A Growing Vision
April 2, 2021
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Today I have the privilege of sharing with you a President’s message via The E-Forester.
First, thank you for the opportunity and honor to serve SAF. In this role, I have learned a lot and have met many new and incredible people. After 41 years of full-time forestry, I wanted to give back to the profession that I love and that has supported my family and me for decades.
I am often asked what my vision is for SAF. It continues to be the same as the Society’s vision of excellence in sustainable forestry in perpetuity. With organizational alignment and a teamwork approach, this vision can be accomplished. When I was asked what I wanted to focus on for 2021, I said: “financial stability, organizational alignment and structure, membership and member involvement, partnerships, and social licenses.” Fortunately, we have a fantastic team of dedicated Society leaders, staff, and members working on these things, and after a year as Vice President and three months as President, I have seen success or progress on all of them. SAF’s financials are extremely sound (much more so than in most similar organizations), its partnerships are well, and its social licenses are being addressed and enhanced. However, and not surprisingly, SAF’s organizational structure needs some updating due to its age and impacts of societal and demographic changes. The association has also seen a continuing membership decline that needs to be reversed. Both issues are under consideration, and action is forthcoming. Please think about these challenges and be prepared to actively assist with them moving forward as we work together to enhance our Society and profession for generations to come.
Lastly, sustainable forestry and professional excellence both need active management, and our society has been hard at work in both areas. To view an example of these standards in action on my family’s Tree Farm, please watch this short video.
I look forward to connecting with you over the remaining year and growing together as an organization and a team.
Best Regards,
Gene