Biography

Larry H. Gibson is a native of the Aliceville area, having grown up in Panola, Alabama about 20 miles south... Read more

PROFILE

Larry Gibson of Gibson Forest Management in Aliceville started his business right after college, but said his forestry career really began while riding with his grandfather to work when he was child. What he still finds the most challenging and rewarding is the people aspect of forestry. Sometimes that means finding a balance that makes the landowner, timber buyer, and ultimately the mill happy.

“Any forester has the technical knowledge to do the work,” he said, “but the real work’s dealing with different people, figuring out what they need, and what you can help them do.” Establishing relationships is a big part of forestry, and Gibson prides himself on earning the trust of second and third generation clients.

Early in his career, Gibson once turned down badly-needed work because he thought it was a bad decision that the landowner would regret. The landowner hired someone else to do the work, and then found Gibson a year later to say he’d been right. That landowner has been a client for the last 20 years.

Gibson also thinks being a small landowner himself helps keep him grounded in his clients’ perspective. “They’re deciding whether to spend this money on site prep or remodeling a bathroom,” he said. “You won’t see that in a textbook, but you’ve got to make those decisions.”

Seeking clients in these counties:
Choctaw
Fayette
Greene
Hale
Lamar
Marengo
Perry
Pickens
Sumter
Tuscaloosa

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