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In this edition you will find the notice of the 2021 virtual Annual Chapter Meeting, messages from the President and Past-President, call for Officer nominations, National Outstanding Chapter award, and more. See the highlights here, and use the links to delve deeper into the topics that interest you!
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Save the Date! 2021 Cal-Neva Annual Chapter Meeting!
- The Cal-Neva 2021 Chapter meeting will be held virtually, March 1 - March 5, 2021
- Continuing education courses will be offered in the mornings and plenary, symposia, and contributed papers will be in the afternoon
- Options for live or pre-recorded presentations, with live Q&A for each session
- Alternate formats, including graphical or video walkthroughs, will be encouraged for virtual poster session
Keep an eye out for more messages coming soon! We are finalizing our choices of virtual meeting software and will be in touch with more details on the meeting schedule, and with calls for abstracts for posters, talks, and symposia in the near future.
Signed, President-Elect Matthew Young and the Chapter Meeting Planning Team
Get the latest news about the annual meeting here |
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Seeking Cal-Neva Officer Nominations for 2021 Elections
Are you looking to expand your network, grow personally, develop skills, make a difference for fisheries, and make lasting connections with other passionate professionals and students? Then consider joining the leadership of the AFS Cal-Neva Chapter!
The Executive Committee is pleased to invite nominations for Officers for the AFS Cal-Neva Chapter. Nominations can originate from chapter members as well as self-nominations. This year, we are seeking qualified candidates for President-Elect (3-year term) and Treasurer (2-year term), to serve terms commencing August 2021.
All officers are reimbursed annual dues and registration to Chapter Meetings, and President-elect/President have expenses paid to attend the national Society meeting. More info about responsibilities can be found here: Officer responsibilities.
Nominations and candidate statements are due January 20, 2021. Election will be held by electronic ballot and results announced at the Annual Meeting March 2, 2021.
Get information about Chapter elections here |
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Outgoing President's (sort of) Farewell Message
What a year. A world-wide pandemic that has changed virtually all our lives, both for better and for worse. Social unrest that mobilized communities everywhere to speak out about injustices in our society. Wildfires throughout California and Nevada on a more widespread basis than ever before. A crazy and controversial national election reflecting a nation divided over basic principles. We have all been influenced by these events, including the California-Nevada Chapter of AFS.
As we approach 2021 and I term out as sitting President of the Chapter, the thing that really strikes me is how well we as a chapter scrambled to adapt to this rapidly changing landscape of conditions. When you take a cold, hard look, a professional organization that is so committed to bringing people together face-to-face to exchange information, share ideas, and develop collaborations and friendships, could have well just called it good and taken a break while we all waited out this situation. Fear not, though, for the steadfast Cal-Neva Executive Committee shook, shifted, and shimmied its way from having to call off a live annual meeting 3 days before curtain rise in March to working with Western Division, AFS headquarters staff, and an amazing group of grad students at Clemson University to help put on the Society's first-ever Virtual Spring Conference, which in May featured many of the Cal-Neva member presentations otherwise slated for the cancelled Folsom meeting. A huge shout-out to current President Dave Lentz for coordinating Cal-Neva's involvement in that ground breaking event, and to all the Cal-Neva members who pulled together recorded presentations and represented the Chapter.
One of the perks associated with serving on the Chapter ExCom is, believe it or not, the monthly meetings. Who doesn't love another meeting, right? These meetings, though, provide the opportunity for much of the ExCom to come together on a regular basis to manage the business of the Chapter and typically conclude with sharing a meal and a little fun together. Like all forms of gathering, the pandemic required that we either suspend activity - not an option in this case - or, again, adapt and find a new way. Which this amazing group of people did, first by phone and then by webinar. Many thanks to termed out Secretary, Kathleen Berridge, not only for her service on the ExCom overall, but also for her assistance in facilitating our move to virtual meetings. In the same breath, I want to officially welcome new secretary, Nicole Kwan, to the ExCom.
In spite of all the challenges that we've faced this year, 2020 has been a year of recognition for the Chapter. Cal-Neva received the Outstanding Large Chapter Award not only from Western Division, but also at the national level, for all its accomplishments in 2019, not the least of which was the Chapter's role in co-hosting the annual meeting in Reno (see article " National AFS 2020 Outstanding Chapter Award!" below, or the blogpost here). This honor represents the culmination of work conducted by the ExCom and membership over a several year period. Congratulations to all! The Greeks have a very special word - philotimo - which basically means that one's acts should bring honor to its family and community through selflessness and with an eye on bettering the world around them. The Cal-Neva Chapter of AFS is imbued with philotimo, always looking for ways to support work in fisheries and to provide opportunity for membership. I have been honored to serve as President of the Chapter and look forward to continuing work as Past President alongside President Dave Lentz and President-Elect Matt Young. Thanks to all for this opportunity and for all of your hard work! Signed, Chapter Past-President Rob Titus
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Greetings Cal-Neva folks, hope this finds you well. Obviously, the pandemic has changed how we work and live our lives and has affected us in many ways. For many thousands of American families the changes have been devastating. Let's hope, and there are many reasons for that hope, that 2021 will be much better for many if not most of us. We will still have reasons to be thankful during the coming holiday season.
