Governor Brian Kemp has appointed Georgia forestry veteran Timothy M. Lowrimore to serve as state forester and director of the Georgia Forestry Commission. Following a swearing-in ceremony on December 21 at the state capitol, Lowrimore will assume his new duties on January 16, 2021.

“It is especially fitting that Tim Lowrimore rejoins the GFC family in the year of our agency’s centennial,” said Georgia Forestry Commission Board Chairman Larry Spillers. “Tim is a UGA grad who began his career as a forester at GFC. Since then he has held a number of leadership positions with a diverse group of public and private forest industry partners. He will be instrumental in setting the tone for 2021 and guiding GFC into the next 100 years.”

Lowrimore is a registered forester with the Georgia Board of Foresters who has more than 20 years of forestry and professional experience. Most recently, he served as public affairs manager for Interfor, one of the largest lumber producers in the world. There, he worked with all levels of government regulatory agencies and community and economic development officials to promote and protect operations and sustainability initiatives. Lowrimore was a senior account executive at Davis-Garvin Insurance Agency, servicing a national portfolio of forestry business; Resource Manager of Eastern Forest Resources at Rayonier; Director of Forest Policy at the Georgia Forestry Association and senior forester at the GFC.

Lowrimore has served several professional organizations and has been recognized for numerous achievements. He is current chairman of the Georgia Paper and Forest Products Association and was treasurer for two years. He is a Society of American Foresters Fellow who served on its National Policy Committee for four years, Georgia Forestry Association member, and was Chairman of the Georgia Forestry Foundation in 2016. Lowrimore was Southeastern Division Chairman of the Society of American Foresters in 2014, its Georgia State Chair in 2009 and its Ocmulgee Chapter Chair in 2005. He has also served on the University of Georgia Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources’ Deans Advisory Committee, and is a UGA Warnell Jay Hole Society member and past chair.

Lowrimore and his wife, Wendi, have two daughters. The family lives in Macon.

For more information about the Georgia Forestry Commission, its history, mission and services, visit GaTrees.org.