NACD LEADERS TAKE OFFICE
Today, the National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) administered oaths of office to its incoming leadership members.
Michael Crowder of West Richland, Wash., was sworn in as president of the association. Crowder manages a ranch in Washington state and is a partner of his family’s third generation farming operation in Indiana, along with personal conservation easements and farm ground in Illinois. He serves on his local Benton Conservation District board and was first elected to the NACD Officer team in 2017 as Second Vice President after previously serving as National Director for the Washington Association of Conservation Districts on the NACD Board of Directors.
The NACD Board of Directors met Feb. 1-5 and voted on Feb. 3 to elect their leadership team. Kim LaFleur of Plympton, Mass., was elected as First Vice President, and Ian Cunningham of Pipestone, Minn., was elected as Second Vice President. NACD’s Southeast Region Executive Board Member Gary Blair of Starkville, Miss., was elected to serve as the association’s Secretary-Treasurer. Immediate Past President Tim Palmer of Truro, Iowa, and NACD Chief Executive Officer Jeremy Peters round out the national association’s officer team.
NACD also swore in new members of the NACD Executive Board: Steve Stierwalt from Illinois, North Central Region Representative; Bill Simshauser from Kansas, Northern Plains Region Representative; Franklin Williams from North Carolina, Southeast Region Representative; and Alan Williams from Louisiana, South Central Region Representative. These district officials join Northeast Region Representative Linda Brownson of New Hampshire, Southwest Region Representative Jim Berlier of New Mexico and Pacific Region Representative Tom Wehri of California in rounding out regional representation on NACD’s Executive Board.
“NACD has a motivated, ambitious and experienced leadership team for the next two years,” Crowder said. “From urban settings to the nation’s farmland, I am confident this group will help advance conservation issues across all landscapes and communities.”
To view recordings of NACD’s virtual 2021 Annual Meeting, visit the 75th Annual Meeting webpage.
About the National Association of Conservation Districts:
The National Association of Conservation Districts is the nonprofit organization that represents the nation’s 3,000 conservation districts, their state and territory associations and the 17,000 men and women who serve on their governing boards. For more than 70 years, local conservation districts have worked with cooperating landowners and managers of private working lands to help them plan and apply effective conservation practices. For more information about NACD, visit: www.nacdnet.org.
