Our Team

Rusty “Cork” O’neal – Owner

Timber buying company ownerCork has been involved in the timber business his entire life and has been in nearly every role in the timber business. He is believed to be the 6th generation in his family to work in timber. He worked his way up the old fashion way, from logger to timber buyer and now to an owner and chief decision maker here at Tri-State Timber.

Cork oversees the sorting and scaling done at the main yard. He decides which species and quality logs will go into specific markets. Cork is in close communication with the logging crews to make sure they produce lengths and specifications that are required based on current demand.


Isaac O’neal – Manager

Isaac’s love for the woods came from his adolescent years helping his dad, Rusty “Cork” O’neal, mark trees out in the woods to be harvested. Ever since then Isaac has been involved in the forest industry. In high school he was involved with the FFA for forestry and wildlife management. After high school and some college he took a full-time position at Tri-State’s old sawmill. He worked his way from board stacker, board edger, loader operator, debarker operator, and  finally the head sawyer. Isaac took a year off from working from Tri-State and began working for a veneer mill where he gain valuable experience. After a year he decided to come back to Tri-State where he worked in the woods as a skidder operator and timber cutter. Unfortunately in the summer 2012 Isaac was involved in a serious accident where he was hit by a tree and had reconstructive surgery in both knees.

After Isaac was able to recover in 2013 he worked on the log yard and is now responsible for supervising the daily operations of the log yard. As logs come into the yard he scales and processes the logs by sorting and marketing them to ensure maximum profitability.  He is responsible for many of the export and veneer sales. Also he will go on the road and procure logs from various customers.


Kyle Franklin – Manager

Kyle has been involved at Tri-State since he was in high school. During his high school summers he would do odd jobs such as wax/metal logs, landscape maintenance, and plant trees to secure reforesting. Kyle attended Indiana University for two years during which he interned at a veneer company learning his species and the supply and demand of the veneer markets.

Kyle oversees all domestic and export sales. He also scales logs coming into the yard and prepares logs for these domestic and export sales. Kyle is also a licensed timber buyer who occasionally goes on the road to supply Tri-State with veneer logs.


Jeff Page – Forester and Timber Buyer

Forester marking timberJeff is responsible for purchasing timber from private, state-owned, and federal lands. On private properties he is the one who marks individual trees for harvest and locates the property lines. Jeff also writes up sale agreements and is a licensed timber buying agent. Later he oversees the operational planning and logging of the timber harvest. As a buyer and forester Jeff is responsible for insuring quality control of our jobs.


Al Meyer – Forester and Timber Buyer

timber buyer

Al Meyer joined the Tri-State Team in 2007 working on a part-time basis until he graduated from Purdue in 2011 with a degree in Forestry. Upon graduation he began working full-time for Tri-State Timber.

Al is responsible for purchasing timber from private lands. On private properties he is the one who marks individual trees to be harvested and locates property lines. Al also writes up the sales agreement and is a licensed timber buying agent. Later he oversees planning and execution of the timber harvest. As a buyer and forester Al is responsible for insuring quality control of our jobs.


Terry Robinson – Forester and Timber Buyer

timber buyer

Terry graduated from Purdue in 1995 with a degree in Forestry. He started his own urban tree care company upon graduating from Purdue. After selling his company he started to work for Tri-State.

Terry is responsible for purchasing timber from private lands. On private properties he is the one who marks individual trees to be harvested and locates property lines. Terry also writes up the sales agreement and is a licensed timber buying agent. Later he oversees planning and execution of the timber harvest. As a buyer and forester Terry is responsible for insuring quality control of our jobs.


Marty O’neal – Logging Foreman

logger

Marty grew up logging and has been at it ever since. For 35 years Marty has been a professional logger and has logged specifically for Tri-State the last 10 years.

Marty’s main responsibility is managing his logging crew to ensure they are working efficiently and effectively. The crew must harvest the marked trees while minimizing damage to residual stands of timber. Before the harvest begins Marty will discuss the operational plan for each specific harvest. As they are harvesting the timber Marty keeps track of all the logistics such as trucks to haul the logs off the property and all the equipment and maintenance. Marty also implements BMPs (Best Management Practices) and performs the closeout of the jobs by smoothing out the skid roads and log yard.