From the NC Division Chair...

Since 1900, the Society of American Foresters has endured all of the many ups and downs of a changing country and a changing world. The Society has seen our forests change as well. From cutover hillsides that spread as far as the eye could see in the mountains, to eroding and reclaimed cotton land in the Piedmont our forests have endured.

Our forests endure because they are composed of many species well adapted to the soils and the climate and because they are capable of spreading to occupy disturbances that create opportunities for them.

So our Society must spread and change to occupy the environment that we find and the opportunities before us.

Times are tough. We hear it all the time. Budgets are being cut. Folks are getting laid off. Businesses are struggling.

Yet these are the very times where our professional society can be of the most service to its members and to the broader forestry community.

The SAF occupies a special niche. While there are plenty of advocacy organizations whose job is to advance their particular interest, the SAF goes about its mission with its primary goal the service of the profession and the continued improvement of the practice for the benefit of society. It’s not just about advancing our narrow economic interests as foresters. It is about how we can better serve the forests that we love and the broader society that we share.

As we enter a new year, so the SAF leadership at the Society and the State Division changes. Members are asked to renew their dues. Priorities and focus shifts just a little.

But some things stay the same. Chapters need to have leadership willing to volunteer to serve their local members. Members need a means of locating information and opportunities for involvement. Committees need to come together to conduct the work of the Division.

And so as I begin my chairmanship and look at the role of the Division and its niche in the forestry community, I believe our priorities for the year are clear.

We must improve our ability to communicate rapidly and efficiently. We must strengthen the membership and involvement in the chapters. And we must improve the ability of the State Divisions and the Society to execute their duties. In addition, we must engage with the broader forestry community and other forestry organizations to find areas of common interest and to work towards areas where we share missions.

With today’s technology and the help of our new Webmaster, Jim McCarter, we’re well on the way towards all four of these goals. Jim has revamped the APSAF website, adding pages for each of the state divisions. The site has a calendar of events. It has a list of Society and Division leadership with contact information. It has links to more information throughout the SAF.

Most importantly, the website gives each member the ability to subscribe to an email list. The list gives each member the ability to share information quickly and easily, not just to the leadership, but to the membership as a whole. It is a powerful tool that will leverage your membership in SAF many times over.

That is it will if you use it. Please take a moment to visit www.apsaf.org. Poke around at the different links. Most importantly, sign up for the email list.

Now I know that there are some of you out there who don’t like email. Or you don’t like computers. Or you’re afraid of getting a bunch of junk you don’t want. I can share some of these feelings.

But for the SAF to execute its mission, and for it to conduct the activities in an efficient way, we cannot ignore any of the tools in our toolbox. Most importantly, we need to be able to mobilize and to communicate with all of our members quickly and easily.

I urge each of you so visit the APSAF website and register for the email list today. Your participation on the site and through the email lists is an important part of our communications strategy.

In addition to executing our communications strategy, we’re working to improve grassroots participation at the Chapter level.  Crucial to that goal is for each chapter to have a chair in place and some local support.  Coincident with that is the need for each chapter to recruit additional officers and to have a succession plan in place.  Chapter leaders are the foundation of the SAF.  They are the folks most tied in to the local forestry community and they are most aware of opportunities within their communities to serve.

This year, we’re fortunate to have chapter leaders in place in each of the chapters within the Division.  They will be sending communications to their chapter members, arranging meetings, and recruiting volunteers for projects.  Please take a moment to make sure you know who your local chapter chair is.  Better than that, take a moment to call them and offer to help with a meeting or a local project.

In order to be effective at our mission and in order to serve our profession, our society, and the broader forestry community, we must reach out to folks who are not members and we must provide services to folks that they find of value.  Folks must believe that their membership enhances their professional experience and that the dues are well worth the investment.  In some cases, they must be shown the value before they’re willing to join.

I urge every chapter and every member to invite folks that are not members to their local chapter meetings.  Share a meal together.  Enjoy some fellowship.  Listen to an interesting speaker and get a CFE.  Work together on a local project.  That’s how we’ll improve our membership numbers, and that’s how we’ll improve service to our profession.

The SAF is a unique organization. It occupies a special niche in the forestry community. It is in a position to serve professional foresters, technicians, members of the SAF and non-members alike.

I urge each of you to keep this mission in mind as we begin this new year together.

Tony Doster
2009 NC Division ApSAF Chair