MFA 2008 Conference Wrap-up

Dear MFA Members and Friends For those of you who joined us in Annapolis this past weekend, you already know what a wonderful event our 2008 Annual Conference was! That success is due to the support of our friends and members ~ whether it be financially or in terms of time and talents. Please help us thank all those listed below for their support. For those who were unable to join us, and for those that did, we hope you will plan now to attend next year's conference which will be October 30 & 31 at the Rocky Gap Lodge and Golf Resort. Watch the MFA website and Crosscut for details as they become available. Send us your ideas for themes, topics and speakers for the 2009 Conference. Planning begins shortly! Contact the MFA office at mdforests@hereintown.net or 301-895-5369 Thank You to All Who Made Our Conference a Success! Annual Conference Planning Committee: Philip Gottwals (Chair), Jeff Fisher, Steve Jarvis, Karin Miller Session Moderator ~ Bob Eaton Videographer ~ Pete Miller AV Assistants ~ Steve Jarvis and Steve Resh Photographers ~ Joan Bearden and Donnell Keech Silent Auction Coordinator ~ Becky Wagner Hospitality Hosts ~ Dick and Bobbie Stanfield MFA Welcome Desk ~ Bobbie Stanfield, Lynn Holmes OUR SPEAKERS Mr. Bruce Vincent Mr.Steve Koehn Mr.Michael Goergen Mr.Bill Rodenberg Mr.Kirk Martin Mr.John Karakash Mr.Patrick Doyle Mr.Bruce Waver 2008 CONFERENCE SPONSORS GOLD CIRCLE ACDS, LLC~Columbia, MD Besley & Rodgers, Inc.~ Falls Church VA Bitmunious Insurance ~ Lutherville, MD Edrich Lumber Co. Dick and Bobbie Stanfield~ Windsor Mill MD Forest Resources Association~ Rockville MD MAR-LEN Environmental ~ Westminster MD NewPage Corp Luke Mill~ Westernport MD Paul M. Jones Lumber Co., Inc.~ Snow Hill MD Sustainable Resource Mgt. Inc ~ Davidsonville MD The Forestland Group, LLC~ Wellsboro PA The Mill~ Bel Air MD University of Md Cooperative Extension~ College Park MD USI Insurance Services~Falls Church VA SILVER CIRCLE Bowen and Kron Enterprises, Inc.~Baltimore MD C.W. Matthews & Sons~Seaford DE Egolf Forest Harvesting, Inc.~Delmar DE Ota Stevenson, Inc.~ Salisbury MD Pete Richardson Auction Sales ~ Willards MD Sisler Lumber Co.~ Mt Lake Park MD Timber Harvest, Inc. ~ Cordova MD MD Tree Farm System ~ Chesapeake Beach MD Smith-Foster Furnance Corp. ~ Queenstown MD Laws Corporation ~ Snow Hill MD BRONZE CIRCLE Borden Mining Company~ Jamestown NC Maryland Farm Bureau, Inc.~ Randallstown MD Southern MD RC&D~Waldorf MD Western Pocahontas Properties~ Huntington WV Dave and Gail Weissert~ Denton, MD Rising Sun Log Corp~ Rising Sun, MD Vision Forestry LLC~ Salisbury, MD STUDENT SPONSORS Delaware Forestry Association Delaware Tree Farm Committee Mar-Len Environmental ~ Westminster MD Chris and Lynn Holmes ~Arnold, MD Mimi Wright~ Church Creek, MD Rising Sun Log Corporation~ Rising Sun, Md Dave and Gail Weissert~ Denton, MD SILENT AUCTION DONORS Ace and Ann Parker Angela Hedderick Anonymous Bituminous Insurance David Matthews Forest Friendly Logging Forest Land Group Glatfelter Pulp Wood Company Jim Thomas MARBIDCO Mar-Len Environmental Parker Forestry Services Pete and Karin Miller Red Rock Enterprises Richard and Jakie Lewis Smith-Foster Timber Group Steve Jarvis Sustainable Resource Management Vision Forestry Commercial Exhibitors Bituminous Insurance Companies http://www.bituminousinsurance.com/ P O Box 509 Lutherville, MD 21904 800-346-5108 McLean Insurance Agency www.mcleaninsurance.com 461798 Westland Dr. Suite 300 Potomac Falls, VA 20165 703-621-3374 Yates Insurance http://yates-usa.com/ 3294 Solomons Island Road Edgewater, MD 21037 410-956-7360 I&E Exhibits (information and educational) Allegany College of Maryland - Forestry Dept. http://www.allegany.edu/careers/foresttech/ 12401 Willowbrook Road, SE Cumberland, MD 21502-2596 301-784-5307 Forestry for the Bay www.forestryforthebay.org 410 Severn Ave., Suite 209 Annapolis, MD 21403 410-267-5723 Harry R. Hughes Center for Agro-Ecology, Inc. www.agroecol.umd.edu P O Box 169 Queenstown, MD 21658 410-827-8056, ext 126 MARBIDCO www.marbidco.org 1410 Forest Dr., Suite 28 Annapolis, MD 21403 410-267-6807 Maryland Association of Forest Conservancy Districk Boards http://www.mdforest.sailorsite.net/ DNR Forest Service Tawes State Office Building, E-1 Annapolis, MD 21401 410-260-8589 MD Chapter - The American Chestnut Foundation http://www.mdtacf.org/ 21900 Davis Mill Rd Germantown, MD 20876 301-916-6133 MD Tree Farm System http://www.treefarmsystem.org/ contact DNR - Forest Service 580 Taylor Avenue, E-1 Annapolis, MD 21401 410-260-8531 MD/DE Master Logger Program http://md-demasterlogger.com/ PO Box 169 124 Wye Narrows Rd. Queenstown, MD 21658 410-827-8056 ext. 125 MD/DE Society of American Foresters http://safnet.org/ 3 Pershing Street, Room 101 Cumberland, MD 21502 301-777-5835 The Nature Conservancy nature.org 321 Magruder Street Cumberland, MD 21502 301-722-0313 University of Maryland Cooperative Extension www.agnr.umd.edu 1212 Symons Hall College Park, MD 20748 301-405-7992 USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service www.md.nrcs.usda.gov 339 Busch's Frontage Road, #301 Annapolis, MD 21409 443-482-2902

