ALISSA – MAINE
HOW DID YOU GET STARTED IN LOGGING SPORTS? Alissa got her initial start at The Great Maine Lumberjack Show where “Timber Tina taught me everything”!!! She answered an ad to teach locals these sports and at the end of her first year she was an integral part of the team! She was invited to travel to her first ‘road show’ during her first year of on the Maine team and has become one of the lead members of the Lumberjills!
CURRENT OCCUPATION: Alissa is a caretaker for summer homes on Mt. Desert Island, Maine with her Husband and her Dad! They service over 30 homes and the scenery when she is going to work is beyond compare!
FAVORITE EVENTS: Log Rolling, Chopping, Axe Throw, Hot Saw
MY FAVORITE WIN & MOST MEMORABLE EXPERIENCE: The first time I won 1st place in Axe Throw at The Lumberjill World Championships at Boonville, NY in 2006! It was my FIRST time at a meet where the competition was World Class and I won a GOLD MEDAL!
FAVORITE THING I ENJOY DOING WHEN I DON’T HAVE AN AX IN MY HAND: Going lobster fishing with my husband and traveling! Biking, hiking, canoeing and hanging with my family!
COOL THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT ALISSA: Alissa was one of the first Lumberjills at Timber Tina’s Great Maine Lumberjack Show in Maine! She was on ABC’s Life Moments, a show about women doing things for the first time… they went to her first Lumberjack contest with her! She has been a volunteer firefighter! She volunteers on weekends at a local Wildlife Rehab Center feeding animals and cleaning cages! Alissa and Tina went to Ireland for St. Patrick’s Day in 2007…. Yahoo!
ALLISON – MAINE/PA
HOW DID YOU GET STARTED IN LOGGING SPORTS? Allison got her start in logging sports as a freshman on the University of Maine Woodsmen team. She felt more interested in joining a non-traditional collegiate sport and found the Woodsmen’s Team which fit the bill! It allowed for lots of outdoor activity, learning new skills in the sport, and lots of travel too! And they got to compete at ESPN’s Stihl Timber Sports Series.
CURRENT OCCUPATION: She is currently a graduate student at the University of Maine working towards her Master of Fine Arts in Intermedia.
FAVORITE EVENT: Log Rolling is FUN!
MY FAVORITE THING ABOUT BEING A LUMBERJILL: She loves driving across the country to shows with her fellow 'Jills, and her most memorable memories include learning how to Surf in San Diego while at the Del Mar County Fair and having back stage passes to Boys II Men in Milwaukee with TT! She once opened a coconut with an axe (but don't try that at home!)
FAVORITE THING I ENJOY DOING WHEN I DON’T HAVE AN AX IN MY HAND: Bicycling on my pink bike, skiing at Sugarloaf, bowling, singing in my band Queen City and singing Karaoke!
COOL THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT ALLISON: Allison has mixed art with life, as her body of work has most recently has revolved around life as a Lumberjill, Paul Bunyan and the myth of the American Lumberjack. She has developed an alter-ego named Flapjack which she has incorporated into use in her Arts & Life Art projects. Her most recent artistic endeavor includes making a 15 foot tall stack of flapjacks, a feast for Paul Bunyan himself! I went to Germany in March, 2009 and did an Art Installation there!! AND I once cut my hair with my Chopping ax for an art project! She prefers red plaid over green plaid! And ‘we’ all know that she bakes a Wicked Good Muffin! http://www.flickr.com/photos/allisonmelton/
ANDREA – NEW YORK
HOW DID YOU GET STARTED IN LOGGING SPORTS? I got started in logging sports while I was attending Finger Lakes Community College in Canandaigua, N.Y. in 1987! Who would have thought they had chopping and sawing as a SPORT in college! My husband introduced me to the woodsmen team. From there, we grew as athletes and as a family… literally, now we have 4 sons!
CURRENT OCCUPATION: First and foremost, I am a Mother to my four boys! 3 are in school, one in college, a couple of them are also in the sport! And I also work for my husband’s Tree and Lawn Care business.
FAVORITE EVENT: Although Cross Cut Sawing is my best event, my favorite is definitely Underhand Chopping! Although I may not be the best Underhand Chopper, it's a fun challenge to try to improve at it and I am still working at being a great cutter, cause I love it! My husband and I have broken a few Jack and Jill Cross Cut saw records, over the years and that is always fun! I also hold World records with my Jill and Jill partner. .
