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Notes From the President
December 2004
2004 AACD Annual Meeting
The Annual Meeting was very fast paced with over 18 educational opportunities
for district directors and district employees. We had approximately 393 folks in
attendance which is the highest attendance in recent years. Some of the
highlights were the AACD Award Winners.
• AACD Outstanding District Director – W.D. Looper, Sebastian County
• AACD Outstanding District Employee – Joshua Fortenberry, Benton
County
• AACD Teacher of the Year – Tonya Woods, Benton County
• AACD Outstanding Conservationist – Bill Rainwater, Lawrence County
• AACD 2004 Conservation Hall of Fame Winners
Harold Hirsch, Sharp County
R. Sloan Rainwater, Lawrence County (Deceased)
Ed Swaim, ASWCC Attorney and Carole Hughson, ASWCC Financial Officer gave an
in-depth look at the legal and financial responsibilities of district directors.
As public officials we have significant responsibilities with regards to our
personnel and the management of public funds. ASWCC staff will be visiting with
all districts to clarify new management procedures. The Arkansas Soil and Water
Conservation Commission have determined that these procedures will be
implemented in all districts. This will help districts resolve a lot of
management issues and the AACD Executive Board encourages districts to embrace
the changes as a helpful tool in dealing with public funds. We want to commend
all those district directors who attended this annual meeting as we know that
informed directors will result in more effective districts.
Arkansas Wildlife Habitat Enhancement Program
AACD continues to partner with Arkansas Game and Fish Commission to promote
this outstanding program in addition to the Quail Special Project. These
programs are currently limited to certain counties due to funding restrictions.
The funds are provided by AGFC and administered by AACD. Contracts are received
at our state office, reviewed and sent to AGFC for approval, and then a check is
sent to those participants involved. The program pays a 25% cost share on those
practices which improve wildlife habitat. AACD receives the interest paid on the
investment of the funds for administrative costs. I would like to thank David
Long, AGFC for his continued support and guidance.
AACD Website
We are in the process of implementing a new website for AACD which resulted
from a partnership with UALR. The website was developed by students at UALR and
shown at the AACD Business Session for input from district directors. We have
contracted with a webmaster to complete the website which will be a valuable
communication tool for districts. The website will have the Bylaws, District
Directory, Awards and Educational Programs, plus the board minutes and financial
reports will be posted quarterly for review. The AACD typically meets once a
quarter and meeting dates and location will be posted. The website is not
complete but you may view it at the following address: http://it2.ualr.edu/aacd
It has taken a while to get to this point but we are hopeful that it will be
a helpful resource when complete.
Calendar of Events
The 2005 NACD Annual Meeting will be held in Atlanta, GA on February 5 – 9,
2005.
For additional information go to their website:
www.nacdnet.org
NACD Spring Leadership Conference will be held in Washington, DC on April 3 –
5, 2005.
President’s Activities
I met with the Arkansas Conservation Partnership Working Group and the CMT to
address a variety of issues regarding the desired outcomes for our partnership.
One of the most obvious is the development of a progress report which can be
used at the district, state and national level to “tell our story” more
effectively. We are currently trying to develop a method which can incorporate
all the different reporting systems into an efficient format. Once a format is
developed every district can pull from that information to develop a progress
report for their quorum court or representative(s) regarding the district’s work
in cooperation with the partners.
 I chaired the NACD Water Resource Committee at a meeting in Flagstaff, AZ
from December 11- 14, 2004. We reviewed the NACD policies for water resource
issues with the development of recommendations to be presented at the NACD 2005
Annual Meeting in Atlanta, GA. Over the years this policy book has become very
outdated requiring some revisions. We also toured Diamond Canyon and their new
conservation education center, Willow Bend Educational Center. It seems that no
matter where you are in the world, water is an issue. In Arizona they have such
a critical shortage of clean drinking water it really made me appreciate how
blessed we are in Arkansas.
I met with the staff at UALR to review their draft for our website, what it
could be capable of and how the information could be stored effectively. We have
a tremendous amount of information that we hope to make accessible to the
districts, such as a comprehensive address book, bylaws, progress reports on a
county by county basis, and quarterly reports from the Executive Committee. More
information on the website is listed in the article above.
Finally, I want to personally thank all those individuals who helped make our
2004 AACD Annual Meeting such a success. It would be difficult to name them all
but special thanks go to the following folks:
Randy Young (ASWCC), Kalven Trice (NRCS), George Rheinhardt (AFC), Dr. Ivory Lyles (UACES), Dr. Leslie Glover (UAPB) and Sharon Underwood (AACDE), our conservation partners
Vickie Lamia and Lisa Delk for hosting the Hospitality Room
Becky Long and Creston Shrum for their help with the audio visuals
Paul Myers, Henry Dart and the others for assistance with the registration
Charles Gangluff for his help running the computer during the business
session
District Employees for their continued efforts to make the meeting effective
Cliftena Williams and the AACD Auxiliary for their dedication to our
conservation efforts
All the presenters who took their time to provide us the education and
information that we need to be effective district directors, with 18 educational sessions I won’t name
them all
During this time of frenzied shopping I hope everyone can take a moment to
remember those individuals who have lost loved ones or are struggling with
difficult situations. Remember that the gift of your time and love means so much
more than presents. From the AACD Executive Committee and me we want to wish you
the most blessed of holiday seasons.
Warmly,
Debbie Moreland, President
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