A Message from CWSS President Robert Leavitt

How fast time passes! We’re only a few months away from the 2006 CWSS annual conference in Ventura.  Vice-President Deb Shatley is putting the final touches on a great program, built around the theme of Improvise, Adapt, and Overcome.  And Local Arrangements Chairperson Elaine Hale and our Director for Local Arrangements, Sowmya Mitra, are doing a great job getting the venue ready for us. Our Secretary, Carl Bell, is planning a great Monday Night Reception, and Deb, Elaine, and Sowmya have promised “no chicken salad” at the Tuesday Business Luncheon. 

Also at the Tuesday Business Luncheon, our guest speaker will be AG Kawamura, the Secretary of Agriculture (invited.)  AG is a strawberry and specialty crop grower and shipper in Orange County, and has many years of experience fighting weeds.  He is also a great speaker.  You will all want to attend this event.

There is even more good news about this year’s conference. First, this year’s conference will offer a record number of Continuing Education hours. Second, registration fees will be the same as last year, including Exhibitor fees.  And third, the room rates at the Ventura Marriott are the lowest the conference has had in years.  So this year’s conference will be a great bargain; savings you can spend at Ventura’s famous antique stores.

And of course, the best thing about Ventura in January for you Central Valley members – no fog!

As I mentioned in the last issue of California Weed Science, our new Board structure is functioning well.  In this issue, I’d like to highlight our Director for Finance, Chuck Synold, and our Director for Publicity, Michelle LeStrange. Chuck has revitalized the finance function of the Board by instituting a solid budget process and a three-year finance review.  Michelle is the newest member of the Board, and is already lining up publicity for our conference.

And remember that Steve Fennimore, our Director and Newsletter Editor, is always looking for articles for California Weed Science.  Steve is developing some editorial guidelines, but in brief, articles should be technical in nature and deal, in some manner, with weed science.  For more details, Steve can be contacted at safennimore@ucdavis.edu.

Let me conclude by saying “I’ll see you in Ventura”.