Region 9. Kansas - James Krueger, Council Member. February 21 - 23, 2007 marked
the dates for the first ever Kansas Natural Resources Conference. The theme for
the conference was "Where Do Trees Belong in Kansas? The Role of Trees on the
Kansas Landscape". The conference was held in Wichita, Kansas.
The main sponsors for this event were the Kansas Chapter of the American
Fisheries Society, the Great Plains Society of American Foresters, Kansas
Chapter of the Wildlife Society, the Kansas Section of the Society of Range
Management, the Kansas Chapter Soil and Water Conservation Society and other
organizations such as OPEDA. OPEDA sponsored a booth at the Conference under
the leadership of Mr. Krueger.
Region 7. North Dakota, South Dakota and Montana. Council member Dale van
Eckhout provided information on OPEDA and treats for a coffee hour at the North
Dakota State NRCS meeting in March, 2008.
What Is New
Farook Sait and Holly Hambley met with the Honorable Ed Schafer shortly after
he became the 34th Secretary of Agriculture. They presented the Secretary
material on OPEDA and discussed the long-term cooperation between the
Department and OPEDA.
The Regional Representatives who as a group make up the OPEDA Council met on
May 7, 2008 to attend a Leadership Training Program. Representatives from the
Office of the Secretary, NRCS, FS, ASCR, CPRC and FSA made presentations. The
attendees elected the Council Chair, Vice Chair and Secretary for the next
year. On May 8, the Council attended the OPEDA 2008 Unsung Heroes Award Program
and Luncheon.
OPEDA meets regularly with the Office of the Assistant Secretary (OASCR) on its
Diversity Initiative. The purpose of this meeting with employee organizations
and the OASCR is to raise issues of equal opportunity in employment and program
delivery as they impact particular protected groups and discuss solutions to
any barriers to equal opportunity and equitable treatment.
