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2012 Chair: Anne Heisenbuttel
Letter from the Chair - Feb. 2012
Looking Forward in 2012
It is indeed an honor to step into the Chair position for Northern California SAF. I want to start by thanking Ken for his leadership over the past year. I would also like to thank all the members of the NorCal SAF Executive Committee for their support, and I welcome Doug Wickizer to the Executive Committee in the position of Chair-Elect. I am excited about the opportunity to work with so many great folks.
As in the past years, there is much going on thanks to the active involvement of many SAF members in Northern California. The education programs we sponsor and support, including the Forestry Institute for Teachers, Forest Conservation Days, the Forest Stewardship Workshops and the Forest Stewardship Help Line, are all going strong. We are reaching the end of a three-year USDA Forest Service Forest Stewardship Program grant that gives significant support to these programs, and we have a new three-year grant coming up. We provide the necessary matching support through donations and time commitments from our membership, staff and partners, all helping to increase our outreach to teachers, students and the public.
Speaking of students, we had great representation from the state’s forestry schools and colleges at our Winter Meeting this week. Not only did we have ten students attending from Reedley College, College of the Siskiyous, Cal Poly and UC Berkeley, but we received over $900 in donations from members and speakers for student support! Thanks to all of the contributors, for your support will help us to offer student scholarships for upcoming meetings as well.
As I look forward to the coming year, I hope to increase our focus on membership. Not only can we encourage members to receive a discount in their national dues by recruiting new members, but I would like to do all we can to provide opportunities for less active members to get more involved. If you have something to offer, or you see a need that we haven’t addressed, please let me know. As many of us grow older and grayer, help encourage the younger foresters in our midst to step up and take on a leadership role. When a new graduate or other new member joins your chapter, take on a mentoring role to encourage their sustained involvement. I became active in SAF because of the mentoring of my professors, bosses and colleagues early in my career, and I quickly learned that the benefits far outweigh the effort expended. I hope you will join me now in ‘walking the walk’ and encouraging our fellow foresters to do the same. |