2008 Election Summary

The results of Tuesday’s election remind us that when the people of our great nation demand change - they mean it. The long campaign for the presidency ended last night when President-elect Barack Obama won 349 electoral votes over Senator John McCain’s 162 votes. This historic Presidential race has been at the forefront of our nation’s political stage for such a long time that it overshadowed other contested battles taking place all across the country for House and Senate seats.

Senate

Senate Democrats picked up five seats bringing their majority to 56 (including two independents). Races still have not been called in Alaska, Minnesota and Oregon. Republicans retained open seats in Idaho and Nebraska, but lost open seats in Colorado, New Mexico and Virginia. No Democrat seats turned over.

House

Democrats widened their majority to 254-174, a net gain of 19 seats with seven races still undecided. There are at least 52 new members of Congress with the current breakdown being 29 Democrats and 20 Republicans.

A detailed list of all the changes in the House and Senate is attached.

What We Need To Do

It is extremely important that the industry reach out to the new Members of Congress soon. A majority of the newly-elected members will arrive in Washington with limited knowledge of our industry, and it is our responsibility to educate them on the environmental benefits of the forest products industry and the legislative issues that impact our everyday business. We have a great opportunity to get in at the beginning and build strong relationships with these 52 new Members.

Sixty-five percent of everyone who cast a vote last night said they were concerned about the economy and jobs. We need to get in at the beginning and tell our story to President-elect Obama, his Administration and the 111^th Congress. It remains our duty to advocate on the important issues facing our industry, the employees and their jobs. Let’s all do our part.

Please visit www.growthevote.org to retain one pagers and informational material on important legislative issues to help guide your discussions with the incoming Congressional members,

If you have any questions regarding the election results, please contact Anita Peduzzi at anita_peduzzi@afandpa.org or (202) 463-2755