ARCSE AWARD RECIPIENTS
Anthony Burns: ARCSE Community Service Award, 2022
Anthony Burns has volunteered for Habitat for Humanity since 1992, helping to establish the Habitat affiliate in Oldham County, Kentucky. He served on their board of directors and helped build the first Habitat-sponsored house in Oldham County. Interestingly, the affiliate was later merged into the Metro Louisville Affiliate, which is where Anthony continues to volunteer.
Over the years, Anthony has helped to build 61 houses for Habitat homeowners and been involved in working on close to 100 additional houses. The additional work can include painting a house, but he doesn’t consider that building a house. In Metro Louisville, individuals are grouped together and work as a team, responsible for the construction of the assigned houses. Since Anthony retired in 2013, he has been working with a Team, a relatively small group of volunteers, mostly retired individuals, and together they have built 25 houses going from the subfloor to finishing the house and ready for occupancy.
Anthony has built houses in 12 states, worked with 5 different Habitat Affiliates, and participated in 11 Jimmy Carter Work Projects (serving as a house or crew leader). He’s also built in Philippines, South Korea, South Africa, and Mexico.
Other than the number of houses, Anthony is most proud of the houses that are being built today are well built using the best materials and latest state of the art building techniques. The era of vinyl siding cookie cutter house is becoming the thing of the past. All the houses in the Metro Louisville affiliate are energy-certified by a private organization that conducts energy inspections and conducts a blower test on each house to ensure air leakage is at acceptable levels. The houses are constructed with 2×6 walls and insulated so that monthly heating/cooling costs are generally much less than average home costs. The affiliate has also developed mixed income level housing subdivisions to fight the stereotype associated with low-income housing. In 2018, his team constructed the 500th house for Metro Louisville Habitat.
From 2005 to retirement, Anthony worked as a National Technology Specialist (ENTSC) Previously, he had experience as a State GIS Specialists and State Resource Conservationist (Georgia 1999 – 2005.) He started in 1978 SCS, in the soil conservationist track to District Conservationist.
Anthony Burns is also a former SWCS Vice President and Board Member and Fellow Award Winner and University of Kentucky, College of Agriculture, BS. His childhood home was on a small tobacco farm in Carroll Co, Kentucky.
Patty and Doug Lawrence: ARCSE Meritorious Service Award, 2022
Patty and Doug Lawrence worked many years for NRCS in National Headquarters – Patty in legislative affairs and other policy and program positions, and Doug as an economist for the Resource Economics and Social Science Division for the Deputy Chief for Science and Technology. Doug retired in December, 2011 and Patty in January, 2017. Starting January, 2017, they joined ARCSE and teamed up to update members on national and regional natural resource conservation legislative policy and program initiatives, as well as OPM and other information relevant to retirees, through their Notes from the Potomac section in the ARCSE newsletter distributed to members six times per year. Their contributions with each edition were timely, comprehensive, and knowledgeable, and well received by ARCSE membership. Having to turn to other commitments earlier this year, their contributions are and will be sorely missed. In recognition for their excellent high-quality work for the past five years on Notes from the Potomac, Patty and Doug receive the President’s Award for Meritorious Service.
Marc Safley: ARCSE Distinguished Service Award, 2022
As you may know, Marc Safley was a fixture in SCS/NRCS national headquarters for many years through the early Farm Bill years and beyond working on natural resource conservation issues and policy in the Ecological Sciences Division (ESD) for the Deputy Chief for Science and Technology, including several years as ESD Assistant Director. Marc retired February 2008 following a long and productive career.
