VASWCD September 2016 Board Meeting Report
New VACDE Logo
We have a new logo! VASWCD’s Christina Cox designed several logos for the VACDE membership to select. Above is the winning design. Thank you Christina!
VACDE Quarterly Meeting
The VACDE is scheduled to hold its next Quarterly board meeting in October. The agenda will include a review of Graves Mountain training and planning for the upcoming meeting in December.
VASWCD Annual Meeting
The VACDE is planning for its upcoming VACDE winter business meeting that will be held during the VACDE Tuesday luncheon at the VASWCD Annual Meeting in December. Elections for President, Vice President, Area 2, 4 and 6 representatives will take place. The VACDE is also preparing to assist with the Educational Foundation auction and will hold a fundraiser for the VACDE Benevolence fund which is a resource that can be used by district employees in times of hardship from a natural disaster, fire or other situations.
The VACDE will also recognize an employee who has demonstrated outstanding commitment and professionalism in their job duties. All nominees must have been employed for three (3) years and be a member of the Virginia Association of Conservation District Employees. The VACDE Employee Award recipient will be recognized during the Annual Meeting in December and receive a plaque and a check for $300. The deadline for nominations is Friday, October 14th and nomination applications should be sent to Kelly Snoddy, VACDE Area V representative at .
Employee Training at Graves Mtn. Lodge
The VACDE hosted its Annual Training at Graves Mtn. Lodge on Tuesday, August 23-Thursday, August 25. We had the highest number of registrations on record – 135! Attendance breakdown information:
Staff / 112Directors / Loudoun – 1; Chowan – 1; Headwaters – 3; Northern Neck – 2; Prince William – 1; 10
Tri-County City - 2
VASWCD / 4
DCR / 5
DEQ / 1
VDACS / 3
TOTAL / 135 registered; SWCDs represented 35
6 VASWCD Areas Represented
(Attendance Breakdown by Area: I –17; II –34; III–26 ; IV–9; V–23; VI–13)
The Scholarship Committee received 6 scholarship applications from 3 districts. All applications were reviewed & ranked by the committee and $250.00 scholarships were allocated to the following: P.W. Morgan, Michael Tabor, Allen Jackson & Kathy Smith - Blue Ridge SWCD; Blake Rogers, Shenandoah Valley SWCD; and Shelia Jaruseski, Colonial SWCD. Two employees had been employed less than 5 years and one employee had never attended Graves training. The scholarships were issued as a reimbursement after the Graves Mountain Training. A VACDE expense voucher was used by districts to receive funding. A total of $970.00was actually paid out to scholarship recipients. Scholarship recipients must have attended training sessions in order to be eligible for reimbursement. Special thanks to the VASWCD Educational Foundation Beals Fund and John and Blanche Peterson, Director from Northern Virginia SWCD for their contributions to help fund scholarship opportunities.
DCR also provided a reimbursement for district employees who attended the 2 sessions of DCR led “Backyard Classrooms” session. Five district employees were notified that they were eligible to receive reimbursement. They will work directly with DCR to process appropriate paperwork. Those employees were: Chelsea Taylor, Chowan Basin; Courtney Keheley, Evergreen; James Pinsky, Lord Fairfax; Mandy Fletcher, Holston River; and Emily Riggleman, Shenandoah Valley SWCD. Thanks to DCR for their contributions to help district employees attend the training.
The survey results (attached) indicated that most attendees found the training sessions to be excellent. The VACDE would again like to thank the VASWCD Education Foundation for their generous contribution to our training. A thank you letter was sent to Anne Beals on behalf of the VACDE acknowledging and showing appreciation of these funds.
Graves Training Financial Report
Income:
Registrations $ 2,760
(Registration was $15 for VACDE members and $25 for non-members of which $10 went towards membership for a total of $735 towards membership dues
Support from George Beals Fund & Donation from John Peterson $1,750
(6 scholarships provided to Graves training with the balance to fund scholarships for VASWCD Annual meeting)
Expenses:
Scholarships (6) $ 970.00
Speaker meals & lodging $ 559.44
Projector screens $ 45.00
Wednesday social (appetizers) $ 322.85
Taxes – State & Madison County $ 34.41
Excess Income over Expense:
Annual Meeting Scholarships (at least $1,000 will be applied toward scholarships for VASWCD Annual meeting)
Registration attributed to membership dues ($735)
Balance to be applied toward Graves training next year (Depending on amount of scholarships at Annual meeting)
MANY THANKS TO OUR PARTNERS, DIRECTORS, ASSOCIATE DIRECTORS AND DISTRICT EMPLOYEES WHO PROVIDED TRAINING DURING SEVERAL OF THE SESSIONS.
