VP of Marketing & Development

ROCK is excited to introduce Thomas Thor Peterson, our newest addition to the team!

VP of Marketing & Development

Thomas Thor Peterson grew up in Lake Forest, a small town on the North Shore of Chicago. Texas A&M University brought Thomas south. In between semesters, large general contractor construction jobs allowed him an opportunity to learn site work, masonry, carpentry, electrical, and plumbing, from start to finish out. It also developed a passion for building. During his last year of university he spent abroad in Europe studying German corporate management and marketing structures. In 1995, he graduated with a dual degree in International Marketing and Corporate Communications.

Thomas went on to work for Clear Channel Communications for ten years. He lived and breathed the world of advertising sales, creative marketing, and proposal development. Along with marketing and communications Thomas has a passion for real estate development, construction, and design. In 2005 Thomas gained his Texas real estate brokerage license. In 2008, Thomas received his EcoBroker® certification (www.ecobroker.com), which recognizes him as a professional who understands sustainable design and construction, energy efficiency, healthier environments, comfort, and value.

Now with ROCK, Thomas is expanding into international ecotourism developments and brokerage of sustainable properties. ROCK looks to him for this innovative and creative side for marketing proposals and fundraising campaigns. His diverse marketing and development background serves as a major asset to ROCK's international and regional clients.

Forest Footprint Disclosure (FFD) report

LONDON, United Kingdom — A handful of international companies are well aware of their forest impacts, and are working to minimize those impacts, although the vast majority of firms have yet to take dedicated action.

That is the top-level finding of the first-ever Forest Footprint Disclosure (FFD) report, released yesterday by the eponymous group. In response to 217 surveys sent to leading international brands, just 35 firms filled out and returned the questionnaire.

It's taken several years for carbon footprinting to gain any sort of hold in the awareness of businesses and the public at large, so it is perhaps no surprise that responses to a new survey asking firms to measure their forest footprints only trickled in.

"This is a very promising start in our first year," Tracey Campbell, the director of FFD, said in a statement. "We have raised the profile of the links between deforestation and commodities, informing the business community about the issue, and we plan to build on this initial engagement in future years." The group added that several firms have said that they intend to collect and report this data for the 2010 FFD survey.

The FFD survey asks companies to disclose data along 11 topics, including what forest materials are acquired, how closely companies track their supply chains, how they report their data, and how closely they track risks and opportunities from their forest impacts.

Despite the low response rate, the FFD named 10 of the companies as top performers in their sectors, including U.S.-based paper products firm Weyerhaeuser, French cosmetics company L'Oréal, and two U.K. retailers -- Marks & Spencer and Sainsbury.

Among the telling details of the responses, or lack thereof, to the survey, was that many leading firms are simply not aware of their forest impacts, likely due in large part to the complexity of supply chain issues in general.

In addition to posing operational and reputational risks for companies that are unaware of their impacts, deforestation is a growing issue at the center of the debate about ways to limit global warming.

"There will be no solution to climate change without a solution to deforestation and in the last decade, business has become the fastest growing driver of this global emergency," said Andrew Mitchell, the chairman of the FFD's Steering Committee. "Our disclosure approach is intended to make companies sit up and take notice of their corporate responsibility to make downsizing their Forest Footprint a priority."

"Consumers are increasingly aware of the issue of deforestation and are favouring those brands and companies which can demonstrate a clear link to sustainably sourced commodities," Campbell added. "Investors will want to know which companies are facing up to the challenges."

The full FFD report is available for download from GreenBiz.com; for more details about the project, as well as information about a planned second round of survey requests for mid-2010, visit ForestDisclosure.com.

SCI/F Convention: Reno, NV

Safari Club International (SCI) & SCI Foundation Convention in Reno, NV January 2010

Britt Hosmer "meets and greets" at the SCI exhibitor reception. Britt has been a member of the SCI Guides & Outfitters Committee for the past two years. The committee is made up of volunteers that travel around to world to work with regional guides and outfitter organizations. This creates a direct link between the outdoor industry, local/state regulations and rule changes, conservation projects, and educational initiatives and SCI.

For instance, when Britt traveled to Idaho Outfitters & Guides Association in December 2009. She presented SCI's new G&O Insurance policy, to provide savings to folks in the outdoor industry and who are members of SCI. She also presented what SCI had done in the area. See chart below.

	2007-2009 SCIF Contributions to Idaho Conservation, Education, and Humanitarian Projects
Idaho Chapter	Dubois Grouse Days	2009	Education
Idaho Chapter	elk migration study centennial mt Id Iland park ID	2009	Conservation		$7,500.00
Idaho Chapter	elk mule deer study tex creek unit	2009	Conservation		$13,500.00
Idaho Chapter	Sensory Safari	2009	Education		$200.00
Idaho Chapter	Sensory Safari at the Library	2009	Education
				Funding Total:	$21,200.00
Idaho Chapter	Big Desert Guzzler Project	2008	Conservation		$300.00
Treasure Valley Chapter	Donate radio collars for wolf, mountain lion, and elk to Idaho Fish and Game for a predator/ prey study.	2008	Conservation		$4,000.00
Treasure Valley Chapter	Idaho Bighorn Sheep viewing stations	2008	Conservation		$2,500.00
Inland Empire Chapter	Idaho Steamboat Ponds	2008	Humanitarian		$2,500.00
Idaho Chapter	Lost River Sheep Guzzlers	2008	Conservation		$6,000.00
Idaho Chapter	Mule Deer Elk Competition Research	2008	Conservation		$5,000.00
Idaho Chapter	Sensory safari	2008	Education		$100.00
Idaho Chapter	Sharp-tailed Grouse Lek Counts	2008	Conservation		$7,500.00
				Funding Total:	$27,900.00
Idaho Chapter	Mule Deer Elk Competition Research	2007			$5,000.00
Iowa Chapter	Idaho Chapter 5th Annual Great Buffalo Giveaway	2007			$2,500.00
Inland Empire Chapter	Idaho Steamboat Ponds	2007	Humanitarian		$2,500.00
Idaho Chapter	Effects of raven removal on sage grouse nest success	2007	Conservation
				Funding Total:	$10,000.00
				Grand Total:	$59,100.00

Britt also serves on the Records Committee as a scientific consultant for sustainable use of wildlife. She works directly with members in the SCI Tucson and Washington, D.C. offices, CITES, IUCN, and other academies of science to provide SCI with accurate presentations on animals in question.

During on evening event, after receiving security clearance, Britt met with President George W. Bush before his impromptu speech to a crowd over 2,000.

Thomas Thor Peterson, President George W. Bush, Brittany A. Hosmer