News Briefs | October 27, 2021 |
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MVCAC Planning Meeting- In PERSON
December 7 and 8
Hyatt House Emeryville/San Francisco Bay Area
5800 Shellmound Street, Emeryville, CA 94608
(Right next to the Amtrak station)
Reservations need to be made by November 5th
Or call 1-866-974-9288 and give the code G-MVEC to make your reservation.
Agenda is being worked on, Day 1 is typically each committee charges and discussions and is all day
Day 2 is a wrap up and board meeting (if needed) and is done no later than noon.
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MVCAC 2022 Annual Conference |
February 7-9, 2022: Annual Conference, Sacramento Convention Center
February 10, 2022: Board meeting, Sheraton Hotel
Register:
Agenda:
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Click here to view the draft agenda (as of 10/20/2021)
Hotel Information:
Exhibitor Information:
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MVCAC Drone Use and Interest Survey |
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Colleagues,
The ad hoc UAS Committee of MVCAC would much appreciate your response to the survey below. We are seeking to learn how we can best serve your interests and needs in all things related to drones.
There are two surveys, one for Districts that currently has a UAS program, and another for those that don’t. Please take a few moments to answer one or the other (even if your District has no interest in developing a drone program).
Without a Drone program:
Currently have Drone program:
Thank you kindly!
The ad hoc UAS Committee
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Virtual Farewell Party for Truc Dever |
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You are invited to a Virtual Farewell Party for GLACVCD General Manager Truc Dever on November 16th for her 15 years of dedicated service to mosquito control. She also serves as the President of the Mosquito and Vector Control Association of California (MVCAC), and Vice President of the Employment Risk Management Authority (ERMA) representing Vector Control Joint Powers Agency (VCJPA). Please join us in thanking her for her exceptional leadership and commitment to the mosquito control industry.
Other links:
Sign up if you’re planning to submit a video, or speak “live” on zoom at the virtual event: https://bit.ly/3n4lPyT
Submit photos and videos for the montage that we’ll be showing at the event (please submit by Nov 5th ): https://bit.ly/3ue2yOU
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October is CyberSecurity Awareness Month |
The MVCAC Information Technology Committee invites you to take part in Cybersecurity Awareness Month 2021 this October as we raise awareness about the importance of cybersecurity to help ensure that all individuals and organizations have the information and tools they need to be safer and more secure online.
All the information provided will also be available on the IT Committee's resources page on the MVCAC website, at https://www.mvcac.org/resources/it-resources/ (must be logged in to view). We will also publish on that page links to printable posters for your office, prepared emails to send to your staff, and many more resources to help assess and improve on your information security.
If you have any questions about this program, cybersecurity in general, or would like to share a cybersecurity story for something that happened to you or your organization that others can learn from, email Dan Fisher at dfisher@fightthebite.net, and remember, don't click on any links unless you know who sent them!
Week 2 - Securing your Devices and Data
- Update all your devices and programs to the latest software update or system software upgrades when available. This is important to promptly correct security flaws that could be used to compromise the device and steal or ransom data.
- Back up your important information using the 3-2-1 Rule. Keep 3 Copies of data at all times. One working / Live copy, Two backup copies on different devices, and one cloud/offsite or offline copy.
- Just like shredding sensitive paper documents before recycling, remove and destroy hard drives before recycling old computers, printers and copy machines.
- Encrypt hard drives whenever possible, especially laptop computers.
- Use passwords to protect mobile devices, and a Mobile Device Management program to make sure you can unlock and track them.
Week 3 - Stay Aware Online
- Do not click links sent to you you are not expecting. This includes text messages or emails that alert you to update or change your account password. Attackers are using clever ways to clone official looking websites such as Facebook, Microsoft, Google, or iCloud login pages. Instead of using links, visit the website yourself by typing it into your browse. For example, the recent large scale Facebook outage resulted in a large number of text message attacks that alerted people to click a link to update their security settings.
- Don't open attachments you are not expecting, verify the source first. If someone sends you a file you are not expecting, reply back to them, did you send this? Or contact them on the phone to make sure.
- Download software from reputable sources, such as official App Stores.
- Be aware of what personal information you put on the internet, even in "private" messaging apps or email threads. Once information is on the internet, it can be copied, and made public through data leaks or used for malicious purposes.
- It is especially important to protect children from sharing personal details or location data. Be aware of what information you or others you know are sharing about children, both for their safety, and privacy.
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89th Volume of the MVCAC Proceedings and Papers Available Now |
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Click the button below to view. |
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MVCAC Monthly Committee Meeting Information |
MVCAC All Hands Call: Third Tuesday of every month at 9am
The MVCAC is now holding monthly statewide Zoom meetings to engage, inform and support our members. Join us on the 3rd Tuesday of each month at 9am for an Association update and discussions on topics of importance including legislative and regulatory matters, outreach efforts, committee projects, continuing education updates, and COVID-related activities.
If you have a topic you would like to discuss, please email mvcac@mvcac.org with “Monthly Meeting Topic” in the subject line.
