Morris Douglas, Vice-president, Sales and Marketing of Riverside Forest Products Limited in Kelowna, B.C., has received the 2003 Paul Bunyan Award from the Canadian Wood Council (CWC) at its annual meeting.

Candidates for the Paul Bunyan Award, named after the mythical lumberjack who performed renowned feats of strength and daring, must have made an outstanding career-long contribution to the market development and use of Canadian wood products. The CWC first granted the Award in 1965.

Mr. Douglas has held marketing positions with prominent companies such as British Columbia Forest Products and Fletcher Challenge Canada, as well as Riverside, in his almost 37 years in the BC forest sector.

Beyond the commitments to his own company, he has devoted much time and marketing expertise to the wood products industry at large through service in many of its trade associations and committees.

Mr. Douglas presently serves as a director of the Canadian Plywood Association and a director and past chairman of the Canadian Wood Council. He is also currently chairman of the SPF Promotion Group, a collaboration of B.C. and Alberta forest products associations that aims to develop markets for Canadian wood products overseas, particularly in Japan and China.

Douglas has long supported maintaining a strong Canadian presence in European and Asian markets, despite the difficulties of doing so. For many years, he has championed expanding the market for Canadian wood products through co-operation among companies within the industry.

The Canadian Wood Council is the national association of the Canadian wood products industry that, through communications, education and building code activities, ensures market access for Canadian wood products in North America.

For more information about CWC go to:
http://www.cwc.ca