From a Graphic Artist to a Logger
Terry Hays changed careers from Graphic Artist to forestry in 2001. At first, a woman at the controls of a forestry machine raised some eyebrows and suspicions. Terry has won the trust of clients with her professional competence. From the cabin of the PONSSE Wisent, she likes to watch the wonders of wildlife while working.
Terry became a forestry machine operator by chance. Terry’s father owned Leanard Burrows Forest Products, where Terry’s husband Ron worked. In 1995 Ron founded Hays Timberworks and Terry, who worked as a Graphic Artist, joined the company in 2001 when the company bought its first forwarder.
Originally, Terry was only supposed to work for the company for four years until the machine was paid for. But Terry still finds herself at the controls of the forwarder. In 2021, Ron retired and at that point Terry took over the running of the company.
“It feels good to be a woman in the woods, even though at first my abilities were questioned. Landowners and foremen were asked if it was okay to have a woman operator. Now things are different. I’ve been doing this long enough, so I think I’ve gained their trust,” Terry says with a laugh.
Terry’s parents are also proud of their daughter’s success. Father Leanard was delighted to see his daughter take up forestry, while mother Margaret was a little more sceptical about her daughter’s success in the industry. But her mother’s doubts have been dispelled over the years.
Smooth cooperation
Terry’s second forwarder in her forestry career is a PONSSE Wisent, which she says is “great”, although it took a little getting used to the Active Crane. What Terry enjoys about the machine is that it has a very comfortable and spacious cabin and it runs very smoothly. Thanks to the many windows, visibility is good.
During the delivery of the PONSSE Wisent, Ponsse’s operator trainer Brad Brown was on hand to help Terry. “Brad is a really good trainer and helpful. I went through the whole machine with Brad and he answered all my questions. Everyone at Ponsse was really helpful and very good to work with.”
Aside from forestry, Terry wants to be more actively involved with the Ponsse Ladies and can’t wait to get to know the members of the group.
Close to nature
“My job allows me to get up close to nature and wildlife,” says Terry. Over the course of her career, she has come across a wide range of events.
“Three days before the start of the deer hunting season, four bucks were running towards my machine while chasing a doe. In the end, the biggest of the bucks won and chased the other bucks away. It is very rare to see something like this”. Terry managed to film the event on her phone and often shows the video to landowners who fear the big forest machines will scare away the deer. “To their surprise, they learn the deer often follow the machines.”
Terry also has a picture of a grouse in her phone. In the aftermath of the storm damage, Terry had three logging sites close together and the grouse followed her from site to site. It even sat in the machine’s cabin and on top of the log pile.