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MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR As the new chairman of the CIF Rocky Mountain Section, I am pleased to share
a few thoughts with you in this edition of the Rocky Mountain Section Notes. First of all, I would like to thank Alex Drummond (Past Chair) and
Teresa Stokes (Director) for their hard work and strong leadership over the past year.
They both did a fine job leading the section as the membership continued
to grow and as council remained busy supporting the CIF national program,
delivering technical
sessions and finding ways to reach out to students and other new members. We will
continue to rely on both of them over the coming year as they share their experience and
great ideas on the business of CIF and forestry in Alberta. I would also like to extend our appreciation and best wishes to our
past councilors who are leaving after years of excellent service. Thanks to Don
Podlubny and Dave Bartesko for their valuable contributions to the CIF. I should also
mention that Sarah Gooding has completed her term taking care of the secretary duties of
secretary/treasurer position as well as serving as a key program committee member. She has
put in countless hours of volunteer time making sure that the section and our technical
sessions run smoothly. This spring has been active and exciting for our section. Ring ceremonies
with the U of A and NAIT forestry students were proud moments for the many young people
that were welcomed into the forestry community. I had the privilege of participating in
the NAIT ring ceremony and was truly impressed with the confidence and ambition of the
students I met. We should all take comfort in the quality of individuals that are entering
the forestry workforce and that will someday be managing our forests. We had a wonderful turnout at the spring technical session with over 200 in
attendance. Our guests spoke on fire and forest management and their presentations were
thought provoking, informative and very engaging. Each speaker had an important message
and the response from our membership was great, as the challenging questions and
discussion indicated. This spring, we will be finishing some section business, preparing a business
plan for the year and planning for next year’s technical sessions. As
always, participation in any of these planning and organizing activities
is not restricted to council members.
Everyone is encouraged to participate in section activities and to contribute whatever
time and effort they can. I look forward to an active and exciting year ahead. Regards, |
| | Spring 2003 | |