September 14, 2016
Anne Beals
1000 Corbin Lane
Spotsylvania, Virginia 22553
Dear Mrs. Beals,
The Virginia Association of Conservation Districts Employees (VACDE) would like to extend our gratitude to you for your generous contribution toward our annual training at Graves’ Mountain in Syria, Virginia. The funding provided by the George Beals Conservation Fund /VASWCD Educational Foundation contributed to the resources needed to offer the educational, administrative, and technical sessions. A portion of the funds provided were used to fund six scholarship recipients attending this year’s training. All were very appreciative. Two were employees who have been employed at the district less than 5 years and one employee attended Graves training for the first time.
This annual opportunity provided training to 135 participants this year, the highest attendance on record. Training sessions included several technical topics: Ag Field Assessments and BMP Specifications, Engineering of Spring Developments and Virginia Conservation Assistance Program – BMP Basics, Rain Gardens and Dry wells. Administrative topics included Fair Labor Standards Act, Strategic Planning and Computer tools and applications. Our education sessions included Education Activities in short time frames, Backyard Classrooms and Save our Streams – biological monitoring methods. Evaluations received contained mainly excellent ratings. Comments expressed appreciation to gather to network and share ideas that will improve work efficiency as well as the information received from the trainings that will improve job performance and efficiency. We also received information that will help in planning future trainings.
We will offer scholarships to SWCD employees for training that is being offered at the VASWCD Annual Meeting in December. Through your generosity the VACDE was able to provide this valuable training and offer additional training opportunities in December. Thank you again.
Sincerely,
Deanna Fehrer
President, Virginia Association of Conservation District Employees
Summary of Annual Training 2016 Evaluations
The VACDE extends their gratitude to the VASWCD Educational Foundation, George Beals Conservation Fund for providing support of scholarship funds for employee training. Listed below are comments from the evaluation forms per each session. We had 135 registered attendees this year which was a record number. District staff, several directors and staff from partnering agencies attended. Thank you!
Excellent Adequate Poor
Field Assessments & BMP Specifications.Presenters: Charlie Wootton, Piedmont SWCD & Kelly Snoddy, Peter Francisco SWCD / 27 / 6
Engineering – Spring Developments & Engineering Blitz (Sessions 1 & 2)
Presenters: Amanda Pennington & Raleigh Coleman, DCR; Johnny Jeffries, NRCS / 33 / 2
VCAP BMP Basics, Raingardens & Dry Wells (Sessions 1 & 2)
Presenters: Kevin McLean, VASWCD & Richard Jacobs, Culpeper SWCD / 13 / 3
Strategic Planning for Districts
Presenter: Mike Foreman, DCR / 19 / 5
Computer tools and applications
Presenters: Blake Rogers, Shenandoah SWCD, Michael Trop, John Marshall SWCD & Christina Cox, VASWCD / 25 / 8
Fair Labor Standards Act
Presenter: Terri Higgins, Associate Director Henricopolis & Loudoun SWCD & HR Specialist Henrico County / 30
Education & Engaging Activities in Short Time frames
Presenters: Beth Beran, VASWCD, Amanda Hancock, Piedmont SWCD, Cynthia Hancock, Skyline SWCD & Bonnie Mahl, Eastern Shore SWCD / 18 / 3
Your Backyard Classrooms (Sessions 1 & 2)
Presenters: Bonnie Phillips, Mike Foreman, Shelia Barnett & Dave Ruble, DCR / 14
Save Our Streams – Biological Monitoring Methods
Presenter: James Beckley, DEQ / 25 / 2
Most all employees indicated that the training sessions they attended will assist in their job duties. The comments listed below per session are in regards to the benefit of the training as it relates to their job.
AG - Field Assessments
· Good feedback in open talking
· The talk concerning stream crossings and least cost alternatives was very engaging.
