The 63rd annual Southern Forest Health Work Conference (formerly Southern Forest Insect Work Conference) will be held 16-18 July 2024 (Tuesday – Thursday) in Greenville, South Carolina!
We have chosen the SpringHill Suites Greenville Downtown for our meeting. Although meeting registration is not yet open, I encourage you to make your hotel reservation as soon as possible. We have a block of 80 rooms (Tuesday and Wednesday nights) and 70 rooms (Monday and Thursday nights) set aside for the group until June 24, 2024, so make your reservations by this date. Don’t miss out on the special pricing!
IMPORTANT: Five (5) of the reserved rooms are at the Residence Inn Greenville Downtown, which is connected to the SpringHill Suites. The Residence Inn rooms are designed for longer stays and have a kitchen and living room area, as well as a single King-size bed.
IMPORTANT: For the third year in a row, we will hold the entire meeting on Tuesday-Thursday, making Monday and Friday travel days. The opening business meeting and plenary session will begin after lunch on Tuesday. A full day of concurrent sessions, the closing business meeting, and awards banquet are scheduled for Thursday. Depending on your travel plans, you may want to reserve a room for Monday night even if you haven’t needed to do this for past meetings.
Meeting Hotel Details
Date: 16-18 July 2024
Place: SpringHill Suites Greenville Downtown
Address: 200 East Washington Street, Greenville, South Carolina
Reserve by Phone: 888-236-2427, group code SFI
Reserve Online: SpringHill Suites Block or Residence Inn Block (5 rooms)
Room Rates: $149.00 per night plus tax for up to 4 occupants. Valid for the nights of 15-18 July, 2024. Book by June 24, 2024.
Valet parking is available at the hotel for $20 per day, and self-parking available across the street at a city garage. Visit the website for Hotel Information.
Remember, this low rate is valid only until June 24, 2024, and only for the first 80 rooms (first 70 on Monday and Thursday). Make your reservation right away!
Program
Our 2024 Program Co-Chairs are Todd Johnson (toddjohnson@agcenter.lsu.edu), Caterina Villari (cvillari@uga.edu), and Mohammad Bataineh (mohammad.bataineh@usda.gov). Please contact them if you have any program or session topic suggestions, or would like to volunteer as a session moderator. More program details coming soon!
The theme of the 2024 SFHWC will be “A Transdisciplinary Approach to Forest Health Problems.”
The Program Co-Chairs welcome and encourage topic suggestions and submissions that integrate multiple disciplines, as well as any other topic, either new or among those traditionally represented in the past years.
Graduate Student Session
The SFHWC 2024 Graduate Student Session will be held during the morning of Wednesday, July 17. Please see the above link for presentation submission details – only 14 spots are available! Titles, authors, affiliations, and abstracts (REQUIRED; 350-word limit) should be sent to Olivia Andrews (okandrews21@vt.edu), Lauren Gonzalez (lmgonza7@ncsu.edu), Delaney Serpan (dlserpan@ncsu.edu), and Ashley Schulz (as5112@msstate.edu) by Friday, May 17.
Graduate Student Session Submission Details
Poster Session
The poster session and reception will be held on Wednesday, July 17. The deadline for poster title submissions is Friday, May 17. Please send your title, authors, and affiliations to Forest Palmer (jpalme5@clemson.edu), and use the following format:
David Coyle1, Brittany Barnes1, Gary Green1, Kier Klepzig2, John Nowak3, and Kamal Gandhi1. University of Georgia1, USDA-FS-SRS2, and USDA-FS-FHP3. Regional relevance of southern pine decline and its impact on landowner knowledge and attitudes.
Posters should be no larger than 4’ x 4’. Mounting materials will be provided. Posters can be set up starting Tuesday, July 16 and will be displayed throughout the meeting.
A.D. Hopkins Award & Roger F. Anderson Award
Nominations for the 2024 A.D. Hopkins Award, which recognizes outstanding record of service to Southern forest health, must be sent to Brian Sullivan (brian.sullivan2@usda.gov) by Friday, June 14.
The 2024 Roger F. Anderson Award will be presented to an outstanding graduate student in Southern forest health; send nominations to Scott Salom (salom@vt.edu) by Friday, June 14.
Please see the included links for detailed information on nomination submissions (and note the Hopkins Award nomination guidelines updated recently).
SFHWC Food Drive
We will be collecting food and donations again for a local food bank in Greenville. Cash, checks, and non-perishable food items can be dropped off at the registration table. Please be generous towards those in need. More details coming soon!
Photo Salon
Contact Brittany Barnes (brittanybarnes8@gmail.com) with any questions or pictures that you would like to submit to the 2024 SFHWC Photo Salon. Please see the included link for submission details. Only digital submissions will be accepted, and they must be received by Friday, June 14.