Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Potlatch Teacher-Intern Program Underway

The Potlatch Corporation is beginning its fifth year of the Teacher-Intern Program at the Warren area operations.

The Teacher-Intern Program is designed to benefit both the teachers and Potlatch. It enables teachers to learn about the daily realities of business, the operations of Potlatch, the contributions Potlatch makes to the community, and the challenges that the forest and paper products industry faces.

By giving teachers a closer look at the demands in today's workplace, Potlatch enables teachers to share with students a more realistic view of the business role in the economy and the community.

Potlatch held an orientation session on Friday, June 12, for all the Warren area teacher- interns. At the session, representatives from every department at Potlatch made a presentation about their department to enable the teachers to learn more about the company.

Each teacher is assigned to a different department to work for a four-week period. The teachers also participate in tours of all the Arkansas Potlatch operations as well as various sessions on topics, such as environmental safety and sales opportunities.

The teachers began work in their departments on Monday, June 14. At the end of the four-week period, each intern is asked to evaluate the internship to continue improving the program.

Participating in the program this year are eleven teachers from the Warren area, three teachers in the Prescott operations and two teachers at the Cypress Bend Pulp and Paperboard Mill in McGehee.

The teacher-interns for the Potlatch operations in Warren include Melissa Hopson in the Engineering/Environmental Department; Sherrie Faulkner in Sales, Charles Bateman in Security; Leann Savage in Accounting; Retha Lewis in Employee Relations; Eldon Horace Sawyer at the Southern Unit; Melinda Hall and Sandra Tooke in the Resource Department; Pearlene Simpson in the Employee Relations Department at the Bradley Unit; Felicia Bennett in the Purchasing Shared Services, and Dana Fultz in Public Affairs.

At the Ozan Unit in Prescott, the teacher-interns will be Annie Bailey, Sheila Jennings and Gaywyn Golden. Stephen Duvall and Debbie Fowler will be participating in the program at Cypress Bend.