ALABAMA VEGETATION MANAGEMENT SOCIETY
ANNUAL MEETING FEBRUARY 26 & 27, 2019
BRYANT CONFERENCE CENTER, TUSCALOOSA, ALABAMA
2019 Conference
It seems like only yesterday that we finished the 2018 Annual Conference. Now we are only five months away from the 2019 Conference.
The Conference Information, including registration forms, are located on this website. So, you can register any time between now and mid February. Please make sure all of the information is correct and legible.
We will again be in Tuscaloosa, at the Bryant Conference Center. The Capstone Hotel is at near capacity, so we will have other hotels on the website soon that will offer reasonable rates for AVMS attendees..
This year we are asking all registered attendees and guests to please have your name badge visible at all times. This helps us recognize those who are registered and paid.
Hope to see you in February.
Monday, February 25, 2019
5:00 to 7:00 PM Exhibit Hall:
An Evening with the Exhibitors
Sponsors TBA
Tuesday, February 26, 2019
Registration opens at 6:30 AM
6:30 AM Continental Breakfast with Exhibitors
Sponsor TBA
8:00 AM Welcome and Board Nominations
Brian Conary–AVMS President
8:30 AM Pesticide Toxicity
Dr. Fudd Graham – Auburn University
9:15 AM What Happens to herbicides on the ROW?
Dr. Thomas C. Muller – University of TN
10:00 AM Break with Exhibitors
Sponsor TBA
10:45 AM Alabama Wildlife
Charles “Chuck” Sykes – Director of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries
11:45 AM Lunch
Sponsored by TBA
5:00 to 7:00 PM Exhibit Hall:
An Evening with the Exhibitors
Sponsors TBA
Tuesday, February 26, 2019
Registration opens at 6:30 AM
6:30 AM Continental Breakfast with Exhibitors
Sponsor TBA
8:00 AM Welcome and Board Nominations
Brian Conary–AVMS President
8:30 AM Pesticide Toxicity
Dr. Fudd Graham – Auburn University
9:15 AM What Happens to herbicides on the ROW?
Dr. Thomas C. Muller – University of TN
10:00 AM Break with Exhibitors
Sponsor TBA
10:45 AM Alabama Wildlife
Charles “Chuck” Sykes – Director of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries
11:45 AM Lunch
Sponsored by TBA
Tuesday, February 26, 2019
1:00 PM ADAI SCAN IN
1:15 PM Evaluation of Vegetation for Stream and Floodplain Projects
Dr. Eve Brantley – Auburn University
1:45 PM Regulatory Issues
Jack Ingram - ADAI
2:30 PM Break with Exhibitors
Sponsor TBA
3:15 PM Utility Safety
Michael Kelley - AREA
4:00 PM Tree Care in Construction Zones
Chris Francis – Chris Francis Tree Care
5:00 PM Adjourn
ADAI SCAN OUT
1:00 PM ADAI SCAN IN
1:15 PM Evaluation of Vegetation for Stream and Floodplain Projects
Dr. Eve Brantley – Auburn University
1:45 PM Regulatory Issues
Jack Ingram - ADAI
2:30 PM Break with Exhibitors
Sponsor TBA
3:15 PM Utility Safety
Michael Kelley - AREA
4:00 PM Tree Care in Construction Zones
Chris Francis – Chris Francis Tree Care
5:00 PM Adjourn
ADAI SCAN OUT
Wednesday, February 27, 2019
6:30 AM ADAI SCAN IN
Continental Breakfast with Exhibitors
Sponsor TBA
7:00 AM Non-denominational Devotion upstairs in
the Lackey Room: Michael Kelley - AREA
7:30 AM Advanced Tree Pruning
Chris Francis – Chris Francis Tree Care
8:30 AM Glyphosate: Is it Safe?
Dr. Thomas C. Mueller – University of TN
9:15 AM Break with Exhibitors
Sponsor TBA
9:45 AM Drone Mapping Technology
Dr. Beau Brodbeck – AL Co-op Extension
10:30 AM Pattern Testing Large Droplet ROW
Application Heads
Dr. John Byrd- Mississippi State University
11:15 AM Silent Auction Results
AVMS Business meeting
11:45 AM Adjourn
ADAI SCAN OUT
6:30 AM ADAI SCAN IN
Continental Breakfast with Exhibitors
Sponsor TBA
7:00 AM Non-denominational Devotion upstairs in
the Lackey Room: Michael Kelley - AREA
7:30 AM Advanced Tree Pruning
Chris Francis – Chris Francis Tree Care
8:30 AM Glyphosate: Is it Safe?
