" Time Spent Amongst Trees is Never Wasted Time"  -Katrina Mayer
Warmest wishes for a wonderful Holiday Season and a very Happy New Year from all of us at Western Chapter ISA!
WCISA News
A Gift that Keeps on Giving


Looking for a great gift for Friends and Family this year? Give the gift of membership!

Gift memberships are available through the Western Chapter office. A $60 chapter only membership includes our Western Arborist magazine, window cling and a membership card is wrapped up in a gift box. Contact our Membership Coordinator, Rita Franco to share your profession with a loved one.
You still have time!
2016 WCISA Awards Program - Recognize a colleague

The Awards Committee is seeking nominations from our active members for the annual awards that are given at the annual conference to individuals and agencies that deserve recognition for their efforts to enhance the urban environment through public outreach, education and volunteerism. Contact Awards Chair Robert Phillips rwpvineyards@gmail.com 
with your questions.

Nominations close on December 31, 2016. To submit your nomination and for a list of awards visit: WCISA Awards 

For a list of Past Award Winners
This Holiday Season Double your Power of Giving!
Support The Britton Fund, Inc. when shopping online
 


This holiday as you do your online shopping consider giving back by shopping at any of the following merchants.

Here's how it works:
1. Select from 150+ merchants
2. Shop as usual
3. TBF receive a donation!

For more information click Support Us to see all participating merchants.
REGISTRATION IS OPEN



Stay tuned for our full program announcement!  It's going to be GREAT!  
Exhibitor information coming out soon!

Bookmark 
www.wcisaconnect.com  for all the latest information!





Municipal Forestry Institute - SMA
February 19 - 24, 2017
Lake Arrowhead, CA 
MFI is an exciting, high-level training opportunity, educating professionals in the leadership and managerial aspects of urban forestry. This week-long intensive educational program delivers a challenging opportunity to grow a more successful community tree program. Come learn and master leadership and management tools of program administration, coalition building, strategic thinking, program planning and public relations by investing a week in your personal growth and development.

SCHOLARSHIPS ARE AVAILABLE TO CALIFORNIA PROFESSIONALS 

Thanks to a grant from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and the USDA Forest Service, SMA is offering scholarships to the Municipal Forestry Institute (MFI) at Lake Arrowhead, CA February 19-24, 2017.  Applicants must meet the following criteria:
 
1. Be a resident of and employed in the state of California, AND
2. Demostrate need for financial attendance in order to attend MFI
 
30 Scholarships of $1000 each are still available.  The Scholarships will be awarded based on job position, geographic are represented, and date of application.  When applying for a scholarship if you meet these criteria.    Please Click here  for more information about scholarship 

For more information see the  MFI 2017 Flyer  

To register online  Click Here
TRAQ Seminars

Need to renew your TRAQ qualification or get a TRAQ qualification?  Good news we have an upcoming TRAQ session in Nevada and Arizona. To registration go to our Events Page on our website.  To learn more about the TRAQ qualification see 

Courses are in the works for Arizona, Northern and Southern California for early 2017.  Contact Rita Franco 559-784-8733 or  rita@wcisa.net  to be added to a interest list to be notified of future upcoming sessions.

Spanish Education Committee 
Needs your help!

If you are bilingual and can volunteer, the committee is looking for you! The committee is working to bring educational and safety seminars to the Spanish Speaking workers in the industry.  Your knowledge and experience will bring great value to the program.   Feel free to contact the committee's chair Noe Cardenas 
noetree2002@yahoo.com or any committee member for additional information.  

You can also contact the Rita Franco rita@wcisa.net for more information regarding CEU opportunities in Spanish.  

Committee Members
Bert Mojica
humberto.mojica@disney.com
Oscar Sanchez
osanchez@treecarela.com
Frank M. SaldaƱa
arbortech@qwestoffice.com
Raquel Zepeda
rzepeda@cityofglendora.org
Brandon Elrod
brandon@pacificcoastarborists.com


CEU Resources

Looking for more CEU opportunities?  Don't forget to check out our Alternative CEU Resources page! It links to podcasts, online quizzes and more - accessible to you no matter your proximity to our regional conferences!   Here's the link.

