As we do every year, this spring the Chapter put thousands of chestnut seeds in the ground, ever to improve resistance to the blight. Before the last snow of the season fell, the Chapter Board also planted some “seeds”. These were changes intended to improve our effectiveness as a Board and overall as a Chapter of TACF.
The first “seed” planted was when a committee reviewed PA-TACF’s 5-year strategic plan which covered 2008 – 2013. Our new plan, initially 2014-2018 inclusive, will become a rolling 5 year plan. It will be reviewed annually to assess our results of the current year and be extended one more year into the future.
The strategic plan has three major areas of focus: science and research, outreach, and operations. These areas of focus cover the main goals of the organization, which are then delineated into several distinct objectives with specific action plans (strategies) for carrying out those objectives. This “seed” has sprouted. And now we need to nurture it.
The second “seed” was planted this summer at our August Board meeting at Ag Progress Days, outside of State College. There we created committees to correspond to each of the 13 objectives contained in the strategic plan. The charge to the committees is to develop the specific action plans to carry out the strategies to meet the goals. The action plans will describe what is to be done, by whom, in what time frame, and what resources-dollars and material will be required. The Budget committee will work with each of the other committees to pull together financial information related to the action plans in order to create a budget for the Chapter.
Our new seeds have germinated and are taking root! The committees are working to develop these action plans this fall so that they may be incorporated into the Strategic Plan for adoption at our next Board Meeting in January 2014.
Here’s the third “seed” we hope will flourish; these committees are open. We invite all chapter members to get involved. There are 5 committees focused on scientific objectives (Regional, Cytoplasmic Male sterility, American, Other, Restoration), 3 committees focused on outreach objectives (Membership, PR/Marketing, Education) and 3 committees focused on operations (Staff, Equipment, Board, Fundraising, Budget). Please see our Strategic Plan for more information on the topics covered by each committee. You can access the Strategic Plan (in its current draft form) by visiting here. If you have an interest in the work of any of the committees please let us know. Contact Stephanie Bailey, our Chapter Administrator at ude.usp@6025bys or 814-863-7192. As we noted this process is on-going, so anytime is a good time to jump in.
Let’s look forward to a great harvest!