News Release Distributed 11/12/10
POLLOCK, La. -- The closing on 10.77 acres of land donated to the LSU AgCenter Grant Walker 4-H Educational Center by RoyOMartin is scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 18, at 10:30 a.m.
Adjoining the west side of the 80-acre camp, the donation is in accordance with the Grant Walker Master Plan and will allow for creating a Youth Education Development Center, said Roger Husser, director of LSU AgCenter facilities planning. It also will permit extended access to Big Creek and additional areas for primitive camping areas and trails.
Kim Landry, camp director, said the development center will host youth and adult leadership groups. The land also will be used for ATV and fitness trails, ATV safety training and a low ropes course for team building.
4-H Camp, an educational program of the LSU AgCenter, strives to develop a variety of life skills related to head, heart, hands and health at one-week summer camp sessions. Each summer, approximately 5,000 youth in fourth through sixth grades from all 64 parishes attend the camp.
The camp features tree-covered grounds, a large outdoor recreation area, a multi-purpose building, an educational building, climate-controlled cabins, bath facilities, a modern kitchen with a spacious dining hall, new classrooms and outdoor pavilions. Camp Grant Walker also offers a swimming pool, archery and shooting range, and creek for canoeing.
“This land donation by RoyOMartin is another example of private industry recognizing the importance of the 4-H program and the educational impact it has on our state,” said Eric Eskew, director of the Louisiana 4-H Foundation. “4-H will have to continue to rely on this type of support as impending budget reductions face the LSU AgCenter and higher education.”
“As part of RoyOMartin’s continued commitment to the community, we are excited to support the 4-H Camp’s role in assisting our youth in becoming responsible and productive members of our society,” said Jonathan E. Martin, chairman and CEO of Martin Companies LLC.
RoyOMartin is the brand name of Martin Companies, LLC, a group of family-owned, professionally managed forest products and forestland management companies based in Alexandria. Founded in 1923 as Roy O. Martin Lumber Co., the company now operates four manufacturing facilities in central Louisiana and Alabama, plus a pole yard in Arkansas.
RoyOMartin also owns 575,000 acres of timberland in Louisiana, making it one of the largest private landowners in the state. All of RoyOMartin’s family-owned forestlands have been certified as well-managed according to the principles and criteria of the Forest Stewardship Council, an independent, non-profit conservation organization.
The company also donated 1.7 acres to the Louisiana 4-H Foundation and the LSU AgCenter in May 2007.
Mary Ann Van Osdell