TY - JOUR T1 - International soil and water conservation: My experience and how SWCS helped JF - Journal of Soil and Water Conservation SP - 124A LP - 128A DO - 10.2489/jswc.64.4.124A VL - 64 IS - 4 AU - Theo Dillaha Y1 - 2009/07/01 UR - http://www.jswconline.org/content/64/4/124A.abstract N2 - In 1984, I became a member of the Soil and Water Conservation Society (SWCS), one of the best decisions of my professional career. I joined SWCS at the invitation of Bernie Parsons, a senior faculty member in the Agricultural Engineering Department at Virginia Tech, which I had just joined as a new assistant professor. Bernie took me under his wing and started taking me to Virginia Chapter SWCS Council meetings. He introduced me to most of the key soil and water conservation professionals in the state. As a result of these introductions and the networking opportunities that they provided, I became heavily involved in soil and water conservation activities in Virginia—served as Virginia Chapter president, have been the faculty advisor to the Virginia Tech Student Chapter for over 15 years, served on numerous national committees, and eventually became an SWCS Board member and president. Now, I am involved in soil and water conservation activities across the globe. Bernie's invitation had a profound effect on my life and professional development, and I will forever remember him for introducing me to SWCS. This article focuses on my international soil and water conservation experiences since 2004 when I became the program director of… ER -