IASWCD President Jeff Meinders, left, presented the Supervisor of the Year award to John Dooms, St. Joseph County SWCD supervivisor. Meinders represented award sponsor Indiana Prairie Farmer Magazine and editor, Tom Bechman.
The award was established to recognize outstanding and exemplary supervisor achievements and leadership in the protection and enhancement of Indiana's soil and water resources. It is presented annually to a leader of a county Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD).
Dooms, North Liberty, Ind., has been an integral part of the St. Joseph County Soil and Water Conservation District for many years, and will likely be for many years to come. He has served on the SWCD board as either an associate or elected supervisor for the past 32 years, 24 of those years as board chair. Dooms has made a lasting impact on soil and water conservation in St. Joseph County, and 2013 was no different.
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John digs a root pit for a conservation field day at his farm.
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Dooms serves as a member of the District's conservation committee. The program is designed to educate local farmers on the use of conservation practices. He helped plan and implement a new year-long activity that will help train the next generation of farmers to use soil health practices.
Dooms also actively promotes soil and water conservation to his local and state legislators. He has made the annual trip to Indianapolis for the IASWCD Annual Conference to meet with legislators both at the statehouse and at the conference legislators' breakfast. In both instances he and other SWCD board members present legislators with a booklet that lays out all of the conservation work being conducted in St. Joseph County.
Dooms says that while he is the chair of the St. Joseph County SWCD, he only represents what the board as a whole wishes, and while this is true he does much more. In his nomination, Dooms is described as one who "demonstrates leadership that guides the board to make wise decisions, by remembering SWCD history and embracing new and emerging trends within soil conservation." The three-day Annual Conference of Indiana SWCDs concludes tomorrow at the Indianapolis Marriott Downtown (350 W. Maryland, Indianapolis, 46225) with the IASWCD's Legislative Breakfast and Annual Business Meeting. The complete conference agenda is available in the conference brochure.
