Every year, Southern Regional Extension Forestry invites representatives from our principal partners, the Extension programs at the 13 Southern land-grant universities, and natural resource organizations from across the Southeastern United States to our headquarters in Athens, Georgia in order to share information on SREF's programs and products, work together on regional issues, and provide an opportunity for Extension professionals and associates in the South to network, recognize shared goals, and coordinate their outreach and education strategies. Usually, engagement, fellowship, and productivity remain high throughout the two day event, and this year was no exception.

Extension professionals from 11 of the 13 Southern land grant universities and Extension associates from natural resource organizations throughout the region gathered at Flinchum's Phoenix in Athens, GA on February 24th and 25th to participate in Southern Regional Extension Forestry's annual Southern Extension Forestry Coordinators Meeting for 2015. The event permits an otherwise geographically diverse group to interact closely over informative and interactive presentations,  conversation, and food. Each year, the first day ends with a steak dinner, prepared by SREF and its associates at Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources. 

Flinchum's Phoenix, a wood-paneled, homey lodge with a brick fireplace and comfortable kitchen located in UGA's Whitehall Forest, provided a perfect backdrop for the Southern Regional Extension Forester, Bill Hubbard, to deliver the annual Southern Regional Extension Forestry address, which updates SREF's partners and associates on the status of the organization, its accomplishments from the previous year, and its objectives for the future. His talk emphasized SREF's continued commitment to serving the 13 Southern land grant universities as well as its most recent partners and revealed the addition of new staff members, Holly Campbell, Steven Weaver, Dan Geller, Laura Melenric, and Brent Peterson, all added within in the last year to assist SREF in performing its mission to coordinate and support the Extension programs at the 13 land grant universities.

After the annual SREF Update, presentations on specific projects began with Patty Matteson and Teresa Jackson's update on the Southern Family Forest Owner effort and transitioned to an interactive presentation on landowner outreach and engagement strategies within the Southeastern region. At noon, SREF treated its guests to a delicious lunch catered by Willy's Mexican Grill, which participants seemed to enjoy--even special guest, Dr. Laura Perry Johnson, the associate dean for Extension at UGA! 

Dale Greene, interim dean of Warnell School of Forestry & Natural Resources, and the aforementioned Laura Perry Johnson, associate dean of UGA Cooperative Extension Services and College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences led a spirited discussion about the perspective of administration on Extension forestry in the South and its common challenges and opportunities. Next, Eric Norland, the national program director of Forestry at USDA National Institute of Forestry and Agriculture, and John Dondero, the cooperative forestry director at the USDA Forest Service out of the Atlanta office, and Gary White, Management Chief of the Georgia Forestry Commission, gave a talk on extension forestry from a federal and state partner perspective. Eric Norland couldn't be present due to unfortunate weather conditions, but he was able to convey the energy of his presentation through technology! 

Following the dialogue and news on Extension forestry in the South, Steve McNulty, director of the Southeast Regional Climate Hub, Martha Monroe, Professor at the University of Florida School of Forest Resources and Conservation, and member of Project Learning Tree and PINEMAP, and SREF's Extension Associate Leslie Boby chaired a panel on the role of Extension and its associates in educating the public about climate science. 

The penultimate presentation gave land-grant university representatives and natural resource associates the opportunity to share region and state-specific information concerning budgets, opportunities, challenges, and events. The information exchanged was an important way to ensure coordination between regional programs and to identify areas for potential collaboration. Last, but certainly not least, Scott Jones, chief executive officer of the Forest Landowners Association, gave the last presentation of the day, an essential lecture on the needs and requirements of forest landowners by an organization whose mission is to advocate on their behalf. 

With the business of the day completed, the deservedly famous steak dinner commenced! Grillmaster and BBQ enthusiast Dr. Ben Jackson served up ample cuts of tender, juicy steaks, baked potatoes, salad, and grilled mushrooms for the less carnivorously inclined.  The atmosphere was perfect for group bonding and further discussion of the opportunities for Extension forestry in the coming year. 

Unfortunately, the second day of the Coordinators Meeting was plagued by unseasonably bad weather, but most of the participants, eager to continue the discussion, persevered and attended morning's interactive presentation on urban and community forestry, marked by excellent lectures given by Ed Macie, of Forest Service's State and Private Forestry organization, Dudley Hartel, of the Centers for Urban & Interface Forestry, and  Eric Kuehler, of the Southern Research Station. All three men are also part of the Forest Service's Urban and Community Forestry Program.

The weather permitted only a small portion of the further regional programming discussion that had been planned for the day before the group had to wrap things up. After packing up their things and grabbing a personally customized box lunch from Athens area favorite, Big City Bread, SREF's staff and guests went their separate ways, excited to share with their colleagues all the news, information, and ideas that had been exchanged at the Southern Extension Forestry Coordinator's Meeting 2015.

We'd like to thank everyone who made it over to Athens for our annual meeting, and we look forward to a productive year with you and your state Extension colleagues!