Spring - Appalachian Society of American Foresters

THE TRAIL BLAZER
The Appalachian Society of American Foresters
APSAF Web site— www.apsaf.org
Spring 2010
National SAF Web site—www.safnet.org
The New Normal
By Mark Megalos
2010 APSAF Chair
Welcome to another exciting
year, or as the old adage goes,
"may you live in interesting
times." The new economy is truly
interesting, even scary. It seems
clear to me that the realistic new
century is upon us. No doubt the
coming years will challenge conventional thinking in ways we
never imagined. With renewable
fuels and electricity high on the
policy list, foresters will be in the
forefront of discussions about
Mark Megalos
supply, sustainability and impacts. This is a time when our
society members should be educating policy makers about
what we know best . . . Trees are the Answer.
I am just back from the APSAF winter meeting charged
with new insights on emerging and depressed markets. We
were never promised an easy life when we graduated from
school. Grandma knew best not to bet the farm; she
reminded us that what goes up will come down. Unfortunately our bankers, investors and economic modelers
didn't pay heed. We were headed up for so long that we
forgot things could go south. When we were sailing along
1.5 million housing starts just a few years ago, 650,000
sure looks like the end of the world to a sawmiller, a lumber
broker or the consultant who's business was dominated by
timber sale percentages. Our younger members might
have not worked in a time when things were worse.
Perhaps the only saving grace is that human memory can't
vividly remember the painful times nearly as well as the
golden times.
Well, with spring nearly here we can take comfort in
the return of songbirds, leaf out and the promise of
blossoms and warm soil. The cycles of life are what help
guide us and reassure us that cold and darkness will pass
and come again. This winter I assumed the role of chair,
and like many of my predecessors somewhat unsure of
what lies ahead and my ability to make the subtle course
adjustment to lead us through the thickets and into the
clear fields beyond. I am humbled with the responsibility
of leading this society into its 90th year of existence, or at
least toward its 90th annual meeting in Charleston next
January 26-28th. While it may be a society with a little "s"
it is still an awesome responsibility shepherding your
desires and wishes for a useful, resourceful and forwardthinking body. Fortunately I am standing on the shoulders
of the giants that came before. My intention is to steer a
sleek craft into the future, or at least what we can see of it
from here. And I am comforted and that I won't be acting
alone, because our leadership begins with a strong foundation of chapter strength, member initiative and division
collaboration. I was similarly amazed by the outpouring of
offers to assist in anyway in the coming year by veteran
and new leaders alike. Truly my fears were unwarranted.
Plans are being made for the spring chapter meetings,
summer division meetings, environmental field days, landowner outreach and social gatherings to strengthen the
relationships that bind us personally and professionally. It
is comforting to know that we are a profession of congenial
types willing to assist, support and interact with our fellow
foresters for public, personal and business purposes. Our
generosity with our time, knowledge and resources is
enviable. We conservatively manage our resources for the
future and by necessity are optimists, often planting a new
forest on faith, knowing and hoping that a new generation
of foresters and resource managers will be there to steward them after our work is done.
In much the same way our society welcomes the
newest crops of professionals, knowing that sustainability
of our Society and its resources rest on their shoulders.
So as we gather this year, let's bring along our student
chapter, apprentices and non-members into the fold. We
have much to offer, and every outreach effort begins with
each of us. My gratitude in advance for the Edisto Chapter
members and their willingness to host us in Charleston
Cont'd page 2
next January. By the time that you read
Chairman's comments
THE TRAIL BLAZER
The quarterly newsletter of the
Appalachian Society of American
Foresters. ©2010
this they'll have details and plans already underway. Until then we'll be working on
leadership skills, our history project, enhanced web 2.0 communications and bringing our
financial audits up to par. Until then, I am an email or phone call away. See you on the road.
—Mark
2010 Executive Committee
Chair
Mark Megalos
919-513-1202
fax 919-515-6883
mark.megalos@ncsu.edu
Chair-elect
Chip Maley
864-503-1663
chip.maley@milliken.com
Immediate past Chair
Ched Kearse
803-368-8130
fax 803-368-3059
ckearse@kearsemanufacturing.com
Secretary/Treasurer
Liz Bourgeois
phone & fax 843-873-4823
etbourgeois@yahoo.com
North Carolina Div. Chair
Mike Thompson
5065 Woodrun on Tillery
Mt. Gilead, NC 27306
910-576-6222 ext. 233
thompsonm@montgomery.edu
South Carolina Div. Chair
Pat Layton
261 Lehotsky Hall
864-656-3303
fax 864-656-3304
playton@clemson.edu
Virginia Division Chair
Jon Rockett
434-766-6761
fax 434-923-8405
jonsrockett@aol.com
Forest Science and
Technology Chair
William Snyder
910-362-3329
fax 910-342-2819
william.snyder@ipaper.com
Ex-Officio Members:
SAF Council Member
Joann Meyer Cox
919-676-8285
Joann_cox@earthlink.net
Trail Blazer Editor
Charles F. Finley, CF®
The Trail Blazer is published to
provide information and stimulate
discussion among the members of
the Appalachian Society. Send
comments to Charlie Finley, editor:
Verbatim Editing
1011 East Main Street
Richmond, VA 23219
phone & fax 804-648-0357
charfinley@mindspring.com
2
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continued from page 1
The Trail Blazer
The 2010 APSAF Meeting
The 89th Annual meeting of the Appalachian Society of
American Foresters was held in Greenville, NC Jan. 28-29,
2010. The event was attended by approximately 144 SAF
members, 10 non-members, 57 students, and supported by 21
exhibitors and 7 sponsors. The theme Charting a Path Forward:
Land Management and Forest Products Marketing Strategies for
an Emerging Economy was very appropriate for the time and
apparently rang a bell for the attendees, judging by the comments
heard during the meeting. Eight speakers covered topics beginning with the current economic conditions and expectations all
the way through changes in and outlooks for solid wood, pulp
and paper, and then on to Investor Strategies and the impacts to
NIPF owners. The parting note was a comment on where
forestry will fit into this new economy. Each of the presentations
brought a different perspective, but they all blended into a
thought provoking and interesting topic. Each of the presentations can be found on the APSAF Website, http://www.apsaf.org/
meetings/apsaf-2010/agenda.html, selecting the individual topic.
Between the presentations there was ample time to visit the
exhibitors and to network. The awards luncheon was a highlight
which resulted in many individual recognitions as well as a
welcome for the newest student chapter, Wayne Community
College. The alumni socials were robust as always, the evening
BBQ dinner was a culinary success, and the evening entertainment at the Comedy Zone was just the perfect wrap-up to the
day.
