People in charge of managing roadside vegetation will gather in Kansas City in October to discuss the state of their art

People in charge of managing roadside vegetation will gather in Kansas City in October to discuss the state of their art. The National Roadside Vegetation Management Association (NRVMA) will hold its 17th Annual Conference on October 15-18 at the Downtown Kansas City Marriott, Kansas City, Mo.
The four-day conference will feature a golf tournament, regional sessions and technical sessions. Below is a preview of the conference.
Special events
The conference starts with the Scholarship Golf Tournament on Sunday, Oct. 15, at the Paradise Pointe Golf Complex, Smithville, Mo.
The official NRVMA Kickoff Luncheon is scheduled for Monday, Oct. 16, from noon-1:30 p.m. That evening there will be a wine and cheese social including NRVMA scholarship activities. Regional sessions for the North, South and West Regions will be held Monday afternoon, to be followed by Regional Session Summaries on Wednesday, Oct. 18.
Industry New Product Presentations will be made Tuesday morning, Oct. 17, led by session chair Stacy Armstrong of the Missouri Department of Transportation. The session will feature updates on the latest products, services and equipment available from the conference’s exhibitors.
NRVMA’s Awards Luncheon will take place on Tuesday. The President’s Address at the luncheon will be given by Charles Tomlinson of the North Carolina DOT.
Presentation of the National Roadside Excellence Awards is scheduled for the afternoon of Tuesday, Oct. 17. Awards will be given to the state DOT winner, county winner, city winner and support winner.
Technical sessions
The technical sessions begin on Tuesday with "Roadside Partnerships," featuring sessions on "Use of Incarcerated Personnel on Roadsides," presented by Rand Swanigan of the Missouri DOT; "Hazardous Roadside Wastes," presented by Kevin Wideman also of the Missouri DOT; "Successful Public-Private Roadside Partnerships," presented by Cary Street of the Tennessee DOT; and "Heritage Database and MORAP," presented by Gene Gardner of the Missouri DOT.
The second technical session covers "State DOT Roadside Programs," leading off with "The Michigan Roadside Program," presented by Scott Wheeler of the Michigan DOT, followed by "The South Carolina Roadside Program," presented by Huley Shumpert, P.E., of the South Carolina DOT, and "The Idaho Roadside Program," presented by Gene Ross of the Idaho DOT.
"Critical Roadside Issues" is the theme of technical session three on Wednesday, with presentations on the "National Weed Free Forage Initiative" by Bill Scott of the Kansas Department of Agriculture; "Effects of the President’s Strategy on Invasive Plants" by Fred Grau of Grasslyn; "The Maine Best Management Practices Manual" by Robert Laroche of the Maine DOT; and "Growing Trees in Poor Conditions" by Rita McKinzie of Purdue University.
Technical session four covers "University Roadside Research Updates." Session chair Doug Montgomery of Oklahoma State University will lead updates on the latest research on managing roadside vegetation being performed by universities around the country.
Technical session five will examine "Critical Pesticide Issues," featuring sessions on "Monsanto’s Perspective," presented by Tom Hoogheem of Monsanto Co.; "How Government and Activists Affect your Business," presented by Bruce Cranfill of American Cyanamid; "DuPont’s Perspective," presented by Rik Miller of DuPont Co.; and "Novartis’ Perspective," presented by Dr. Joe DiPaola of Novartis Crop Protection.
For more information on the NRVMA Annual Conference, contact Turney Hernandez, executive director, NRVMA, 218 Rhett Dr., Adam’s Run, Newark, DE 19702, or call 302/832-2960. Internet address: www.nrvma.org.