The pallet industry recently lost two individuals who left strong legacies thanks to their accomplishments. In late February, Meg Thornton, who used to work in sales and marketing for Woodthorn Corp., died. And in the middle of March, Wayne Battle, the president and founder of Battle Lumber Co., passed away after a battle with ALS, often known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.
Woodthorn Corp. was an early leader in the pallet recycling sector before the company shut down years ago. Meg worked for years with her parents Jack and Peggy Thornton.
Meg is probably best known for helping Michigan State University put on a number of packaging seminars that boosted the exposure of reusable transport packaging in the United States. She also wrote many articles on recycling, packaging and machinery that ran in the pages of the Pallet Enterprise.
Most recently, Meg worked for Cresswood Recycling Systems and other industry suppliers as a marketing expert.
Jack Cress of Cresswood remembers Meg and appreciates all of the projects she tackled to help him with his marketing efforts. Cress said, “Besides a wealth of knowledge about pallets and the pallet industry, she knew more about packaging and did more to develop the relationships between pallet people and packaging people than anybody else in our industry.”
Wayne Battle started his local sawmill with eight employees in 1962 and it grew to become one of the largest suppliers of hardwood lumber in the country. Today, Battle Lumber employs over 250 people.
Wayne Battle, the patriarch of the family, was a life-long resident of Wadley, Georgia.
The Battle family is continuing the tradition that Wayne started as many family members occupy significant management positions at Battle Lumber. His son, Tommy commented, “Dad always said that we like to raise our own help.” This dedication is demonstrated through the Battle legacy.
Family members in the company include his son Tommy who currently maintains his position of chief financial officer and vice president, and his two sons-in-law Craig Miller and Bob Swan. Craig is vice president in charge of sales. Other family members involved in Battle Lumber management include three grandsons, Thomas Battle and his wife Mandy, Drew Battle and Rob Swan and one granddaughter, Kristin Dale and her husband Johnny.
As the founder and owner of Battle Lumber Company, Wayne devoted over 50 years of his life to building his company for his family and community. Any donations in memory of Wayne Battle can be made to the First United Methodist Church of Wadley or the Bartow Academy.
