When: December 2, 2021 at 7:00 p.m. via Zoom. Join here online or by telephone only by dialing 253-215-8782:
- Meeting ID: 832 6470 0030
- Passcode: 450859
Agenda
- President’s Report
- Treasurer’s Report
- Election of Directors. Online voting deadline 4:00 p.m., December 2, 2021
- Coming up in 2022
- WA SRM YouTube Channel
- Ideas for strengthening our Chapter (the following were suggested at recent board meetings and will be added to the list generated at the Annual Meeting)
- Suggestion box on the web site
- Quick presentations or write-ups of neat things you’ve seen or done in range management
- Young Professional Conclave liaison needed
- Announcements
- New Business
Elections: Background
SRM WA Director Elections, Fall 2021
The accompanying ballot is for SRM WA Chapter’s first election since creating Bylaws and incorporating as a non-profit corporation in Washington State. The following is offered to clarify the process.
Director is an inclusive term that refers to all members of the Board of Directors (generally just called Board) which is SRM WA Chapter’s governing body. Directors terms last two years, and these terms are staggered so that half expire one year and half the next. Four of the directors are officers (President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer), and the other two directors do not hold a specific office. Directors are elected by the Members at the Annual meeting. Director positions that become vacant prior to their term expiration are filled by the Board to serve the remainder of the term. There is also a non-voting, ex-officio director called Registered Agent who is appointed by the President. Registered Agent is our non-profit corporation’s point of contact registered with Washington Secretary of State office.
2021 Election: This year we elect Vice President, Treasurer, and one Director. Next year we will elect President, Secretary, and the other Director.
Voting: Eligible voters are any paid up member of SRM who reside in or work in Washington State or who choose to affiliate with our Chapter because of some other connection to Washington. Voting is conducted by snail mail prior to the Annual Meeting, electronically prior to and during the Annual Meeting, and in person at the Annual Meeting when we meet in person. Members may vote (only once) by the method of their choice.
Nominations for Directors have been sought during September and October. Our Bylaws specify that nominations must be submitted to the Secretary at least 24 days in advance of the Annual Meeting so that ballots can be prepared and included with notice of the Annual Meeting at least 15 days in advance. At this time, there is only one nominee for each expiring Director position.
Current Officers and Nominees:
- President, Cathy Cannon. Cathy will retire from her position at the 2021 Annual meeting. The Board selected Tom Platt to serve the President’s unexpired term until the 2022 Annual meeting.
- Vice President: Hannah Tomlinson’s term expires at the 2021 Annual meeting. Ken Visser the nominee for Vice President.
- Secretary: Angela Williams resigned the Secretary’s position in September. The Board appointed Hannah Tomlinson to fill the Secretary’s unexpired term when Hannah’s current term as Vice President expires at the Annual meeting. In the interim, Hannah has assumed some of the Secretary’s duties while still serving as Vice President.
- Treasurer: Tom Platt’s term expires at the 2021 Annual meeting. Craig Madsen is the nominee for Treasurer.
- Director: Bob Gillaspy and Saundra Morris are directors. Bob’s term expires at the 2021 Annual meeting. Saundra’s term expires at the 2022 Annual meeting. Doug Warnock is the nominee for Director.
- Registered Agent: Tom Platt will continue to serve in this position until a different appointee is made by the President.
New Officer Statements
Recently appointed by the Board to fill vacant positions until the 2022 Annual Meeting (Not on the ballot)
President, Tom Platt
My goal for the coming year is to help our Chapter meet your expectations by soliciting your input, offering activities that engage you, encouraging your participation, and mentoring new leadership.
I have been a member of SRM for 31 years, and I am committed to sustainable use of rangelands. I am a retired Extension Agent and small time farmer/rancher.
My past work for WSU was in management of livestock and forage resources, and managing farms and ranches as a business. I studied animal science at New Mexico State and Washington State Universities.
Currently, my wife Lois and I live on a small farm north of Davenport where we run a handful of cows, have two donkeys and one cat, and grow harvested and grazed forage, conservation cover, and timber on two hundred acres.
Secretary, Hannah Tomlinson
Hello, my name is Hannah Tomlinson, and I am pleased to serve as Washington Chapter’s Secretary after serving as Vice President for 3 years. I grew up in Okanogan County on a small apple and cherry orchard near Loomis, WA. I received my B.S. in Rangeland Management and Ecology from the University of Idaho in Moscow, ID and my M.S. in Range Science from North Dakota State University in Fargo, ND.
