October 2018
Feels like it was only yesterday that I wrote the last letter to the group, but it has actually been 7 months almost to the day. Another change of seasons is upon us and with that change, GA-AFS’ Executive Committee is beginning to plan for the 2019 Meeting which will be held at Lake Blackshear Resort in Cordele from February 5th through 7th,, 2019. Because of the park’s distance from town, this year’s registration will be higher to cover the cost of meals.
We had two very successful training workshops at the GoFish Georgia center this summer. The FAMS workshop was taught by Steve Sammons and has since sparked an interest in the attendees to continue on with at least one additional workshop where past participants would bring their own data for analysis. The fish ageing workshop, now in its second year, was also well attended. We are extremely thankful to the instructors (Tim Bonvechio, Donna McDowell, and Peter Sakaris) for donating their time again this year.
The Executive Committee meeting is currently planned for October 9th. If you have items you would like for us to discuss, please send them my way and I will add them to the agenda as time permits. Right now, we will be checking in with the committees for updates and putting together the planning timeline for the 2019 meeting. As always, if you are interested in becoming an active part of our Chapter, please consider volunteering to be on one of our committees.
Please be thinking about nominations for our various chapter awards, encouraging students to put in for our Ronnie Gilbert Scholarship, drafting your abstract for a talk or poster presentation as those due dates will be quickly approaching. We will be looking for sponsors for the meeting as well as donations for raffle prizes, so keep your ears and eyes open. Keep watching our Facebook page and the website for news and other important messages.
If you have ideas/suggestions for consideration, please don’t hesitate to email me (carolyn.belcher@dnr.ga.gov).
Carolyn Belcher
Chapter President
Georgia Chapter American Fisheries Society 