City Trees

6 CityTREES It's not too early to start plan- ning to attend the Society of Municipal Arborists 55 th Annual International Conference and Trade Show on November 18-19 in Cleveland, Ohio, in conjunc- tion with the Arbor Day Partners in Community Forestry Conference. Take a look at the conference program in this issue. You will see that the educational program, workshop and tour address current, cutting edge issues, research, and tech- niques that are relevant to municipal arborists, urban foresters, and our allied professional and volunteer partners—not just in the United States, but around the world. Here are just a few examples from the program. Green Infrastructure (GI) and GI initiatives to address storm- water quantity and water quality issues will be highlighted on the Monday tour of Cleveland. I am also keenly inter- ested in Adam Barkovitz's presentation on understanding GI asset management, including life-cycle costs. This is a subject that to this point has not been as well document- ed, understood, or addressed as other aspects of GI. Tree risk management and planning in municipal pro- grams will be discussed in presentations by Jennifer Gulick and Jennifer Greenfeld. New tree risk assessment and management protocols, best management practic- es, and qualifications—in addition to the knowledge and experiences of managers such as Jennifer and Jennifer— are invaluable in increasing the effectiveness of our pro- grams in promoting public safety and forest health. Creating an effective, dedicated, and diverse work- force and developing leaders in that workforce contin- ue to be high priority goals of SMA. Sarah Anderson will discuss bringing new talent into urban forestry in her presentation on workforce development programs. The Monday workshop on the new, 10th Edition of the Guide for Plant Appraisal and the remainder of the Tuesday program are all topics of vital interest to urban forest managers presented by leaders in our profession. The conference also includes the Municipal Forestry Institute (MFI) Reunion (with donations going to fund MFI scholarships), the Fun Run, the new online silent auction to benefit the Urban Forest Foundation and the Arborist Exchange Program (please see the Executive Director Message), and the night reception with exhibi- tors and other partners. All these activities are opportu- nities for you to strike up new and strengthen existing friendships and to help give back to your profession. We hope you are making plans to attend the SMA 55 th Annual Conference and Trade Show in Cleveland! It's one of the best ways for you to get to know your fellow SMA members, get answers to your questions, and palpably feel the support of your peers. If you can't attend, there are still ways for you to engage, albeit from afar. For instance, the silent auction will be online again this year, which means you can bid on items from your phone or computer. It's not too late to donate an item or two! The silent auction supports the Arborist Exchange (AE) Program, which is gearing back up under the leadership of former SMA intern Candace Powning and mentor Doug Still from Providence, Rhode Island. We have continued to expand who can participate in the AE Program, and several organi- zations have joined us, which means their mem- bers are eligible to participate, and this collective effort will result in a broader range of exchange possibilities. Representatives from SMA, Alliance for Community Trees, Arbor Day Foundation, Utility Arborist Association, World Resources Institute, and Sustainable Urban Forests Coalition are put- ting their heads together to develop the details. The AE program gives you the chance to get out of your own backyard and experience how another city deals with issues you are facing now or may be expecting to soon. Nothing beats that face-to- face, hands-on experience. If there is a city you would like to visit and whose urban forestry pro- gram you'd like to explore, watch the SMA website, as the dates for application will be coming soon. SMA is built on a long and solid tradition of members helping members, teaching each other, sharing sto- ries, and creating a lifetime of memories. With over 1600 members, we have a network of folks who have pretty much seen it all. We hope to capture some of this history in the making on video and share it with all our members near and far. Look for our crack vid- eographers at upcoming events, ready to capture the essence of SMA: you, our members. And if you have any experience with Facebook Live or YouTube vid- eos, the videographers would love to have your help! President's Message Keith Cline Executive Director's Message Jerri J. LaHaie

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