COUNCIL MEETING & CELEBRATION
You’re invited to join the Georgia Envirothon Council for our annual election meeting and celebration!
Date: 05/01/2015
Meeting Time: 12:00pm – 4:00pm
Celebration: 4:00pm – 8:00pm
Location: Georgia Soil & Water Conservation Commission
Address: 4310 Lexington Rd. Athens, GA 30605
Click here to register
If you are interested in learning about all of the behind-the-scenes activities that make the Georgia Envirothon competitions a success, you should plan to attend! We will be discussing the successes from the last year and will also discuss areas where we can improve. We will begin planning for the 2015-2016 year and ensure that we have an established leadership team that will help to fulfill all of our objectives.
We are always looking for new members and volunteers to help with various financial or functional aspects of the program, but this meeting is unique in that anyone can be nominated to serve as a member of the nine member governing Council. If you are interested in serving on the Council, please read the call for nominations below for more information.
CALL FOR NOMINATIONS
Position: Council Member
Nominations Due: 5/1/15
The Georgia Envirothon is currently searching for qualified, passionate individuals who are willing to serve on our volunteer Council. This letter will briefly explain our program and the role of Council members. The Georgia Envirothon will hold its annual election meeting on Friday May 1st from 12:00-4:00pm at the Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Office: 4310 Lexington Rd, Athens, GA 30605. Individuals are encouraged to seek a nomination from current Council members, but are also encouraged to self-nominate from the floor in lieu of a prior arrangement.
The Georgia Envirothon is a 501c3 non-profit organization that challenges high school students in a natural resource education competition where teams of 4-6 students compete by taking written and hands-on tests in areas of Wildlife, Forestry, Soils & Land Use, Aquatic Ecology, and a Current Issue that changes each year. We host regional and state competitions and our state champion team goes on to compete against 56 other states and provinces from around North America at the National Conservation Foundation Envirothon.
The Georgia Envirothon is operated in partnership with the NCF Envirothon and is an independent entity operated by a volunteer Council. The Georgia Envirothon Council (GEC) consists of 9 members. We are looking to fill 4-5 vacant or expiring positions. Generally speaking, meetings are held about once every two months with various subcommittees meeting in the interim. Council members are able to attend via conference call if attending in person is prohibitive, though physical representation is encouraged. Much of the business is conducted through e-mail.
Although Council members are encouraged to be as active as possible, it is understood that an individual’s professional responsibilities may prohibit active participation from time to time. Ideally, individuals are encouraged to budget their time and work efficiently so that they can balance their professional career and volunteer service to enhance the program. An individual has the ability to choose how actively they contribute to the program, but an inactive Council member may be removed by 2/3 vote of the Council. Additional rules and regulations for Council business can be found in the Georgia Envirothon Bylaws.
Competitions are held in March and April so most of the year consists of revamping materials, preparing tests, promoting to schools and conferences, fundraising, ordering shirts/trophies/etc, and making general decisions to improve the function and awareness of the program.Currently we have four primary committees that focus on various aspects of the program, they are: Competition, Education, Fundraising, and Marketing. If you believe you may be better suited in one or more of these areas, please mention where you might be able to contribute most.
The Georgia Envirothon currently has 3 regional competitions around the state. In 2014 our program hosted 24 schools. We have rebranded, promoted much more extensively, and have seen improvements in our participation with 36 teams registering and competing in 2015!We've recently been awarded a $2,000 diversity grant from the US Forest Service to expand our participation by 16 teams in 2015-2016. The grant involves appealing to schools who have racial/cultural diversity of 30% or higher within their student body. The GEC also just reinstated a two-day State Competition and have heard many positive things from our students and advisors.
There are many great things happening within our organization, but we absolutely need dedicated people who feel they can help expand and grow our program to have a larger impact on our students and society. The Council incorporates individuals from government agencies, educational institutions, NGOs and the private sector with representatives from GADNR, NRCS, GFC, GASWCC, UGA – Warnell School of Forestry & Natural Resources and many others.
If you have read this letter and would like to learn more, please don't hesitate to contact us. We would love to discuss your interests and how you might be able to contribute to the function, purpose and sustainability of our program. On behalf of the students, advisors and volunteers that are impacted by this program, we appreciate your consideration and look forward to your future involvement in whatever capacity that may be.
Sincerely,
Josh Seehorn, President and Life Member
706.490.4845
www.georgiaenvirothon.org
P.S. – If you are not certain that you could dedicate your time or abilities to serving on the Council, would you consider supporting the program financially by joining at one of our four membership levels? All donations are tax deductible when you join as an ($20) Annual, ($50) Sustaining, ($100) Foundation, or ($500) Life Member. You can have a tremendous impact on the financial stability of the program! Click here to join.