MASCD gathered with all of Districts, Partners and Sponsors at the Hyatt of the Chesapeake in Cambridge, MD for their annual meeting. The meeting was held July 8th-10th and consisted of important meetings, a crab feast, a keynote speaker and their annual award banquet and auction.
As the congregation was finishing their dinners, our President John Swaine III kicked off the award banquet by calling up Bruce Young to announce the coloring contest winners followed by Jen Nelson to announce the poster contest winners. Next up were the service awards and Eric Hadaway
Outstanding Cooperator – Wyndham Oaks II- Lori Larson
The Montgomery Soil Conservation District is very proud to nominate Lori
Larson, Owner and Operator of Wyndham Oaks II as the 2023 Cooperator of the
Year for her tireless work in transforming severely neglected farmland into a
shining example of conservation excellence catered to an equine operation.
We know that farmers learn from other farmers and the same can be said within the
equine community. We know the State is undertaking new efforts to reach the
community about conservation. What better way do we have to get the word out
other than recognizing a leader within this community that has a long history of
conservation excellence.
Enjoy the video made by Montgomery District Manager John Zawitoski
Outstanding Employee – Kathleen Sigwart, Montgomery SCD
Kathleen Sigwart has been a tremendous asset to Montgomery SCD. Since being hired by MDA in 2021, she has excelled in providing assistance to farmers with their conservation planning needs; leading all other staff in District approved Conservation plans. She has also taken on the responsibility of being the main data
entry person for Conservation Tracker ensuring the timely and accurate entry of data into this important workload and WIP assessment database.
Kathleen is positive, energetic, and always the first to step up and volunteer her time to help with a multitude of District programs and initiatives. Her combination of enthusiasm and technical knowledge serves her well as evidenced by the way our agricultural community has embraced her.
Special Achievement (Employee) – Tom Koviak, St. Mary’s SCD
Tom Koviak started with the St. Mary’s Soil Conservation District in January 1989.
He has been a planner with the district for 29 years with a 6 year hiatus, (August
1992 – November 1998) where he went back to college to obtain a second degree
in turf management at Ohio State University. Tom is the senior planner in the
district and has been very willing to assist new planners that have been hired over
the years with the various types of planning software and tools.
In addition to his conservation planning workload, Tom assists the district with
many educational and outreach programs. He was on the Maryland Envirothon
committee as the MDA representative and Current Issue resource specialist. Other
outreach and educational activities include the county fair, STEM trainings and
presentations, Earth Day events and other natural resource related activities.
Outstanding Contribution – Dr. Calvin Ball, Howard SCD
Since taking office in 2019, County Executive Ball has been a strong advocate for
agriculture and a champion of support for Howard SCD. Every time the District
has needed additional resources, the County Executive has come through.
Dr. Ball is very supportive of our programs and the work we do with the farmers in
the County. Following the pandemic, when the costs associated with conservation
practice implementation sky rocketed, Howard County developed an innovative
methodology for helping to promote conservation in the agricultural community.
Following recommendations by the Agricultural Preservation Board, County
Executive Ball funded $200k in the Howard SCD budget in FY23 to be used to
assist farmers in implementing conservation practices. Using these additional
resources, the District designed a special cost share program that helps to fill the
gap between other cost share programs and what conservation practices are
actually costing to get on the ground. The program has been a huge success!
With Howard County located right between Baltimore and Washington the district
is often considered more of an urban or suburban landscape. So it is especially
refreshing to have a County Executive who cares so much about the agricultural
community and specifically about the conservation efforts of the Howard SCD!
The Conservation Partnership in Maryland is most when all levels of government
actively support the Districts’ mission to help our farmers protect their natural
resources for future generations. We do not believe there is a better example of
County Government support or commitment to agriculture and conservation than
our County Executive, Dr. Calvin Ball!
Outstanding Contribution by Youth – Tyler Kirk, Harford SCD
Once the Harford Soil Conservation District expanded their “Student Associate”
pilot program to be permanent, the Student Associate Committee sought to add one
(1) additional student associate to the Board of Supervisors during the 2022-2023
fiscal year.
