses who can earn and additional $25 per month off their insurance for completing certain activities. It has been a popular program for spouses and we hope to see further participation in both programs. In Spring 2021 we had 31 employees that participated in the Spring Dash that was held virtually by United Way.  IFG’s team placed 4th overall and the IFG participant with the best time/distance ratio was Zeke Barajas of Moyie, who also came in 2nd place overall. Between April and June, IFG hosted onsite Dental clinics with a mobile dental clinic ran by Jet Dental. We had 83 employees participate in the events and had positive feedback that the quality of the work was good, and services were fast and friendly. During Open Enrollment this year, IFG rolled out Omada,…

IFG Lumberton Sawmill Project Construction of the Lumberton sawmill continues. The up-to-date photos show building structures starting to take shape on site. Some of these updates include: Site preparation (excluding utilities) is around 98% completed Including earthwork and soil cement Concrete is moving forward on schedule with some delays due to weather Building erection on the finished lumber warehouse and sorter building is making great progress. Roofing has started on both the finished lumber warehouse and the sorter building. Siding will be the next item to go up. The sawline floor steel is going up and teams are prepping to pour Q-deck (Concrete flooring) Sawmill Equipment, buildings, and Kiln 1 materials continues to show up daily. Sub-steel progress continues on the sawline and trimline. Kiln 1 & 2 structural concrete is completed Kiln 3 concrete has started and should be completed by the middle of October 3 chain concrete transfer pads have been poured between kilns 2 & 3 Our Central Fab team in Athol, Idaho is meeting schedule and working on a handful of projects that will help tie together the construction underway at the Lumberton site including: Kiln carts and Kiln weights End of arm tooling for automation pick and place systems Next steps on site include: Continuing concrete implementation on Kiln 3 Continued torquing and welding on sub steel Continued trimline support steel erection and sawline flooring structural steel Continued roofing, insulation, siding, and fire suppression on the sorter main building and finished lumber warehouse Continued implementation of Fire Main and underground…

Written by Heidi Brock Posted online by the American Forest & Paper Association From paper towels to tissues and toilet paper, or boxes used to protect an online order, as well as printing and writing papers that help facilitate reading and communication and wood products found throughout your home. It’s hard to imagine a day without using these sustainable forest products. The American Forest & Paper Association celebrates the essential people who make these essential products, especially this week, during National Forest Products Week. Forest products are a refreshing reminder that as we are living, learning or working, we can still do our part to be responsible stewards of the planet. Ours is an industry of people who know that a strong and vibrant forest products industry goes hand-in-hand with healthy forests. Demand for forest products means continued demand for and replanting of trees – the more than 1 billion planted in the U.S. each year. Our work doesn’t stop at sustainable manufacturing or sustainable forestry. Advocacy and education are also at the heart of what we do, sharing information and resources with lawmakers and policymakers, as well as local communities. So, the next time you reach for a product made from paper or wood, pause for a moment and consider how that product was made and who made it. It’s the approximately 950,000 people in the forest products industry. Individuals who care deeply about the thoughtful use of resources. Individuals working together to advance sustainability and grow U.S. jobs and the economy. What is Wood? Wood comes from trees…