On December 11, 2018, PACD Executive Director Brenda Shambaugh traveled to Carlisle to attend the Cumberland County Conservation District board meeting. Brenda spoke to the board about the toolkit PACD is developing for project promotion, the new PACD office location, and how to get to know new legislators.

 

Conservation district staff, board members, and partners are invited to attend the 2019 PACD/SCC Winter Meeting January 30-31 at Toftrees Golf Resort in State College, PA. Take in the beautiful winter views at Toftrees while enjoying a hot beverage with your counterparts from across the state. Conference learning opportunities will include an update on Chapter 102 ePermitting and a program on parliamentary procedure. Beat cabin fever and join us in State College! Click here for details and to register.

The seven staff at the PACD office in Harrisburg moved to a commercial condominium seven miles east of downtown. The new office location opened November 13. Please update your records with our new address:

PACD
5925 Stevenson Ave., Suite A
Harrisburg, PA 17112

The main phone number remains the same. However, all staff have new extensions. They are as follows:

Main phone: 717-238-7223

• Brenda Shambaugh ext. 103
• Lisa Suhr ext. 112
• Shannon Wehinger ext. 105
• Amy Brown ext. 104 (please note Amy Brown was formerly Amy Salansky and she has a new email address: abrown@pacd.org)
• Molly Burns ext. 110
• Jann McNamara ext. 106
• Matt Miller ext. 107

The PACD website and email address remain unchanged.

“This new office is better suited to our needs. Staff are excited to reap the benefits of this more logical layout,” said PACD Executive Director Brenda Shambaugh. The old office at 25 N. Front Street is currently for sale. We hope to sell the building in the coming months.”

PACD members and partners are welcome to visit our new location. Our new larger conference room will host meetings up to 25 attendees. Thank you to our board and members for supporting this move.

 

The PACD office has been busy with moving preparations! The office is scheduled to move from downtown Harrisburg to a condo seven miles east of downtown on November 9. The condo is currently being painted and small renovations are underway. 

“Staff continue to pack up the old office and prepare to move into the new office. I am pleased with the progress we are making. We are on track to make the move on November 9,” said Brenda Shambaugh, PACD Executive Director.

The new office address and phone extensions will be sent to PACD members via listserves and the weekly e-newsletter once the move is complete. Email addresses, the fax number, and general office phone number will remain the same. Only the individual employee’s phone extensions will change.

 

Did you know there is a PACD listserve for every PACD member? They are free to join and use. Conservation district directors, associate directors, and staff can all take advantage of this service for members. Listserve members can communicate with counterparts across the state in a single e-mail, and receive announcements and information relevant to their job duties.

PACD currently offers listserves for the following individuals:

• agricultural technicians
• erosion and sedimentation technicians
• administrative support staff
• managers
• directors and associate directors
• watershed specialists
• dirt, gravel, and low volume road specialists
• environmental educators
• mosquito-borne disease control technicians

Interested? Contact Molly Burns at mburns@pacd.org to subscribe.

Over a year ago, the PACD Education & Outreach Committee began the process of creating a shared photo library for conservation districts to use. The library is now up and running! Conservation districts are able to upload photos to share with PACD and other districts, as well as download photos to use.

A photo release is available and must be used for photos with people who are “recognizable by a reasonable person.” The release must be uploaded along with the photos. PACD staff will then review the release and add photos to the library, which is organized by category.

Jessie Albright, Allegheny County Conservation District Marketing and Operations Director created a “how-to” video for the library. Click here to view it. 

Click here for more information and to request access to the library. A usage agreement form is required prior to receiving access to the library. PACD asks that only one or two people per district request access–or better yet, use your district’s general email address, which doesn’t change as staff does.

Thank you to the Education & Outreach Committee for their assistance with the project, especially Jessie Albright for spearheading the effort and providing the photos to start the library.

During the PACD Executive Council meeting on July 18, three officers were re-elected and two new officers were elected.

The 2018-19 slate of officers includes:

• President: Charles Duritsa, Westmoreland Conservation District
• 1st Vice President: Mike Price, Beaver County Conservation District
• 2nd Vice President: Donald Koontz, Mercer County Conservation District
• Secretary & NE Region Director: Kelly Stagen, Pike County Conservation District
• Treasurer: Sonia Wasco, Lancaster County Conservation District

Also during the Executive Council meeting, delegates voted to give the Executive Board the authority to sell the existing PACD office building and purchase a condo.

 

Conservation districts and their partners are invited to register for the Combined 2018 National Association of Conservation District’s (NACD) Northeast Regional Meeting and 71^st PACD/SCC Joint Annual Conference.

The combined conference will take place at the DoubleTree Resort by Hilton Hotel in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. NACD events will take place July 15-17, 2018 and PACD/SCC events will take place July 17-18, 2018.

Anyone is welcome to attend the entire event or only the NACD or Pennsylvania portion. All four days will offer sessions and activities of interest to our members and partners and, as the host state, we hope that Pennsylvania will be well represented.

Click here for more information or to register. 

On May 1, PACD board members and staff traveled to the Ramada Hotel and Conference Center in State College for an in-person board meeting.

In addition to their regular meeting, the board discussed PACD presence at trade shows, the PACD/SCC Winter Meeting, and the PACD building.

Introducing PACD’s New Conservation Engineer in the Somerset Office Danielle Kalp!

Danielle is the PACD Conservation Engineer for the Southwest Region. She graduated from the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown with a B.S. degree in Civil Engineering Technology in 2008. She is a licensed Professional Engineer, certified Sewage Enforcement Officer, and certified Bridge Safety Inspector. Her prior experience includes wastewater treatment, water treatment, geotechnical, and structural engineering.

In her spare time, Danielle enjoys spending time in nature, including fishing, hunting, backpacking, and gardening. She also raises chickens and brain tans animal pelts.

Danielle can be reached at dkalp@pacd.org.

Introducing PACD’S New Program Manager Amy Salansky!
By Amy Salansky, PACD Program Manager, asalansky@pacd.org

Before coming to PACD, I worked for ten years with the Luzerne Conservation District as a Conservation Agricultural Specialist. Coordinating the yearly envirothon, writing and implementing growing greener grants, working with PA Department of Environmental Protection special projects, PACD mini-grants, REAP, and Farmland Preservation, and assisting with USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and Conservation Planning are some of the highlights of my position at the district.

I was raised on a dairy farm in Maryland, where I learned about conservation and conservation districts, and for the past 20 years have raised horses, hogs, sheep, and dairy heifers for my daughters’ 4H projects. I have three beautiful daughters, one grandson (whom I spoil to death) and two more grandsons on the way in June and July. I couldn’t be more excited.

In April 2018, I moved from my Luzerne County home to a home in Lebanon County.

I am super excited to be able to work here at PACD in Harrisburg and continue to work with all my conservation district counterparts.