New Online CEU Article Collections Available from ISA
Previously available only in print format, you can now purchase and access all of ISA's Collections of CEU Articles electronically, along with the accompanying CEU quizzes, previously printed in Arborist News. The complete set of articles can help you earn up to 95.75 CEUs!
Job Listings

In the market for a new job in arboriculture?  Look no further than the WCISA website!  For details about posting a job listing, please email rita@wcisa.net.  Listings are $50 per month.
  • Friends of the Urban Forest Seeks Tree Care Associate, San Francisco, CA
  • Houston Arborist Seeks Tree Workers, Various Locations, CA 
  • Cagwin and Dorward Seeks Tree Care Managers and Trainees, Various Locations, NorCal
  • IECLT seeks Tree Climbers/Bucket Workers Canyon Country, CA 
  • Integrity Tree seeks Tree Climbers, Phoenix, AZ 
Visit wcisa.net for a full listings.  Also visit  LandscapeJobs.com for international jobs in the green industry.
ISA Announcements
 




2017 Rate Increase for ISA Membership and Credential Holders: 
Beginning January 1, 2017,  ISA membership fees will increase by $5.00 USD and  certification exam and recertification fees will increase  by $20.00 USD for ISA members and $30.00 USD for  non-members. Renew your membership, apply for a  certification exam, or recertify now and pay the 2016 rates.  For a detailed explanation about these rate increases, please visit the ISA website.


ISA Executive Director is retiring
ISA announces Executive Director Jim Skiera's plans for retirement at the end of 2017. Learn more about the succession plan. 

WCISA Events
Structural Pruning Seminar
San Diego, CA
January 4, 2017

Seats are still available! Whether you attended one of the first three outdoor workshops or not, you will be able to see how trees responded to pruning cuts made three and five years ago. There will be lots to see and discuss. This is the best way to learn pruning by seeing for yourself how structure is improved with selected pruning cuts in the right position. This time, Mark Chisholm, three time International Tree Climbing Champion, will show us how to efficiently reach the right place: that is the edge of the tree crown.  
Structural Pruning Seminar
Los Angeles, CA
January 5, 2017

Seminar is SOLD OUT!
California Tree Failure Report Program
Woodside, CA
January 12, 2017

Seminar is SOLD OUT!
Look for information on the Southern California Workshop after the New Year.
Chipper Safety and Maintenance - CalLine Equipment
January 27, 2017
Santa Fe Springs, CA

Commercial Companies are limited to 4 participants.  Municipalities are limited to 2 participants.  
FOR OPERATORS ONLY!

The brush chipper is one of the most common and potentially hazardous tools that is used daily in the tree care profession. In addition to this, it is often the first piece of equipment that a new employee will use. When misused, these necessary machines are involved with almost 20 fatalities and several hundred serious injuries per year.

This applied workshop will cover basic operations and safety for chippers and will feature a classroom presentation and live outdoor demonstrations of the equipment's safety features. 

Featured Speakers:
Noe Cardenas, CTSP, La Verne, CA
Denny Knoll, Sacramento, CA
Bruce Bartling, Livermore, CA

Trees and Risk: What we need to know
January 31, 2017
Las Vegas, NV
with live feeds through out Nevada

Join us for a day of talking about reducing your risk in tree risk assessment by knowing the law.  We'll hear from Kevin Eckert on how to calculate the likelihood of failure and the importance of needing a standardized assessment process.  The speakers will be onsite in Las Vegas with live video feeds in different locations.   This is a live video feed that requires you to be onsite.  This is not a webinar.

Las Vegas-  Register Now!
Reno (Live video feed)-  Register Now!
Carson City (Live video feed)-  Register Now!
Elko- (Live video feed)-  Register Now!
Trees and Risk: What we need to know
February 9, 2017
Phoenix, AZ

Join us for a day of talking about reducing your risk in tree risk assessment by knowing the law.  We'll hear from Kevin Eckert on how to calculate the likelihood of failure and the importance of needing a standardized assessment process.  Other speakers will be onsite.

TRAQ- Henderson, NV
February 1- 3, 2017

Seats are still available! Hurry up registration deadline is TODAY!

TRAQ- Phoenix, AZ
February 6 - 8, 2017

This 3-day course and exam is open to interested parties who meet the per-requites (see  Tree Risk Assessment Candidate Handbook ) and is limited to 20 arborists (first-come/first-served). The qualification consists of a 2-day educational course followed by a 1/2 day assessment that includes both a written and field component. It is required that you attend the course and successfully complete the assessment in order to receive this qualification.

Registration closes on January 6, 2017 or when class is filled. 

Industry Events
TCIA's Winter Management Conference
February 5 - 9, 2017
Puerto Rico

ASCA 2017 Consulting Academy
February 21 - 24, 2017
San Diego, CA 

2017 Nevade Landscape Association Conference
February 23, 2017
Reno, NV

26th Annual Trade Show and Conference 
"Education in Our Business"

Time to do some housekeeping

Did you get this email multiple times?  That means we have different email addresses for you in our database.  Please unsubscribe any email addresses
that you no longer use.  Please contact our Membership Coordinator Rita Franco 
at 559-784-8733 to help you remove any emails or if you have any questions.

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