This past August, YPC President Bree Lind got the opportunity to attend the Washington, D.C. Fly-in while, I, YPC Vice-President Veronica Urbanczyk, was representing Young Professionals in Denver during the first portion of the 2018 Summer Board Meeting. At the Meeting, I not only, got to participate in the Diversity & Inclusion Workshop, but was able to be a part of group discussions on some of the items that were carried throughout the Board Meeting.
It was amazing to get a feel for how much time, effort, and strategizing goes into membership, budgeting, partnerships, agreements and planning the Annual Meeting every year, and consecutive years thereafter. Getting this behind the scene perspective, before the Annual Meeting, was a huge eye opener. This experience has given me greater appreciation for all the Board members, Officers, Committee members, and Society members that volunteer their time to make all of this possible.
As a progressive Society, we are truly blessed to have such a dedicated Staff that live these changes on a daily basis. With ever-changing laws and regulations, our SRM Staff are always advising and supporting Board members, adapting, and staying current with agricultural topics. Thanks to their efforts, we as professionals can implement improved management practices to sustain our rangelands. Everyone in our Society deserves to be recognized for what it takes to make every meeting successful.
We, as a Society can make a difference in improving the professional scientific society at every level of membership. By advocating our purpose of being resilient and adaptive leaders of land stewardship and to educate the general public and other colleagues within the world of range management, we will continue our mission.
Being a part of this year’s Board meeting gave me the drive to continue my involvement with the Society, a greater sense of purpose within the Society, the confidence, and the appreciation that I am a part of something much bigger than myself. I am proud to be a member of Society for Range Management, to be a steward of our American rangelands, and to serve as the Young Professionals Conclave Vice-President.
Veronica Urbanczyk
SRM Young Professionals Conclave Vice-President