Georgia News

GA-TACF Annual Meeting May 2, 2026

The Georgia Chapter of The American Chestnut Foundation

GEHC

GA-TACF will hold its annual meeting on May 2, starting at 9:30 AM at Gwinnett Environmental & Heritage Center in Buford, GA. The meeting is open to both chapter members and the general public.

Although we will briefly address some business matters, most of the meeting will be devoted to presentations related to our work helping to restore American chestnuts in GA.  Among the business items is the election of directors for the board. The board hereby invites nominations for director positions which should include the candidate’s contact information, a brief biographical sketch, and a summary of why the candidate appears well-suited for board service.

Please register your attendance by reserving admission via the Eventbrite link shown below. More details about the meeting will be added here. Pre-registration via this site is encouraged and is free, however, lunch orders ($15 + tax/fees) must be made using this Eventbrite site (no later than April 30).

Click here for Eventbrite Link

Agenda:

9:30 am Doors open, Coffee and Meet-and-Greet in Founders Hall

Morning session, 10 AM – NOON

1) 10:00 am. Welcome and Introduction by Chapter President Dr. Martin Cipollini

2) 10:15 am. Chapter business meeting:

  • Election of chapter directors, Scott Laseter (Governance Committee chair)
  • Budget report, Vince Payne (Treasurer)

3) 10:45 am. An update from TACF’s CEO Michael Goergen and introduction of Zach Anderson as our new Southern Regional Science Coordinator.

4) 11:15 am. Science updates, Dr. Martin Cipollini (President and Science Coordinator)

  • A Brief Overview of the American Chestnut and GA-TACF’s work
  • Recurrent Genomic Selection (RGS): What is it?
  • Selection for Phytophthora root rot (PRR) resistance in Georgia.

5) 12:00 noon. Lunch directions

Lunch break and Afternoon Session, 12:30 – ? at Cloudland Vineyards

1) Pre-ordered box lunches will be delivered to nearby Cloudland Vineyards. Tickets for box lunches must be purchased via this Eventbrite site by April 30. Select type of box lunch AFTER completing payment during checkout. See details below. *

2) Tour of Cloudland Vineyards and recently planted chestnuts. Overview of how to grow and maintain chestnuts.

3) GA-TACF board members will meet at the end of the day to hold a brief in-person meeting.

We hope to see you there! Please help spread the word.

Dr. Martin Cipollini

GA-TACF President

Bistro Box sandwiches, cold, come with chips and freshly baked cookie:

  1. Chicken salad croissant
  2. Turkey and Provolone Sandwich
  3. Chicken, Swiss, and Pesto Sandwich
  4. Pesto Caprese Sandwich

Salad box lunches, served with a mini sea salt baguette and freshly baked cookie

  1. Cranberry Pecan Salad with Balsamic dressing
  2. Spinach Salad with strawberries, feta, bacon, pecans and a French Vinaigrette dressing
  3. Classic CaesarSalad with croutons, Caesar dressing, and Parmesan

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3 weeks ago

Stop by to learn how our breeding program produces nice, nearly pure American chestnut trees like this one - at the Summer Shade Festival in Grant Park this weekend! Great food, arts, crafts, and music fest 10 am - 6 pm Saturday and Sunday.

Weather should be more moderate this weekend, so it should be a great time to get out of the AC and into the shade!

summershadefestival.org/

Also, please look forward to announcements about volunteer opportunities for this fall's harvest. The time frame is early September through early October and we will need help harvesting, shucking, and prepping seeds for cold storage. Both indoor and outdoor tasks.

The American Chestnut Foundation
... See MoreSee Less

Stop by to learn how our breeding program produces nice, nearly pure American chestnut trees like this one - at the Summer Shade Festival in Grant Park this weekend! Great food, arts, crafts, and music fest 10 am - 6 pm Saturday and Sunday. Weather should be more moderate this weekend, so it should be a great time to get out of the AC and into the shade!https://summershadefestival.org/Also, please look forward to announcements about volunteer opportunities for this falls harvest.  The time frame is early September through early October and we will need help harvesting, shucking, and prepping seeds for cold storage.  Both indoor and outdoor tasks.The American Chestnut Foundation

2 CommentsComment on Facebook

Scene from our booth today

Here we are among hundreds of other vendor booths at the Summer Shade Festival! Come on out and visit with us.

Sorry for the late notice, but please consider volunteering for Wednesday's small stem assays at UT Chattanooga. Read here for details. tacf.org/event/2026-utc-small-stem-assay-inoculation/ ... See MoreSee Less

Sorry for the late notice, but please consider volunteering for Wednesdays small stem assays at UT Chattanooga.  Read here for details. https://tacf.org/event/2026-utc-small-stem-assay-inoculation/

Imagine restoring this view up through the canopy throughout the native range of American chestnut. If you share that vision, please join us in our efforts! See www.tacf.org/ga

The American Chestnut Foundation
... See MoreSee Less

Imagine restoring this view up through the canopy throughout the native range of American chestnut. If you share that vision, please join us in our efforts!  See www.tacf.org/gaThe American Chestnut Foundation
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