2000 MMSA Winter Conference

Once again the MMSA Winter conference was held at the Doherty Hotel and Conference Center in Clare. True to form it was a "special" weather day. Friday night was one of the coldest nights of the year. However, the roads were clear and attendance was high.

During the Annual Meeting portion of the conference five special awards were presented to five very special couples. A year ago the MMSA Board decided it was past time to honor those whose dedication, innovation and just plain hard work have been a special help to Michigan Maple. Some of those honored served on the Board in the years past, others have been active working with production equipment, while others have worked hard to help and be an inspiration to other producers. This year's honorees were George and Helen Fogle, Amos and Joyce Haigh, Frank and Sally Majszak, and Leroy and Charlotte Worden. Without people like this group Michigan Maple would not be where it is today.

A second special event occurred during the meeting—the debut of the new MMSA maple video entitled "MAPLE SUGARING -A Springtime Tradition". The video is about 22 minutes long and was produced by Will Waterman. It is designed as an informational video and will be especially effective for school and group presentations. The MMSA Video Library has copies for loan, however, if you would like your own copy they are available for $20.00 plus shipping and handling.

After the Annual Meeting the members were treated to the remarks of Dr. Mel Koelling, Michigan State University, and Mr. Ernie Bieri, recently retired from Waterloo-Small, Inc. Dr. Koelling provided a recap of the industry's history. This helped many of us re-focus on the great strides we have made in the production of maple. Mr. Bieri provided a unique look at our present status in the industry as well as his perspective of what needs to be done to make the future as "golden" as possible. One of the unique perspectives he provided was the benefit of the ice storm the Northeast suffered several years ago. He outlined the world-wide news coverage of the event and pointed out that no amount of money could have purchased the advertising effect the coverage provided for the industry.

After lunch Tim Boonstra, a member and Forester from Fairview, led a lively discussion on the topic of tapping lumber, and particularly veneer, trees in the woodlot. This was followed by a series of breakout sessions. The two most popular sessions were, once again, the Beginners' Session, and a discussion, led by Ernie Bieri, on the use of the new smaller tapping spiles.

For information on this last session contact Board member Roger VandeBunte.

In addition to the meeting and presentations there was a display area well stocked by Michigan equipment vendors. Many discussions, questions, and ideas could be heard while wandering past the booths. The vendor area also was the perfect place for old acquaintances to be renewed and yarns about the "bush" to be shared. All in all the conference was an informative and just plain old good time. See you next year for the 40th Conference! A special thanks goes to the Doherty Hotel and Conference Center. Jim and Dean are wonderful hosts. There is so much work that goes on behind the scenes by their staff that makes preparation of this event go so smoothly. Every year those of us who work on this event look forward to their cooperation.