(The 2002 Tuscaloosa Forestry Judging Team includes, left to right, Coach Wayne Ford, Amy Farnsworth, Lisa Shaw, Brandon Ligon, Kate Greene, and 4-H volunteer Jan Greene.)

His efforts have not been in vain. Ford is widely acknowledged as the father of 4-H forestry judging in Alabama – and for good reason. It wasn’t long after his teams first began competing in the mid-1980s that they were acknowledged as "the ones to beat" in both state and national competition.

There appears to be no end in sight to this long rein: On June 11, Tuscaloosa garnered its eighth state championship, defeating Clay County in one of the narrowest margins of victory in the history of Alabama 4-H forestry judging.

The team will represent Alabama at national competition, scheduled July 28 to August 1 in Weston, West Virginia. Victory at this year’s competition would mark the seventh national championship for a Tuscaloosa County 4-H forestry judging team. Three Tuscaloosa wildlife judging teams also have won national championships.

Competing in statewide and national forestry judging requires months of rigorous study covering topics such as tree identification and measurement and using a compass for navigation.

Team members are also required to identify forest pests both by their physical appearance and the type of damage they cause in trees.

Site evaluation is another important facet of forestry judging: Team members must demonstrate how well they can evaluate and manage a forest based on the needs of the forest landowner.

If this isn’t challenging enough, they must also must master a wide array of forestry manuals to compete in a knowledge bowl that tests their skills in forestry and natural resources – small wonder why many forestry professionals equate participation in forestry judging with completing a college-level forestry course.

"They’re past the freshman year in forestry school already," says Lee Laechelt, executive vice president of the Alabama Forest Owners Association, which was one of the sponsors of this year’s event. "They’re really way ahead of the average kid going into forestry."

Even those who don’t end up in forestry careers nevertheless gain a knowledge of the environment that will last a lifetime.

"They’re learning something about their environment that other people will never have a chance to learn," says Henry Barclay, immediate past president of the Alabama Forest Owners Association, one of the sponsors of this year’s event. "Most school kids see trees as something decorative more than anything else, but these kids see different species and get a chance to learn so much about forestry and the environment."

Teamwork is another lifestyle skill associated with forestry judging. And as any veteran in forestry judging would attest, victory would not be possible without it.

"We worked very, very hard for this, but I would never have gotten very far without my teammates," says Kate Greene, a member of this year’s Tuscaloosa County team who garnered the highest overall score in her district and the second highest overall score in state competition. Greene, whose older sister, Charlaina, was a member of the 2000 4-H Forestry Judging National Champion Team, first became interested in forestry judging at age 5.

Two other team members, Amy Farnsworth and Brandon Ligon, garnered the second and third highest overall district scores respectively.

Even with all of the hard work and cooperation that went into preparation for this year’s competition, team members claim victory would not have been possible without one other critical factor: the unfailing support of their coach, Wayne Ford.

"We couldn’t have won this if we hadn’t gotten together and studied hard," says team member Lisa Shaw. "But all of this wouldn’t be possible had it not been for Wayne.

"He’s always been there, and in the future he will always be there no matter what."

In addition to the Alabama Forest Owners Association, other sponsors of this year’s competition included Alabama Forestry Commission, Alabama Forest Foundation and International Paper.