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Contributing members of the Louisiana Wildlife Federation in districts 2, 4, 6 & 8 (election held in even-numbered years) and districts 1, 3, 5, 7 & 9 (election held in odd-numbered years) are invited to run for positions on the Federation's Board of Directors. Eligibility for election to the board is simple. A nominee must: (1) be a resident of or work in the Federation district he/she will represent on the board (refer to district map), and (2) have maintained membership in the Louisiana Wildlife Federation for the previous 2 years. While serving on the board, a director must keep his/her LWF membership current. The term for these board positions is 2 years. Members are welcome to contact the LWF office if they have questions about their eligibility.
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The Federation's Board of Directors is the chief administrative authority of the organization, and along with the delegates to LWF's annual meeting, establishes direction and policy on conservation issues. The board elects from its members the LWF's executive officers and oversees the development and implementation of Federation policy and programs.
Board members can be extremely influential in conservation matters through their association and cooperation with fellow board members and LWF affiliates and through participation on standing committees. They are also eligible to run for president and other executive offices, providing an even greater opportunity for leadership, involvement and recognition.
Not everyone is ready to be a Louisiana Wildlife Federation Director. There is a modest commitment of time and financial resources to attend the three meetings held each year -- one in the Spring and one in the Fall, traditionally held in Central Louisiana, and the LWF's annual meeting, a Friday evening through Sunday morning conference held in February or March in a different city each year. But the opportunities are many -- to serve as a Federation spokesperson on behalf of habitat conservation, environmental quality and fish and wildlife resources, to meet and join with others concerned about conservation and the environment, and to develop and implement strategies to help insure a bright future for our natural resources so that, along with us, the next generations can continue to enjoy them.
Interested Federation members should not hesitate to nominate themselves or provide background information to other members who may wish to nominate them. A nomination form and sample resume outline can be downloaded as a pdf file from this site. Nominations must be faxed or mailed in to the LWF office by November 15th. Directors will be selected by members from their district via mailed ballot later in the month.
District 1
James B. (Jimmy) Johnston, PhD of Slidell and Andrew P. Mayer, MD of New Orleans represent LWF individual contributing members in District 1 which includes the parishes of St. Tammany, Orleans, St. Bernard and Plaquemines. Dr. Johnston is retired from the U. S. Geological Survey National Wetlands Research Center in Lafayette where he served as Chief of the Spatial (Habitat) Analysis Branch and Coordinator for Louisiana Coastal Ecosystems. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation and is active in other coastal advocacy and professional and volunteer wildlife organizations. For the past 30 years, his professional career has involved providing information and data on wetlands and fish and wildlife resources to decision makers and resource managers. In particular, he has been involved with monitoring, mapping, analyzing and predicting wetland changes, coastal restoration projects, and fish and wildlife resources for coastal Louisiana and the Gulf of Mexico region. He also serves as LWF's District 1 Vice President and Chairman of LWF's Coastal Restoration and Protection Committee where his expertise and background assists LWF in providing solutions and recommendations to manage, protect and restore the natural resources of Louisiana. Dr. Johnston is currently the Louisiana Manager for HDR Engineering, Inc. His hobbies include volunteer work, jogging, travel, boating and fishing.
Dr. Mayer is an emergency physician who earned his Doctor of Medicine degree from the LSU School of Medicine in New Orleans in 1986. He has served as president, vice president and secretary/treasurer of the Louisiana Chapter of the American Academy of Emergency Medicine and is a member of the Jefferson Parish Medical Society, Sons of the American Revolution, Round Table Club and Nature Conservancy. He is currently on the Board of Directors of the American Academy of Emergency Medicine. Dr. Mayer's hobbies include fishing, hunting, gardening, hiking, travel and Genealogy. His conservation interests include wetlands restoration and endangered species. He says the outdoors of Louisiana will always have a special place in his heart, having grown up on the bayous and bays of South Louisiana. With billions of dollars to be spent in the coming decades to protect our environment, Dr. Mayer believes he and the LWF can play a crucial role by helping direct this effort.
