Founder and past president of ReTree International, Frank Lockyear, passed away in December, 2001. Frank dedicated his life to his passion, planting trees. He established ReTree for the purpose of reforesting idle lands worldwide and involved young people in that pursuit. He believed that the world always needs more trees and that our youth should be part of that effort so they could be educated in the importance of growing and maintaining healthy forests. His tireless efforts resulted in the planting of millions of trees in over fifty countries- two million in the Pacific Northwest alone. And he has inspired us to continue planting in the future. Frank will be dearly missed.
Donald H. "Don" Potter - ReTree President/Board Chairman
Don's career as a landscape architect and forester has included employment with Stearns & Wheler Civil & Sanitary Engineers (Cazenovia, NY), US Forest Service - George Washington NF (Harrisonburg, VA), US Forest Service - Monongahela NF (Elkins, WVa), Bureau of Indian Affairs (Littleton, CO), and Bureau of Public Roads/Federal Highway Administration (Homewood, IL and Portland, OR). He is a life-long scouter, having joined the Boy Scouts of America in 1941. Don became an Eagle Scout in 1944, and has been involved in Scouting in every community where he and his family have lived.
In 1980 Don joined the Lake Grove Lions Club in Lake Oswego, OR where he now lives. He is very active in the Cascades Pacific Council - Boy Scouts of America, where he volunteers on the Guy Miller Tree Plant Program. This is a Council annual effort during the months of February, March and April. Every Saturday during these three months, tree plants are scheduled on private and public lands with timber companies, private forest landowners, state, county and city forests and parks. ReTree International's Founder, Frank Lockyear, has been a partner with the Scout Council in this annual tree planting effort since the Tillamook Burn in the mid-1930's.
Don is also very active in Lions Clubs International's character education program, Lions-Quest, for children in grades K-12. This is a life skills, social skills and critical thinking skills program with a strong focus on service-learning at all grade levels. Since becoming president of ReTree International in January 2000, Don has weaved the service-learning concept into all of ReTree International's tree plants. He has excellent ties to school superintendents and principals throughout Oregon, and like ReTree International, the Lions-Quest programs are worldwide.
Don has also volunteered on the Oregon Lions Memorial Forest Program, "Say Yes To Trees" Committee. Two significant events included the Viet Nam War Memorial Tree Plant with Oregon Department of Forestry and the Korean War Memorial Tree Plant with the Warm Springs Indian Reservation in Central Oregon. ReTree International Founder, Frank Lockyear, was instrumental in organizing these tree plants to memorialize those men and women who lost their lives during the Korean and Viet Nam Wars.
Don was born in Scio, NY on June 15, 1930. He was graduated from Painted Post H.S. in 1948, entered the U.S. Marine Corps in 1949 and served during the Korean War. Don was honorably discharged from the USMC in April 1952. In 1955 Don started his post high school studies at the College of Forestry in Syracuse, NY. He received a bachelor's degree in landscape architecture from the College of Forestry and a bachelor's degree in forestry from Syracuse University in 1959. He also holds a master's degree in public administration from Lewis & Clark College (Portland, OR - 1978).
I received my Bachelor of Science degree from Oregon State University in
1990 with a major in Forest Management and a minor in Public Administration.
After graduation, I worked as a forester with the U.S. Forest Service on
the Mt. Hood National Forest's Clackamas Ranger District. Over the years I
worked in resource management project planning and implementation as well as
a two-year stint managing the district recreation program. In 1998 I left
the Forest Service in order to pursue other opportunities, both professional
and personal. Since then I have done consulting work and worked part-time
for Holbrook Contracting on forest surveys and resource management projects.
In addition, I enjoy volunteering for ReTree International and other
events such as Oregon Forestry Field Day. I am currently on the Clackamas
County Forest Advisory Board and have been a member of the Society of
American Foresters for over 15 years. Personal interests include
photography, travelling, hiking, and the continual project of remodelling
our home. As a new member of the ReTree Board, I am excited about the
opportunity to both share knowledge and learn more about wise stewardship of
our forest resources.