This meeting was a collaboration of efforts of volunteers
from the NC Division and the Croatan Chapter. It could not and
would not have come off without these SAF volunteers. Every
effort was made to make this meeting meaningful and worthwhile for the attendees, and it apparently met those expectations. Once the final financial obligations are met we should be
making a respectable contribution to the APSAF treasury. And
not only did APSAF benefit, but thanks to all of you members
and exhibitors as donors of items, the Foresters Fund will receive
over $2600 from Jim Gray and his crew of fundraisers. Each of
you deserves a huge "WELL DONE" and "THANK YOU"! See
you in Charleston, SC, Jan. 26, 2010! —John Angst
Jim Gray, Foresters Fund Chair, hawking raffle tickets for
a good cause! Cathy Gilkeson, APSAF 2010 meeting
Arrangements Chair, and below, students on the field trip
to Weyerhaeuser forests.
2009 APSAF Fellows displaying their hardware: (left to right) Guy Thurmond,
Shep Zedaker, Derryl L.Walden and Silas Knight Cox.
Founding members of the Wayne Community College Student Chapter receiving their official charter. Front row: Mae Howell, AshleyDennison, Adam Green
(vice chair), Patrick Rogers (sec.). Back row: Dwight Gerding (faculty advisor),
Lynn Jenkins (faculty), Kevin Boyer (chapt. chair), and Marcus Mehan (treas.)
The Trail Blazer upSSpring 2010 u
3
Report of the Membership Committee
to the APSAF Executive Committee Meeting, January 27, 2010,
Greenville, NC, by Carlyle Franklin, Membership Chair
Membership
Membership of APSAF as of December 31, 2009 was1476, which represents a net
loss of 92 members in 2009. After the purge in July, 2009 we had 1402 members, so
reinstatements and recruitment amounted to only 74 against the number purged of 222.
Recruitment and reinstatement in 2008 was about 100 in the last half of 2008.
APSAF Purge Record
For the last five years
2009 222
2008 199
2007 175
2006 152
2005 168
March 6, 9-noon, on the Web
June 11, Ermo, SC
Sept. 28, Charleston, SC
Profile of purged APSAF members - July, 2009
Average
Tenure -yrs
33.9
16.3
3.7
Membership Renewal
Of the 1476 members at the end of 2009, 599 had not renewed as of Dec. 31, 2009.
I have sent the list of non-renewing members to each new Division Chair and Division
Membership Chair asking that someone at the Division or Chapter level call each nonrenewed member to urge them to renew their membership.
Mentor - Protege' Program
I published an article in the fall Trail Blazer explaining the proposed program with a
copy of the MOU mentors and students/post graduates are asked to sign. At about the
same time, Ched Kearse, sent a letter to the membership explaining the proposed
program and asking for volunteer mentors. I also sent an email to all the advisors of the
student chapters explaining the
program and asking for their comments about how this might benefit their students.
Responses have been limited but encouraging. The only
response I received from a student chapter advisor was from
Joe Roise (acting student advisor) who said he thought the
NCSU students would benefit
greatly. Bill Sweeney has been
helping to promote this program
in the student chapters and has
gotten an indication of interest
4 upSSpring 2010 u The Trail Blazer
to these upcoming
SAF Meetings
APSAF Executive
Committee Meetings
The profile of purged members was typical of the pattern in previous years as shown
below.
Career Range of Active Number of
Phase
Years in SAF
Members
Senior1
26+
16
Mid-Career 11-25
34
Early Career 1-10
172
1.
Advanced career or retired.
Make Tracks...
2011 Appalachian
SAF Winter Meeting
January 26-28, Charleston, SC
2010 APSAF
Summer meetings
NC June 3-4
VA June 9-10
SC June 10, Columbia
National SAF Meetings
Oct. 25-28, 2010, Albuquerque, NM
Nov. 2-6, 2011, Honolulu, HI
from some chapters. The people I know who have volunteered to be mentors are
Mickey Beland, Charlie Huppuch, Greg Meade, and Deborah Walker. I had one
student ask to be a protege'. She is Carson Dellinger who is a graduate (Fall, 2009) of
Western Carolina University. At my request, Mickey Beland became her Mentor.
So what have we learned in the first few months of the program? First, the word
has not yet reached everyone. Secondly, this type of program will require strong
communication between students and mentors and those trying to bring them together.
The student representative to the EC can be a key player in taking this program to the
student chapters and Bill Sweeney is off to a good start. I also think that we must find
a volunteer, non-academic member to liaison with each student chapter. Obviously, it
would be important that this person be a member of a neighboring regular chapter, who
personally knows many SAF members in the local area. This person would be the
sparkplug to get students and mentors together.
Students or young professionals who are not or may have never been a member
of a student chapter (like Carson Dillinger) could also work with the local liaison member
to find a suitable mentor. Similarly, we have many recent graduates who must be
tracked down so they can be offered the opportunity to have a mentor. Educational
institutions cannot give out personal information about students or graduates, so this will
require personal contacts within the student chapters. As the program becomes
established, this aspect will be less and less significant. We have gotten started and there
is a lot of work to do for all those tasked with the challenge of membership, especially
of the younger generation.
Points of View
I think that there is a very important question that we must answer for the APSAF
three-state area in the face of our membership trends over the last five years.
"Is our membership shrinking to the point at which we will represent only
a minority of foresters in the profession, OR is the size of the profession
in terms of numbers of foresters shrinking in proportion to our losses in
membership?"
I have heard a lot of opinions on this subject, but I have not seen any data. A market
penetration study could answer that question. We must not let APSAF lose so much
of our membership that we would represent only a minority of the foresters in the
profession.
There may be a significant number of members who would disagree with my last
statement. Several members have told me we should not "harp" so much on
membership loss because it makes members think we are a weak or dying organization
and thus may encourage them to resign. Another philosophy is that "the world is run
by those who show up," therefore the SAF members are the leaders of the profession
and enjoy the benefits of membership and those who do not choose to join "can stew
in their own juice," to coin a phrase. I suggest to you that neither of these points of view
is appropriate for the only organization representing the profession of forestry in the
United States.