District 2
Mark Becker, Sr. of Metairie represents LWF individual contributing members in District 2 which includes the parishes of St. James, St. John the Baptist, St. Charles, Jefferson and Lafourche. Mr. Becker is a property damage appraiser who has been involved with conservation in his community and active with the Jefferson Rod and Gun Club, currently serving as president, for many years. He helps to organize the parish's coastal restoration/Christmas tree recycling project each year. His interests include coastal restoration/freshwater diversion, boating safety and hunter education, and he enjoys angling, hunting, camping and photography for recreation. Due to the impact on his home and business caused by the 2005 hurricanes, Mr. Becker had to put some of his outdoor activities and conservation work aside to take care of the immediate needs of his family. With things getting back to normal, he hopes to continue LWF's venture to help maintain and restore our great outdoors. The other at-large board seat from District 2 will remain vacant until the next election or until filled by appointment of the LWF Board of Directors.
District 3
Gary L. Kinsland, PhD of Sunset and Gina L. Stanton of Lafayette serve on the LWF board representing LWF members in District 3 that includes Iberville, Assumption, St. Martin, Terrebonne, St. Mary, Iberia, Vermilion and Lafayette Parishes. Dr. Kinsland has been teaching at the University of Louisiana-Lafayette (formerly USL) since 1977. He is a member of the Living Resources Committee of the Atchafalaya Basin Program and a member of several national and local professional geological organizations. Dr. Kinsland grew up in Oregon in a "hunting family." He now enjoys hunting deer and squirrel almost exclusively on public land with his daughters, Mikaila and Victoria, as well as fishing for bream, sac-au-lait or catfish. "Respect the Activities of Others/Respectez les Activities des Autres" is the phrase, in both English and French, which he has put forth on signs and brochures as the guiding principle for all who utilize our outdoor resources. It is his position that all outdoor users need to get along and share the outdoors rather than bickering and dividing up the public space available. Dr. Kinsland is currently serving on the LWF Executive Committee as Secretary. In that capacity he wants to help LWF make its accomplishments more widely known to a more diverse audience, especially the conservation issues it brings before the Louisiana Legislature on behalf of the wildlife resources and the sportsmen and other conservationists in the state, including championing improvements to environmental quality, coastal restoration, the conservation of non-game species, river and water quality protection and many others.
Ms. Stanton is a semi-retired office manager and bookkeeper, and though retired from active, full-time wildlife rehabilitation for which she was licensed, she continues to present wildlife education programs, upon request, using her educational live birds. Ms. Stanton is currently serving as an at-large member of the LWF Executive Committee. In March 2007, Stanton was one of three LWF delegates to the NWF Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C., to present the strong NWF concerns regarding global warming legislation to our Louisiana delegation. She attended the NWF annual meeting again in 2008 as LWF's Alternate Delegate. She participates annually in the LWF backyard wildlife habitat exhibit for the April Earth Day festivities in Baton Rouge. She is currently developing, with the help of fellow committee members, a PowerPoint presentation that will be used to inform a wide range of audiences about LWF and encourage recruitment of new affiliates and members. Ms. Stanton's hobbies include traveling, household pets and quilting.
District 4
The two at-large director seats for District 4 which includes Caddo, Bossier, Webster, Claiborne, Lincoln, Bienville, and Jackson Parishes are vacant and will remain so until the next election or until filled by appointment of the LWF Board of Directors.
