The 59th annual Southern Forest Insect Work Conference will be held
17-20 July 2018 (Tuesday – Friday)
in San Antonio, Texas!

Final Program

The SFIWC 2018 registration form is available exclusively online through Eventbrite again this year.  Go to https://sfiwc2018.eventbrite.com to register.  The registration fee is $300 ($225 for students and retired members), which includes a ticket to the Thursday night banquet for the registrant.  Extra banquet tickets for guests are $50 (for children 12-and-under, it’s only $15).  Registration receipts and banquet tickets will be distributed at the registration table.

Pre-registration on the Eventbrite website will be accepted until Thursday, June 28, 2018.  After this date, only on-site registration will be available.

IMPORTANT!!!:  If you choose, you can pay your registration fee online at the Eventbrite website (https://sfiwc2018.eventbrite.com) with a credit card prior to the meeting!  Please be aware that the deadline for paying via credit card is June 28, 2018.  Credit card payments will NOT be accepted after this date!  Credit card payments will NOT be accepted “at the door!”

IMPORTANT!!!:  If you are not paying your registration fee with a credit card, please go to Eventbrite website (https://sfiwc2018.eventbrite.com) to fill out the registration form, indicating your payment preference.  There are options under “Payment Method” on the online registration form for paying via mailing a check to me (“Pay by check”) or using a check or cash at the meeting (“Pay at the door”).

Please be aware that an additional $8.00 fee applies to all Canadian and other non-U.S. checks.

If you are mailing a check, please make it out to “SFIWC”, indicate whose registration fees are being paid, and send it to:

Will Shepherd, SFIWC Treasurer
USDA Forest Service SRS
2500 Shreveport Hwy.
Pineville, LA  71360

The SFIWC Tax I.D. number is: 94-3456409.

This year’s banquet is a Fiesta Buffet with several delicious choices: for starters, we’ll have Tortilla Soup; Chicken Taquitos with salsa; and an Ensalada Mixta with choice of dressing.  Entrées include Beef Fajitas with pico de gallo, guacamole, and sour cream; Snapper Fillet served with cilantro lime tequila sauce; and Moussaka with garbanzo beans and pomodoro sauce (vegetarian).  Spanish rice, refried beans, flour tortillas, and a selection of desserts also will be available.  One banquet ticket (for yourself) is included in your registration fee.  Children 12-and-under have their own menu choice: Chicken Tenders with fries, a fruit cup, and lemonade.  Extra banquet tickets for adult ($50) and child ($15) guests can be purchased using the online registration form.

If you do not want to pay for your extra banquet ticket(s) using a credit card, please select the number of tickets you want and then choose your preferred method of offline payment.  If you are paying for your extra banquet ticket(s) separately from your registration fee, please fill out separate online forms for your registration fee and ticket(s).

We have chosen the Menger Hotel 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-Thursday nights) and 35 rooms (Monday night) set aside for the group until June 25, 2018, so make your reservations by this date.  Don’t miss out on the special pricing!

Meeting Hotel Details:

Date:
17-20 July 2018

Phone reservations:

210-223-4361
Mention the following group code: 071618SFIW

or

Online reservations:

https://reservations.mengerhotel.com/75799?groupID=1806051

Valet parking is available at the hotel for $20 per day plus tax (for overnight guests). There are less expensive options at self-parking public lots near the hotel.

Visit https://www.mengerhotel.com/ for hotel information.

Room rates are:

$124.00 per night plus tax.

Remember, this low rate is valid only until June 25, 2018, and only for the first 80 rooms (first 35 on Monday, July 16).  Make your reservation right away!

IMPORTANT NOTE:

If you reserve your hotel room now, we will be able to determine if we need to open additional rooms at the group rate, and can ensure that everyone who needs a room gets one!  Please be considerate to your fellow attendees and reserve your room as soon as possible.

Program

This year’s Final Program is now available! Thanks to all of the people who volunteered to moderate sessions. Please contact Program Co-Chairs, Robert Coulson (r-coulson@tamu.edu) or Allen Smith (lasmith@tfs.tamu.edu), if you have any questions.

Open Sessions

There will be 2 open sessions with no defined topic for those wishing to make a presentation at SFIWC.  Please send your title, name, and affiliation to Bob Coulson (r-coulson@tamu.edu) and Allen Smith (lasmith@tfs.tamu.edu).  Time slots will be approximately 15 minutes, including questions.  Titles due by Friday, June 8.

Poster Session

The poster session and reception will be held on Wednesday, July 18.  The deadline for poster title submissions is Friday, June 8.  Please send your title, authors, and affiliations to Holly Munro (hmunro@uga.edu) and Thomas Whitney (thomas.whitney@uga.edu).

Posters should be no larger than 4’ x 4’.  Mounting materials will be provided.  Posters can be set up starting July 17 (Tuesday) and will be displayed throughout the meeting.

Graduate Student Session

Graduate Student Session submission details

The Graduate Student Session will be held during the afternoon of Wednesday, July 18.  Please see the above link for presentation submission details.  Titles, authors, affiliations, and abstracts (350-word limit) should be sent to Jeff Hamilton (jeffrey.hamilton@uga.edu), Kendra Wagner (kendrawagner50@yahoo.com), and Elizabeth Benton (ebenton@uga.edu) by Friday, June 8.

Photo Salon

Please contact Brittany Barnes (brittanybarnes8@gmail.com) with any questions or pictures that you would like to submit to the 2018 SFIWC Photo Salon. Only digital submissions will be accepted, and they must be received by Friday, July 6.

A.D. Hopkins Award and Roger F. Anderson Award

Nominations for the 2018 A.D. Hopkins Award, which recognizes outstanding record of service to Southern forest entomology, must be sent to Lynne Rieske-Kinney (lrieske@uky.edu) by Friday, June 8.

The 2018 Roger F. Anderson Award will be presented to an outstanding graduate student in Southern forest entomology; send nominations to Scott Salom (salom@vt.edu) by Monday, June 18.

Please see the above links for the “2018 A.D. Hopkins Award” and “2018 Roger F. Anderson Award” for detailed information on nomination submissions.

Southern Pine Beetle Working Group

Call for southern pine beetle presentations! If you would like to make a presentation on SPB-related research, management or technology development to the SPB Working Group, please contact John Nowak (jnowak@fs.fed.us). The SPB Working Group meeting is scheduled for 1:00 – 2:45P on Tuesday, July 17.

2018 SFIWC Food Drive

This year’s SFIWC food drive will benefit the San Antonio Food Bank. As usual the Food Drive will accept cash, checks, or food and supply donations at the SFIWC registration table. The following are the items requested by the Food Bank: peanut butter, cereal, tuna, beans, rice, mac and cheese, chili, canned stews, canned soups, canned luncheon meats, full meals (can/box), and pop-top food items.

Frontalis Cup

The Frontalis Cup will be contested Thursday afternoon.  The likely venue will be the La Cantera Resort Course.  The course is about a 30 minute drive from the Menger Hotel and we will arrange transportation.  We cannot book tee times before 30 days out.  Please contact Bob Coulson (r-coulson@tamu.edu) if you would like to participate.  We will need a firm count to make the tee times.  The green fee is reasonable, but the Resort could not confirm a rate until we have a head count.

Frustrana Cup

This year’s Frustrana Cup will be flickin chicken.  The event will be held at the Luxury: 103 E Jones Ave, San Antonio, TX 78215, on Thursday afternoon, 3-6 pm.  The Luxury is a nice stroll up the Riverwalk from the hotel and has a good selection of food and beverages.  So come toss around some rubber chickens before eating them at the banquet.