Spring 2005 Meeting

New President Sets Lofty Goals

Dr. Mark Stallings was elected as the new President of The Georgia Chapter of The American Chestnut Foundation at their annual Spring Membership Meeting held at the Pocket Recreation Area on June 4, 2005.

During his acceptance speech, Mark wowed the members with his three goals for the coming year.

First and foremost was to develop an American chestnut with the unique genes of Georgia. It is thought that, since the southern area was spared during the last glacial period, we will have more genetic diversity to contribute to the entire back-cross project.

Second, Mark stated that he wanted our chapter to grow from just over 200 members to over 500 by the spring of 2006. Since the Georgia chapter broke growth records in its formation, this just seems like a natural progression. It will take each member's efforts to bring in more enthusiastic people to help in this worthwhile endeavor.

And lastly, with growth comes the necessity to develop leaders among the membership to carry on future goals of the chapter.

New Chapter President Mark Stallings (left) presents former president Don Davis with a plaque of appreciation

Following the business meeting and lunch, members ventured off into the Pocket Area to look at blooming American chestnut trees. This was a first for many of the new members and the anticipation and excitement of seeing new resistant Georgia lines emerge from pollinations efforts was felt by many. The next few weeks will be busy ones for chapter members as they emasculate blooming trees and then return to pollinate and bag the flowers. The wait until burs and nuts appear in the fall will seem long, but the reward of our first nuts will be great.