Earlier this year, I was the President-elect/Program Chair and worked with our Cal-Neva team to plan the Chapter's 2020 March 15-17 meeting in Folsom with a theme of "Fisheries Success Stories" Well, the pandemic managed to trim our success considerably having to cancel the annual meeting for the first time in Chapter history. We had company, with the Western Division, many chapters and the Society's 150th anniversary Columbus, Ohio, in-person meetings all cancelled. Fortunately, we did get to dip our toes into the pool of virtual conferences. With the talent and assistance of Tidewater Chapter's Aaron Bunch and the Society's Lauren Maza, nine of the scheduled Folsom presenters were able to record their presentations and have them shared on a webinar, partnering with WDAFS in early May. This experience may assist us as planned AFS meetings in the first half of 2021 will all be virtual. Our 2021 virtual Cal-Neva meeting is being led by President-elect Matt Young. We will be getting help from the Society, the WDAFS, and other western chapters with crafting a virtual meeting. There is an ongoing effort to establish a working arrangement with a provider of virtual conference platforms that we can take advantage of "volume discounts" for western AFS chapters. Matt would welcome your assistance with our meeting planning team. The annual Chapter Meeting is our biggest expense but is usually also the best source of revenue to fund all our Chapter activities and benefits for members and fisheries students. The pandemic wiped out Cal-Neva's opportunity to earn that revenue for 2020. I am grateful that our past leaders Rob Titus, Steve Brumbaugh, and Laurie Early along with a large contingent of hard-working Cal-Neva volunteers engineered a great success with the Society's 2019 meeting in Reno. That hard work produced more than $50,000 as Cal-Neva's share of the revenue. It also resulted in large-part for Cal-Neva winning the Society's Outstanding Large Chapter Award-way to go everyone!
In October, the WDAFS held their annual ExComm retreat-virtually, yup, another zoom-event. In December Cal-Neva will have its ExComm retreat also virtually. We will work on plans for 2021, craft a Chapter budget and discuss how and what to include in our virtual Chapter 2021 meeting in March.
With no 2020 meeting revenue we are "living off the Reno bounty" until we can hold another Chapter conference. Our costs are reduced this year with no conference and no travel expenses but we will need your support for our 2021 meeting. The Annual Meeting offers all the learning from shared science and presentations. One of the best features is connecting with our colleagues and friends, networking and the usual great socializing opportunities that come at our gatherings. This will be different at our 2021 meeting but we will adapt. There are new tools for virtual meeting socials and fundraising that we will explore. We hope for a variety of virtual experiences to offer much of what we have come to expect from AFS meetings. We welcome your ideas and help-contact Matt Young or me. We need you to make our 2021 gathering better. Signed, Chapter President Dave Lentz
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National AFS 2020 Outstanding Chapter Award!
We are thrilled to announce that the Cal-Neva Chapter has been awarded the National AFS 2020 Outstanding Chapter Award! This follows on the heels (tail?) of the Chapter receiving the Western Division Outstanding Chapter Award. If you are interested in learning more about your Chapter's many activities that helped it to receive these awards, please read the nomination statement prepared by then-President Rob Titus, posted at the link below.
Read more about the Chapter's award-winning activities here
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In Memoriam - Dr. Serge I. Doroshov. 1937 - 2020
Dr. Serge I. Doroshov, a distinguished scientist in the field of aquatic animal reproduction and fish culture, and a pioneer in sturgeon aquaculture in the United States, passed away on September 26, 2020. He was born in western Siberia, Russia and trained in Moscow. He and his family eventually made their way to the United States and he accepted a faculty position in the Department of Animal Science at the University of California-Davis in 1978, where he taught and conducted research until his retirement in 2014.
You can read more about Dr. Doroshov's long and distinguished fisheries career at his University of California-Davis Department of Animal Science faculty webpage. An extended tribute written by several of Dr. Doroshov's colleagues at the World Sturgeon Conservation Society can be found here.
Respectfully,
Lisa Thompson |
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AFS Membership Renewal for 2021 is Online Only!
It's time to renew your AFS membership for 2021! New this time around - AFS Headquarters will not be mailing printed renewal forms. All renewals and related payments can be conveniently made online. For those preferring to send a check, you can print your invoice on demand and return it by mail. To find your invoice: log into your AFS account and go to the myDues&Subscriptions tab, and click the "Dues Renewal Invoice" button and print your invoice. Once your membership has been paid, that invoice will become a printable receipt. There is a modest dues increase to adjust for the cost of living. Your continued membership with AFS grants you access to valuable programs and services - all designed to enhance your professional skills and strengthen your connection to colleagues in the fisheries field. Connections that have been more important than ever now. At AFS, leadership and staff are committed to providing you with the highest quality professional resources. Next year will be no exception. Renew for in 2021 and enjoy: - Monthly webinars on scientific topics and professional success skills
- Free online access to all five AFS journals, plus Fisheries magazine
- Discounts on AFS books - including four new books published in 2020
- Discounted access to recorded Virtual Annual Meeting content
- New and improved Fisheries Career Center with awesome members-only features
Reminder: it is now possible to change your member type and update your unit selections online. Just log into your account, click "renew now" and choose "change my membership options" to make any needed adjustments. Don't delay, renew today for great things to come in 2021! |
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Trawl for a meeting that interests you
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151st National Meeting of the AFS
The American Fisheries Society, President Elect Brian Murphy, and the Potomac and Tidewater Chapters are excited to host the 151st AFS Annual Meeting, August 8-12, 2021. Baltimore, also known as "Charm City," is famous for its blue crabs and crab cakes, as well as a vibrant cargo port and numerous nearby fishing opportunities in the Chesapeake Bay, Patapsco River, and Gunpowder Falls State Park. Baltimore will be a fantastic location to continue to commemorate 150 years of fisheries science achievements, so be sure to join us for special celebrations throughout the conference. The past, present, and future of fisheries science will be on display as we bring together professionals from across North America and countries throughout the world under the theme of "Investing in People, Habitat, and Science." We will solicit symposia topics, contributed papers, and posters that exemplify the latest research in fisheries science and that will benefit a range of audiences with the aim of advancing the science of fisheries ecology, conservation, and management. Look for the first Call for Papers in Fall 2020!
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Angle for opportunities and jobs
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