Bill was born in Woodville, Texas in 1955 where his dad was in the timber business.  International Paper Company persuaded W.R. to move lock, stock, and barrel to Malvern, Arkansas.  It was a good move for the Wards – Bill, his brother and three sisters grew up there and still consider Malvern ‘home’.

After finishing high school at Malvern, Bill attended Louisiana Tech at Ruston where he earned a degree in forestry, graduating in 1977.  Having enjoyed being in the woods with his dad part-time and summers since the 6^th grade, Bill was happy working for the family business full time.

In 1978, I-P needed someone to put in a wood yard in Northeast Texas.  W.R. really wasn’t interested in moving again, so he asked Bill if he’d like to try running his own wood business.  Bill came and looked, talked to I-P’s people and some local loggers, made a deal for the yard at Red Hill and started up in late summer of 1978.  The Red Hill Community Center was the first home of Ward Timber.

This information appeared in a September 1999 publication of

the TEXAS LOGGER (Vol. 7, No. 9)

 

 

 

 

 

John. B. Jones grew up in Missouri, where he attended High School and went on to graduate from the University of Missouri with a B.S. in Forest Land Management.

 

He worked 4 years with Nekoosa Paper Company, 2 years as a self-employed Forester, and has worked for the past 20+ years with Bill Ward as a Co-Owner of Ward Timber, Ltd.

 

John says he got into Forestry because, "I didn't want a profession that required you to wear a coat & tie to work."