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JAY WARD is the President of Ward Lumber, a fourth generation family owned business. Founded in 1890, the company has grown into a two-unit building materials supplier with locations in Jay and Malone, NY. Ward Lumber also operates Ward Lumber Homes, a pre-fabricated home package and components supplier, based in Jay, NY. One of the largest private employers in Essex County, Ward Lumber manages over 6,000 acres of timberland and operates one of New York State’s largest white pine sawmills and planing mills. Jay actively participates in community, professional and political affairs. Ward is past president and member of the board of trustees for Northern Lights School. As a member of the Northeastern Retail Lumber Association (NRLA), he was honored by the association in 1995 as Lumber Person of the Year for contributions and achievements benefiting the lumber and building materials industry. He founded and served as the first president of NRLA’s affiliate organization, the Northern New York Lumber Dealers Association. He is also a past chairman of the NRLA - New York Legislative Committee. Ward Lumber was honored with Human Resources Excellence Award in 2003 by NLBMDA; Marketing Excellence Award in 2005 by Pro Sales Magazine; and most recently, Ward was awarded the 2006 Entrepreneur of the Year Award by LBM Journal Magazine. Ward was past chair of the National Federation of Independent Businesses’ New York State Leadership Council and co-founder and co-chairman of the first NFIB Area Action Council in New York State; past board member of Business Council of New York State, as well as a benefactor to the Arts. Now married with two children, Jay returned to the family business in 1988 after serving as Assistant Director of Admissions at Utica College of Syracuse University, where he also earned his Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Computer Science. Jay and his family breed high quality Huacaya Alpacas at AuSable Valley Alpacas, a family farm and is a distributor of alpaca and light livestock equipment. |
