Robert H. Bommer

Robert H. "Bob" Bommer earned his B.S. in forestry in 1956 and then served for two years in the U.S. Navy, receiving training as a naval officer and naval aviator. In 1958 he was employed as a CFM forester by the Pennsylvania Department of Forests and Waters. From 1959 to 1961 he worked for the M.C. Houseworth Lumber Company in Bedford as a buyer of timber, land, logs, and lumber. From 1961 to 1968 Bommer became director of procurement for the Williamson Veneer Company in New Freedom in 1961. In 1965 he received the Juris Doctor degree from the University of Baltimore School of Law. When the Evans Products Company acquired Williamson Veneer in 1968, Bommer became the operations assistant to the general manager. His responsibilities included administration, legal activities, procurement of raw materials, and production.

Bommer founded his own consulting business in 1971, known as R.H. Bommer, Jr. Inc., Forest Consultants. He served clients in eastern United States, specializing in forest management, appraisals, marketing, feasibility studies, legal cases, veneer and specialty log procurement, land acquisition and sales, contract arbitration, real estate and export counseling, land surveying, and shade tree evaluation. He is a registered professional forester in Maryland, and West Virginia, a registered surveyor in Pennsylvania, and a certified consulting arborist. His company continued as Bommer-Geesaman & Company, Forestry Consultants after Bob retired in 2003.

From 1979 to 1981, Bommer served as a member of the Secretary of Agriculture's Advisory Committee on State and Private Forestry, and for five years as a lobbyist for the Association of Consulting Foresters (ACF) in Washington, D.C. As a member of the National Commercial Panel of the American Arbitration Association, he has used his knowledge to help settle commercial cases through arbitration. In 1982 he received the Outstanding Service to Forestry Award from the Society of American Foresters (SAF), and is a 50-year member of that professional organization. Bommer has spoken at national SAF and ACF meetings.

Bommer has been a strong supporter of the School of Forest Resources and the College of Agricultural Sciences, having contributed time and money to several causes including the new Forest Resources Building, Conklin Hall at Mont Alto, the Ag Arena, and the Bryce Jordan Center. He helped Tau Phi Delta Forestry Fraternity purchase its building and served a term as Grand National President. He was named an Alumni Centennial Fellow of Penn State Mont Alto in 2004.