The theme of this year’s convention is:
Exploring Differences That Unite Us.
The National Convention is fast approaching. A lot of things are done, being worked on and still need to be done.
The convention kicks off on November 2 with the opening reception in the evening. In the past, there have been hors d’oeuvres, beverages and visiting with the exhibitors.
Opening ceremonies will be at 8:15 am on November 3. The convention will start at 8:30am. On the first day, there will be plenary sessions. The technical sessions will start on Friday at 8:00am and end at 4:00pm or 4:30pm on Saturday.
From last years; convention, there were a total of 102 concurrent sessions. The sessions are broken into “themes” or “tracks” with 3 to 4 presentations per 90 minute session. There are four 90 minute sessions per day.
Some people have asked me about the cost of the convention. Last year’s registration cost to attend the entire convention was $450. There are daily rates available also. I’m not sure what that cost is. Everyone who attends the convention, (SAF members, non-members, volunteers, presenters) will need to register for the convention and pay the registration fee (full convention or daily). There is security at this convention you will need to register and wear a 2016 SAF National Convention name badge.
Please do not let the registration cost scare you. As one of my professors once said, “Where else can you find 1500 foresters at one location?”
Call for Presentations
Presentations at National Convention are submitted through an abstract process. Can we target specific topic and speakers? Yes we can. So if you have a topic that you think would be good for the convention, please consider working with a speaker and getting an abstract submission in. The forms and more information can be found on the national SAF website at www.safnet.org. Click on 2016 SAF National Convention; look under presenting; then presentation submissions.
Opportunities to Help at the Convention
We will need volunteers to moderate sessions – introduce presenters, run audio-visual equipment and keep time.
Also needed is an on-site volunteer coordinator. This person will work with national staff to make sure concurrent sessions run smoothly. There is a possibility that there will be help needed at the registration desk.
Tour guides will be needed. Some of the tours have a guide already. The main duty of the tour guide is making sure everyone is on the bus when it leaves the Monona Terrace and that everyone comes back. National Staff will arrange for box lunches and water to be on the bus. So making sure everyone gets a lunch and water is part of the guide’s duties.
Raffle and silent auction will most likely need a hand. Attendees will bring items for the raffle and auction so record keeping will be needed along with selling and drawing raffle tickets, picking up auction sheets at the close time, making sure the correct items are picked up by the winner.
Technical tours are in! We have 6 tours in to National. Barring any huge expenses, they should all be good-to-go. Here they are:
- Menominee Tribal Enterprises
- Urban Forestry
- Aldo Leopold Foundation and Leopold Shack
- The Driftless Area
- Agroforestry
- Forest Products Lab
Companion Tours are also in! They are:
- New Glarus Brewery and Village of New Glarus
- Leopold Shack and the International Crane Foundation
- Horicon Marsh and Explorium
- Cedar Grove Cheese Factory and Wollersheim Winery
A huge THANK YOU to everyone who helped with the tour planning effort!
There many, many opportunities to help at convention. It is a great experience and you get to meet allot of people from around the United States, Canada and sometimes the world.
Any questions, please contact me (Julie Peltier) at Julie.Peltier@Wisconsin.gov or phone 262-670-3404.
