Business Spotlight - Trails Unlimited

Trails Unlimited team members finish construction on the Lake Howard Mountain Bike Trail for the National Forests of Alabama. Pictured from left to right: Mitch Murphree, Jerry Barrow, Cam Lockwood, Jason Stinchfield, Wes Sturdevant, and Keith Ginn.

Trails Unlimited Enterprise Unit was started by Cam Lockwood in 1999. It has grown from a sole proprietorship to a team consisting of eight, including: Cam Lockwood, Keith Ginn, Jerry Barrow, Mitch Murphree, Marcia Cabe, Wes Sturdevant, Scott Johnson, and Jason Stinchfield. Each person has unique skills and attributes that they bring to Trails Unlimited which has benefited the unit and the Agency as a whole.

Trails Unlimited focuses on four main activities within the trail business: training, mentoring, construction, and maintenance. Whenever possible, all four of these activities are incorporated in the project at hand, enabling a compounding of skill and knowledge benefitting the client and Trails Unlimited.

The mission statement has not changed throughout the years – “To educate, train and mentor through formal and hands-on methods, the Trail Managers of the next generation”. It is still the Team’s desire to continue this mission into the future.

For more information about how Trails Unlimited can serve your next project, contact Cam Lockwood at clockwood01@fs.fed.us.

Enterprise Program Update

This year’s annual Enterprise Program meeting was held the week of February 22, 2010, in San Diego, CA, and was attended not only by Enterprise Program Executive Officers and the Enterprise Program Leadership Council (previously known as the Enterprise Program Steering Committee) but key leadership from the Washington Office and the Albuquerque Service Center (ASC). Business Operations Deputy Chief, Chuck Myers, addressed the meeting via video conference. Additional guest speakers included the Associate Deputy Chief for Business Operations, the Chief Information Officer, Acting Director, ASC Budget and Finance, and representatives from the ASC Human Resources Management and the WO Acquisition Management.

“This is an incredible time of opportunity for the Forest Service. There is a high level of support from the Secretary for the work the organization does,” stated Jacque Myers, Associate Deputy Chief, Business Operations. “We should step up, be ready for changes and design for it. Use it for our advantage.”

The meeting offered a chance to discuss pending matters in the Enterprise Program, consider the possibility of expanding the Enterprise Program, and discover the benefits of greater integration of the Enterprise Program with other Business Operations program areas.

Bill Helin, Director, Enterprise Program

EUP Announce 2010 Board

The Enterprise Unit Partnership (EUP) Board facilitates input and evaluation of issues and other topics important to the EUP and provides a voice for promoting the collective interests of the EUP to the Program Office and the Leadership Council.

This year’s Executive Board members include:

• Laura Nance, Chair (Digital Visions)
• Fran Smith, Vice Chair (ACT2)
• Blaze Baker, Member (Above and Beyond Ecosystems)
• Paul Claeyssens, Member (Heritage Stewardship Group)
• Toni Stafford, Member (ODE)

exChangeList

Looking for an additional place to market your Enterprise services and expertise? exChangeList is a virtual message board designed to share professional Forest Service resources. Created and built by Enterprisers, exChangeList is part classifieds and part information sharing – powered by you. On exChangeList there is no need to login, you simply choose to view what is currently on offer from your peers or, you can post your own listing. Be sure to view the exChangeList Netiquette and Guidelines prior to getting started so you know what is needed to make your exchange go smoothly.

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Enterprise Program Leadership Council

On February 20, 2010, Chuck Myers, Deputy Chief, Business Operations, approved a change in the charter for the Enterprise Program’s Steering Committee. Highlighting the changing role of this group to provide more strategic guidance, rather than tactical oversight, it was appropriate to change the group’s name to the Enterprise Program Leadership Council (EPLC).

There are seven members on the EPLC, including the Chair of the Enterprise Unit Partnership (EUP). All but one of the EPLC members attended the annual meeting held in February. Below are quotes captured at the meeting from five of the EPLC members:

“It’s nice to be here when Enterprise is doing so well. We persevered to get here and we are supported. Thank you!” - Gifford Pinchot III, President, Bainbridge Graduate Institute

“It seems like more than a year in the progress that Enterprise Units have made. I am captivated by your talent and creativeness and see more of the polish of a business organization.” - Maribeth Gustafson, Deputy Regional Forester, Rocky Mountain Region

“I inherited the position of the council and have watched it develop in R5- with more scrutiny. There is not a more accountable program than Enterprise - it lets the out of box employee think out of the box!”
- Dan Duefrene, NFFE Regional Vice-President, Region 5

“I’ve been a very satisfied customer of EUs and a strong advocate, and I am very excited about being on the leadership council.” - Warren Oja, District Ranger, Sam Houston Ranger District - National Forests and Grasslands in Texas

“I was thinking back when the program first started- testing potential value of Enterprise. It seems that Enterprise is now accepted and has everything to make this program grow. The future is very bright.” - John Phipps, Associate Deputy Chief, State and Private Forestry

From the Editor

Enterprising People is a quarterly newsletter focusing on Enterprise teams and their partners. Both Enterprisers and partners encouraged to share topics and ideas or join our electronic mailing list by contacting editor Kristi Bray at kabray@fs.fed.us. If you’re interested in contributing to the nextissue, please send your submissions by May 17, 2010.