September 7, 2023
RE: OACD Area IV Meeting – Thursday, November 2, 2023
Dear Area IV Conservation District Directors, Conservation District Employees, NRCS Employees, and Partners,
As President of the Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts Board of Directors, I’d like to invite you to attend the OACD Area IV meeting on Thursday, November 2, 2023 at the Lawton Farmers Market, 77 SW 4th Street in Lawton, OK.
As 2023 comes to a close and temperatures start to cool off we are looking forward to seeing everyone this fall. OACD Area Meetings are a chance ahead of the Annual State Meeting, held each February, where we can gather to share opportunities, explore challenges, and fellowship with one another.
Our agenda this year focuses on conservation partnerships in Oklahoma; past, present, and future. As always, our partners at the Oklahoma Conservation Commission and NRCS will be sharing important programmatic updates. Included in your registration packet is an agenda for your review. We encourage you to think about your role within the conservation family and how we can all work together to amplify our collective efforts going forward.
OACD is tremendously proud of the work you all are doing so we encourage you to extend an invitation to your locally elected officials, encouraging them to attend and witness firsthand the association proceedings. This is an excellent opportunity to strengthen our relationship with our legislators and local officials.
The Area IV meeting will be hosted by the Comanche County Conservation District at the Lawton Farmers Market, 77 SW 4th Street in Lawton, OK. The in-person registration will open at 8:00 a.m. The meeting will begin at 9:00 a.m. and end by 3:00 p.m.
Registration: The registration fee for in-person is $45. This includes donuts & coffee, lunch, and printed materials. NRCS employees will register through the state office. NRCS will be directly billed for attendees. Guests, spouses, youth contest winner attendees wishing to attend the lunch must pay $15.00. We must know in advance how many will be attending the luncheon. After October 13, 2023, no refunds will be made.
Youth Contests: The Youth Contests will be coordinated by the Employees Association. Send all posters, essays, along with entry forms for the speech contest to your OACDE Area Director, Amy Weathers, by October 13th. Do not send these entries to OACD or OCC. If you have questions concerning the youth contest, please contact Amy from the North Caddo County Conservation District at 405-882-0504 or Patty Underhill at the Caney Valley Conservation District at 918-331-9800. Please register each child attending the youth contest luncheon on your form. Your registration form is how we know what children are attending. We do not announce every winner, only the ones that are attending in person. If you do not communicate that a youth contest winner will be present, their name will not be called at the awards ceremony. If you have late registrations for youth contest winners, text or email the first and last name and award to Sarah at 517-763-8609 or sarahblaney@okconservation.org
Please contact Sarah Blaney at sarahblaney@okconservation.org or 517-763-8609 with any area meeting questions.
Sincerely,
Joe Caughlin
President