John Kelly Martin Sr. of Winnfield, was named the 2006 Louisiana Outstanding Logger by the Louisiana Forestry Association (LFA) and the Louisiana Logging Council. The award was presented Aug. 30 at the annual convention at Sam's Town Hotel in Shreveport.

Martin owns J.K. Martin Pulpwood and JKM Trucking and he employs 18 people. Johnny Martin and his two crews average 3,000 tons per week total production. He buys 90 percent of his timber and has long-term relationships with several companies in his area.

"We treat every tract as if it were our own," said Martin. He was nominated by Kiah Beville of PBS Lumber. "He's the best logging supplier," Beville said. "He merchandises the timber properly and we've never had a complaint."

A three-person judging crew named the winner after making on-site inspections of the nominees. The judges were Dr. Clyde Vidrine, recently retired professor from Louisiana Tech University; Chad Knight, forester with the U.S. Forest Service; and Jim Galloway, 2005 winner of the Outstanding Logger award.

Johnny Martin started in the business in 1969 with his father, John Kermit Martin. His father had a stroke in 1973 and eventually turned over the running of the business to him in 1985. His father was a shortwood dealer with 40 haulers under him. "We ran a portable chipper from 1978 to 1987," Martin said. "We had the first in-the-woods chipper in this area."

Martin is a Master Logger and he also has three others on the crews who have completed the requirements under the Louisiana Logging Council designation. His son is also a logging contractor and he has a son-in-law in the business as well.

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