Dr. Thomas C. Mueller – University of TN
9:15 AM Break with Exhibitors
Sponsor TBA
9:45 AM Drone Mapping Technology
Dr. Beau Brodbeck – AL Co-op Extension
10:30 AM Pattern Testing Large Droplet ROW
Application Heads
Dr. John Byrd- Mississippi State University
11:15 AM Silent Auction Results
AVMS Business meeting
11:45 AM Adjourn
ADAI SCAN OUT
Guest Speakers
Dr. Beau Brodbeck was born and raised in Guatemala, Central America until moving to
Fairhope, AL where he enrolled in Faulkner State. He eventually transferred to Auburn
University and earned his B.S. and M.S. from the School of Forestry and Wildlife
Management where his research focused on the disjunctions between the growing number
of small timberland holdings and a large consolidating forestry industry unable to provide
forest management to small timberland owners. He currently serves as Alabama Cooperative
Extension Specialist in Urban and Community Forestry.
Dr. Thomas C. Mueller is a Professor in the Department of Plant Sciences at the University
of Tennessee. He received his B.S. from the University of Illinois in Agronomy, his M.S.
from the University of Kentucky in Crop Science, and his Ph.D. from the University of
Georgia in Crop Science. His primary research areas are environmental fate of pesticides
(especially herbicides) in soils, water systems, and in the air (via drift), and the confirmation
and subsequent control of herbicide-resistant weeds. Dr. Mueller has served on an US-EPA
Scientific Advisory Board, has served as an associate editor for Weed Science and Weed
Technology, has served on the executive board for the Weed Science Society of America
as Secretary, and was named a fellow of the WSSA in 2014.
Charles “Chuck” Sykes is a Choctaw County native who took his passion for the outdoors
and earned a Wildlife Biology degree from Auburn University in the School of Forestry and
Wildlife Science. After graduation, he worked as a guide and/or general manager for several
prominent commercial hunting lodges in Alabama. Mr. Sykes assimilated the hands-on
knowledge from the field with scientific instruction for the classroom to create a fullservice
natural resource consulting firm in 1999. Since then, Mr. Sykes has managed
hundreds of thousands of acres across the nation. In 2012, Mr. Sykes accepted the position
of Director of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries in the Alabama Department of
Conservation and Natural Resources. He currently oversees the
Dr. Eve Brantley is an Associate Professor with the Auburn University Department of Crop,
Soil and Environmental Sciences. She also serves as the Alabama Cooperative Extension
System Water Resource Specialist. Eve has worked on water education and project
implementation at the watershed, basin, and regional
Jack Ingram was raised in Houston County and attended Wallace College for Criminal
Justice. Jack has been employed at the Alabama Department of Agriculture & Industries
for the last 17 years where he serves as an Agriculture and Consumer Protection Specialist
with Pesticide Management. Before that, he worked 7 years for Terra International as a
Certified Crop Advisor. He enjoys spending time with his wife and daughter and does a little
hunting on the side.
Michael Kelley has served at the Alabama Rural Electric Association (AREA) since early
2006 where his primary focus has been to conduct monthly safety meetings and RESAP
inspections for Alabama’s 22 member cooperatives, as well as cooperatives in Florida. Prior
to moving to AREA, he served as a line man and safety coordinator in the Utility Industry.
He has coordinated with Alabama and other states during times of disaster; his restoration
campaigns include Hurricanes Katrina, Gustav, and Rita.
Chris Francis is an ISA Board Certified Master Arborist, Alabama state licensed in all four
horticultural categories, and ALNLA Certified Landscape Professional. He also holds the
ISA Tree Risk Assessment Qualification and AUFA Urban Forestry Certification. Chris has
a bachelor's degree in Business Administration from University of South Alabama and is
working on a master's degree in Arboriculture and Urban Forestry from University of
Central Lancashire. He is a practicing and consulting arborist at Chris Francis Tree Care.
Dr. Fudd Graham holds a B.S. in Animal Science and a Ph.D. in Entomology. Currently he is
employed by the Auburn University Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology as a
coordinator of the Alabama Fire Ant Program and the Pesticide Safety Education Program
Dr. John Byrd serves as an extension and research professor at Mississippi State
University in the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences. His focus is on weed control in noncroplands
and forages. He has authored numerous publications addressing weed control in
various agricultural and home environments. His hobbies include collecting “cats”.
