“Springing Forward”
May 7, 2021
Good day! Just like our clocks do once a year for daylight savings time, our Society is also moving forward. Our staff, leaders, and members continue to improve our organization and its services.
Board and committee meetings were held last week, resulting in more updates to standard operating procedures and Board self-evaluations through the review of its “Key Performance Indicators.” Reports were made by Society staff, committee chairs, district directors, and myself. Terry Baker, CEO, mentioned several partnership initiatives, diversity and inclusion activities, and the addition of our Student Executive Chair and Young Professional to the Forestry Source editorial board to enhance younger member input. Terry also discussed strategic plan updates and the change if format of the 2021 annual convention given continuing pandemic impacts.
I noted how impressed I still was with our membership’s volunteerism and willingness to work, even with pandemic restrictions and having to work virtually. The active engagement of our SEC Chair, Elliot Smith, and Young Professional representative, Audrey Maclennan, has also been outstanding. We are excited to continue seeking more involvement and insight from our younger member segments.
Just like every sizable organization, SAF needs vendors to get its work done, and our staff has done a great job acquiring top notch ones to provide improved services to all our members. There will be exciting announcements in the coming months. As an evolving organization, SAF is working with some of these vendors to address organizational structural challenges raised by our state societies that have developed over time.
Discussions also included opportunities to serve the urban forestry community, plans for an upcoming virtual membership/officer gathering, and an upcoming membership recruitment campaign.
So, we continue to be active and “Springing Forward” to better serve our profession, the forestry community, and our forests. For another example of how active management benefits both organizations and forests, please see the following
link to a video from our family’s Tree Farm.
Best regards,
Gene