District 5
Martha Ann Messinger of Bastrop represents individual contributing members from District 5 - Madison, Tensas, Franklin, Caldwell, Union, Ouachita, Morehouse, Richland, West Carroll and East Carroll Parishes. Ms. Messinger, a semi-retired bookkeeper and secretary, and her husband George M. Patton, have been working with injured box turtles since 1989 and have a rehabilitation permit for turtles and tortoises issued by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. During this time they have been studying reproduction and behavior of the 3-toed box turtle and published research papers in both the Herpetological Review and the Proceedings of the Louisiana Academy of Science. She frequently presents talks on turtles and other wildlife to local scouts and students. An active amateur naturalist, Ms. Messinger enjoys observing wildlife while on nature hikes and in her backyard that she maintains for that purpose. She is a member of several scientific societies and conservation groups and represents the Louisiana Wildlife Federation on the Reptile and Amphibian Task Force of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. Ms. Messinger and her husband were instrumental in having a law enacted during the 1999 Legislative Session to limit the harvest of box turtles and prohibit their sale. For this and other accomplishments that year, they were honored with the Governor's Award for Conservationists of the Year. They were also featured in the August/September issue of National Wildlife, the magazine of the National Wildlife Federation, as "Conservation Heroes." Messinger says that her involvement has helped her be better informed on issues confronting the state and, during her tenure on the LWF Board, would like to help educate the public about Louisiana's bountiful legacy of wildlife and the need to work for its conservation to preserve it for future generations to enjoy. The other at-large board seat from District 5 will remain vacant until the next election or until filled by appointment of the LWF Board of Directors.
District 6
Vance Gordon and Sandra Thompson, both of Baton Rouge, represent District 6 contributing members. District 6 includes Washington, Tangipahoa, St. Helena, Livingston, Ascension, East Feliciana, West Feliciana, East Baton Rouge, West Baton Rouge and Pointe Coupee Parishes. Mr. Gordon worked in Environmental Safety and Health in the chemical manufacturing industry (Borden Chemicals/Vulcan Chemicals) for 35 years. He is interested in wetlands restoration and preservation, air/water quality, hunting/fishing regulations and wildlife law enforcement, endangered species, wildlife habitat management, conservation education and outdoor recreation. He is a member of the Air and Waste Management Association for which he has served as Chairman of the Louisiana Section and director for 2 terms. He is a member of the National Rifle Association and East Ascension Sportsman's League. He also serves the LWF as an at-large Executive Committee member, District 6 Vice President and member of the Deer Management Committee. Mr. Gordon would like to involve the LWF in encouraging Industrial Plants with large land holdings to set up wildlife management areas similar to the one he established (2000 acres) for the employees of Vulcan Chemicals. He is concerned with Coastal Restoration and outdoor sports education to fill the declining ranks of hunters and fishermen. His hobbies include hunting, fishing; reloading ammo and light gunsmithing.
Ms. Thompson is former director of the Atchafalaya Basin Program (ABP) from which she retired in 2007 after more than 10 years of service. Under her direction, two major water management projects were completed Ð the Schwing Chute project and the Bayou Postillion project, both of which have improved water quality in the nation's largest river swamp. Also accomplished during her tenure as director of ABP was the completion of the Atchafalaya Welcome Center at Butte LaRose, along with a number of boat landings including the Belle River, Attakapas, and Marshfield Landings, and the start of the federally approved Buffalo Cove water management unit. Ms. Thompson is the recipient of numerous state and national environmental and business awards including Entrepreneur of the Year, Conservationist of the Year twice from the Louisiana Wildlife Federation and the Lady Bird Johnson Award for excellence in the field of the environment. She also headed the Governor's Environmental Committee in 1975 which won the national award from Keep America Beautiful for the "Clean Team" program in 184 cities around the state. As LWF director, Ms. Thompson hopes to limit cypress logging and to open more waterways in the Atchafalaya Basin. Her hobbies include birding, gardening and cooking.
