On paper, George Richards’ career as a forester began in the late 1950s. But if you ask him it really started many years earlier, as a young child in Golden BC. “My family lived in a home with wood stoves, so I learned early the value of wood” he says. “Golden was a really small town back then. There were just five kids in my high school graduating class!”
That early experience would lead George into a career that spanned several decades and culminated in his role as President and CEO of Weldwood Canada (now West Fraser). Along the way he worked in plywood plants and sawmills, travelled across Canada and internationally, worked as a consultant, and experienced many significant changes in the industry.
George came to UBC in the mid 1950s. There he met Selma-Jo, who was studying Commerce, after graduation she worked as a teacher. Selma-Jo and George were married partway through their degree programs, and after graduation in 1959 moved to Nakusp, where George worked as a forester with Celgar.
That experience led George to the role of Chief Forester with Northwood (now Canfor) in Prince George. “At that point I started to get involved in sawmill manufacturing as well as woodlands,” he says. “Then I became General Manager at Peace Wood Products in Taylor.”
George’s long working relationship with Weldwood began in 1975, when he was appointed General Manager of the Burns Lake operation. “We built the mill in Burns Lake and then the one in Houston,” he says. “I learned the importance of getting involved when you work in a small community. You have to volunteer, attend community events, and get to know key people, not because you feel obligated but because it’s part of the culture and it helps create mutual respect.”
As he moved up the ranks in Weldwood, George took on additional responsibilities for the plywood business in BC, and for operations in eastern Canada that included one of the first OSB mills in Canada.
George was appointed President and CEO of Weldwood in 1992, and held the position until he retired in 2000. However “retirement didn’t stick,” he says, “I worked as a consultant for 10 years after that, working with Fraser Paper, Canfor, and Western Forest Products.”
Today George is an avid fisherman and gardener, proud grandfather of five, and active volunteer. He was involved in fundraising to build the UBC Forest Sciences Centre in the 1990s, and has helped fundraise for the Vancouver Prostate Centre, the Tom Buell BC Leadership Chair in Salmon Conservation, the UBC-VGH Hospital Foundation, Lions Gate Hospital, and many more. In 2002 he was awarded the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal for his community work.
Both of George’s sons are UBC alumni (one in Forestry, the other in Engineering) and his eldest granddaughter is attending UBC Okanagan. So he has some reflections for current students.
“Today the forest industry is full of challenges and opportunities,” he says. “The broader use of the forest base, the application of technology at all levels, the reduction in physical volume of the resource: they all affect the careers of today’s graduates.
“But if I had to do it all over again now, I would still focus on managing people. That’s the best way to manage and maximize return for all stakeholders.”
From Branchlines Summer 2017