City Trees is a premier publication focused on urban + community forestry. In each issue, you’ll learn how to best manage the trees in your community and more!
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/475555
Congratulations to the 2015 MFI graduates! I hope you all acquired a wealth of information and made some new friendships during your week in Oregon. You made the wise decision to take your professional careers and for- estry programs to the next level. I look forward to meeting many of you in Denver at the MFI reunion and SMA conference. For those who have not had the opportunity to attend MFI, please add it to your urban forestry bucket list. During the course of the year, announcements about MFI 2016 will be com- ing your way. Secure your funding early, because MFI typically fills up fast. At the Mid Year Board Meeting (MYBM), the executive board decided we were going to focus on four areas for the year: Membership, Accreditation, Conference, and Website. We want to improve these four aspects of SMA in order for members to receive a more reward- ing experience with their membership. The changes are geared to help promote and highlight all the great programs SMA has to offer. The monthly e-blasts will share all the good work many of the SMA committees are working on. If you have any suggestions to help improve SMA, please let us know. Our 51st annual urban forestry conference will be held on November 16th (pre-conference workshops) and 17th (conference proper), 2015 in Denver, Colorado. The conference committee will be sending out the Call for Proposals soon. We are looking to cover topics that are of interest to the SMA membership. If you have a topic or workshop idea, please let us know. If you are doing some really cool stuff with your urban forestry program, submit a presentation proposal. I find I learn most from hearing what my peers are doing in other programs throughout the world. Lastly, I hope you all have a great spring. Many of you are starting to think about Arbor Day and how you are going to celebrate. Please share your Arbor Day proj- ects and pictures on the SMA Listserve and Facebook page. And don't forget to promote SMA in your urban forestry travels. I always love this time of year, with a newly completed MFI! This was year #10 of the Municipal Forestry Institute, and we tried out a new location, the Oregon Botanic Garden, just south of Portland. We had a full house, with 62 partic- ipants from the US, Canada, and Hong Kong. Shout out to ISA for providing an international scholarship, it truly adds so much to our week to have such a diverse audience. We also had 20 different US states and two Canadian provinces represented. Thirty-eight attendees work for a city, 12 work for state forestry agencies, and 8 work for nonprofits. For those of you thinking, but that doesn't add up to 62, I know, but training cadre member Paul Ries compiled these statistics, so we'll have to ask him to explain that math! Speaking of training cadre members, many of our most accomplished members were back again this year. They remind me of the real strength of this organization, and that is the experience and expertise among our ranks. The room almost explodes with their years of learning, not to mention their stories of lessons learned over their many years of urban forestry work. Our sponsors and partners who help us put on this program continue to provide support and earn our sincere appreciation. I think I speak for everyone when I say it is an honor to be a part of this Institute. This year you are likely to see a lot about SMA member- ship. For one thing, we are joining ISA in changing our membership year from a calendar year to an anniversa- ry year. This means that your membership will expire a year from the date you join or renew, instead of the end of December. But more importantly, this is a vibrant and growing organization and like I said and it bears repeat- ing, our strength is in the knowledge and training of our members. We become stronger when we are inclu- sive, diverse, and collaborative. You'll also be seeing information about our annual con- ference and some workshops soon. Denver will undoubt- edly be a big draw, but we plan to offer some more targeted educational experiences this year too. If you haven't been to an SMA event lately, you need to join us at one soon. Maybe that well-known camaraderie is just what you've been missing, hanging with the giants of our profession, learning together. Bring someone with you, because that's the SMA way, sharing and caring. President's Message David Lefcourt Executive Director's Message Jerri J. LaHaie 4 City Trees