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Candidate Statement for WD AFS Vice President (2001 elections) Tom McMahon
Background – I attended East Stroudsburg
University (Pennsylvania) from 1980 through 1982, pursuing a curriculum in
Marine Biology. In 1982, I moved to the state of Arizona to attend Arizona
State University (ASU). While at ASU, I was elected President of the
Student Chapter of the Wildlife Society and served for two terms. I
graduated in 1986 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Wildlife Management
(minor in Fisheries Biology). My first professional employment was
supervising and implementing small mammal surveys for the U. S. Bureau of Land
Management on the San Pedro National Conservation Area in southeastern Arizona.
In January of 1987, I was hired on by the Arizona Game and Fish Department (AGFD)
as a Fish Hatchery worker at the Canyon Creek Hatchery. After a short, yet memorable time at this hatchery, I was hired as Fisheries Assistant and later a Fisheries Management Specialist in the Mesa Region of AGFD. I also spent over 4 years in the Habitat Evaluation program for the Department. Over this 12-year span, I worked as a fisheries management biologist and researcher, technical report writer, wrote various popular fish and habitat management articles for magazines, coordinated/implemented regional public information and education programs, prepared and presented numerous local and regional technical fisheries presentations, coordinated/researched/wrote many Departmental fish and terrestrial habitat evaluation opinions, and implemented/coordinated/supervised various stream and lake fish habitat improvement projects. I am currently the AGFD Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Outreach Coordinator. My duties consist of informing and educating the public on the mission of the AGFD and how the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration program monies benefit wildlife conservation and professional wildlife and fisheries management in not only Arizona, but in the whole United States. AFS Involvement -- My involvement with the American Fisheries Society
really started in my college days, even though ASU did not have an official AFS
student chapter. I joined the local Arizona-New Mexico Chapter in 1985,
the Parent Society in 1992, and became a Certified Fisheries Professional in
1998. I served as a local arrangements committee member for the Western
Division’s 1994 annual meeting in Flagstaff, Arizona, which was hosted by the
Arizona-New Mexico Chapter. Tom served the local chapter (Arizona-New
Mexico) as Secretary-Treasurer in 1994-95 and eventually as chapter President in
1996-1997. I have been very active in coordinating and chairing
local chapter annual meetings and technical sessions over the past 7 years. At
the Society level, I am a member of the Fish Administrators Section and the Fish
Management Section. I have also been a member of the Society’s recent
fund raising endeavor, AFS 2000, and attended the 2001 mid-year Governing Board
meeting, participating in the Society’s “Visit to the Hill” in Washington,
D.C. I am currently the General Chair for the American Fisheries Society 2001 annual meeting in Phoenix, Arizona. The theme for this meeting is “2001: A Fisheries Odyssey. The Journey of Science and Education Continues” and is being hosted by the Arizona-New Mexico Chapter, the Western Division, and the Arizona Game and Fish Department. As General Chair, I am the lead coordinator for Team AFS2001 – which includes the Program Committee, ten Local Arrangement Sub-Committees, the Western Division, and the AFS Bethesda office. This meeting is expected to attract over 1,200 fisheries managers, biologists, and their families to the desert southwest in mid-August. Vision -- My involvement with the Society has allowed me to develop very valuable professional associations and various opinions on the future of the Western Division. With a strong interest in fisheries outreach and education, I feel that the Western Division should further assist the local chapters in providing increased visibility and information to our upcoming managers and biologists – mainly students and recently hired professionals. I fully believe that their attendance at local, Division, and Society annual meetings is essential to their professional growth…and to the future of the American Fisheries Society. Money and time are the usual excuses – we must find ways (such as stipends or reduced dues/fees) to assist these students and new hires in discovering the value of the AFS and “what’s in it for them!” Furthermore, I believe it is important to continually improve communication and coordination among all levels of our Division so we may attain the vision that has been set out by our leadership in the AFS Strategic Plan. Therefore, I would like to continue to improve the communication efforts (i.e. teleconferencing) between our various local chapters and the Western Division Executive Committee. Open communication and training/educating our newest leaders are the keys to personal involvement at the local levels and continued excitement by our many and varied members in the west. I am honored to be nominated for the position of President Elect. Participating in the Executive Committee for the Division will require a serious time commitment and considerable effort. I am certainly up to the challenge and feel my record of service to the AFS at all levels speaks for itself. Whatever the outcome, I look forward to serving the American Fisheries Society in the future with commitment, enthusiasm, and a focused vision.
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