|
|
 |
|
2005 Annual Conference
Hyatt Regency and Riverside Convention Center, Rochester, New York July 30-August 4, 2005
On July 30 thru August 4, 2005, the Soil and Water Conservation Society (SWCS) held its annual international conference in Rochester, New York. The conference was a complete success, and the extensive content has attendees looking forward to next year’s conference in Keystone, Colorado. It is not always possible for people to attend the conference, so we’d like to give a wrap-up of the event.
Click here to view Oral Presentation Abstracts or Click here to see the Poster Presentation Abstracts
Print the Final Program (PDF) Chart of Presentations (PDF)
Board of Directors. The Board met on the Friday and Saturday before the conference. They made decisions on where investments should be applied, and have made the decision to invest a portion of the money to a socially responsible group. Performance will be tracked on an ongoing basis. It was agreed to not plan so far in advance of SWCS conferences. The regional director structure for the Board was revisited and refining is in process. SWCS projects for the upcoming year will again deal with policy and provide strategy for the 2007 farm bill. Lastly, the conference program committee structure is being revamped.
Membership Committee. The membership committee, the Board of Directors, and staff have implemented a new approach to membership recruitment and retention. SWCS staff will focus on retention of members. The membership committee will focus on recruiting new members. The committee looked at revamping the membership packet and developed a work plan.
House of Delegates. The House of Delegates meeting was well attended and addressed all the issues brought forward by the delegates. Minutes from the meeting will be emailed to all Chapter Presidents in the next couple of weeks, so a complete reporting is available to all members. Here is a rundown some of the issues that were discussed. The student director is asking that student chapters institute a permanent email address for the chapter so communication to the chapter is more efficient. A life membership category will be instituted in October 2005 when a slight raise in dues will occur. SWCS President, Jean Steiner, gave a “State of the Society” address that was very good.
Leadership Development Workshop. This workshop was very well attended and gave excellent information to SWCS members. In the morning, recruiting and motivating members was discussed, as well as professional development. There were two break out sessions in the afternoon: 1) Developing and maintaining a professional website, and 2) Conducting successful meetings. There was a brief tour of the new SWCS website and information given on hosting your Chapter’s website through the parent organization in Ankeny.
Welcome Reception. Check out the September issue of the Journal of Soil and Water Conservation Conservogram pages to see the pictures of the welcome reception.
Plenary Sessions. Sandra Postel gave an inspiring talk at the first plenary. She spoke on how society should re-think water management. We still have a limited number of her latest book for sale, Rivers for Life. Contact Linda Larson at (515) 289-2331 or Linda.larson@swcs.org to order a book for $25.00. The second plenary consisted of a panel discussing water taking in the Great Lakes, but applied it to water taking from lakes, rivers, and groundwater anywhere.
Fellows Forum. A lively discussion on water quality credit trading was held for two hours in the Fellow Forum. A panel was present to discuss point source and nonpoint source water quality credit experiences, and the panel gave differing viewpoints, as well as answered questions.
JSWC Editorial Board. The editorial board has decided to again sell past issues of the Journal of Soil and Water Conservation (JSWC) on CD-ROM. Internet references will be handled differently and authors will be asked to add the conservation implications of the research to the conclusion section. Also, an “Editor’s Pick” section in the front (A pages) of each issue will be added to the JSWC. This ‘editor’s pick’ will take at least one research report and summarize into common language similar to a press release.
Award Ceremony. Individuals and Chapters were honored with an award ceremony on Tuesday. Photographs are available on the SWCS website at www.swcs.org. Dot Photo will print out pictures for you or you can download the free electronic file for your use.
Social Night. Check out the September issue of the Journal of Soil and Water Conservation Conservogram pages to see several pictures from Social Night. Photographs are available on the SWCS website at www.swcs.org. Dot Photo will print out pictures for you or you can download the free electronic file for your use.
It is hard to get the entire experience in these few pages. Plan to attend the conference July 22-26, 2006 in Keystone Resort, Colorado.
PLAN ON GOING TO NEXT YEAR'S CONFERENCE!
2006 SWCS Annual Conference
July 22-26, 2006
Keystone Resort, Colorado
|