Respectfully submitted, Carlyle Franklin
c
Your Leaders in
the State Divisions
North Carolina
Chair
Mike Thompson
5065 Woodrun on Tillery
Mt. Gilead, NC 27306
910-576-6222 ext. 233
thompsonm@montgomery.edu
Chair-elect
Jim Gray
128 Chicora Club Dr.
Dunn, NC 28334
910-891-7376
jimgray1@earthlink.net
South Carolina
Chair
Pat Layton
261 Lehotsky Hall
Clemson University
Clemson, SC 29634-0317
864-656-3303
fax 864-656-3304
playton@clemson.edu
Chair-elect
Mary Morrison
3557 Whitmire Hwy.
Union, SC 29279
864-427-9859
fax 864-947-6978
mwmorrison@fs.fed.us
Virginia
Chair
Jon Rockett
572 Whitcover Circle
Charlottesville, VA 22901-3764
434-923-8405
jonsrockett@aol.com
Chair-elect
Jennifer Gagnon
2155 Hammes Street
Christiansburg, VA 24073
540-231-6391
forester@vt.edu
The Trail Blazer u Spring 2010 u 5
All the news—Virginia (Sho' nuff)
Submitted by Jennifer Gagnon, VA Division Chair-elect
What's next?
by Jon Rockett, Chair
It's a new year, and 2010 started off with an outstanding 89th
Annual Meeting of the Appalachian Society of American Foresters in Greenville, NC. Dan Goerlich has moved on to Past Chair
and I have moved from Chair-Elect to Chair. He did an outstanding job in 2009, accomplishing all of his goals and setting the
stage for this year. Jennifer Gagnon
replaces me as Chair-Elect and as
such will also be the Education
Chair.
What's next? The Robert E.
Lee Chapter is working on developing our summer meeting in the
traditional format. For 2011, the
summer meeting will be a joint VFA/
SAF/ACF meeting in Williamsburg.
As Chapters plan their local meetings and projects for 2010 I pass
along some thoughts I gleaned from
the
APSAF Executive Committee
Jon Rockett
meeting: Trees are the Answer is a
major educational campaign of SAF,
so let's help spread the word; October 16 is Walk in the Woods day—another good opportunity to
promote Trees are the Answer; please keep your SAF profile up
to date; and lastly, the APSAF Web site has undergone a major
upgrade with the goal to make it the preferred communication
link with members. I encourage you to subscribe to the e-mail
listserve as a means to keep informed in a timely manner about
programs, issues, and other items of interest. I also encourage
Chapters to post their meeting information on the Web site to
keep all VA Division members aware of your upcoming program
opportunities.
CHAPTER REPORTS
Southeastern Chapter, by Neil Clark, Chair
The Southeast Chapter continues to transition under the
massive changes in the industrial sector, particularly with the
pending Franklin mill closure. However our resilient crew
continues to press forward as we see some declarations of
pending pellet mill start-ups. The Southeast Chapter last met on
October 20 (two days prior to the mill closure announcement)
where a few current issues were discussed related to the Virginia
Department of Forestry's "Tomorrow Woods" program which
offers cost-share in select counties in southeast Virginia for
forestry practices to encourage conservation easements on
working forestlands to ensure future timber supply and healthy
forests into the future.
The spring meeting will take place in April or May with a visit
6 u Spring 2010
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The Trail Blazer
to the Dismal Swamp to examine the effects of the historic fire of
2008 and Atlantic White Cedar restoration efforts. If you haven't
been to a meeting in a while this would be a great opportunity
to get out in the field and see some unique forestry. Neil Clark
will resume the chair position, Jack Cannon will serve as vicechair, and Scott Bachman continues on as Secretary/Treasurer
for 2010. It is our hope that a few members will free up some
time to jump in the leadership roles for 2011. The key to a vital
organization is jumping in and making it happen!
Skyline Chapter, by Michael Harold, Chair
A joint chapter meeting with the Rappahannock Chapter
was held November 5 at the WoodFuels Virginia LLC plant near
Bumpass, VA. At the time they were chipping hardwood and
pine for shipping to paper mills. The site was active with progress
being made toward producing pellets by early 2010. A very
informative presentation/tour on production and procurement
methods was given by Steven Jay Mueller, President. Great
thanks to these folks for their time!
A winter meeting is planned for March 4 at the VCE office in
Harrisonburg. Mike Santucci, Forest Conservation Specialist
with the VDOF, will give a presentation about the VDOF
Conservation Easement program.
A "Walk in the Woods" program is in the works for the spring/
summer with possible locations being at Ash Lawn-Highland or
Shenandoah Valley Agriculture Research Extension Center. A
potential outreach project to assist VDACS with EAB monitoring
is also in discussion.
Special thanks go out to the Skyline Chapter members who
were able to make it to the annual woodcutting in Augusta Co.
to assist a disable member of the community!
Southwest Chapter, by David Richert, Chair
In October, the Southwest Chapter gathered at the Domtar
Cabin in Kingsport, Tennessee for a Saturday afternoon cookout and meeting. The meeting featured a webinar on the
USDA's Biomass Crop Assistance program, followed by a
discussion of the details of the BCAP program. Since October,
many of these details have raised regional and even national
media attention--as evidenced by the January 2010 Washington
Post article "Biomass subsidy has hidden cost."
Thanks to the hard work of Chapter Chair-elect Bill Worrell
and the rest of the planning committee, the Southwest Chapter's
annual teacher's tour has developed into a successful forestry
outreach project. After 3 years of modest attendance, last year's
tour was at full capacity, and the tour generated statewide
interest and participation. The Southwest Chapter is planning to
offer the tour again this year (July 26-29), thanks to the support
of a generous $2,500 grant from the Virginia Forestry Education
Foundation. If you know a teacher who
might be interested in this opportunity to
experience forestry from a forester's perspective, please forward their contact information to Bill Worrell ( bworrell@vt.edu)
and stay tuned for registration details.
Blue Ridge Chapter, by Val Thomas, Chair
Greetings from the Blue Ridge Chapter
of SAF! 2009 marked a successful year for
the Blue Ridge Chapter. We hosted the
Virginia Division meeting, which was a
great opportunity for our members to visit
with other SAF members across the state
and with faculty and staff from Virginia
Tech. We extend a special thanks to Scott
Barrett, our past Chair, for his leadership
on this event. Since then, it has been
business as usual for the chapter. At the
end of October, our members met for
dinner, socializing, and a very informative
guest lecture by Charlie Becker, Utilization
and Marketing Specialist with the VA Department of Forestry in Charlottesville.
Charlie spoke about 'Biofuels in Virginia', a
hot topic for the State that generated a lot
of interest at our meeting. His facebook is
http://www.facebook.com/
photo.php?pid=10156473&id=784240310&op=1
&view=global&subj=784240310 presentation can be found at:
http://
www.cnr.vt.edu/forestupdate/presentations/poplar/Becker_IALR.pdf.