District 7
Fred J. Borel, Jr. of Lake Charles and Jerome C. (Jerry) Haas, Jr. of Sulphur represent LWF contributing members from District 7 on the Federation Board. District 7 includes Acadia, Jefferson Davis, Allen, Beauregard, Calcasieu and Cameron Parishes. Mr. Borel is a retired chemical worker concerned with all aspects of wildlife conservation. He sponsored the first Quail Forever Chapter in Opelousas to help it get started in the state, and is a member of numerous other conservation organizations including the Ruffed Grouse Society (Sponsor), Pheasants Forever, Ducks Unlimited, Delta Waterfowl, Wild Turkey Federation, CCA and the NRA. Mr. Borel is interested in learning more about conservation laws and regulations, particularly wildlife habitat management for which he hopes to encourage landowners to manage their land for wildlife. "I believe this to be the future of all game species as well as songbirds of North America," he says. His outdoor interests include hunting, fishing and jogging.
Mr. Haas is a retired safety engineer with 45 years experience in construction and operations in the oil, gas and construction industries, including several overseas assignments. He has conducted several safety seminars at McNeese University. His hobbies include fishing, hunting, camping and other outdoor activities. He is currently serving as District 7 Vice President of the Louisiana Wildlife Federation. He has been involved with many community service activities including serving as chairman of the Sulphur Zoning Commission, president of the Southwest Louisiana Mutual Aid Association, president of his church parish council, local Lions Club, and the Southwest Louisiana Safety Engineering Society. He has many grandchildren and therefore is extremely interested in keeping Louisiana's rich wildlife heritage.
District 8
Ken Dancak, PhD of Pineville and Joe McPherson of Woodworth represent District 8 (Grant, LaSalle, Catahoula, Concordia, Rapides, Avoyelles, Evangeline, and St. Landry Parishes) members on the Federation Board. Dr. Dancak is involved with the daily management of wildlife resources on all districts of the Kisatchie National Forest, including game, non-game and threatened and endangered species, and coordination of management efforts with other natural resource management agencies. He is a retired Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve. He is currently serving on the Executive Committee of the Louisiana Wildlife Federation as 1st Vice President. He has been a District 8 at-large director of LWF since 1999. His hobbies include photography, woodworking, outdoor cooking and travel. He also serves on the LWF's Fundraising and Development Committee and Forest & Upland Wildlife Committee.
Mr. McPherson is a self-employed businessman who has been involved in numerous conservation and habitat restoration efforts over the past 25 years including the restoration of Buhlow Lake and the Saline-Larto Lake complex. As a member of the Louisiana State Senate where he has served for 20 years, he has authored key legislation to protect the state's Conservation Fund and the freedom of Louisiana citizens to hunt, fish and trap. He authored legislation that created the Acadiana Conservation Corridor and Beauregard Wildlife Management Areas and added acreage to the Dewey Wills WMA. He is a co-chair of the Louisiana Legislative Sportsman's Caucus. McPherson has been recognized 3 times as the Legislative Conservationist of the Year by the Louisiana Wildlife Federation and received the "Governor's Award" as the 2005 Conservationist of the Year. He has been a member of the LWF for nearly 30 years and has served on the LWF Board of Directors representing affiliates in his area. McPherson continues to work on issues such as quality deer management, identification of state waterbottoms and insuring public access while recognizing private property rights, expanding the state WMA system and working with private land owners to provide incentives for forest lands to remain available for use by the general public. His outdoor interests include hunting and fishing.
District 9
Virginia Burkett, PhD of Many serves on the LWF Board representing contributing members from District 9 which includes Vernon, Sabine, Desoto, Red River, Natchitoches and Winn Parishes. She is a research scientist at the National Wetlands Research Center. Dr. Burkett has 30 years professional experience in wildlife and fisheries management and research, including serving as deputy secretary and secretary of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. She has also served on the Louisiana Forestry Commission, the Gulf of Mexico Fisheries Management Council, and national and international panels on climate change. She has published extensively on the topics of sea level rise, climate change, coastal impacts, and coastal management. She has been involved in activities of the Louisiana Wildlife Federation for over 20 years. Her hobbies include hiking and fishing. The other at-large District 9 directorship will remain vacant until the next election or until filled by appointment of the LWF Board of Directors.
The next elections for at-large directors will be held in December. Click here for a nomination form. The deadline for nominations is November 15th.
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