Contact: Bob Ratliff
Mississippi State University's student chapter of the Society of American Foresters is again the top group of its kind in the nation.
The 80-member university organization finished first in the 2000-01 SAF Outstanding Student Chapter Awards competition. The achievement recognizes professional and service activities at the local, state and national levels.
The group will be recognized formally Sept. 13 at the SAF National Convention in Denver, Colo. Second-place honors will go to West Virginia University, with the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point finishing in third place.
The MSU student chapter, which previously captured first place in 1997 and second in 1999, was led during the 2000-01 school year by president Jeremiah S. Russell, a senior from Collinsville; vice president Brian N. Berryman, a junior from Leighton, Ala.; secretary Caree A. Crosby, a junior from Long Beach; and treasurer Sarah R. Dalrymple, a senior from Brunswick, Tenn. All are forestry majors.
Associate forestry professor Stephen Grado is chapter adviser.
Founded in 1900, the SAF is the world's largest professional organization for foresters. Its 18,000 active members engage in a variety of programs to improve the health, productivity and use of the nation's forests.