FAVORITE THING I ENJOY DOING WHEN I DON’T HAVE AN AX IN MY HAND: Although I spend a lot of time with an ax in my hand but spending time with my family is what I love best!
ONE OF MY FAVORITE THINGS ABOUT BEING A LUMBERJILL: For five years, 2003-2007, I was a part of the United States Women’s Wood Chopping Team that traveled to various events Down Under!!! In 2008, I was a part of the North American - Canadian Team that went to Australia…. being on these teams has brought me all over the world! Can you believe that chopping and sawing could take you to places like Australia, New Zealand, France, and Canada? Not to mention all over the United States!
INTERESTING TIDBIT ABOUT ANDREA: Okay… you may have seen me and my family on the ABC TV show "Wife Swap"!!!! Our families swapped with a burlesque dancer’s family from Washington State!! Check it out at www.abcwifeswap.com under the date of January 30, 2007. That was a fun experience and great opportunity for my family… it was a wild ride!
CARLY - WISCONSIN
HOW DID YOU GET STARTED IN LOGGING SPORTS? At three years old, it was the natural thing to do… being that I was a Scheer growing up in Hayward, WI! My Dad was a champion Log Roller, I have an Aunt who is a 7 time Women’s Champion Log Roller, another aunt who is World Champion Lumberjill and an Uncle who is a Champion Speed Climber… I HAD NO CHOICE! It’s what we did!!!!!
CURRENT OCCUPATION: I'm a copywriter at Home Away in Austin, Texas!
FAVORITE EVENT: I love to watch my family compete in both logrolling and speed climbing, and of course a good crash on the boom run never ceases to provide enthralling entertainment!
MY FAVORITE TITLE: The most smiley logroller! J
FAVORITE THING I ENJOY DOING WHEN I DON’T HAVE AN AX IN MY HAND: Well I don’t normally have an ax in my hand, I am the Log Roller!!!! BUT I have a love for the city of Austin, Texas and its amazing music scene and tasty fish tacos. Aside from that, I also adore scoring at thrift shops and discount departments to add tasty finds to my wardrobe. AND Allison and I have mastered the art of dancing to Michael Jackson while logrolling. The act could really be its own show!!! THRILLER!
COOL THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT CARLY: Carly is also a really great Belly Dancer! She is the most stylish Lumberjill…. EVER!
LIZZIE – WISCONSIN/CALIFORNIA
HOW DID YOU GET STARTED IN LOGGING SPORTS? Lizzie began Log Rolling at a very young age in La Crosse, WI. She is an offspring of the famous Scheer family too, her mother Judy is the seven-time World Champion Log Roller and her Auntie is Timber Tina! She guesses being a good log roller was just part of her genes! She grew up around lumberjack sports and always had a great time training and competing in the summers with her brother and sisters.
CURRENT OCCUPATION: She currently lives in San Francisco, CA and is getting her Master's degree in Marriage and Family Counseling psychology.
FAVORITE EVENT: Although she only competes professionally in Log Rolling and Boom Running, she says she has learned how to use a cross-cut saw and hot saw through osmosis from watching it for so many years!
TITLES LIZZIE’S WON: 2004 Women’s World Champion Log Roller, 2005 ESPN Great Outdoor Games Gold Medalist in Women’s Log Rolling, 2007 Stihl Timber Sport Series Boom Running Champion
FAVORITE THING I ENJOY DOING WHEN I DON’T HAVE AN AX IN MY HAND: She has found peace and relaxation through yoga and meditation. It is also great cross-training for logging sports with the focus on balance and core body strength. She enjoys taking her dog for runs along the ocean, cross-country and alpine skiing, bike riding, hiking, kayaking, spending time with friends and family, eating good food, and drinking California wines!
COOL THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT LIZZIE: I graduated from Vermont's Middlebury College with a degree in psychology and sociology in 2005. Afterward, I moved to Vail, CO and started a log rolling program where I met my boyfriend. He attended my class and the rest is history. So get out there and get involved in logging sports and who knows what crazy things will happen!!!
I was on the NBC Today Show, ABC’s Family TV show “Switched”, and featured in PEOPLE magazine with my family!
