WVFA Mountain State Forestry Summer 2020

www.wvfa.org Summer 2020 |  West Virginia Forestry Association Mountain State Forestry 5 M E S S A G E F R OM T H E P R E S I D E N T A s Winston Churchill once said, “If you are going through hell, keep going.” Over the last several months, the association has had its share of challenges to surmount and as we approach summer in West Virginia things are looking much brighter for the future of the association. Our search for a new Executive Director culminated in the selection of Eric Carlson, who began his tenure on February 3, 2020. Eric came to us with a wealth of experience across a range of endeavors. Most recently, he served as Executive Director of West Slope Oil and Gas Association in Grand Junction, Colorado. He has also served as President/CEO of the Empire State Forest Products Association and Senior Legislative Specialist, Office of the Chief, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. His education includes a Bachelor of Science in Forest Management from WVU and a master’s degree from Syracuse University in Forest Ecology. Over the last several months, your leadership team has made significant improvements in a variety of association functions. First, the team has successfully unraveled the financial situation that existed up to and including 2019. We have reached the point where leadership can monitor our ongoing finances with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and with complete transparency to the Board of Directors and membership. Second, significant strides have been made in managing our membership database and staff is updating member emails to better provide timely communication to the membership. Third, we have hired a part-time office manager, Debra Thaxon, so that you will find better response times to phone calls and emails. Fourth, Eric and Debra have made significant strides in straightening out the association’s filing system. Finally, once the COVID-19 shutdown is over, Eric will be visiting current members and prospective members to increase membership and the accompanying flow of revenue. If you know of any prospective members (both former members and new members), please contact Eric and provide him the pertinent contact information. Of some concern is that dues payments are lagging this year, due to the range of issues impacting the industry, in part because of the COVID-19 situation, but also to softer domestic and international markets. However, with the Payment Protection Program funds the association has obtained and the anticipated membership renewals, there is full confidence that we will be able to meet our budget estimates for the year. For those who have yet to pay their 2020 dues, please renew your membership by July 1 in order continue receiving your member benefits. As of this writing, planning is nearly complete for the summer conference at Canaan Valley State Park. We are anticipating being able to move forward with our July 16–18 dates, assuming the COVID-19 circumstance will be in the rear view mirror. We have a full slate of speakers lined up for both the Friday CFE session and the business session on Saturday, plus all the regular activities. Please make plans to attend. Finally, I firmly believe that Churchill was right, we have been through hell, and by continuing to move forward and persevere, we are prevailing. Curt Hassler Board President Over the last several months the association has had its share of challenges to surmount, and as we approach summer in West Virginia things are looking much brighter for the future of the association.