PR Committee: Second Thursday of every month at 2pm
The MVCAC PR Committee is now holding monthly Zoom meetings to exchange information, provide updates on subcommittee progress and to support each other as communications professionals.
Please note: No meeting on October 14. We are instead using our slot at the MVCAC Fall meeting on October 27 at 9:00 a.m.
VVBD Committee: First Tuesday of every month at 8am
Committee members are not required to make every meeting, but are required to check in prior to any meeting they cannot attend.
If you are interested in being on the VVBD email list please email Mir Bear-Johnson (mirbearjohnson@deltavcd.com). The email list is notified of the meetings.
Ad hoc Drone Committee: Second Wednesday of each month at 1pm
Please contact Eric Haas-Stapleton if you would like to be included on email notifications sent by this committee (Eric.Haas@mosquitoes.org).
Laboratory Technologies Committee: Fourth Wednesday of every month from 2pm – 3pm
Please contact Eric Haas-Stapleton if you would like to be included on email notifications sent by this committee (Eric.Haas@mosquitoes.org).
MVCAC New Professionals Virtual Lounge: Second Tuesday once a quarter from 11am – 12pm
This is a networking hour for vector control professionals with less than 5 years of industry experience.
Click here for more information and upcoming topics.
Next meeting topic:
Holiday Lounge
Nov 9 – Gotta catch ‘em all: Arthropods!
- Describe a time when you had a trapping experience that did not turn out how you expected.
- What are some knowledge gaps in trapping or collecting vectors?
- How does your prior experience guide you on where you are now as a new professional?
- Invite Lab Technologies committee.
All meeting zoom login information is behind the member login, please click the button below to access it.
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Share Your Post COVID-19 Exposure Methods With Us |
MVCAC is looking for member districts to share with us their post COVID exposure methods and logistics. Please email the methods you have in place to mvcac@mvcac.org and we will add them to the COVID-19 page on the MVCAC website.
Thank you!
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MVCAC Member Resources Re: COVID-19 |
MVCAC will be assembling and posting some information and templates of what some Districts have created and shared as they manage their operations. Items like sample document for field staff to carry in addition to their ID to validate status/purpose and actions related to seasonal hires. It will be posted as it becomes available to a new members-only page on the MVCAC website.
Click the button below to login and view.
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“The only constant in life is change.”
Whether it’s changing sources, zones, products or even species of mosquitoes, anyone in the world of mosquito control knows this quote very well. And now the Delta Vector Control District has a new change to announce—the District has a new name. Delta Vector Control District is now Delta Mosquito and Vector Control District (District).
According to District Manager Mustapha Debboun, Ph.D., the reason for the change is rooted in increasing constituent understanding.
“I felt the residents of the District did not understand the word, “vector” by itself and didn’t have a clear understanding of our mission until we explain to them that we are providing mosquito surveillance and control services. Adding the word, “mosquito” better reflects and publicizes the primary purposes and goals of the Delta Mosquito and Vector Control District and illustrates that the District’s services and responsibilities include both mosquito and vector surveillance and control activities.”
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Submit your district for the next Agency Spotlight |
Does your agency have a success story, a staff member you would like to publicly recognize, or an innovation by your agency that you would like to highlight? "Agency Spotlight" on the MVCAC website is one way to share your story! Each submission which meets the specified criteria will be reviewed and posted on the MVCAC website on the Agency Spotlight page and highlighted on the homepage in the rotating feature box. Each story will remain posted for 1-2 months before being moved to a publicly archived page.
Interested? Click here to fill out an application!
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HR resources for districts to use and to upload information into |
District Managers - Please upload your HR resources and information into this Google Drive along with using it for your own district.
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MVCAC News Briefs - Giant Asian Hornets |
Please note: The items contained below are not the views or opinions of MVCAC but they are what is being reported in the media. The goal of MVCAC providing this information is to keep MVCAC members informed of all news articles that are being presented regarding Giant Asian Hornets.
CSDA Giant Asian Hornets Video:
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MVCAC News Briefs - Zika Updates |
Please note: The items contained below are not the views or opinions of MVCAC but they are what is being reported in the media. The goal of MVCAC providing this information is to keep MVCAC members informed of all news articles that are being presented regarding Zika.
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MVCAC News Briefs - Other Outbreaks |
Please note: The items contained below are not the views or opinions of MVCAC but they are what is being reported in the media. The goal of MVCAC providing this information is to keep MVCAC members informed of all news articles that are being presented regarding other outbreaks.
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Do you have important news to share about your district or mosquito and vector issues? |
If you would like your news to be included in the MVCAC News Briefs, please send press releases and/or links to relevant news articles to mvcac@mvcac.org
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Interested in a career in mosquito and vector control? Check out the MVCAC Jobs Board at www.mvcac.org
Have a Job or RFP to post to MVCAC.org?
Requests to post job listings (no more than 500 words in length) should be submitted to the webmaster at mvcac@mvcac.org.
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MVCAC Sustaining Member Corner |
Note: MVCAC does not endorse the products below, but we do support our Sustaining Members
Central Life Sciences has announced the release of Aqua Zenivex™ E20, a reduced-risk adulticide for mosquito control professionals.
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