City Trees

4 CityTREES President's Message Earl Eutsler Executive Director's Message Leslie Berckes I've always been a fan of stra- tegic planning. I love playing in that big-picture space where your mind can be unencumbered and freed from the thoughts that tell you, "Oh no, we can't do that because (fill in the reason)." Sure, some of those big ideas are scary, but if not us, then who? The work SMA and members like you do every day is vitally important to helping us clean our air and water, provide habitat for wildlife, shade and cool us, oh, and you know, provide a little thing called oxygen. It's noble and needed, and I hope each day you're proud of the work you do. With this big-picture view in mind, your SMA Board of Directors and I met in Austin, Texas to complete a three- year strategic plan. We were warmly welcomed by SMA Members Keith Mars, Emily King, Naomi Rotramel, and Joshua Erickson who showed us some of their big tree sites (it was Texas, after all) and helped us get into the mindset of how we can best serve our members and the important work they do. Kevin Martlage of Nextier Advisors, familiar to many fellow tree groups, led us through the process. The results of that strategic plan hearken back to our mission and focus on Confidence, Competence, Camaraderie, with an additional focus on Capacity. Take a look at the full plan within this issue. See something you're particularly interested in? Let's talk. One key thing I want to point out is a small, but we think important, addition to our mission: to build the confi- dence, competence, and camaraderie of all professionals who manage trees and forests to create and sustain more livable communities. The municipal arborists, urban foresters, allied staff, and volunteers who work on trees in cities are a vibrant and growing community. No matter what role you play helping community trees thrive, we want you to feel welcomed at SMA. If you're a current member, thank you for your ongoing support! If you're not, we hope you'll join this amazing group of hard-working, tree-loving professionals! I attended SMA's Municipal Forestry Institute (MFI) in 2008. What I didn't know as I boarded a flight to the T Bar M Ranch, nestled in the Texas Hill Country outside of San Antonio, was the lasting positive impact that week would have on my life and career. For me, the greatest benefit came from being in the same room and learning alongside so many early and mid-career professionals who have since gone on to become leaders in the field of urban forestry. The connections forged that week have only increased in value over the past 15 years. Perhaps MFI was similarly important for you; I hope it was. As we near our 1,000 th MFI graduate, the SMA Board of Directors is committed to ensuring MFI remains as valuable for tomor- row's participants as it was for me and others who attended in the past. To achieve this, the Board has decided to use 2023 as a focus year. Work is already underway to be sure that MFI meets modern standards for urban forestry leadership development. SMA Executive Director Leslie Berckes and the SMA Board are convening alumni and other key stake- holders to share feedback on MFI's curriculum and format. If you are an MFI alum, be on the lookout for a survey asking you to share your experience and any suggestions related to MFI content, structure, reaching diverse audiences, additional offerings—or anything else important to you. Alumni events are also being planned to engage past participants, both in person and virtually, throughout this focus year. Together we will build the most relevant and valuable MFI yet. I look forward to greeting the MFI Class of 2024 personally! In addition to refreshing MFI, work is underway planning for the 2nd World Forum on Urban Forests, to be held in Washington, DC on October 16-20, 2023. Rather than having our typical stand-alone conference and trade show, SMA programming will be interwoven throughout the World Forum. I believe this will provide our organization much greater exposure to an international audience, while also providing our members with unparalleled value and offerings. I can't wait to host you all in Washington, DC!

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