Southwest Region
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update -April 2003
Team Members
: Larry Wright, Regional Director Daniel Meyerhoff, Nominating committeeAnnual Conference Reminders
Reminder 1
: Register for the Southwest Region breakfast during the Spokane Conference – Tues., July 29.(Item #12 on the registration form.)
Reminder 2
: Register for the Chapter Development Workshop -- Sunday, July 27, 1:30 to 5:30pm.(Item #61 on the registration form.)
This workshop is recommended for all SWCS members interested in leadership positions. All 2003 chapter presidents-elect should participate.
Reminder 3
:Chapter Delegates’ Meeting
Wednesday, July 30, 7:30 to 8:30am.
It’s very important for every chapter* to be represented by their delegate at the House of Delegates’ meeting.
If you haven’t already, please send Nancy Herselius, nancyh@swcs.org, your delegate’s name.
(*All chapters, including student chapters)
Chapter Events
* Please send me the schedule of events for your chapters, student chapters also. I’d like to attend your chapter events, including summer meetings. Send to:
Larry Wright, 401 N. Bryan, Weatherford, OK 73096 or wright57@itlnet.net
Chapter Newsletters
Please send copies of your chapter newsletters to me and to Deb Happe at SWCS headquarters. Be sure to share them with the other chapters in our region. Let me know if you need the addresses for the other Southwest Region chapters.
Board Approves Budget
The board approved a $1.4 million budget for fiscal year 2003-2004 (April 2003 through March 2004). Most of the recent dues increase will go into the Journal of Soil & Water Conservation and additional advertising is being solicited for the Journal. The web site is a separate budget item for the first time.
Election Results Announced
Shaun Schmidt, University of Illinois Student Chapter president, was elected as student representative on the board. Jean Steiner from Oklahoma was elected by the membership to serve a three-year term as at-large director. Rod Goode, South Central Region Director, and Larry Wright, Southwestern Region Director, will continue second terms. Ray Tufgar, Ontario, was elected to represent the Canadian Region.
The new board members will take office during the annual conference in Spokane, Washington. Board members serve three-year terms and the student representative on the board serves one-year term. Board members may not serve more than two consecutive terms.
Executive Committee Elections
The SWCS Board of Directors elected the 2003-2004 Executive Committee. The Board elected Deborah Cavanaugh-Grant, at large director from Illinois, to be SWCS president; Jeff Vonk, at-large director from Iowa, was elected vice-president; Becky Fletcher, ENC Region from Indiana, was re-elected treasurer; and Ross Braun, WNC Region from Missouri, was re-elected as secretary. New officers will be installed at the Spokane Annual Conference
Chapter Awards
The board concurred with committees’ award recommendations. The Ankeny office will soon send congratulatory letters to all individuals and chapters. Awards will be presented during the Spokane Conference Awards Luncheon on Wednesday, July 30. No outstanding chapter award will be presented to a chapter in the Southwest Region for the first time.
CPESC Representatives
Don Lake, SWCS-CPESC from New York, will continue as SWCS’ representative to the Certified Professionals in Erosion & Sediment Control (CPESC) Council and Rod Goode, will continue to serve as SWCS Board of Directors liaison to the CPESC Council.
Conference Sites Selected
The Board of Directors selected Rochester, New York, for the 2005 Annual Conference and Keystone, Colorado, for the 2006 Conference. Decisions were based on national access to the site, size and benefits of facilities, local support (chapters and visitors’ bureaus) appeal to members and families, and cost.
Starting with the 2005 conference, a new model for the Annual Conference will be used. The model is a result of proposals by the Annual Meeting Task Force. It was developed to improve the conference and as a result of reduced interest by chapters to host the conference. The local convention bureau will handle events outside the technical program. The local chapter or region will provide volunteers for registration and logistics during the conference and they will have the option of offering conservation tours or other events with the opportunity to make a profit.
Several cities are being considered for the 2007 Conference, including but not limited to Tampa, Florida; Nashville, Tennessee; Austin, Texas; and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Membership Continues to Decline
Total SWCS membership dropped from 6,593 on April 1, 2002 to 6,379 at the end of March 2003. The Southwest Region shows the same decline with a total of 600 members March 2003 while we had 635 members March 2002.
All of the chapters should be engaged in major recruitment and retention efforts!
Notes from the SWCS President
We are being bombarded with new information every day. It is nearly impossible to stay on top of all existing and new information on natural resources. That is unless you are a student of the discipline. My wife and staff tell me that I have seen, or should have seen, much information or a certain document. They occasionally remind me, ‘you already have it.’ Email is a wonderful tool of electronic communication, but the messages are easily ‘not read.’
