Eli J. Yoder of Charm received a Director’s Award at the 2011 Ohio Forestry Association’s annual meeting held last month at the Mohican Lodge and Resort.

Yoder was recognized for his lifetime contributions to the Ohio forestry community. He is a past president of Yoder Lumber Co., Inc., in Millersburg and had many roles with the company over the years since it was started by his father on the family farm in 1945. For many years, he was the sole timber buyer and logging manager for the entire company, responsible for providing their sawmills with millions of board feet of logs each year.

Yoder was known for his honesty, fairness, and dependability, creating lasting relationships with industry members, loggers, and landowners. He was active in the local loggers’ chapter from the time it started, serving as the chapter chairman in 1998. He is an active Tree Farm member, managing over 2,000 acres of woodlands. He is also a behind-the-scenes volunteer who has worked countless hours for such activities as the Forest Heritage Festival, Log A Load for Kids, and the Paul Bunyan Show.

Yoder is active in his local church and has served on mission trips to Bolivia, Jamaica, and Ecuador. He has also served for several years at the Mennonite Information Center in Berlin.

The Ohio Forestry Association annually recognizes its members and others who make outstanding contributions to the forestry community for a variety of accomplishments.