Profile in Compassion: Jack Meehan
- Darian Dyer
- May 13
- 3 min read
Each month we will feature a “Profile in Compassion” from a firewood bank to share inspiring stories of bank leaders, volunteers, or firewood recipients. This month we feature Jack Meehan, AKA The Pile Master, the volunteer C.H.I.P. Firewood Crew Leader in Newcastle, Maine. Please feel free to suggest the next one!
What is your occupation and background/relation within the community?
I am a retired building contractor. The skills of gathering materials and scheduling subcontractors have helped me greatly in organizing the best group of people to process and deliver firewood.
What made you want to work at your firewood bank?
For years, I felt my carpentry skills would work nicely with CHIP’s Community Cares Day, an annual event held on a Saturday in September when CHIP (Community Housing Improvement Project) organizes more than 100 community members to make home repairs for homeowners in need.
The firewood crew started with 3 men who worked hard for hours at processing donated wood. Then they would drive around the local roads looking for dead trees. How I became the lead on the firewood crew, I haven’t a clue. I am very proud to be following in their footsteps. I have always enjoyed doing firewood. It gives me a feeling of accomplishment and independence. Add that to lending a hand to my neighbors, joining the firewood crew is my calling.
What motivates your work? In what ways is this work meaningful for you?
When I purchased my first home, I spent a very cold winter in a completely uninsulated farm house. I was young and inexperienced. Many people don’t have the resources of good health and a small woodlot to fall back on. CHIP has the best group of volunteers on the planet and I look forward to working with them on processing days. They are a great bunch of selfless individuals.
What's the hardest or most frustrating?
The most frustrating things are metal embedded in firewood, flat tires, punky wood, and chainsaws that won’t start. The hardest thing is finding funds to acquire equipment to help keep up with the increasing demand for firewood.
What's your favorite story related to firewood bank work?
My favorite thing is meeting people. CHIP is able to involve students from 2 area high schools (Lincoln Academy and Medomak Valley High School). The kids stack our wood so it will dry faster and make our product so much better. It’s fun to talk with teenagers. These kids are starting to stand on their own two feet and make their own decisions. By volunteering to do this work, they are learning about the basic needs of people and how the community helps to take care of others. We are teaching the students something they just may carry along with them in life. And there’s the folks who keep showing up when I send an email. They work hard. Whoever dreamed we could achieve the volume of firewood that we deliver? These folks are fabulous.
What's a piece of advice/words of wisdom you have for other people working/volunteering at firewood banks?
If you are organizing a firewood bank, it’s easy to find a couple buddies who can handle a chainsaw. But if you want sustainability, find an administrator who can help organize a board of directors, establish 501(c)(3) status, and handle all the things that let you concentrate on locating and processing firewood. I’ve been very lucky to fall into such a situation. Not only does CHIP’s Project Manager oversee the firewood bank, she organizes essential home repairs year round, runs the fuel assistance program, and a whole bunch of other things. Once you’ve done this, start rounding up your buddies and like-minded men and women to help with the lifting and processing.
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