Standing Committee

Bette McLennan

Bette McLellan is a retired teacher who has been in the Cariboo for 40 years.  Bette belongs to the Williams Lake Wanderers, a group that "plays" in the Williams Lake Community Forest and other parts of the Cariboo.  She has worked in and on environmental topies for many years. 

Susan Woermke

Susan is a Registered Professional Forester who has been in the Cariboo since 1998.  Formerly a Silviculture Forester with one of the major licensees in the area, Susan is now running her own consulting business working for a diverse group of clients.  She loves her home in the Cariboo, acting as a mentor to students going into the profession, her garden and many animals.  Susan has been on the standing committee since its inception, and is passionate about forests for the community.

Dave White

Dave White is retired, with a technical forestry background amassed from his work experiences in England, Alberta and British Columbia.  Most of his experience is from the Silviculture side of forestry, and he maintains interests in forestry, natural history and year-round outdoor activities.  Dave has been a Cariboo/Chilcotin resident for 20 years.  

Leonard Teppema

Leonard Teppema is a RFT (Registered Forestry Technician) with 13 years experience with the Ministry of Forests.  He is President of the Cariboo Small Scale Harvesters Association and has a trapline in Horsefly.  Leonard was born in Horsefly, grew up on a rancy, and has been a faller for 33 years.  He is an original member of the WLCF Standing Committee, has been Fire Fighting for 33 years and Small Scale Harvesting for 17 years.  

Tom Alphonse

Tom started falling trees in 1979 in the BC interior and through the years he has also worked along the BC coast from Vancouver to Prince Rupert and the Queen Charlotte Islands.  Tom also helped the Williams Lake Indian Band to start a logging company and then managed the company for 15 years.  At present, Tom and Karen own and operate a buffalo cow calf herd. Tom and Karen also run Tom Alphonse Contracting, doing small scale salvage logging in the winter,  contracts for trap tree falling, falling danger trees for the BC wildfire service and falling danger trees in the Williams Lake residential areas.  For the last few years Tom  has taken on contracts with Williams Lake Community Forest for small scale salvage logging and trap tree falling and is a Standing Committee Member.

Jim Hilton

After graduating from the University of Alberta, Jim Hilton spent 3 years working on a research facility in South America.  He then spent nearly 3 decades with the Forest Service, primarily in the Cariboo Region, with approximately equal time spent in Range, Inventory, Silviculture and Timber Tenures.  Jim retired in 2002 and has kept busy as an active member of the WLCF Standing COmmittee, milling lumber using his portable sawmill, and trying to keep up with his 3 grandsons.  

Gord Flatt

Gord Flatt is a store manager of Winners in Williams Lake.  Gord has a small farm, and moved to Miocene in 2011.  He is interested in sustainability of forests, ranching, and farming in our area, and how these can all work together.  Gord is interested to see how the Community Forest positively or negatively affects the local communities.  

Henry Doucette

Henry has lived and worked in Williams Lake his whole life.  He has been involved in many aspects of the forest industry, from small scale salvage logging to industrial finishing for 20 years.  Henry is a land owner in the WL Community Forest Flat Rock block, where he is practicing sustainable land use for small scale farming.  Henry has been with the WLCF as a member of the Standing Committee since the very beginning.