Ryan Phillips

Cost Share Coordinator,
Georgia Forestry Commission

The West Georgia Woodlands Association (WGWA) is a forest landowner’s association based in Carrollton, GA. After learning about the WGWA’s dwindling participation due to COVID-19, I coordinated a six-person committee to relaunch the group in June 2022. The committee planned program topics, speakers, sponsors, and branding. The first WGWA meeting was on July 27, 2023, and with targeted outreach and advertisement, around 30 landowners and natural resource professionals attended the first meeting. With the help of partnerships with the Georgia Forestry Association, NRCS, Cooperative Extension, and Quail Forever, the second meeting occurred on November 2, 2023. This meeting was a huge success, with 53 attendees representing many different natural resource interests, and we received much positive feedback.

“Through this project, I hope to re-establish the West Georgia Woodlands Association as an active organization to positively impact local natural resource professionals and forest landowners.“