That is why you must bookmark sites (i.e.
http://www.swcs.org) , or save those important forwarded pieces of information. The point I am trying to make is similar to the old saying, "You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make them drink." Thinking about this issue makes me wonder about the value of Chapter Notes, delivered weekly but not read, which are emailed each Friday to Chapter Presidents and others, as well as the value of the "Conservogram" (http://news.swcs.org/ ) when delivered but not read.It is hard to know everything that is on the Society web site. The Chapter Notes have been placed on our web site every week for about the last two years (find them at
http://www.swcs.org/f_aboutSWCS_chrel.htm) . Some chapter presidents are forwarding the Chapter Notes through local newsletters or attaching the Chapter Notes to emails. That is great! Better to get the information twice and read it once, than not at all. However, the website gives every member access to these without the bottleneck of going through the chapter president. This is just a reminder for members to check the Chapter Notes on the web site. People also need to take responsibility for staying "connected."Regarding readership of the C-gram: the Society headquarters gets reports from every newsletter sent out that tells us how many C-gram emails are opened. No secrets any more! You need to read the Soil and Water Conservation Society information as distributed, rather than hit the delete button.
The Society can't be certain every person is opening the email to reading it. But that is all SWCS has to go on. The percentage of people opening each newsletter hovers between 50 and 60%, which is good. Most publications do not get 100% readership. It would be very rare to get above 75% of members reading a publication. I would like you to prove the survey wrong. When the Society had only a paper copy of the C-gram, low readership of the hard copy newsletter was also an issue.
Members just don't read everything or they forget what they have read. Just like me. It's a frustration, but I don't think it is something that can be solved completely. It is one of those items that in an organization like SWCS, reminding must be diligent. Others might not agree with me that it can't be solved, but that is how I look at it. Just some thoughts for your consideration please remain in contact with Soil and Water Conservation Society happenings.
Many regions had successful chapter leadership training technical sessions. The energy and enthusiasm that everyone expresses during a development workshop is revitalizing. This is another way to stay in touch with the Society activities on an annual basis. A workshop is not the same as reading the Chapter Notes and "Conservogram" on a weekly or quarterly basis.
I am interested in your thoughts how the Chapter Notes and "Conservogram" can be made more accessible to members. Please email your suggestions to me at myron.senechal@nd.usda.gov.
In conclusion, stay in touch. Always read your local chapter newsletter, the "Conservogram" and weekly Chapter Notes.
SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION SOCIETY HOLDS ANNUAL CONFERENCE IN SPOKANE
(Spokane, WA, April 14, 2003) Conservation researchers, practitioners and policymakers at all levels of government , private industry and a broad cross-section of interest groups and individuals will meet in Spokane on July 27-30, 2003 for the Soil and Water Conservation
Society's (SWCS) annual international conference.
SWCS is a non-profit organization promoting conservation professions from around the world in science-based conservation policy of our renewable natural resources. The Society is comprised of chapters from across the Nation and Canada. The local Inland Empire Chapter is sponsoring
this year's conference.
The theme of this year's conference is "The Columbia: Conserving a Legacy of Life" focusing on issues and concerns in the Columbia Basin. The Columbia River watershed encompasses portions of seven states: Washington, Idaho, Montana, Utah, Oregon, Nevada and Wyoming, and the province of British Columbia, Canada. The Columbia River and its tributaries are a part of the history, heritage and culture of the Pacific Northwest. Forestry, agriculture, hunting and fishing, recreation, mining and industry are the primary resource activities of the Columbia. Four key topics of concern for professionals working to conserve natural resources locally and globally will be addressed:
* Integrated watershed and basin management
* Water supplies for ecology and economy
* Grassland health for sustainable production and biological diversity
* Air quality for public health and economic vitality
The conference provides professional development opportunities and continuing education credits from professional organizations through several workshops being offered. Conservation tours will focus on resource issues in the Columbia Basin. There will be several exhibit booths featuring the latest technology in conservation methods and many posters on various
conservation topics related to air, water and watershed issues.
The Spokane Convention Center and Doubletree Hotel in the heart of the city on the Spokane River are the headquarters for this year's conference.
For additional information on the conference and to register logon to
<http://www.swcs.org/> www.swcs.org.
Conferences
2003: Spokane, Washington (July 26-30, 2003)
2004: St. Paul, Minnesota (July 24-28, 2004)
2005: Rochester, New York (dates to be determined)
2006: Keystone, Colorado (dates to be determined)