· Good format to this session. Good opportunity for Q&A from across the state.
· Good discussion of common issues. Will help with consistency across the state.
· Relaxed atmosphere, welcome to questions/comments. Great networking for who is out there to help at the District employee level.
· Good job finding out how other Districts handle various situations
· As a conservation specialist, I needed much of the clarity that was provided.
· This was one of the best sessions I’ve been to. Shared a lot of great resources and addressed questions our District regularly runs into.
· Discussing what’s being done across the state and networking.
· Good to discuss how things are done in other Districts.
· Liked being able to bounce ideas/experiences off of each other. Helped me better understand.
· Very informative for a new employee.
· Session was useful as a primer for better understanding Ag practices and communicating with District staff. As someone who does not work in ag, it was useful to learn parallels with other sectors of soil and water conservation.
· Gave better idea of thoughts and consideration when working with clients and developing plans.
· Enjoyed hearing how other Districts manage the same VACS/ BMP considerations as our District. Traditionally, state-wide staff are not able to share and exchange info in a large group setting.
· As a new employee, this session was a great opportunity to see how other Districts work and manage projects. It was great to see how others have handled tough issues and strategies or tips for being more efficient but more thorough.
· Good to hear different opinions and examples. Covered a wide variety of topics.
· SL-6 livestock topics could have been helpful. Session could be overwhelming to new employee.
· For people who do not work in ag, there was very little background or detail to explain practices.
· More detail and hands-on practical applications.
AG - Engineering Topics (both sessions)
· Helps me understand the work of technical staff. Gives me ideas about needed IT capabilities.
· We are currently installing plenty of SL-6 grazing systems, and even though it is very rare to have circumstances that are ideal for a spring development within our area, it has happened. Interesting work.
· Great to learn more about what other Districts are doing.
· Spring development was very beneficial as my District has many requests to install these. Exploration of WSS was interesting—many uses applicable to many practices. The documentation session was very useful as well.
· Excellent presentation—helps to stay up-to-date on topics we deal with in the field.
· Gave good training on engineering topics and issues that regularly arise.
· Was very helpful. Raleigh is the man!
· Spring development training was great! Engineering problem-shooting is always helpful.
· Always good to find out how other Districts are doing things and the new requirements.
· More hands-on training
· Great place to share experiences and tips
· I am a new employee, so I found it very helpful. It addressed many questions I had.
· I will be doing spring development and engineering practices at my job, so being able to attend this training is very helpful.
· Answered questions that have recently arisen with sizing animal waste structures. Excellent training on spring development. Good update on new wetland guidelines as related to springs and their use. Good review of as-built documentation.
· I am currently working with a spring development project so the additional information helps me to further understand the spring development design and specifications. It is also nice to have an additional source to reference since our District does not install spring developments often. During the blitz session, the animal waste section was helpful since we install many animal waste systems, and I am fairly new to the District.
· Learned a few things to make my job easier.
· Raleigh, Amanda, and John did a fantastic job in presenting information pertinent and specific to VACS engineering practices. They were patient and very knowledgeable.
· Our District has lots of applications for structural practices, so it is important to stay up-to-date on engineering requirements.
· More efficient and more quality data
· Daily use & reminder of things to think about while performing work and dealing with landowners.
· Good review on spring development and other planning procedures.
· It was a great presentation, but more breaks or changes in presentation type through the day would help. The PowerPoint had very good information and was needed to convey info, but mixing it up a bit would help too.
VCAP ( both sessions)
· 1st session diverted into a lot of admin questions, which was unintended but very important.
· We anticipate many rain gardens and dry well projects in our District. The session is very helpful!
· Good technical info for putting VCAP practices on the ground
· As the person who answers the phones, it is helpful to be informed about VCAP to quickly give answers.
· Tidewater has not yet implemented VCAP though we have resident interest. Kevin’s knowledge and presentation are very thorough. The brainstorming and input from employees was quite comprehensive. I feel much more comfortable “selling” this program to local residents and locality.
· Clarifying the ins and outs of the VCAP program
· Learning VCAP skills to help with assisting landowners
· Water Quality Monitoring and Floatable Monitoring Program residents sometimes direct some of their urban water-related problems to me. With this VCAP knowledge, I will be able to direct them to a specialist and give them some solutions to their problems.