On another note, this fall our SecretaryTreasurer, Tony Goff, was involved in the
33rd Annual Fall Forestry and Wildlife
Field Tour in Franklin Co., VA. This tour
was sponsored by the Virginia Cooperative Extension and Ferrum College and
was attended by approximately 30 landowners in Franklin and Floyd counties.
The topics included: sustainable forestry,
Virginia water quality sustainability, American chestnut restoration, a woodmizer
demo, a hardwood TSI walk, and forest
health and risk. Our chapter has recently
held elections for a new Chair-Elect. The
2010 executive committee is now finalized
and includes Val Thomas (Chair, Dept. of
Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation at Virginia Tech), Keith Simmons
(Chair-Elect, MeadWestvaco Wood Department), and Tony Goff (Secretary-Treasurer, TMDL Conservation Technician).We
are looking forward to an exciting year of
activities in 2010.
Robert E. Lee Chapter, by Will Harlon, Chair
The Robert E. Lee Chapter was proud
to host a day of tours for members from a
talks were interesting and very informative, most students felt that the chance to
connect with professionals in the forestry
community made the trip very worthwhile.
Just days after returning, the chapter had
the chance to help out a former member,
Dr. Otis Hall, by shoveling the weekend's
accumulation of snow from his driveway.
Afterwards, tired volunteers enjoyed Dr.
Hall's tales of previous eras in the forestry
profession over mugs of hot cocoa.
❧
Jim Durham, International Paper (left) and
Bobby Goodson of All Terrain Logging.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Leadership
Program. Members had very diverse backgrounds and many had little knowledge of
forestry, logging, etc. prior to the tours.
Heavy rain forced the first stop inside,
which included a roundtable discussion
with Bobby Goodson and staff from Corbitt
Timber at their mill office in Wilmington,
NC. Bobby Goodson is a fourth generation swamp logger, owner of Goodson's
All-Terrain Logging, and was being filmed
for the Discovery Channel's series "Swamp
Logger."
Topics of discussion included BMPs
and steps to avoid regulatory action, silviculture and sustainability of harvesting timber in swamps, and leadership qualities
that Bobby recommended as keys to success. The second stop included a tour of
International Paper's mill in Reigelwood,
NC. Jim Durham of IP gave an excellent
Power Point presentation to the group and
opened the floor for discussion on topics
such as green initiatives currently being
implemented by IP and their reliance on
the Cape Fear River and Wilmington Port
to export forest products. Overall, the
tours were a great success! The professionals in the Leadership Program all expressed increased learning and appreciation for forestry, timber harvesting, and
the wood products industry.
The Robert E. Lee Chapter is also
looking forward to an exciting year of
projects, meetings, and being the host for
the 2010 Virginia Summer Meeting. The
dates have been set for June 9-11. Details
for agenda are upcoming!
VT Student Chapter
by Kevin Riedel, Chair-elect
Half a dozen members of the Virginia
Tech Society of American Foresters Student Chapter joined professors, consultants, and students at the recent APSAF
conference in Greenville, NC. While the
The Trail Blazer
upSSpring 2010 u
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North Carolina—we're smokin' (tall tales & half truths)
All the news of NC
by Michael C. Thompson, 2010 NC Chair
T
he year 2010 brings with it new
challenges, opportunities, and a
great deal of uncertainty as we
wrestle with a stubborn recession. It's
difficult to envision the future and its
effect on our jobs, businesses, and dayto-day operations. A host of new forest
products and services, from biomass
energy to nanotechnology biomaterials
to carbon credits, promise hope for new
markets in the future, but have not yet
made their presence known in a significant way. In the mean time, we are hardMike Thompson
pressed to deliver the traditional products and services the public has come to expect, and depend on,
from our forests.
It's at times like this that foresters (and we as an
American people) might consider doing what we can do —and
that is to tend our own gardens. So many things seem huge and
out of our hands. Most of us are not in a direct position to make
some kind of dramatic change, like creating a new product that
launches an entire industry or reversing a major government
policy that increases the intensity of forest management on
public lands. We can, however, as SAF members, do something
concrete and positive at the local chapter level. In the aggregate,
the combined efforts of many will create a stronger professional
society and more informed electorate.
Will you, then, join hands with me to make SAF better
in 2010? Will you step forward and say, "I will" when the call goes
out for volunteers? Will you be the one who comes up with a
goal, develops an action plan, and solicits volunteers to get the
job done? Without such people who are willing to serve, our
beloved Society will wither and die. Foresters, let's not let that
happen on our watch!
Being an organization of trained professionals, we are
all capable of taking independent action, and I'm sure many of
you have a vision for what you want to accomplish this coming
year. I, too, have a list of things that we as a division might want
to consider as goals and would like to share it with you. I call it
my Go Forward Plan. This is simply one man's vision. If you
think we should pursue other goals, please let me know.
Fund the Future
We are financially sound now and must remain so.
Sufficient funds are absolutely essential to carry out necessary
functions of the organization. Treasurers at the division and
chapter levels have a fiduciary responsibility to the members they
serve. We must ensure the integrity of the funds that are kept in
trust on behalf of the members. Funds should be spent wisely
and judiciously to advance the mission of the Society. One of the
first tasks of the NC Executive Council will be to develop a budget
8 uWSpring 2010 u The Trail Blazer
to plan how we will spend our resources in 2010. I suggest that
each chapter examine your available funds and come up with
a spending plan of your own.
Everyone a Teacher
When I was a freshman forestry student in 1967, the
battle cry then was "We've got to educate the public!" That cry
still rings true today. Too many of the citizens we serve are
woefully uninformed about the most basic principles of forest
management, particularly the sustainable nature of trees. One of
the most significant tasks that we can perform is to educate the
public about the forests that are so crucial to our collective wellbeing. Too often, however, when we meet as a group, we are
focused inward. We look forward to the fellowship we will enjoy,
the food we will eat, or the CFE credits we will earn. These are
all good things, for sure, and they are all important to keep our
social groups functioning smoothly. My suggestion, however, is
that we turn outward for a while and go from being educatED to
being educatORS. We have a great deal of reliable knowledge
that the public is hungry for. My suggestion is that each
chapter host at least one public education event this year
under the banner of the Society of American Foresters. Signs
with the SAF logo can be purchased at the SAF Store Web site.
Students, I challenge you to put on an event that will put
your elders to shame. Make "Learn, Do, Teach" the battle cry of
your generation. Too often, students think that they don't know
enough to teach others. Nonsense! You know more than you
think you do and much more than the general public. By now,
you all should have taken an Introduction to Forestry course.