Following retirement, Marc Safley has served as the ARCSE Senior Conservationist Chronicler from late 2009 until July, 2022, drafting, editing, and publishing more than 70 Senior Chronicles for the ARCSE newsletter. The Chronicles continue to be a major feature of the newsletter, recognizing conservationists reaching their 83rd birthday having made major contributions to natural resource conservation through their public service career and in retirement. Marc’s diligence, hard work, and attention to detail have produced a consistently high-quality product that will be challenging to sustain going forward as he steps down from this responsibility. Marc selfless contribution over 13 years in this capacity represents the kind of commitment that keeps ARCSE a viable and relevant organization. Therefore, the ARCSE Board unanimously supported the President’s Award for Distinguished Service in 2022 to Marc for his outstanding support and contribution to the organization.
ARCSE Facebook
–Julie MacSwain ARCSE launched its Facebook site in the summer of 2021. The engagement from the ARCSE membership and others is certainly appreciated. If you have any Historical Conservation Photos or NRCS photo memories that you’d like to share, please send Julie MacSwain, ARCSE Facebook Administrator, an email at: juliemacswain@gmail.com. Include a photo in a…
National NRCS Hiring Video
The information below was sent out recently by NRCS Chief Cosby to ALL NRCS employees. Note the content below: “One of my priorities is to cultivate a complete and diverse workforce that has the right tools, technologies, and training to achieve our mission. We are employing strategic recruitment and hiring practices to support this priority,…
Join us in welcoming Kailey Thompson to the ARCSE for the summer! 
Join us in welcoming Kailey Thompson to the SWCS staff for the summer! As the Student Leader Project Intern, Kailey will work remotely to develop a conference session for students and assist in the operations of the 77th SWCS International Annual Conference. She will also work with our intern sponsor and partner, Association of Retired…
ARCSE on Facebook
Facebook Engagement by Julie MacSwain Thank you ARCSE members for “liking” our ARCSE Facebook page. We are nearing 300 likes for our page. If you have any suggestions for content or pictures to share for “Throw Back Thursday,” please reach out to Julie MacSwain at juliemacswain@gmail.com. Let’s keep in touch!
ANNUAL ARCSE LUNCHEON
You are cordially invited to the ANNUAL ARCSE LUNCHEON MONDAY, AUGUST 1, 2022; 11:00 am – 1:30 pm (MTN) Ritz-CarltonThe Hall of Fame Room1881 Curtis StreetDenver, CO 80202 ARCSE members and guests are cordially invited to attend the ARCSE Annual meeting. The cost of the luncheon is $65. (tax and gratuity included). Ritz-Carlton – The…
From the President
Arnold King The pandemic is slowly evolving into an endemic state due to advancements such as herd immunity, vaccinations, antivirals, and therapeutic technologies. The situation isn’t quite stable, but at least in my part of the world almost all of the deaths are among those having underlying conditions. Consequently, we are full steam ahead on…
FROM THE PRESIDENT, January, 2022
President Arnold King We are now almost two years into the COVID-19 pandemic. The origin of the virus remains a mystery, but the effects are real and will probably continue into the future. The good news is we are learning to live with the problem and keep people as safe as possible with vaccines and…
Paul Johnson Conservation Tribute
Paul Johnson, as many of you know, was passionate about furthering conservation on privately owned land across this country. During his tenure as chief of SCS, then NRCS, he worked tirelessly to foster public policy designed to achieve multiple environmental benefits on the nation’s agricultural land, to integrate science into the work of the agency, and…
From the President, Arnold King
The pandemic problems will probably continue for the near future. However, we will soon begin planning for a real face-to-face annual board meeting. Our meeting will once again be held concurrently with the annual meeting of the SWCS. The meetings will be held at Denver, CO early next summer. The Colorado folks are active, strong…
National Older Worker Career Center, Now looking for Watershed Program Experience, 20 positions available, $40 to $50 /hour
USDA-NRCS has contracted with the National Older Worker Career Center (NOWCC), to expand their offering of Agricultural Conservation Experienced Services (ACES) Program to include work with our watershed programs. ACES is a unique opportunity for retirees and older workers to utilize their expertise to help NRCS continue providing technical support for program and project delivery.…
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