The board addressed a number of topics related to the annual meeting to be held in Reno in conjunction with the NACD annual meeting. Other topics included status on Farm Bill, computers for districts, NCDEA members for NACD committees, appointment of audit committee and updates on the conservation partnership.

 

 

This call was held primarily to get information and input from those state employee associations that had suggestions for the board to consider or use in the conduct of the annual meeting in Reno. The state presidents were also updated on the status of NCDEA projects and activities.

 

 

A Sunday afternoon bus tour was a great success. Two full buses of attendees had the opportunity to see a beautiful slice of Nevada via the scenic and historical tour of Carson City and Virginia City.

 

Two NCDEA board meetings were held one on Saturday afternoon and one on Tuesday morning before the NACD general session. In addition to regional reports, nomination and election of new officers, treasurer’s reports, status on projects and fund raising, the board also made plans for a mid year board meeting and continued support to advance the work of conservation districts. Regional board members were installed. Reports and comments from Employee representatives to the NACD committees were also presented. Other topics that were addressed included updating the NCDEA strategic plan in 2008, potential changes for NCDEA state chapter web site hosting, a brief review of the “Urban Survey” recently conducted by NACD, discussions on by law changes regarding regional boundaries, and reviewing policy and procedures for donations or contributions from district employees.

 

We hosted a Tuesday Luncheon – “Thinking Outside the Box” which included about 140 attendees and a speaker on investment advice, remarks from our conservation partners, recognition of our NCDEA employee of the year, Mott Buff from NC (see more information on the NCDEA web site), the swearing in of officers, and the conducting of our annual meeting.

We also hosted a Tuesday evening session “Comedy Beyond Boundaries” with an attendance of over 200. Phil Griswold, district employee from New York provided an entertaining dialogue as a part of the meet, greet, and relax session held after the NACD closing Banquet.

Then Wednesday we conducted a Workshop: “Operating a Successful District” “What Successful Districts Need To Know”

The Panelists for this workshop were:

Irene Moore, District Administrator, Jefferson SWCD, OH

Michael Brown, Program Administrator, Division of Soil and Water Conservation, DE Dept. of Natural Resources and Environmental Control

John MacDonald, President, Oregon Association of Conservation Districts

All three had excellent presentations and comments to share with the 30 workshop attendees. We plan to make references and PowerPoint’s from this workshop available on our website.

 

Our fundraisers - raffling a 42” Plasma TV and selling the NCDEA cookbooks - were also a success and will help us stay within our budget for the year.

Our officers and board members extend a big thanks to all who helped make the activities, reported on here, such a success.

 

NCDEA was asked to provide members for the new NACD committees that began their work in Reno. Employee representatives have been provided for the following committees and Resources Policy Groups:

 

Communications – Connie Richmeier, KA

 

Stewardship and Education – Pam Hawkins, NC

 

District Operations and Member Services – Robert Dobbs, NJ

 

Natural Resources Policy – Rick Kirchner, DE

 

Operating with the Natural Resources Policy will be Resources Policy Groups. Two groups already established are:

 

Forest Resources Policy Group – Garth Davis, WA

 

Urban and Community Policy Group – Ed Hoxie, NY.

 

Our officers and board also extend thanks to those employees who have served on the previous NACD committees over the last several years.

 

 

In addition to the activities reported on in Reno above, NCDEA was able to provide considerable assistance to the NACD annual meeting this year for planning and conducting concurrent sessions including providing moderators as well as volunteer staff help for a number of the activities such as the legislative auction.