Tyler Kirk, a Junior from Bel Air High School, applied and was voted to join the
Board, and, once approved, he began attending Board meetings in November, 2022
and continues to attend for the 2023-2024 term.
During his 2023 spring break, Tyler volunteered 18.5 hours over a four day period,
to work at our office. He assisted with surveying, getting acquainted with
conservation planning, attending pre-design field meetings with the NRCS
engineer, and more.
Students like Tyler give us hope that the next generation of young people are
willing to serve on a district board and actively converse with the Board members.
He wants to make a difference to help our environment and communities.
Tyler is very deserving of the “2023 Outstanding Contribution by Youth or Youth
Organization” award!
Outstanding Newsletter – Kent
District Attendance Award – Baltimore Co. SCD
This year the Baltimore County Soil Conservation District demonstrated their commitment to the cause by generating a score of 82 out of 112 for their
attendance at the district, state and national level activities.
Outstanding Leadership – Charles Miller, Kent SCD
Charles L.” Charlie” Miller, Kent Soil and Water Conservation District Chairman continues to demonstrate Outstanding Leadership. Charlie, working with the rest of the Board of Supervisors and the new District
Manager set a new direction for District in 2022. It is his goal to reinvigorate the District and make it more relevant to the Staff, its Cooperators, and the community at large. This included a top-to-bottom makeover of the District office, a revamping of the Cooperators Banquet and a new level of employee engagement.
In addition, he sought to further engage and promote the use of Associate
Supervisors and was responsible for getting the Associate Supervisors reimbursed for their expenses when engaged in District business. In 2023, he continued to build on his list of accomplishments. With his guidance and direction, the District completed, adopted, and is now following its very first
Long-Range Strategic Plan. This plan was a year in the making and Charlie
engaged the entire Board in the development process. During 2023, he attended all the District Board meetings, achieving perfect attendance. In 2023, he instituted an annual board election process that has resulted in an open and fair election that occurs annually. Charlie is fully invested
in the Kent District and demonstrates outstanding leadership.
Conservation Education District – Cecil SCD
Conservation Education Teacher of the Year – Ann Stark, Allegany SCD
Ann currently teaches at Allegany High School in Cumberland, MD, teaching
environmental science and agriscience. She is the coordinator of the Green School committee and has planned and written the Green School proposals which have culminated in Allegany High School achieving Green School status. She developed the agriscience curriculum, which is now also implemented at the other county high schools and chartered the first ever Allegany High School Future Farmers of America (FFA) in 2023.
Ann has always incorporated issues of natural resource conservation into her
curriculum, whether teaching biology, environmental science, or agriscience
courses.
Farm Credit Outstanding District Award
1st Place- Montgomery SCD
2nd Place- Prince George’s SCD
3rd Place- Charles SCD
President’s Award – Frank Richardson
From an early age, Frank Richardson has been committed to conservation and the
principles of protecting our farmland soils. As a boy he helped his dad who raised
beef cattle. His introduction with soil conservation began when he worked
summers with USDA Soil Conservation Service (SCS) while attending college.
After obtaining a degree in agronomy, he accepted a Soil Conservationist position
with SCS in Anne Arundel. Within a year’s time, he moved to Talbot County and
assumed the position as District Conservationist. In 1974, he transferred to
Harford County and was promoted permanently to a District Conservationist
position. As a DC, Frank continued to promote and administer soil conservation as
he worked directly with farmers. This experience enabled him to gain invaluable
knowledge of the SCS field handbooks and best management practices that address
soil and water resource issues.
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In 1977, he left SCS and joined his father-in-law who managed a 225 Holstein
dairy herd operation. In 1988, following the sale of the milk herd, Frank became
partner and vice president of Highland Survey Associates, Inc. He obtained his
survey license and managed this business until his retirement.
Frank has served on the Harford Soil Conservation District’s Board of Supervisors
since 1995. He is a valuable member. Shortly after he joined the Board, he took
the lead responsibility as Chairman. He served as Chairman from 1996 – 2005.
Since 2005, Frank serves as the Vice Chairman and has actively been involved
with the functions of the Board. He has also served on MASCD Committees and
stepped up as NACD Rep and provides updates at MASCD meetings.
Frank exemplifies leadership and we are proud to work side-by-side with him.