City Trees

6 CityTREES In 2017 we added another city to our list of SMA Accredited Urban and Community Programs; our internship program is more suc- cessful every year; the Annual Conference and Trade Show draws more attendees, excellent sponsors, and exhibitors than ever; and the Municipal Forestry Institute (MFI) conti- ues to inspire current and future urban forestry leaders. 2017 brought our first ever MFI to Canada—and the reception could not have been better. None of this is possible without the inspiration, dedication, and leadership of many. Our committees continue to evolve and volunteers are quietly delivering excellent results. The SMA Board of Directors continues to seek more and better ways to support our membership. Our partnership with the U.S. Forest Service advances and improves, and our rela- tionship with ISA is strong and becoming even stronger. I am proud of SMA's accomplishments and honored to have been in the company of people who inspire me and remind me that our work is important. The recent headlines prompt me to state that the Board has made diversity and equality a top priority, both within SMA and in our profession as we continue to develop strategies to improve our organization. Diverse perspectives, back- grounds, and ideas make SMA and our industry stronger, better informed, and more resilient. SMA should reflect a truly representative cross section of urban forestry professionals worldwide. It's hard to believe that 2017 is nearing an end and a new SMA President and Vice President will take the helm of SMA. Our membership has elected outstanding individuals to serve on the Board. Each brings new talent, new ideas, and new ener- gy. SMA has accomplished much, and there is much to come. Under new leadership, I'm confident that SMA will continue to grow, continue to be a great value, and continue to build the confidence, competence, and camaraderie of the family of pro- fessionals who seek to make their communities a better place through trees. I want to express my appreciation of our Executive Director Jerri LaHaie, who has been invaluable to me and to the Board over the last year. Her insight and persistent dedication keeps us on track and in order. Taking on a new president and new board members each year requires a special kind of patience on her part, and I am very grateful to her. I'm humming John Denver's "I'm Leaving … on a Jet Plane" as I head home from the first-ever MFI Canada. Veteran cadre mem- bers Paul Ries, Owen Croy, Walt Warriner, and Andy Hillman wel- comed Canadians John McNeil and Martha Barwinsky to the team for 21 folks who are now alums of #MFICanada2017. How many times do we get to retreat, unplug, and immerse ourselves in learning with our peers and with some of the most knowledge- able and experienced urban foresters among us? That alone is a great reason to attend MFI, which you can do in Litchfield, Connecticut this February! MFI Canada was my 13th Municipal Forestry Institute, and I learn something new at each one. The real magic for me is watching the participants as they settle in, open up, share their experiences, learn from one another, and take the next step in their leadership journeys. At MFI Canada, the attend- ees were aided by guest speakers like USDA Senior Scientist Dave Nowak, who helped them understand the many ways they can use i-Tree as a tool; University of Toronto Professor Andy Kenney, who gave both the historical perspective on urban forestry and a look at the future potential for our field; and with Communications and Media Relations Strategist Rosa Linda Perez, who taught us all about how to be better commu- nicators and get our message out every single day. I continue to be amazed at the depth of knowledge that our members have and at their willingness to mentor others. What an organization to belong to! And the value only grows as we grow our membership. I know that there are as many non-members out there as there are SMA members. We need to bring them aboard, and I'm sure that the membership com- mittee will be working on that this year. Those who are not yet members deserve to experience the camaraderie that is the essence of SMA and of MFI specifically. If you haven't been to MFI yet, please join us this February in Litchfield, Connecticut. For those of you in Canada, please talk it up, as we all want to take this jet plane back to Canada in a couple years. As always, if you have questions or need more information, you can email us at urbanforestry@prodigy.net. President's Message Joe Benassini Executive Director's Message Jerri J. LaHaie

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