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Monday,
January 7, 2008
Contact: DeeDee Sigler, Communications
Manager, 317.692.7374
Other Conference
Highlights
- The State Soil
Conservation Board will hold their first meeting of 2008 on Monday,
Jan. 14th at the conference, at 8:30 a.m. in the Santa Fe Room,
prior to the conference kickoff.
- Connecting with
Our Conservation Partners general session on Monday, Jan. 14th,
features Jane Hardisty, USDA NRCS; Andy Miller, ISDA; John Davis,
IDNR; Bruno Pigott, IDEM; and Steve Robinson, NACD.
- Tim Grimm, successful actor,
singer, songwriter and hay farmer from Bartholowmew County, Indiana,
will join the conference Tuesday evening, January 15th, to entertain
at the Conservation Awards Banquet.
- The
IASWCD Auxiliary program on Jan. 15th features Susan Schultz, NACD,
on "The Power of the Auxiliary, Outreach Opportunities for Your
Community." The Auxiliary also sponsors a silent auction to
raise funds for conservation education.
- Conference
Sponsors:
Gold: ArborTerra
Silver: Brodbeck Seeds
Bronze:
Beacon Credit Union
Beck's Hybrids
Brownfield Network
Daylight Farm Supply
Carol and Jim Droege
Image Sales, Inc.
Indiana Farm Bureau, Inc.
Indiana Lakes Management Society
Indiana Land Improvement Contractors
Association
V3 Companies
INDIANA ASSOCIATION OF SOIL AND
WATER CONSERVATION DISTRICTS
President: Jim Droege,
Posey Co.
Vice President: Paula Baldwin,
Marion Co.
Secretary: Jon Roberts:
Kosciusko Co.
Treasurer: Jeff Meinders, Ripley Co.
REGION
DIRECTORS:
Board Roster / Region Map
North-Northwest: Larry
Strole, Newton Co.
South-Northwest: Kenny Cain,
Montgomery Co.
North-Northeast: Lyle Burtsfield,
Elkhart Co.
South-Northeast: Bobby Hettmansperger,
Wabash Co.
North-Southwest: Charley
Hendricks, Vigo Co.
South-Southwest: Ray McCormick,
Knox Co.
North-Southeast: Brad Dawson,
Dearborn Co.
South-Southeast: Brad Ponsler,
Jennings Co.
IASWCD STAFF:
Executive Director: Jennifer
Boyle, 317.692.7519
Watershed Information Specialist: Elizabeth Trybula,
317.692.7514
Communications Manager: DeeDee
Sigler, 317.692.7374
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News
Release from the Indiana
Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts
The Power of Conservation About to Strike
Indianapolis!
Indianapolis
– The
Power of Conservation: Are You Connected? . .
. Over 350 conservationists from across Indiana will make the connection
January 14-16 in Indianapolis. They’re preparing to immerse
themselves in a premier natural resources conference next week
designed to help Indiana residents conserve land, water, forests,
wildlife and related natural resources that encompass Indiana’s 23
million acres. The conference convenes at the Indianapolis
Marriott Downtown with the 11 a.m. general session on Monday, January
14.
Nineteen special
interest sessions for the 65th Annual Conference of Indiana Soil and
Water Conservation Districts (SWCDs) were planned
specifically around four tracks developed for SWCD supervisors and
staff, watershed coordinators and technicians:
- Conservation implementation,
- Organizational management,
- Watershed management, and
- Communication and outreach.
Who are these
individuals committed to conserving Indiana’s natural resources?
They’re a farmer who heads in for the evening after staking out a
grassed waterway with his soil conservationist. They’re a town
resident who flips on the light at a desk and fills out the REMC form
to buy energy produced from sustainable sources.
In the larger city
close by, a resident mulches his flower and vegetable garden;
nourishing it with water captured in a rain barrel attached to the
home’s down spout. Later that same day, they all drive a few short
miles, one from the farm, one from town, the other from the city, to
discuss watershed restoration for their region. Their grassroots
initiative was launched because urban, suburban and agricultural
residents know it’s important to understand and address water quality
concerns in their watershed.
Each of these
individuals recognizes that their choices play an important role in
soil and water conservation. They also understand their
individual power increases exponentially when they connect with other
people – building partnerships within communities to improve soil and
water quality. They appreciate the
Power of Conservation.
In addition to the 19 special sessions, conference goers
will be challenged to consider the impact their everyday lives have
on the environment from the January 14th opening speaker Colin Beavan,
nationally known as No Impact Man. Beavan, his wife, and young daughter,
just completed a one-year experiment of living in the heart of New
York City without making any net impact on the environment . . .
where he says “the emphasis was ultimately not on tightening our
belts so that our consumption did not poison the earth—but on trying
to change our consumption patterns so that our abundance did not harm
the planet in the first place.”
On Tuesday, January 15th, Dr. Janet Ayres will challenge participants
to change their leadership styles as she looks at The Power of Conservation - Leadership in the
21st Century. She’ll be joined by two
local SWCD supervisors: Brian Campbell, Elkhart County SWCD, and Ray
Chattin, Knox County SWCD. Tuesday evening, the Annual Conservation
Awards Banquet will recognize five farmers with the Conservation Farmer of
Year Awards and present lifetime honors to five
farmers with the Master
Farm Conservationist of the Year Award.
The conference
adjourns on Wednesday, January 16th, with the Annual Legislative Breakfast. This year’s
speakers include State Senator Beverly Gard and Indiana USDA Farm
Service Agency Representative Gail Peas talking about State Conservation Issues on the Legislative
Forefront. The Indiana Association of Soil
and Water Conservation Districts annual business meeting follows the
breakfast, along with three additional special interest sessions. A
complete conference program is available online – click here.
Conference registration also is available online – click here.
The 2008 Annual
Conference also is the kickoff to the 40th anniversary of the Indiana Association of
Soil and Water Conservation Districts: 1968-2008.
The IASWCD celebrates our 92 county Soil and Water
Conservation Districts, and the over 460 supervisors and staff
connected throughout the state, which are the power, strength and
character of our Association.
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