Take the material you learned there and put it to work. Come up
with a theme to emphasize. Write down the key words What,
Why, Who, When, Where, and How; soon an action plan will
start to form. Then be bold and put it into effect. Evaluate later.
If at first you don't succeed, try again, learning from your mistakes
as you go. Each time, you will improve. It's better to go ahead
with an 80% plan than to wait in vain for a 100% plan that never
materializes.
Member, Get a Member
As we are all painfully aware, SAF membership continues to decline for a number of reasons. If we are to remain viable,
we must reverse this trend. We must all become skilled in
something that many foresters naturally shy away from, and that
is sales. We have a rich array of products and services that are of
value to professional, practicing foresters, such as the Journal of
Forestry, The Forestry Source, the Southern Journal of Applied
Forestry, the E-Forester, the Membership Directory, the Roots of
Forestry research service, and many others. We must become
adept at selling these benefits of membership to potential members, but first we must increase our product knowledge. I urge
you to spend an evening on the SAF membership Web page
and study the requirements for membership. One tool I used
this past year with great effect was a sales notebook containing
printouts of pertinent information from the SAF membership
page and copies of the various publications. In the back pocket,
I had a copy of the membership application ready to be filled out
and a stamped envelope addressed to the national office in
Bethesda. All the new member had to do was to fill out the
application and give me a check. I made sure the envelope was
mailed. Having the necessary materials readily at hand when I
was face-to-face with a prospect enabled me to sign up at least
five new members in 2009.
One program that we need to emphasize this year is the
APSAF Mentor Program, developed by our colleague, Dr. Carlyle
Franklin. It's simple and brilliant and I believe will be effective.
Essentially, a member volunteers to become a mentor to a
forestry student, who must be an SAF member to be eligible for
the program. The mentor agrees to guide the student's progress
through school and the student in turn agrees to remain active in
SAF. The idea is to overcome a student's fear of the unknown
and, perhaps, his or her shyness. Mentoring activities can be as
simple as inviting the student over for dinner, talking with them
in your living room, inviting them to shadow you at work, or
inviting them to chapter meetings. Details of this program can be
found at the APSAF Web site and the fall Trail Blazer, pages 34. We are blessed with five student chapters in North Carolina
and several more schools which have forestry programs but no
student chapters. I suggest that each member consider
becoming involved with a student by volunteering to be a
mentor this year.
In his Membership report, Carlyle said that 40% of our
members had not renewed their memberships as of December
31, 2009. If this is allowed to stand, it will be catastrophic. I'll be
distributing delinquent member lists to all chapter chairs in the
near future. If you are called upon to do so, please consider
calling your share of delinquent members and urge them to
rejoin the Society before the purge date.
Finally, I believe there is one spot of good news to report.
For the past year, I've been analyzing the lists of New and
Reinstated Members published in The Forestry Source and
compiling the names state by state. I'm pleased to report that
North Carolina was third in the nation with 60 new and reinstated
members in 2009, out of 1,105 total for the nation. California
was first with 76 members and Washington State second with 68.
Virginia was 11th with 43 and South Carolina 13th with 37. The
top 10 states (CA, WA, NC, OR, AL, GA, NY, CO, TX, and FL,
in order) contributed 518 members, or 47% of the total. The
Southern states, the wood basket of the world, made the greatest
contribution with 407 members, or 37% of the nation's total.
Wouldn't it be great to be able to report at this time next
year that North Carolina was first among the states in new and
reinstated members and APSAF first among the 33 state societies? More on this in later reports, but in the meantime, I suggest
that North Carolina set a goal of being first in the nation in
new and reinstated members for 2010. NC student chapters,
you can do great service here! I challenge you to urge your fellow
students to join SAF. It will be one of the best decisions they ever
make in their forestry careers. Even better, throw down the glove
to other student chapters across the nation. Tell them that you
intend to be first and they can catch you if they can. Then let the
fun begin!
Make the Meeting (Summer, that is)
The NC Division Summer Meeting is set for June 3-4,
2010. We need to put on an excellent meeting, one that our
members will want to come to and will benefit from. All bets are
open at this point as to place and content, and I would like to hear
from you, the sooner the better. Officially, we're supposed to
return to the mountains for this meeting, but any chapter can
volunteer to host it. Personally, I'd like to see it happen at my
workplace, Montgomery Community College in Troy, where we
can show you the way forestry is practiced in Montgomery
County, but I remain open to other suggestions. Any volunteers
out there?
As for a meeting theme, how about this? "Meeting the
Silvicultural Needs of Small Forest Landowners." As I "fly" across
the state on Google Earth, I'm struck by the patchwork quilt of
small ownerships that dot the landscape. Dealing with small tracts
is the reality today we face today and will be increasingly so in the
future. How do we manage these lands in the best manner to
meet landowner objectives? We could examine offbeat topics
under this theme, such as uneven-aged silviculture of pine,
regenerating oaks using the shelterwood-burn method, the economics of intensive pine silviculture for small landowners, and
harvesting equipment for small tracts. It's just an idea, but I think
it's a relevant topic and offer it as something to spur your thinking.
Again, please let me know your ideas. We need to make a
decision soon.
Chapter Reports
More on this in future Trail Blazers, but it appears that
several chapters are off and running in 2010. Croatan, Sandhills,
and Triangle all have meeting dates posted on the NC Division
Web page. Please consider posting your information there as you
develop your action plans. It's encouraging for the rest of us to
see what you're doing. Chapter chairs, I hope to visit as many of
your meetings as time, energy, and funding allow, but I need to
hear from you first about date, time, and place.
In conclusion, it's my great honor and privilege to serve
as your chair this coming year. I hope our Society will be better
next December than it is today. By working diligently together,
we can make it better. If you have any ideas or comments, please
feel free to contact me at (910) 576-6222 ext. 233 or at
thompsonm@montgomery.edu. I look forward to hearing from
you. —Mike
The Catawba Chapter has had two joint meetings each
year with the Old Hickory Chapter in SC for the last three years.
Our chapters are very close and we all work together so this made
sense. It has also helped increase attendance and share cost.