Ed Buursma - ReTree Board Member
In the summer of 1999, he began a similar job with Clackamas County, where he is responsible for the trees and wildlife within the County Parks and Forest lands. Tom manages County forest lands on a sustainable yield principal, which yields nearly one million dollars a year for the County Parks and Forestry Trust fund.
Ed has a bachelor's degrees in Biology (Lake Superior State University, 1979) and Forestry Management (Michigan Tech, 1981) and has been working with the US Forest Service for more than 20 years. Before that he worked with other employers in the forest management field and overall Ed has been fortunate to have worked in almost every region of this country. He came to Oregon in 1990 and in 1993 got involved with ReTree, participating in tree planting here in the Northwest and also in Alaska and Latin America. Other interests include his two children, writing, biking, and sports. Ed joined ReTree by chance and participated in some tree plantings. He stayed with ReTree after getting to know Frank Lockyear because he believed in Frank's commitment to reforestation and environmental education of the youth of the world. "I have seen first hand the excitement in the faces of ten-year old children in Guatemala City planting seedlings and learning about the importance of trees. I believe our best chance to keep forests growing and healthy and to see that this resource isn't completely depleted is through showing the next generation how to plant and care for trees. We must instill that ethic in our youth because we need forests now and in the future for the health of the planet."
Tom Ortman's interest in forestry began almost 50 years ago when he spent weekends working in the woods of Southern Ohio with his grandfather in the maple sugar camp. After graduating from Michigan State University in 1967 and spending two years in the US Army, Tom began a career with the US Forest Service. He spent over 30 years on the National Forests of Oregon and Idaho, and in 1999 retired from the Mt Hood National Forest. His last job with the Mt Hood was as the Forest Natural Resource Staff.
Tom has been a board member for Retree for ten years. He has helped Frank Lockyear coordinate tree planting events in 12 countries and will host more that 12 youth groups from the Portland Metro area in 2002 tree planting projects.
Mark Willhite- ReTree Board Member
Mark has recently assisted with reforestation projects in El Salvador and Honduras, and has made over a dozen forestry-related visits to Central and South America, Europe, New Zealand, and Korea. He is a member of the Society of American Foresters, International Society of Tropical Foresters and serves on the Clackamas County Forest Advisors Board and Timber Sale Advisory Board.
Mark is currently employed by Merrill & Ring, a forestry company which owns 65,000 acres of timberland in Washington, British Columbia and New Zealand. His primary duties involve timberland transactions, appraisal, land issues, and forest-business projects. He served as manager of the New Zealand operations of this company for two years. Prior to this, he worked eight years for The Campbell Group, a forest-investment company representing institutional investors. And prior to that, he was with the Farm Credit System involved with financing and appraisal for forestry and farming operations. His career began with forestry fieldwork in seven western States. He is a graduate of the University of Idaho (Forest Products/Business).
Retired chemical engineer – Environmental Supervisor for Reynolds Metals for 20 plus years. Tony maintains a residence in Portland, OR and San Blas, Nayarit – Mexico. He is a member of the International Lion's Clubs thru the Portland Cascade Lion's Club.
Tony is instrumental in coordinating Mexican tree plants with the local villages and Lions Club members in Mexico. He coaches a little league baseball team and assists with coaching a triple A team in Tepic, Nayarit, Mexico. Tony played baseball during the 60’s for Phoenix and the SF Giants. Other activities include raising funds and disbursing them for improvements to a small preschool in San Blas.
Sharon Elder- ReTree Board Member
Professional Consultant - Sales and Marketing. Sharon has owned two businesses in the consumable products industry, specializing in increasing market share for manufacturers throughout the US and Mexico. She is a member of the International Lion's Clubs thru the Portland Cascade Lion's Club and is currently the Public Relations Chairperson for the Lions of Oregon. Other non-profit “labors of love” include organizing and setting up a vision clinic each year in Mexico to provide eye exams and eyeglasses, as well as screening for diabetes and blood pressure issues. Clinics are set up each year in Mexico with US and Mexican Lion's Club volunteers who manage the clinics, free of charge, to all those in need.
