Frampton Z. Ferguson, President of Ferguson Forest Products, Luray, SC, and SCFA's 2000 Outstanding Logger of the Year, has increased trucking efficiency and improved safety by installing GPS units on all his trucks.

He first considered the units several years ago but cost was prohibitive. Now they work through the cell phone system and cost is $500 per unit plus monthly monitoring service.

"This is by far one of the best investments I've made," he says. "It has absolutely helped us improve efficiency. And there's no doubt on mill turn around times."

He can run a search and receive detailed feedback on the exact time a truck was cranked, route it traveled, exact speed and length of time that speed was maintained, how long the truck was at the mill, and when the truck was turned off.

"Even if it goes out of cell phone range, it records for 72 hours and gives me a log of what drivers are doing," he says. "When we go on a new job, I set up the site and begin monitoring.

"If I receive a call from someone who says one of my trucks was speeding, it has a map I log on to and locate that particular truck and hit playback for the exact address and speed of that truck."

She was one of five educators selected nationwide for their commitment to environmental education, exemplary use of PLT, and exceptional teaching skills. She will be honored at PLT’s International Coordinators’ Conference, May 13–16, in Jackson, MS.

Ward is a 7th grade science teacher at Whittemore Park Middle School. She has been involved with PLT since the start of her teaching career in the late 1980s, when she helped field test many activities that became part of the revised PLT PreK-8 Guides. In 2005, she worked with the Horry Co. school district to get PLT activities incorporated into the curriculum as an example of ways to incorporate the environment into state curriculum standards and increase student achievement and PACT scores. She has conducted many PLT workshops, training over 200 educators in the Coastal area of South Carolina and Girl Scout leaders.

She was honored as SC Project Learning Tree Outstanding Educator of the Year during SCFA's 2005 Annual Meeting.

Along with her plaque, she received a forestry teaching kit and $100 for supplies.

Recognized for her innovative work in environmental education, she is noted for student-based school recycling projects, beautification and landscaping projects.

A certified PLT facilitator, she is helping other educators use the internationally-acclaimed environmental education program that teaches critical thinking skills and helps students apply them to real-world environmental questions.

She attended the 2006 South Carolina Teachers’ Tour that focused on Teaching Sustainable Forestry in Environmental Education.

Project Learning Tree is one of the most widely used environmental education supplements in the United States. Since 1984, about 16,000 South Carolina teachers have been trained and certified to use the PLT program.