georgiaafs newpost, President's Corner

Our Commitment

Dear Chapter members,

To follow up on the Parent Society’s recent statement on diversity and inclusion (AFS statement), the Georgia Chapter of the American Fisheries Society affirms its commitment to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion and ensuring that all members understand and realize their equal value to our organization.  It runs deep in the DNA of our profession and the Chapter to value diversity, to manage resources and provide opportunities for the good of all, and to knit together a network of colleagues who lift each other up in good times and bad.  We must continually challenge ourselves to view the world from others’ perspectives, seek out ways to provide opportunities to those who have few, and resist discrimination in all forms.  As a Chapter of individuals, let us stay strong and unified in these values, maintain open dialogues, and continue to work to become the most equitable, inclusive, supportive, and effective Chapter we can be.

The Georgia AFS Executive Committee 

georgiaafs newpost, President's Corner, Uncategorized

October 2019 Message from Georgia AFS President Jim Page

It’s hard to believe how the year has flown, but Fall is officially here!  With the arrival of cooler temps and changing leaves also comes the realization that we aren’t too far away from our annual meeting!  As a reminder, mark your calendars to join us in Augusta at the Doubletree on January 28-30.  Our theme for this year’s meeting is “Managing Our Aquatic Resources for People, the Economy, and Nature”, and we are scheduled to have a symposia on “Georgia’s Public Fishing Areas”.  This symposium will be an excellent opportunity to learn about some of the many public fishing areas Georgia has to offer, and provide attendees with the chance to meet many of the folks who manage these wonderful resources.  Several of these folks are county, state, and federal employees, and thus students and those considering pursuing fisheries work should hopefully find this opportunity as a good chance to learn about and learn from those in their future career field.   In addition to learning about public fishing areas, we are excited about the professional and student talks as well.  In that realm, I encourage each of you to strongly consider giving a presentation and informing us on some of the work you are engaged in.  Remember, if you are interested in being a presenter, you’ll want to sign up before December 1 with Carolyn Belcher (Carolyn.Belcher@dnr.ga.gov) to ensure you have a spot. 

As we draw closer to the meeting and wrap up the calendar year, I want to extend my utmost appreciation to everyone who has helped further the GA AFS mission over the last several months.  Whether it be those who helped facilitate the successful fish disease/biosecurity workshop we had in July; the team that represented GA AFS at our CoastFest booth this year where over 10,000 people visited; the work of the many committees in the Chapter trying to help grow our members and strengthen our Chapter;  the efforts of those who helped update our bylaws for the first time since 2000 (which I’m happy to report were approved); or the work of those diligently preparing and tackling all of the tasks necessary to conduct the annual meeting we have forthcoming in January, each of you are equally important, needed, and appreciated for what you contribute! 

In closing, as we wind down this year and stare at 2020, I strongly encourage each of you, particularly for those not currently serving, to become actively involved in our Chapter.  Many of our committees can certainly use your help, and our success as a Chapter cannot be fully achieved without people stepping up and helping out. 

I hope to see you in Augusta on January 28-30 for some good times, great fellowship, and a wonderful time of learning about much of the hard work you do and wonderful opportunities awaiting all of us in the public waters of our beautiful state!

 

Jim Page

(Jim.Page@dnr.ga.gov)

Chapter President

georgiaafs President's Corner

First Message from our new GA-AFS Chapter President

March 2019

As new journeys begin all around us with the arrival of Spring, I am excited to also begin my term as President of the GA Chapter AFS.  I am grateful for what our Chapter has accomplished over the last year, and I look forward to the many things we hope to do and accomplish over this next year.  Before we get too deep into that, I would first like to extend my appreciation to everyone who helped make our 2019 meeting in Cordele at Lake Blackshear such a success.  We had over 120 participants, along with some great presentations and fun times during the social events.  None of it would have been possible without help from our sponsors and the many hands it took to make the event such a success.  So to each person who contributed, in big and small ways, THANK YOU! Our Executive Committee is actively seeking a location for our next Annual meeting in January 2020, so stay tuned to our website as we will keep you posted as to the exact details once they are finalized.

In the meantime, please note that we are planning to continue holding at least one, if not multiple, training opportunities again this year.  These training events continue to be a great way to provide opportunities to hone skills or learn new ones.  Some training workshops that we are considering include a fish disease workshop and a fish kill workshop, among others.  If you have additional workshop topics, we strongly encourage you to email and let us know of those ideas!

Finally, as we embark on this upcoming year, I strongly encourage each of you to become actively involved in our Chapter.  We have several committees that need members like you to serve, and our success as a Chapter cannot be fully achieved without people filling these vitally important roles.  So, if you have a desire to get involved, please don’t hesitate to let us know!  Similarly, if you have suggestions or ideas that you feel may benefit to our Chapter, please share them!

Hope to see you out on the waters of our beautiful state enjoying the many fisheries we have to offer!

Jim Page
Chapter President

georgiaafs President's Corner

New Message from GA-AFS Chapter President

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