I am currently a Soil Conservationist for the Nespelem Field Office on the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation. I started my career with NRCS at the end of 2016. Prior to coming to NRCS, I worked five field seasons with the USFS on the Entiat/Chelan and Tonasket Ranger Districts as a biological technician, and one field season for Dr. Timothy Prather in his Invasive Plant Biology Lab at the University of Idaho. I currently reside in Electric City, WA with my partner (Spus Wilder) and our one-year-old daughter (Ilaka).
I enjoy being involved with the professional society and have experience planning and developing activities that would be of benefit to the group.
Candidate Statements
Vice President, Ken Visser
I wish to contribute to the well-being of the SRM Washington Chapter. A little over a decade ago I served as the President of the Nevada Section. I appreciate and endorse SRM’s mission and am familiar with SRM’s organizational framework. I am hopeful that my expertise in the laws, regulations and policy that govern public lands grazing can be an asset to the Washington Chapter.
Background. I retired in 2016 after 37 years as a Rangeland Management Specialist for the Bureau of Land Management. After receiving my BS in Conservation of Natural Resources from UC Berkeley in 1979, I spent a little more than half of my career as a field range con and supervisor at duty stations in Elko and Susanville. The remainder I spent helping formulate public lands grazing guidance, policy and regulation with duty stations in Washington DC, Reno, and Portland. My federal career engaged me in most of the resource management opportunities and challenges inherent to implementation and oversight of the BLM’s grazing program.
I live in Vancouver, Washington with my wife Hannah and have two grown sons in Reno. I currently serve as the Chair of our local Neighborhood Association. I like to hike and camp but am getting a little creakier as the years go on.
Treasurer, Craig Madsen
I was active in SRM when I worked for NRCS but when I started Healing Hooves, my project schedule made it very difficult to attend SRM meetings. I have missed connection with colleagues in the range profession and I look forward to becoming active in SRM again.
I see the Treasurer position with the WA Chapter as an opportunity to utilize my 20 years of being self-employed and running my own business. I will also provide a rancher perspective, one who has been using goats as a tool for vegetation management.
Background. Craig Madsen is co-owner of Healing Hooves which he and his wife Sue Lani started in 2002. Healing Hooves uses a herd of 200 goats as a tool to manage vegetation and help clients create their landscape goal. Craig has used his goats on projects throughout Washington as well as northwest Oregon and northern Idaho. He has worked for a variety of clients. Craig is on the Board of Directors of Roots of Resilience, a non-profit that facilitates the restoration of ecosystems through practice of Holistic Management. He is currently certified as a Field Professional with the Savory Institute. Before starting Healing Hooves, Craig was a Range Management Specialist with the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service for 14 years. Craig and his wife, Sue Lani, used his training in Holistic Management to make a smooth transition from working for the federal government to starting a successful vegetation management business. Craig and Sue Lani live near Edwall, WA with their assortment of pets, working border collies, and herd of goats. Craig is active in his community as a volunteer firefighter, member of the Lions Club and an Elder of the First Presbyterian Church of Reardan.
Director, Doug Warnock
I am very much interested in devoting time to serve the Washington Chapter of SRM. My membership in SRM spans a number of years but does not include being active in the leadership of the organization. The SRM publications have been of great benefit to me and I have enjoyed the meetings attended. It is time for me to contribute time and energy to help the organization move forward.
My time as an officer and director of local, regional and national organizations allows me to bring much experience to the operation of this organization. I would be honored to serve as a director of the Washington Chapter of SRM.
Background. Doug is a retired Extension Agent having worked for WSU for over 35 years with agricultural producers, agribusiness, natural resource managers, and youth. He holds a degrees from OSU, BS in General Agriculture, and from WSU, MS in Animal Science. Upon graduation from OSU, Doug joined in the management of the family farm in Klickitat County and continued for four years. This included management of a beef cattle herd, and the production of alfalfa hay, wheat and barley.
After retiring from WSU, Doug continues to consult, write articles in agricultural and managerial publications including his regular column, Greener Pastures, in the Capital Press, and conduct workshops in Holistic Management and Consensus Building.
Doug is co-founder and officer of Managing Change Northwest/Roots of Resilience, is experienced in rangeland monitoring with the Land EKG monitoring process and is associated with the Savory Institute.
Ballot link will go here when voting begins….
Vote online here