These joint meetings have been larger meetings with tours of local
facilities or forestry operations. We also have two Catawba
Chapter meetings per year as well, typically at a local restaurant
with a speaker and CFE credits. Our last meeting was in
November. We met at Jim 'n Nick's Barbeque in Charlotte and
had a presentation by Matt Nespeca. He spoke on impacts to
property values from non-native invasive plants and control
methods. We likely will meet again in March, but that meeting
time and topic has not been finalized. —Chris Miller, Catawba
Chapter Chair
The Croatan Chapter concluded the 2009 year with its
annual Christmas dinner in New Bern with about 30 members
and guests attending. We then "cranked off" the new year by
The Trail Blazer upSSpring 2010 u
9
hosting the 89th APSAF Annual Meeting. The agenda for 2010
has been set and can be found on the Web at http://www.apsaf.org/
nc/index.php. Our first scheduled meeting will be at Cool Springs
on March 18 and will be an Oyster Roast to attract new members.
We will rotate the other meetings to Washington, Kinston, and
New Bern in order to accommodate the travel evenly to our many
members. We will also be holding a "Walk in the Woods" event
in April again at the Cool Springs Environmental Education
Center and plan to co-host the Eastern Regional Tree Farm
Workshop sometime in the fall. As the "sponsoring" chapter for
the new "Wayne Community College Student Chapter" we will
be including invitations to them to join us at all of our functions.
We also intend to "reach out" to the Albemarle Chapter to join us
and plan to send invitations to the Tar River Chapter also.
We "THANK" everyone who helped and/or attended with the
APSAF meeting and always invite you to visit us whenever the
opportunity may arise!!
The North Carolina State University Student Chapter
will be holding elections for officers for the 2010-2011 academic
year in February. In addition, the Student Chapter will be holding
a joint meeting with Duke and the Triangle Chapter on Monday,
April 12. This meeting will be held on campus at NCSU and the
students will put on a dinner program that highlights student
activities and research. We have done this before and it is always
an interesting and lively program. Most of the SAF Student
Chapter will be attending the 53rd ASFC Conclave in Arkansas,
March 25-27 (http://www.afrc.uamont.edu/conclave2010/).
Some 90% of Student SAF members are also Forestry Club
members.
This fall, the Student Chapter will travel to the SAF National
Convention in Albuquerque, NM October 27-31. Before the
convention, October 22-27, they will travel into the Pecos
Wilderness in the Santa Fe National Forest for a Wilderness
Leadership Experience. We are thinking of attempting /Truchas/
/traverse.— Joe Roise, NCSU Student Chapter Faculty Advisor
The Triangle Chapter will start the year with a tour of the
Forest History Museum in February. In March, will co-host an
Arbor Day Celebration at NC State along with the College of
Natural Resources and NCDFR. In April, we will celebrate the
soon-to-be forestry graduates and all members of the NC State
Student Chapter as they host a meeting for us and the Duke
Chapter. In May, we plan to do a Saturday morning Service
Project for a state or county park in our Chapter followed by a
picnic lunch. Come June, we are off to the Summer Meeting. We
return after taking a break in July for regular meetings and leave
October open for National. In November, we and the NC State
Student Chapter are invited to a Duke Chapter-hosted meeting
in Durham. December sees us finishing off the year with a
Christmas/wreath-making party (a huge success in 2008). Looking forward to good fellowship with our Chapter and Student
Chapter members in 2010!! — James Jeuck, Triangle Chapter
Chair
The Sandhills Chapter has elected a full slate of officers for
2010. Joe Stancar will be Chair, Keith McCollum Chair-Elect,
Mike Thompson, Treasurer, and Steve Mims, CFE Coordinator.
The Chapter meets nine times a year at the JFR Barn in Southern
Pines in conjunction with the Central Carolina Forestry Club, a
10 u. Spring 2010 u The Trail Blazer
regional forestry club open to anyone who has an interest in
forest management, SAF members and non-members alike. In
addition, the Chapter hosts an independent SAF-sponsored
event in the spring and fall, which is usually open to members of
the Central Carolina Forestry Club as well as Chapter members.
Using this method of involving non-SAF members, the meetings
typically draw 25-50 people. Most meetings feature a program
and speaker. Future meeting dates for the Chapter are listed on
the APSAF Web site.—Mike Thompson, Chapter Treasurer,
for Joe Stancar, Chair
The Duke University Student Chapter has elected officers as
follows: David Cass, Co-Chair, Jennifer Hushaw, Co-Chair
Co-Chair, Secretary/Treasurer, Christopher Beauvais. —Judd
Edeburn, Faculty Advisor
§
All the news—South
Carolina
(no half-truths)
"Gladiators in the process of fighting lions should not be interrupted to discuss sword patterns," SC Division Chair, Pat Layton
The SC Report
By Pat Layton, SC Division Chair
"It's raining, it's pouring ..." and South Carolina's forests are
growing. It is so good to see lakes full and streams flowing. The
last decade of unabated drought has really hit SC forests hard.
Drought stress and poor root system growth have resulted in
dying trees and wind throws. We hope that the rains have come
to stay so that forests can return to growing.
Along with that growth, we hope for
the economy to turn around and our
forest industry to prosper. We ponder
greatly the impact of bioenergy on our
forests. Will this help us or hurt us? Will
it help or hurt our landowners?
As our forests have suffered so has
our SAF membership. We are down from
the beginning of the year, but hoping that
January brings our members "pouring"
back into the organization. But as trees
need rain to grow what does our Division
Pat Layton
and Society need to make membership
grow? We will be pondering ideas for this
at our upcoming executive committee meetings.
One idea we will continue with is the action-packed, one-day
summer meeting. This worked so well last year in tough
economic times that we are doing it again this year. Plans have
been set for a June 10, 2010 meeting at Saluda Shoals Park
in Columbia, SC (http://www.icrc.net/saludashoals/). We are
teaming up this year with the SC Wildlife Society for a joint
meeting. Our program will be about invasive species (plant and
animal, terrestrial and aquatic) and their impacts and options for
managers of natural resources (yes, we are still looking for that
perfect title).
Another idea we discussed was a leadership workshop that
would be open to all for CFEs. We explored this and took it to
the APSAF executive committee in January. They liked the idea
so much that it became an action item for Chip Maley to bring
back a plan to the March Executive meeting. The SC Division
plans to be "ALL IN" to help Chip make this happen.
Our division is also hip-deep in organizing the 2011 APSAF
meeting to be held at the Frances Marion Hotel in Charleston,
SC. Please mark your calendars (January 26-28) for this exciting
event—it will be fun, as our Edisto chapter has the "know how"
when it comes to hosting great meetings.
New officers are John Maitland, Chair; Lauren Duncan, Chairelect; and Brian Rodges, Sec/Treas.
