Weyerhaeuser is seeking community input to determine how to invest $1 million in Upshur County through its THRIVE program.
The Buckhannon-Upshur Chamber of Commerce gathered at the Buckhannon location of Weyerhaeuser for their Nov. 12 meeting. Mill manager Bill Marks spoke to chamber members about Weyerhaeuser’s various charitable contributions, including the October announcement of the THRIVE program.
“Weyerhaeuser has a Giving Fund; I think this year we gave out $65,000 to the community and its nonprofit organizations,” Marks said. “We started working with the local Rotary Club on recycling soft plastic, and that’s a good opportunity for both groups — we’re not sending plastic to the landfill, and Rotary gets to turn in the plastic for other projects.”
Marks said the Buckhannon-Upshur community is the third area to receive a donation from the THRIVE program.
“Zwolle, Louisiana, was chosen in 2023, and we worked with them to help fix some issues with their water infrastructure, and then Raymond, Washington, was chosen last year, so we helped them with some housing projects,” Marks said. “Not all the money has to go to one place or one project, but we are looking for ideas for this area.”
Marks said Weyerhaeuser has developed a survey to gather as many ideas as possible.
“We’re working on a survey that will go out to the community; we want to survey folks and see where they feel Upshur County can benefit the most,” Marks said. “We want something we can build on — that continues to grow and is not something that just dies off. It’s a lot of work, and we’re still in the early stages of the process.”
The funding is an example of Weyerhaeuser supporting the communities where they operate.
“We really look forward to getting that money into the county, into the city, and making a difference,” Marks said. “We look forward to welcoming anyone who is really willing to join in these efforts.”
Weyerhaeuser’s Buckhannon location began production in July 1995.
“We are the only combo plant within Weyerhaeuser. When I say combo plant, that means we make two different products — Microllam and Parallam. We also peel the log and dry the veneer here,” Marks said. “Through the years, we’ve had a lot of capital money invested into this business; this plant is one of the leading plants in innovations, so therefore it helps us to get some capital money. The objective is to continue to grow.”
