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

Georgia News Chapter Menu

Georgia Facebook

Comments Box SVG iconsUsed for the like, share, comment, and reaction icons

Board members Caitlin Conn and David Keehn had a great time staffing the GA-TACF outreach table at the Earth Day celebration at Murphey Candler Park in Atlanta last night. Here are some pics...some very colorful Charlie Chestnuts were produced!
To learn more about our program and how you might help with outreach events like this, please attend our May 2 meeting. Details elsewhere on our Facebook page.
The American Chestnut Foundation The Georgia Chapter of the American Chestnut Foundation
... See MoreSee Less

Board members Caitlin Conn and David Keehn had a great time staffing the GA-TACF outreach table at the Earth Day celebration at Murphey Candler Park in Atlanta last night. Here are some pics...some very colorful Charlie Chestnuts were produced! To learn more about our program and how you might help with outreach events like this, please attend our May 2 meeting. Details elsewhere on our Facebook page.The American Chestnut Foundation The Georgia Chapter of the American Chestnut FoundationImage attachmentImage attachment+3Image attachment

This is a photo of an American chestnut planted in Rome, GA. Notice how late it is to Ieaf out in comparison with the surrounding trees. This tree is the offspring of two trees, one at Brasstown Bald and one at Fort Mountain, two high elevation sites in GA. High elevation trees leaf out late to avoid frost damage. This demonstrates why we incorporate chestnut trees from multiple sites throughout the native range into our disease resistance breeding program. We need to develop a population of trees capable of growing at highly diverse sites from Mississippi to Maine. To learn more about our program and how you can help, please come to our May 2 meeting in Buford. Details can be found here:

www.eventbrite.com/e/georgia-chapter-of-the-american-chestnut-foundation-annual-meeting-tickets-1...

Gwinnett Environmental & Heritage Center Foundation The American Chestnut Foundation
Cloudland Vineyards + Winery
... See MoreSee Less

This is a photo of an American chestnut planted in Rome, GA. Notice how late it is to Ieaf out in comparison with the surrounding trees. This tree is the offspring of two trees, one at Brasstown Bald and one at Fort Mountain, two high elevation sites in GA. High elevation trees leaf out late to avoid frost damage. This demonstrates why we incorporate chestnut trees from multiple sites throughout the native range into our disease resistance breeding program. We need to develop a population of trees capable of growing at highly diverse sites from Mississippi to Maine. To learn more about our program and how you can help, please come to our May 2 meeting in Buford. Details can be found here:https://www.eventbrite.com/e/georgia-chapter-of-the-american-chestnut-foundation-annual-meeting-tickets-1985313063817?aff=ebdsshother&utm_share_source=listing_android&sg=d31c5fd4c6c374057a4c3964d83fb32d60676df5189120d112632e9f7ec410e1db2b8b838eb079776da12f4dd1e457069fe91f93de5f5f777ca1f5efc12f8867f6d7e1ad8ecd078f064d26af10Gwinnett Environmental & Heritage Center Foundation The American Chestnut Foundation Cloudland Vineyards + Winery
Load more