Pee Dee Chapter
Charles Ramsey reports that the chapter had two meetings
last fall. The first was about logging logistics and the second
about carbon credits.
Old Hickory Chapter
Mary Morrison reports that they had a joint meeting with the
Catawba chapter. The meeting speaker, Matt Nespeca, reported on impacts to property values from non-native invasive
plants. Don Chastain is the new chair and other positions will
be filled early in 2010.
Edisto Chapter
The chapter is of course busy with local arrangements for the
next APSAF meeting. However in February we participated in
the Southeastern Wildlife Expo in Charleston, SC where we
gave out seedlings to attendees. This is an annual event for us.
Clemson Student Chapter
Joel Feltman will remain as chair through this spring semester. Eight students attended the 2010 APSAF meeting in
Greenville, NC. They are very excited about the new mentoring
program and cannot wait to get started. This year the group
made the most of a new networking technique, they gave away
numbered Clemson key chains to foresters that they met during
the APSAF meeting. At the end, a lucky key chain number was
drawn for a prize. The students enjoyed meeting with students
from other universities and appreciated the APSAF organizers
putting so much effort into making student events possible. u
Quote From My Favorite Forest Manager: "Gladiators in the
process of fighting lions should not be interrupted to discuss
sword patterns ..." Tom Kelly from The T.H. Kelly Handbook
Featured Chapter Reports
Central Carolina Chapter
Van Hoffman reported that 27 people attended the last
meeting with a topic of the Current State of the Forest Industry.
The Trail Blazer upSSpring 2010 u
11
Friends of Foresters
ACO Consulting & Sales, Inc.
Anderson Well Drilling
Avis Electric Company
Aylor Forestry
Clayton Bryant Land Company
T.C. Catlett & Sons Lumber
Central Virginia Land & Timber
LLC
Clarences Steak House
Clayton Homes
Elliotts
F & W Forestry Services
Fini Estate Sales
Jim Ford, State Farm Insurance
G & V Towing
Garbers Overhead Door Company
Hayden Recreation Vehicles
Hopewell Iron & Metal
Huvard Research & Consulting
Jones Realty & Construction
Morgan Lumber Cpmpany
Mechanicsville Pallets, Inc.
Old Virginia Hand Hewn Log
Homes
P & L Loggiing
Pine Hollow Nurseries
Pine Products
Productucts
Regent Point Marina
Rozier Termite & Pest Control
Stanley Land & Lumber
Stingray Upholstery
Supply Room Companies
Tele Care Center
12 uWSpring 2010
u The Trail Blazer
Liz's Corner
by Elizabeth Bourgeois,
APSAF Secretary/Treasurer
etbourgeois@yahoo.com
These are the minutes from the Appalachian Society of
American Foresters business meeting in Greenville, NC. If you'd
like to read the full Executive Committee meeting notes from the
previous day's meeting, contact me at etbourgeois@yahoo.com.
Thanks to the folks who came up to me and told me they read
the column. I appreciate it!
Ched Kearse called the Business Meeting of the 89th Annual
Appalachian SAF to order at 2:05 p.m. at the Hilton-Greenville
in Greenville, NC. Kearse reviewed APSAF's commitment to
anti-trust laws.
Secretary/Treasurer Liz Bourgeois gave a financial report for
2009. We started 2009 with $88,615, had revenue of $40,901
(110% of budget), and had disbursements of $38,956 (90% of
budget), to end the year with an operating gain of $1,945. In
addition to the operating disbursements, we provided $2,595 in
grants. Therefore, we begin 2010 with $87,965 or 99.6% of
what we started with in 2009. The KPF Education Endowment
capital campaign raised $1,175 in contributions. We need to
raise $49,233 more to increase the capital portion to $100,000.
We had $1,033 in Education Endowment grants, $1,061.70 in
membership grants, and $500 in Communication grants. As of
December 31, 2009, we had $84,929.41 in the Money Market
account and CDs and $3,036 in cash.
The Tellers Committee certified the election results for
officers for 2010. The APSAF Chair-Elect is Chip Maley, the
Virginia Division Chair-Elect is Jennifer Gagnon, the North
Carolina Division Chair-Elect is Jim Gray, and the South Carolina Division Chair-Elect is Mary Morrison. We chose to use the
electronic balloting that National provided, and the "turnout"
was quite dismal. We received almost as many ballots from the
paper ballots as members who voted on-line. Please use your
opportunity to vote in the 2011 election!
Dan Goerlich, VA Division Chair, reported for the Virginia
Division. At the beginning of this year, the Executive Committee
established a list of goals to accomplish during 2009. This list
included multiple strategies to address membership issues, enhance value perceived by members, partner with other organizations, conduct public outreach, and host an excellent summer
meeting. Goerlich reported that that the Division accomplished
all goals and action items set forth for 2009.
This was a successful year for Virginians in terms of awards.
The 3rd Annual Virginia SAF Photo Contest was a success once
again. After voting at the Summer Meeting, the following
winners were announced: 1st - Neil Clark, 2nd - Mark Rogers,
3rd - Jason Fisher. Shep Zedaker was awarded SAF Fellow.
Virginia Division nominated Dr. David Wm. Smith for the
prestigious Gifford Pinchot Medal. Virginia Governor Tim Kaine
wrote a letter of support for this nomination. Dave received the
Pinchot Medal at the National SAF Meeting in Orlando. Greg
Meade received the National SAF Young Forester Leadership
Award in Orlando. Virginia foresters have now received five of
the last six National Young Forester Leadership Awards (that
includes Dylan Jenkins, who was nominated by Alleghany SAF
but whose application was initiated in Virginia).
Virginia's membership declined once again this year, but we
made strides toward addressing some thorny membershiprelated issues. We lobbied National SAF to provide members
with alternatives for paying dues, including monthly automatic
drafts from checking or savings accounts. (APSAF addressed
the issue of early professional dues through the House of Society
Delegates at the National Meeting). And, we continue to keep
the subject of lowering overall dues on the table. Over half of our
members originally on the "past due" list chose to renew their
membership.
Tony Doster, NC Division Chair, reported that among his
goals was to improve communications between and among the
leadership and membership for NC and improve overall chapter
Trail Blazer Publication Calendar
Issue
Summer 2010
Fall 2010
Winter 2010-11
Spring 2011
Submission
Deadline
Trail Blazer to
be received by
April 1
August 1
November 1
February 1
May 15
September 15
December 15
March 15
The Trail Blazer u Spring 2010 u 13
14 u.FSpring 2010 u The Trail Blazer
health. Tony is pleased to report an improvement in communication and that all chapters in NC have active chapter chairs.
