Board of Directors

Back row L-R: Gary Steinhardt, Mark Steffek, Bill Boyer, Dan Towery, Steve Young, Clark Gantzer
This picture was taken at the 2011 Annual Conference. All Board members were present except Tom Prout, who was appointed interim director for the Canadian Region just one week prior to the conference.
President: Bill Boyer
Vice-President: Dan Towery
Secretary: Clark Gantzer
Treasurer: Jerry Pearce
SWCS members may contact their Board members using the contact information in the members-only Web site:
http://members.swcs.org/index.cfm?fa=committees.view&committeeID=221
Board members may also be contacted through SWCS headquarters:
945 SW Ankeny Road, Ankeny IA 50023, 515-289-2331, swcs@swcs.org
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Region 1 - Northeastern I have been a member of SWCS for 25 years. I have taken advantage of networking opportunities, and I have grown in experience and maturity by serving in various officer positions. I have led meetings, conferences, field tours, and I have participated in many other chapter activities. The two most important reasons to join a professional society such as SWCS are As a member of the board, I will work to create opportunities for every member to participate and have the experiences necessary to become a better conservationist. |
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Region 2 - Southeastern Mark Berkland is a private Agricultural Consultant. He has been involved with soil and water conservation activities for over 30 years. After having served as Deputy State Conservationist in Illinois he was selected as State Conservationist for South Carolina. In February 2000, he received a Senior Executive appointment as Director of Conservation Operations for the Natural Resources Conservation Service. As a private consultant, Mark has had the opportunity to complete environmental evaluations, audits and plans in Arizona, Oregon, Washington, Iowa, South Carolina, Florida, Texas, Indiana, Tennessee and Kentucky. Mark became a member of the Soil and Water Conservation Society in the 1970’s and was an Officer in the Iowa Chapter. My prime responsibility as the Southeastern Regional Director will be to represent the interests of all members of the Society, with specific responsibilities to the members and chapters within the Southeast Region. My focus is on the Society’s mission to foster the science and art of natural resource conservation through: fostering the development of state-of-the-art conservation practices and systems; shaping local, state and federal policy; providing training and professional development for its members; and by promoting professionalism among its membership. |
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Region 3 - South Central Danny Hughes I plan on working hard to facilitate greater chapter cooperation among states in sharing ideas through various sources such as their internet web pages and newsletters. With a background in Agriculture Extension, USDA-NRCS and the KY Dept. of Fish and Wildlife Resources, I feel that I can help chapters recruit membership in the extension and wildlife as well as conservation arenas. I’ve recently served as the President-Elect & President of the KY Bluegrass Chapter and was honored to receive a national SWCS Commendation Award in 2008. I hope to work with chapter leaders to plan multi-state symposia and workshops and look forward to building relationships with SWCS members across the South Central Region. I am honored to serve as your representative!
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Region 4 - East North Central Gary Steinhardt
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Region 5 - West North Central Pete Nowak Challenges to advancing the art and science of soil conservation tomorrow need to be the agenda for the SWCS Board today. What follows are some of the issues and questions I would bring to the SWCS Board if elected by my peers. We need to think about and plan for the real possibility of significant reductions in conservation spending due to fiscal constraints. What can SWCS do to encourage the development of adaptation strategies to climate change to build the resilience of our conservation systems? Our professional Society also needs to play a leadership role in guiding how the Resource Conservation Act can be used to foster the development of innovative conservation policy. The “crown jewel” of our region, the Upper Mississippi River Basin, offers many opportunities for SWCS collaboration with the many partners working on the Mississippi River Basin Initiative. There are also internal issues associated with creating an effective and efficient professional association based on an adaptive management philosophy. How can we improve serving the needs of the many retired conservationists while better using their knowledge and experience? Finally, and perhaps most important, I pledge to continue being a subversive conservationist. |
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Region 6 - Northern Plains I have been an active member of SWCS for the past16 years, and have served in several chapter officer positions and on the International Professional Development Committee. I am also honored to be the recipient of the distinguished Berg Fellow Award. I recently retired from NRCS where I spent years in six NRCS offices as Resource & Soil Conservationist, Water Management Specialists, and Soil Conservation Technician. As Director of the Northern Plains Region I plan to devote my time and energy to the promotion of SWCS through soil and water conservation, sustainable farming systems that provide food for our people, sustainable energy production, and clean air and water. I encourage SWCS leaders to carry through with their own high values in conservation work by putting beliefs into action. |
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Region 7 - Southwestern Jerry Pearce I plan to represent the interests and needs of the members. I will seek out the opinions and concerns of the chapters in the region and represent those at the national and international level. I will be active and participate in all meetings and functions. I believe the society is a premier organization and its membership is the key to being recognized as such. The society should exist to serve the needs of the members, and I pledge to work toward that end. |
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Region 8 - Western |
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At Large Director |
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At Large Director |
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Student Director As student director, my first goal will be to encourage universities that do not have a student chapter of the SWCS to create one; many students in environmental science, agronomy, or other similar fields are interested in learning about conservation practices. Student chapters can allow for a melting pot of ideas and offer participation in conservation activities. As for universities with student chapters, I feel that they need to connect with other chapters to be informed of various opportunities or exchange ideas. A strong student network will benefit the student members as well as the rest of the society. Another goal of mine is to create an internship link on the SWCS’s website. The career center is great for nonstudent members but doesn’t allow to search for internships. With such a link, it would make it easy to search for one, and students would need to go to only one website. In addition, improving the SWCS Facebook page would promote further networking and raise awareness for the Society. |
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