A Time and Season for Everything

Even though I love every season, spring and fall are definitely my favorites. I find it especially challenging when all the leaves have fallen and it is time to rake and prepare for the winter. Not because I do not want to embrace the possibility of snow, holidays, comfort food, time spent with family and friends and snuggling up with a good book in front of a crackling fire. Instead, for me, it is the transition and saying goodbye to the golden light, brilliant colors, pumpkins and harvest season.

Whether leaving home for the first time or experiencing the passing of a loved one, life can be difficult and painful--yet memories last and bring us such joy. I think about growing up watching Carol Burnett with my parents and have so many fond memories of laughing hysterically as a family. I will never forget her last show, when Carol finally chose to say “so long” and tugged on her ear for the last time. I thought the world had ended at the time but later realized that I would always carry those memories with me and with reruns (and now DVDs), I could watch Carol and have belly laughs any time I wanted.

That time has come for us, when we have to say “so long” to something we have cherished for decades, the National Tree Farmer Convention. We celebrated our 20th anniversary last year and are very much looking forward to making the 21st convention in July in Pittsburgh the best ever. Yet we will not be holding the National Tree Farmer Convention, as we have known it, in 2015. Like Carol Burnett, for 20 years the convention has created that space to gather with family and friends--to laugh, grow, learn and make deeper connections. The “every-timers” have many stories to share. During the two conventions I attended, I formed new friendships, strengthened existing relationships and partnerships, learned new ideas and laughed and cried at the many stories our Tree Farmers and partners shared.

I can assure you that this decision came with much review and debate. The American Forest Foundation has been losing money on the Tree Farmer convention since its inception and unfortunately reaching a very small audience. The convention helped us build and strengthen the program, our volunteer network, our partnerships and, most important, helped offer new Tree Farmers opportunities to learn best practices. We believe we can continue to offer these values in other, more cost-effective ways. The Tree Farm staff and volunteer leaders have looked at the value the convention provides and made recommendations to our board of trustees that focus on providing more regional events and educational programming through different channels, such as our popular webinar series. As we begin to roll out these new ideas in the future, I am confident you will be excited about the opportunities for continued learning and networking with your peers. I have no doubt our family and network will become even stronger and will have more impact on each other and the land as we turn toward new ways to learn and support each other.

We have many new opportunities to engage our existing network and reach new landowners in cost-effective ways and using innovative approaches that will resonate with our diverse landowner community. So, like Carol Burnett said in her closing show, “change is growth.” The good news is that we do not have to say “so long” to each other. We will have “reruns” to watch in our minds and hearts and through the stories we share. We will also stay in touch and see each other at national fly-ins and various other meetings, along with attending each other’s field days and coming together in 2016 to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the American Tree Farm System®. The good times we have shared can never leave us and will only grow in the future through making many new memories.