Eastern White Pine Graders Competition Archives

Pleasant River Pine’s Sanford Mill Takes Bronze Hammer @ 2019 Competition

Posted on October 14, 2019 by

The 16^th Annual Eastern White Pine Graders Competition, sponsored by NELMA, was held Saturday, September 28. Hosted by Madison Lumber Mill in West Ossipee, New Hampshire, 46 graders representing 8 sawmills participated in this year’s event.

The individual grader championship winner had to successfully make their way through 3 rounds of grading selected boards of various grades and sizes to emerge as the overall winner. Taking 1^st Place was Devon Dunnels of DiPrizio Pine Sales with a score of 15 out of 20. Following closely in 2^nd Place was veteran grader, Rick Johnston of Pleasant River Lumber’s Hancock Mill. Bill Badger of Hancock Lumber Company’s Pittsfield Mill finished in 3^rd Place. Rounding out the Top 5: Chris Joy of DiPrizio Pine Sales and Paul Angelone of host mill, Madison Lumber Mill.

In a close battle for the Team Championship and Bronze Hammer trophy, Pleasant River Pine’s Sanford, Maine mill took their first, top honor in a one-point win over the next 3 Team competitors from Hancock Lumber Company’s Pittsfield mill, Hancock Lumber Company’s Bethel mill, and Madison Lumber. Limington Lumber rounded out the Top 5

NELMA would to thank Madison Lumber Mill personnel for hosting the 2019 Eastern White Pine Competition which included serving a hearty barbeque lunch to participants and NELMA Inspection Staff!

Bronze Hammer Team Champions – Pleasant River Pine – Sanford

1st Place Individual – Devon Dunnels of DiPrizio PIne Sales

2nd Place Individual – Rick Johnsston of Pleasant River Pine – Hancock Mill

3rd Place – Bill Badger – Hancock Lumber – Pittsfield Mill

4th Place Individual – Chris Joy – DiPrizio Pine Sales

5th Place Individual – Paul Angelone – Madison Lumber Mill

Consolation Round Winner – Nathan Edwards – Hancock Lumber – Casco

Hancock Lumber Company’s Casco Mill Takes Grader Competition Team Title

Posted on October 4, 2017 by

NELMA’s 14th Annual Eastern White Pine Graders Competition was hosted by Robbins Lumber Company’s Searsmont, Maine mill on September 9. A total of 46 graders representing 10 Eastern White Pine mills located in New England participated in this year’s competition. The tournament knock-out format was again used to determine the eventual individual grader champion. Fourth-seeded Matt Chesley of DiPrizio Pine Sales in Middleton, New Hampshire took top honors, edging out Garret Blair of Hancock Lumber’s Pittsfield, Maine mill in the finals.

First Place: Matt Chesley – DiPrizio Pine Sales

Rounding out the Top 8 receiving individual awards were: 3rd Place – Lonnie Kollander of Limington Lumber; 4th Place – Norm Littlefield of Madison Lumber Mill; 5th Place – Ron Heinecke of host mill Robbins Lumber; 6th Place – Colan Jay Merrifield, also of Robbins Lumber; 7th Place – Waylon Fournier of Irving Forest Products; and 8th Place went to Sara Knox, also from Irving Forest Products in her first graders competition. Total cash awards amounted to $1,400 this year.

The tournament format also gives each participant the opportunity to grade lumber a minimum of two rounds, leading up to the Consolation finals. Making it through this bracket as Consolation Round winner was Cornel Berry of Pleasant River Pine’s Hancock, Maine mill.

Hancock Lumber at Casco’s Winning Team – Dylan Blackman & Matt Packardl

The final competition of the day was for the Team Championship and the coveted Bronze Hammer Trophy. This year marked the closest team final to date as 2 mill teams finished with a perfect 10 out of 10 score, leaving the time it took to grade the samples as the tie-breaker. By a 10 second advantage, Hancock Lumber’s Casco mill took the 2017 title over Irving Forest Products. This was Casco’s third overall team title and 2 out of the last 3 years!

“This event provides a unique setting for individuals within the lumber grading profession to learn more about the Eastern White Pine grades and showcase their knowledge in a friendly competition,” stated Matt Pomeroy, NELMA’s Director of Inspection Services.

NELMA wishes to thank Robbins Lumber Company, its owners and employees, for their welcoming hospitality in hosting this year’s competition! Look for format changes next year based upon input received from grader participants that should make the event even better!

Second Place
Garret Blair – Hancock Lumber at Pittsfield, Maine

Third Place
Lonnie Kollander – Limington Lumber

Mill River Lumber takes first Bronze Hammer Trophy; Robbins Lumber grader wins individual title @ 2016 Eastern White Pine Competition

Posted on July 21, 2016 by

The 13th annual Graders Competition for the Eastern White Pine lumber industry was held Saturday, June 25, hosted by Hancock Lumber’s Casco, Maine mill. A total of 48 graders representing 10 NELMA mills from throughout New England participated in this year’s competition. The fast-paced tournament-style format was once again used for the individual grader competition, which allows each grader to compete in a minimum of two rounds during the day.

