Date: February 8, 1999

Greetings from Little Rock and The Arkansas Association of Conservation Districts. For those of you whom I have not had the opportunity to meet, my name is Johnny Belew and as of November 16, I am the new Executive Vice President for AACD. I come to AACD with almost 12 years of experience in agricultural public relations, advertising, and meeting planning. I am a native of Beebe, Arkansas (we made it through the recent tornado undamaged, and uninjured) and a graduate of The University of Arkansas.

After a little over two months on the job, I continue to realize that I have a lot to learn about my role with the Conservation Districts of Arkansas. Not a day goes by that I do not learn something new and fortunately I have some great instructors who work side by side with me for the Arkansas State Soil and Water Commission.

However, I must admit that the best learning experiences for me thus far have been the opportunities to get out and visit with you and your board members at local meetings. So far, I have attended board meetings in the White, Lonoke, Prarie, and Woodruff County Conservation Districts. I sincerely appreciate the warm welcome and hospitality that has been extended to me in each of these meetings.

In the weeks and months to come I plan to attend as many of your local meetings as possible. In the interim, please feel free to contact me whenever the need arises. As I have said before the reason for my being here is to assist you in your efforts and I cannot be truly effective in my efforts without open communication with you. I look forward to meeting with each of you as soon as possible and I hope to hear from you soon.