Most of NC's time has been devoted to hosting the 2010 meeting
in Greenville, NC. NC Division hosted a successful summer
meeting in Wilmington, NC, that had a good turn-out. Due to the
successful National Convention in Winston-Salem several years
ago, monies were set aside in the treasury. NC decided to reserve
3-years' worth of expenses and accept proposals to fund worthwhile projects from the remaining portion of this money. Several
valuable projects were funded from this windfall.
Pat Layton, SC Division Chair-Elect, reported that all SC
chapters are in good financial health. SC Division is down to 454
members. Membership initiatives are in progress. SC Division
hosted a successful one-day summer meeting with ACF, and will
jointly host the 2010 summer meeting with the Wildlife Society
on June 10 on a myriad of invasive species, including coyotes and
tallow trees. The 2011 meeting is scheduled for Charleston, SC,
January 26 to 28. The Edisto Chapter will host the meeting at the
Francis Marion Hotel, so mark your calendars now!
Joann Cox gave the Council report. The attendance number
for the September 30 to October 2, 2009, convention in Orlando
was 1,262 attendees versus a budget of 1,800. The conventions
generate approximately 18% of SAF's revenue; this year's convention was only a modest revenue generator. The effort to sell
the property to Nations Academy in 2009 did not occur for
multiple reasons. The property was designated historic as well as
placed in Montgomery County's Legacy Open Space program.
The strategy with RNRF remains to put pressure on them to
abandon ideas of the Renewable Natural Resource Center and
pursue other development options. SAF hired Broadstreet Reality who interfaced with RNRF's broker, McShea. Broadstreet is
aggressively approaching the federal government to market the
property; this would be the best solution because the federal
government would not have to abide by any local zoning or
property restrictions.
Joann reported that SAF continues to be a leader on climate
change and managed forests. SAF's Task Force Report is the
most comprehensive report on the subject in the world, and
many who attended the World Forestry Congress where the
report was presented in Spanish and English echoed that sentiment. The report played a role in the Copenhagen Climate talks
where Danish professional foresters used the report extensively
in a side event session about forests.
The Council's most difficult issue was approving the 2010
Budget, which shows an operating loss of $188,000. A special
committee was charged to generate revenue-generating ideas to
be presented at the February Council meeting (following a
brainstorming conference call on January 11, 2010). The
committee is already moving forward on some of the revenue
ideas presented. Other action items to reduce expenses include
1) staff doing janitorial duties at National office and 2) where
possible, Council members covering their Convention travel/
hotel expenses.
At the Convention Council meeting, the Membership Committee was charged to provide recommendations to Council on
potential dues actions. Their report indicated that there had been
no national dues increase for SAF members in 10 years. The
primary revenue generator is dues. Dues fund approximately
40% of the SAF budget while the rest is funded from advertising
income, grants, investment income and other miscellaneous
sources. SAF's financial manager recommended that Council
consider a dues increase. Membership has declined since the
mid to late 1990's. The 2007 membership survey showed that
dues are a member concern, especially of student and first fiveyear professionals.
Key strategic issues for Council for 2010 include finance,
membership recruitment and retention, "Trees Are the Answer"
Communication campaign, and leadership development.
Joann called on Art Cooper, chair of the Fellows Nominating
Committee, to discuss the difficulty interpreting the requirements
for Fellows. The district committee requires clarity regarding
professional recognition and criteria of the applicant regarding
professional career versus participation in SAF. The current
guidelines indicate that the applicant should have participation in
SAF in at least two levels: the local, state, regional, and National
level.
William Sweeney, APSAF's student representative had already left to attend the student tour, so Ched Kearse presented
a synopsis of his report. Haywood Community College has been working on establishing contact with the professional chapters to gauge interest in the Mentor-Protege'
program. Once Haywood has a list built,
they will work on matching students to
potential mentors. Wayne Community
College is really excited to being a part of
APSAF. Warren Wilson has only one current member, the forest technician on Warren Wilson's school forest. Part of the
problem is that there really isn't a forestry
program there. They have environmental
studies, and ecosystem management classes,
but no actual forestry classes.
Carlyle Franklin, Membership Chair,
gave a sobering membership report. Membership of APSAF as of December 31,
2009, was 1476, which represents a net
loss of 92 members in 2009. After the purge
in July, 2009, we had 1402 members, so
The Trail Blazer upSpring 2010 u 15
reinstatements and recruitment amounted to only 74 against the
number purged of 222. Recruitment and reinstatement in 2008
was about 100 in the last half of 2008. Most of the membership
losses were in the Early Career (1 to 10 years) category.
Of the 1476 members at the end of 2009, 599 had not
renewed as of December 31, 2009. Carlyle sent the list of nonrenewing members to each new Division Chair and Division
Membership Chair asking that someone at the Division or
Chapter level call each non-renewed member to urge them to
renew their membership.
Carlyle published an article in the 2009 fall Trail Blazer
explaining the proposed Mentor-Protege' program with a copy of
the MOU mentors and students/post graduates are asked to sign.
It appears that word of the campaign has not yet reached
everyone yet. This type of program will require strong communication between students and mentors and those trying to bring
them together. The student representative to the Executive
Committee can be a key player in taking this program to the
student chapters, and Bill Sweeney is off to a good start.
Sweeney also thinks that it is necessary to find a volunteer, nonacademic member to liaison with each student chapter. A
proposal to the House of Society Delegates (HSD) that young
career foresters (within the first five years of graduation) be able
to renew at a rate of $85 whether or not they've just graduated
from a forestry program. Council will have to consider this
proposal.
Kelley McCarter, Communications Chair, gave the Communications Report. As part of the Communications efforts this
past year, Kelley focused on redesigning the website (visits to the
website and "dwell time" have both increased), emailing members through a ListServ, creating a leadership CD with links to
Web pages, and reviewing the status of the APSAF history
project. Kelley will be stepping down as the Communications
Chair, but she reiterated that communication is everyone's
responsibility. Be your own SAF Communications Chair!
William Snyder, Science and Technology Chair, reported
that speaker presentations for the APSAF meeting will be posted
on the Web site.
One suggestion was that the Appalachian SAF take advantage of social networking sites, such as Facebook, as a means of
engaging younger members.
Under old business, the Edisto Chapter will host the 2011
Annual meeting. We look forward to seeing you there!
Respectfully submitted,
Liz Bourgeois
THE TRAIL BLAZER
c/o Charlie Finley
VERBATIM EDITING
1011 East Main St., #LL90
Richmond, VA 23219