Ralph Bean – 1st Place

In the individual finals, Ralph Bean of Robbins Lumber and Dylan Blackman of the home-team, Hancock Lumber Casco Mill tied at 6 to 6, leaving it to the tiebreaker of total time it took to grade the final 10 boards as the winner. By a margin of 31 seconds faster, Ralph Bean claimed the 2016 individual Eastern White Pine grader championship! Rounding out the Top 8 for 2016:

• 3rd Place, John Daggett also of Hancock’s Casco, Maine mill,

• 4th Place, Gene Black of Limington Lumber, East Baldwin, Maine,

• 5th Place, Ian Murdock of Limington Lumber, East Baldwin, Maine

• 6th Place, Val Hannon of Robbins Lumber, Searsmont, Maine,

• 7th Place, Lonnie Kollander of Limington Lumber, East Baldwin, Maine, and

• 8th Place, Matt Gordon of DiPrizio Pine Sales, Middleton, New Hampshire

In the Consolation Round, Rick Johnston of Pleasant River Lumber’s Hancock, Maine mill took the championship with a narrow 7-6 margin over Paul Heath of Hancock Lumber’s Casco mill.

Click here to see the full Tournament Bracket Results for 2016.

A total of $1,350 in prize money was distributed to this year’s winners. Since the competition began in 2004, more than $18,000 has been awarded to individual Top 8 graders!

The Winning Team from Mill River Lumber at the 2016 Eastern White Pine Graders Competition Held June 25.

In the Team competition for the Bronze Hammer Trophy, Mill River Lumber of North Clarendon, Vermont turned in a perfect score to win their first-ever title. Rounding out the Top 5 were (2) Robbins Lumber, (3) Hancock Lumber – Casco, (4) Pleasant River – Hancock, and (5) DiPrizio Lumber.

NELMA would like to extend its appreciation and gratitude to the employees of Hancock Lumber’s Casco mill for hosting this year’s very successful event that included lunch catered by Famous Dave’s BBQ for the group. The bar has been set pretty high for subsequent hosts!

For more photos from the Competition, click here!

DiPrizio Pine Hosts 12th Annual Eastern White Pine Graders Competition

Posted on July 21, 2015 by

Following its introduction at the recently held competition for Dimension graders, NELMA’s new tournament bracket format was extended to the 2015 Eastern White Pine Graders Competition, held Saturday, June 27 at DiPrizio Pine in Middleton, New Hampshire. A total of 55 individuals representing 9 NELMA member mills were on hand to compete for the best grader title and a share of the top eight cash awards that totaled $1,350. Also in play was the Bronze Hammer Trophy, presented to the top mill team in this 12th Annual event.

Successfully emerging through 4 rounds of grading, Bill Badger of Hancock Lumber’s Pittsfield, Maine mill took top honors in the individual competition, edging Diprizio Pine’s Matt Chesley 7-6 in the final round for the title. This was Mr. Badger’s second individual title in the history of the competition, his last won in 2012. The remaining top eight finishers: 3rd Place – Cornel Berry of Pleasant River Pine’s Hancock, Maine Mill; 4th Place – Wilbur Reynolds of Hancock Lumber’s Pittsfield, Maine Mill; 5th Place – Paul Angelone of Madison Lumber Mill, located in West Ossipee, New Hampshire; 6th Place – Cory Price of Hancock Lumber’s Pittsfield, Maine Mill; 7th Place – Nathan Edwards of Hancock Lumber’s Ryefield, Maine Mill; and 8th Place – Garret Blair of Hancock Lumber’s Pittsfield, Maine Mill.

The new format gave the opportunity for individuals that lost out in the first round to enter the Consolation Round for a second chance to grade lumber. Chris Goode of Hancock Lumber’s Pittsfield, Maine mill took the Consolation Championship in a close 4-3 head-to-head match over Norman Littlefield of Madison Lumber Mill.

The final event of the day saw each of the 9 mill teams compete for the Bronze Hammer Trophy. Using either a group grading strategy or selecting mill representatives, each team graded 10 final boards with no time limit to determine the winner. With 4 of the 9 teams correctly grading 8 of the 10 boards, the total time of grading broke the four-way tie. Hancock Lumber’s Ryefield, Maine team took the trophy based on their time of 2 minutes and 8 seconds, with DiPrizio Pine only 6 seconds behind to place second. This was the Ryefield mill’s second team championship since the competition began in 2004.

“Change can be a good thing and our new tournament format for this year’s competitions seemed to bring additional life to the event while increasing each participant’s opportunity to show their grading skills,” stated Jeff Easterling, President of NELMA.

The final Championship and Consolation brackets are posted here.

NELMA would like to thank Marcella Perry of DiPrizio Pine and her personnel for their gracious hospitality, the wonderful lunch, and use of the mill’s facilities for this year’s Eastern White Pine competition, their 3rd time to host the event in the past 12 years.

Hancock Lumber – Pittsfield, Maine mill Individual Winners: Bill Badger (1st Place), Wilbur Reynolds (4th Place), Garret Blair (8th Place), Cory Price (6th Place), and Chris Goode (Consolation Bracket Champion)

Photos from the event:

Matt Chesley of DiPrizio Pine (2nd Place)

Cornel Berry of Pleasant River Lumber – Hancock, Maine (3rd Place)

Paul Angelone of Madison Lumber Mill (5th Place)

Nathan Edwards of Hancock Lumber Company – Ryefield Mill (7th Place)

2015 Team Champion with Bronze Hammer Trophy – Hancock Lumber Company – Ryefield, Maine

Limington Lumber Team Grading

Madison Lumber Mill Team Grading

Glen Hibbard of Mill River Lumber in the Team Grading Competition

Team Grading by the Pleasant River Pine – Sanford, Maine graders (Paul Carpenter and Alex Jewett)

Team Grading by Hancock Lumber Company – Pittsfield, Maine graders

The winning grader team in action from Hancock Lumber’s Ryefield mill

NELMA’s Director of Inspection Services, Matt Pomeroy, and Lumber Program Coordinator, Don Pendergast preparing 10 Competition boards for the Finals