FAVORITE WEBSITES: logrollers.com, lacrosselogrolling.com
FAVORITE WIN IN COMPETITION: The 2005 ESPN Great Outdoor Games Gold Medal! We were competing in Orlando, FL in the middle of a hurricane. It was dark and rainy and very intense. The final match was two falls a piece when I won the last fall and $10,000 to go along with the win!
MICHELLE – MAINE
HOW DID YOU GET STARTED IN LOGGING SPORTS? A friend that worked at Timber Tina’s Great Maine Lumberjack Show in Maine suggested that she try her hand at being a Lumberjill in the summer! Little did she know then that it would turn into her winning World Championships, local recognition and World travel!!!!
CURRENT OCCUPATION: She is an Athletic & Gear Up Director at a Maine High School.
FAVORITE EVENT: Although she really enjoys competing in each of the events, the Standing Block Chop is her favorite. And Michelle is a true All Around Lumberjill because she Chops, Saws, Log Rolls and Speed Climbs too!!! Not many of those out there and she does them ALL well!
MY FAVORITE WIN: Winning back-to-back Standing Block Chops at Boonville for sure! And winning the Underhand there too! She went to that contest unsure of her capabilities at the Professional level and to win there was an incredible accomplishment! Travelling to Australia to compete on the Women’s team in September of 2009!
FAVORITE THING I ENJOY DOING WHEN I DON’T HAVE AN AX IN MY HAND:
I love to hunt Turkey & Whitetail Deer with my Dad in Maine! Hands down, my favorite pastime!
MICHELLE – MAINE (yep, we have two Michelle’s!)
HOW/WHERE YOU GOT STARTED IN LOGGING SPORTS: She got started in logging sports at Unity College in 1996! Unity is America’s Environmental College and it was natural to have Chopping and Sawing as a sport there!
CURRENT OCCUPATION: She is a licensed arborist working on Mount Desert Island. She appreciates the fact that she has to always work hard to make a living; it really keeps her in great shape. She is pretty much attached to her helmet, chaps and chainsaw.
FAVORITE EVENT: Speaking of chainsaws, she loves the Hot-saw event. Truly!!! And of course chopping with a razor sharp competition Axe gets her adrenaline pumping. She’s working on her Speed Climbing and Log Rolling is her next challenge!
FAVORITE THINGS TO DO WHEN YOU DON’T HAVE AN AX IN YOUR HAND: When she’s not cutting or hanging out of trees or working at placing granite blocks in some incredible stair cases at homes on Mt. Desert Island… Well… in the summer, she would like to be hanging out on the shore of Moosehead Lake at her family’s camp and in the winter you will likely find her out on the ice… fishing.
PATTI – CONNECTICUT
HOW DID YOU GET STARTED IN LOGGING SPORTS? Patty grew up in Northern New Hampshire. She earned her Bachelors of Science at Unity College in Maine where she majored in Conservation Law enforcement and minored in Wildlife. Right out of college she worked for several conservation agencies including NH Fish & Game, IAFWA, and Maine DMR. She was on the Unity College Woodsmen Team for 2 years before she joined Timber Tina’s Great Maine Lumberjack Show in 2007. The '09 season will be her 5th year competing. Patty now resides in Northwestern Connecticut where she competes at as many local contests as possible!
CURRENT OCCUPATION: She is one of the few who actually loves going to work everyday… either as a Lumberjill, ski instructor or Assistant Restaurant Manager at Infinity Music Hall and Bistro!
MY FAVORITE EVENT: Bow Sawing followed by the Underhand chop
MY FAVORITE MEMORY: Cutting the 8x8 white pine Underhand Chop at The Harwinton Fair in 27.30 seconds! YAHOO!
FAVORITE THING I ENJOY DOING WHEN I DON’T HAVE AN AX IN MY HAND: Anything outdoors: hunting, fishing, skiing & snowboarding, hiking & snowshoeing.
SHANNON – CONNECTICUT
MY START IN LOGGING SPORTS: Shannon’s Father got her started axe throwing at the age of 11! He was a competitor and though it natural to let his kids try the sport… he got the kids a down-sized version of a target & axe. There were no gender barriers to break in my home! She trained for years in many of the events and got to a very well rounded Logging Sports Athlete and started competing and winning. ,
CURRENT OCCUPATION: Shannon and her husband are self employed with Caretaking Gardening, Cleaning, Personal Sports Trainer and Head Coach at UCONN Woodsmen’s Team
FAVORITE EVENTS: Underhand Chopping is Shannon’s FAVORITE followed closely by the Bow Saw! AKA Swede Saw
TITLE’S THAT SHANNON HAS WON: Currently holds a World Record in Underhand Chop
FAVORITE WIN IN COMPETITION: I’ve loved competed at and winning the Women’s Overall Titles at the Boonville, NY event!
