Why Knot, Why Knot
My maternal grandmother, Florence Spear, was 101 when she passed away in 2006. I was 29 then, and her life left a profound impact on me. She had been a widow for 28 years and lived next to us for seven years when I was a kid. Elegant and refined, she had once lived in a grand home in Calgary, Alberta, with a three-story Christmas tree. Yet, she chose to leave that behind for a trailer on our farm to be close to us. Her words and choices continue to shape my perspective today.
Think of the changes she witnessed in her lifetime: from stables to space travel, from the telegraph to smartphones and the internet. She adapted with grace, taking these transformations in stride. She even maintained long hair down her back—something I’ve never seen in another grandmother. While she never drove a car, she always moved forward with the changes around her.
One memory stands out. Every time I visited her and her cookie jar, she would say, “You can’t fly with one wing,” handing me a second cookie. Today, when I use the same phrase with my kids, they point out, “You can’t fly with two wings either,” and end up with a third cookie! Times are different now. I never flew on a commercial plane until I was 19, while my kids have done so since birth. Still, the lesson she imparted remains: generosity helps us go further, and embracing opportunities lets us soar.

Another favorite saying of hers was, “Why not?” Knowing the changes she had seen in her lifetime, it’s no wonder she believed anything was possible. A small Canadian farm boy could accomplish big dreams. “Why not?” was her answer to my ideas: climbing mountains, hiking the grease trail in BC, making buckskin, crafting a backpack—all met with her unwavering encouragement. Her belief in me led to many accomplishments and brought me to the NHLA today, where I’ve chosen “Why Knot” as the theme for this column.
Simple words, repeated over time, can leave a lasting impression on a child, a family, a company, or an association. Inspired by my grandmother, here are my “Why Knots” for you:
• Why Knot Participate in NHLA?
• Why Knot Maximize Yield by joining NHLA and allied associations?
• Why Knot Offer Complete Solutions?
• Why Knot Remember the good we do?
• Why Knot Step Up to the challenge?
• Why Knot Be a Real Family and love each other?
• Why Knot Share your experiences with the environment?
• Why Knot Prove that NHLA improves your value?
• Why Knot Be a Guiding Example to your employees?
• Why Knot Take Advantage of what I’ve learned to improve?
• Why Knot Tell Us about your hardwood bucket list?
• Why Knot Talk about forest change instead of climate change?
• Why Knot Support RAHC and build your world?
• Why Knot Teach people how to use our wood?
• Why Knot Discuss long-term funding for RAHC?
• Why Knot Enjoy the Holiday? The work is just starting.
• Why Knot Inspire employees, family, and friends for forestry and wood careers?
• Why Knot Hire your replacement?
• Why Knot Reach Out to your association and tell our super sustainable story?
• Why Knot Call to the other side and let them know?
• Why Knot Make the changes your business needs?
• Why Knot Slow the pendulum and use your NHLA membership to grow and stabilize your business?
• Why Knot Advocate to solve our biomass crisis?
• Why Knot Give customers exactly what they want the way they want it?
• Why Knot Foster their experience over just giving them information?
• Why Knot See the generations of trees?
• Why Knot Answer some questions about carbon?
• Why Knot Get trades and school, not just trade school or school?
• Why Knot Support NHLA product development?
• Why Knot Use Data to tell the carbon story?
I hope to encourage you as my grandmother encouraged me. These “Why Knot” questions are for you to think about, but don’t stop there. Make “Why Knot?” a mantra in your life and work. It’s not just a question—it’s a mindset.