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/599208
6 City Trees Hello Society of Municipal Arborists, What an honor and privilege to serve as the President of an orga- nization rich with history and comprised of so many incredible professionals. It has been said that if you're comfortable, you're not growing and as I transition into this new role, I am also transitioning personally and professionally. As a native Minnesotan who spent almost ten years in New York City, transitioning to life in San Diego, California isn't too difficult. Professionally, transitioning from being a part of the largest municipality's urban forestry pro- gram to a burgeoning program is incredibly exciting, but a bit more of a challenge. And now growing into a new role within SMA, it seems as though I like to grow all at once and underrate comfort! I am very excited for 2016 and hope to continue the momentum. I'd like to thank Jerri LaHaie, David Lefcourt, and Rachel Barker for their leadership over the past two years, bringing on and retaining four new SMA Board members. I am proud to be a part of a Board—most of whom are MFI alumni—that hale from a wide range of municipal forestry programs. With Past President David Lefcourt from Cambridge MA, Vice President Joe Benassini from Sacramento CA, Sarah Morris from Charlotte NC, Angela Hanson from Austin TX, Casey Jogerst from Portland OR, Nathan Slack from Ventura CA, and ISA Liaison Bob Benjamin from Chicago, we have a diverse and talented group with an incredibly broad perspective. The challenge for the Board is to grow SMA and I'd like to challenge everyone to help us! Are you sharing your experience and knowledge on the listserve? Have you attended MFI? Are you involved in any of our com- mittees? Are you an ISA Certified Arborist Municipal Specialist? Have you recruited someone to join the SMA? Have you attended the annual conference? These are all great ways to help us grow. The annual confer- ence always has an excellent lineup of speakers, spon- sors, and exhibitors—and it's truly an event for building the camaraderie, confidence, and competence of our community of professionals! This is always a bittersweet time of year, so much to look for- ward to as we head to the annual conference and trade show, but saying goodbye to board members who are finishing up their tour of duty is always difficult. While we are excited to have Jeremy Barrick bringing his coast-to-coast urban forester experience to the Presidency, we will miss the leadership of Past President Rachel Barker as she rotates off the board. Rachel came back to serve in the VP/President/Past President lineup after serving previously on the board. She has served in many professional roles in urban for- estry and her knowledge, experience, and leadership have been invaluable here at SMA, and for that, we are truly thankful. The conference is an opportunity for our members to connect with one another and with our organization- al leaders, but for those of you who won't make it to Denver this year, please remember that we are only a phone call or an email away. We are here to serve you, so don't hesitate to let us know ways we can do just that. Better yet, let us know how you would like to help us better serve you. We need your leadership, ideas, and participation. Besides the conference, we are excited about the 2016 SMA Intern Program. We have been working with our US Forest Service liaison, Phil Rodbell, who has helped us expand the program. When we started it six years ago, we focused on preparing students for the position of municipal arborist. We are now ready to expand so that we expose the students to the role utility arborists and nonprofits play in community forestry. SMA mem- ber municipal arborists will apply for a student intern in collaboration with their local utility and/or nonprofit arborists. We believe that if students understand the roles everyone plays, they will become better urban for- esters, regardless of which employment track they take. We hope you will find that this program expansion will either showcase your current collaboration or perhaps it will give you a good reason to create a new collabora- tion in your community. President's Message Jeremy Barrick Executive Director's Message Jerri J. LaHaie 6 City Trees