Education Focus Area Committee Minutes
March Quarterly Board
March 3, 2008 - Northfield Inn
Jerry Snodgrass, Chairman

Present:                                                                      Absent:                          
Don Beisiegel
Jody Bell
Terry Bogner
Sue Davis
Josh Joseph
Valerie Keener
Marty McManus
John Maudlin
Jim Nelson
Dwayne Proctor
Debbie Ruff
Duane Snow
Rollie Spaniol
Jerry Snodgrass
Steve Stierwalt
Stacy Stremsterfer
Jim Todd

Chairman Jerry Snodgrass called the meeting to order at 1:10 p.m. 

Roll call was completed and introductions were done for those present.

Approval of Agenda
Add P2D2 Program under new business. Motion by Don Beisiegel, seconded by Jim Todd to approve amended agenda, MCVV.

Approval of Minutes
Motion by Don Beisiegel, seconded by Dwayne Proctor to approve December Quarterly Board Education Focus Area Committee Minutes, MCVV.

INDR Report
Valerie Kenner reported that INDR received 87 applications for Biodiversity grants with approximately 59 of those being funded. IDNR will again offer the $250 biodiversity grant to the winning AISWCD Teacher of the Year. Earth Day at the Parks will be held this year and two on-line Entice Workshops were held with great response.

IDOA
Marty McManus reported the Illinois Conservation Partnership Annual Report is in the first draft and will be completed soon and Director training for Region 1 has been held.

NRCS
No report given. Jerry Snodgrass informed the group that Paige Buck will no longer be representing NRCS at the meeting, and her replacement is Jody Bell from Freeport.

Director Training
Jerry Snodgrass reported Utah has a good PowerPoint/web based director training program and Stacy Stremsterfer is working on gathering information on their program and will be in contact with IDOA on the possibility of formatting this for Illinois Directors. The costs are around $1,500 for the whole program.

Envirothon Taskforce Update
Terry Bogner reported Council competitions are coming up very soon. The Canon Envirothon will be held July 24th - August 3rd in Flagstaff, AZ. He noted that Stacy Stremsterfer is concerned about the shortage of volunteers that could be a factor at this year’s state competition due to lack of SWCD funding. Last week a contribution request was sent out to all SWCDs, which was requested at December’s QB Meeting.  

Jerry Snodgrass read the article on SWCD funding that appeared in the Springfield based newspaper, the State Journal Register. Rollie Spaniol clarified what his concerns are about “closing the doors”. Discussion was held on director responsibilities.

Water Use Taskforce Update
Jim Nelson updated the group on the water resources meeting held in LUC 16. Dwayne Proctor complemented Jim for a very good presentation and hoped that his information/presentation could be a part of summer conference.

McKibben Scholarship
Information has been sent to various individuals.

2008 Soil Stewardship
This year’s theme is “Water is Life”, and Stacy Stremsterfer has a CD with additional stewardship material that Districts can receive by contacting her. The 2009 theme will be announced in September.

Old Business
No action has been taken on local work group letter. New dates for Summer Conference will be July 28th and 29th.

New Business
The finalized ad for the 2008 Legislative Roster issue of the Illinois Issues magazine was passed around for the group to see. Debbie Ruff explained the Prescription Drug Disposal program of Pontiac High School. Motion by Dwayne Proctor and seconded by Don Beisiegel to endorse the Prescription Drug Disposal program, MCVV.  

Adjournment
Motion to adjourn by Dwayne Proctor and seconded by Jim Todd, MCVV.

Minutes taken by Debbie Ruff, typed by Stacy Stremsterfer.