COOL THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT SHANNON: My most Treasured Memory has to be axe throwing on the David Lettermen Show! And winning the Women’s Overall Title in New York gave me national attention and along came appearances on The Current Affair, Real TV, To Tell the Truth and in The National Enquirer!!
FAVORITE THING I ENJOY DOING WHEN I DON’T HAVE AN AX IN MY HAND: Working on home improvements! I LOVE to socialize with friends and family and doing Logging Sports demonstrations with my Dad and Hubby.
TINA – MAINE
HOW DID YOU GET STARTED IN LOGGING SPORTS? I grew up in a little town in Northern Wisconsin… it was the home of the Lumberjack World Championships… they had a Log Rolling class and my Mom signed myself, a sister and 2 brothers up! We stuck with it through the years and we eventually began doing local exhibitions and after the first time getting paid to Log Roll, I thought “This is what I want to do for the rest of my life!” Who’d a thunk it?
My brothers started Scheer’s Lumberjack Show, a traveling exhibition and I worked with them for about 15 years before I ‘branched’ off on my own in 1996 and moved to Maine to start The Great Maine Lumberjack Show in Trenton which is near Acadia National Park.
In Maine, my crew does nightly shows in the summer months from mid June through Labor Day Sunday… The shows highlight the old time skills of the Maine Lumberjacks in a modern style competition. I also operate a Log Rolling school at the bar Harbor YMCA; I love focusing on teaching the youth of the area these skills… 2009 will mark my 14th season since I opened the Maine show…. That seems amazing to me…
I also started the World Championship Lumberjills – ‘Chics with Axes’ traveling exhibition the same year… and my first road show was in Adelaide, Australia! Since then I’ve been to Australia 10 times, New Zealand 5 times, Africa, Germany, Alaska and all over the US and Canada! All with Logging Sports!
CURRENT OCCUPATION: Proprietress of The Great Maine Lumberjack Show and the World Champion Lumberjills… and part time Chicken Farmer!
FAVORITE EVENT: Log Rolling, Underhand Chopping, Axe throwing, Cross Cut Sawing, Hot Sawing… OH WELL…. I guess they are each my favorite!
MY FAVORITE WIN: That is a huge toss-up… I loved winning the Jack & Jill Cross Cut Sawing with Dick Slingerland, NY at the Lumberjack World Championships when I was pregnant with my son Charlie… I relished winning the Jack & Jill Cross Cut Sawing in Melbourne, Australia with the late, great Jim Alexander, a mentor and dear friend… or it may have been winning the Silver Medal in Women’s Endurance Chopping event at the Great Outdoor Games in Lake Placid…
FAVORITE THINGS I ENJOY DOING WHEN I DON’T HAVE AN AX IN MY HAND: It might be easier to tell you what I don’t like doing… First of all, I love to have an ax in my hand! I enjoy spending time recreating doing what I do for a living, it is that much fun! But I also love to hike, kayak, canoe, camp, alpine and nordic ski, work hard, travel, spend time with my family, best friends and people that I work with! My family rocks! I cherish my Wisconsin and Maine friends!
I love working on my property in Maine and I love going anywhere in Maine! I’m hoping to get a moose permit soon! I’ve taken up welding and rustic furniture making and I love that creative stuff! I started playing guitar so I could be in a girl band with Allison! Oh, and I love cooking, eating and GOOD wine too! But mostly I love being with Mat…
COOL THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT TINA: I guess one of the coolest is that I was on Survivor: Panama - Exile Island… I was in National Geographic when I was 16 years old! I’ve danced the Twist with Chubby Checker! I ate Kudu fondue at a Hippo Pond in Africa J I got to round up sheep at a farm in Tasmania on horseback while my best mate Denise sheared sheep! I feel very blessed to be involved in logging sports and have had the privilege of enjoying all the experiences that it has brought to me… there are so many and I feel so truly fortunate!