Hello All!
We are about to begin a new birding year. Our Board met on August 13 to chart the course for the coming year. I want to bring you up to speed on the things we will be doing.
We have a new Field Trips Chair, Jon Rockett, and Co-Chair, Kiernan O’Connor, this year. They will be setting up a good mix of Field Trips for all to enjoy. Please welcome them and assist by giving them any ideas for places to go and/or people who are willing to lead trips.
Jon and I will organize the CBBT Boat Trip again for January 2018. In order to fill the boat, we will open participation to other clubs, individuals and organizations. It was great fun this year! Please join us in 2018.
At the beginning of our meetings, we have traditionally asked members to share “cool” local bird sightings. We will continue to do that and in addition we will ask members who have been on “cool” trips to briefly share info on those trips and provide additional specifics to any inquiring member after the meeting.
We have significantly changed our community outreach projects this year. We will no longer be doing the Poster Contest that we had the past two years. Instead we will develop a Speaker’s Bureau headed by our new V.P. Dan Bieker. The Speakers will present to classes in our local schools. Presenters will identify material appropriate for each grade level. Dan will line up two presentations per month starting in January and continuing until April 2018.
This year we will continue funding the scholarship for a BRYBC member, nominated by the BRYBC Board, to attend a summer birding program/camp, and we will increase our scholarship to $500.00.
And new this year, we are initiating a scholarship or partial scholarship for a student to attend PVCC’s Field Ornithology class. The scholarship will be based on an essay contest on the theme of “Why do you want to take the Field Ornithology class and what have you done to demonstrate your interest?” Eligibility would be college-age students and high school seniors.
The planning for our only fund-raiser – our Bird Seed Sale (BSS) – is nearly complete. Our new Chair Person, Bernice Melvin, is a new Club member and brings lots of creativity to this position. (We have some new products. Check it out!)
Again, we have an able and enthusiastic BSS Team to move the project along and do the “heavy lifting.” Our profits from the BSS provide the funds to support our community outreach projects, pay our speakers an honorarium and pay the Club’s bills. Please support the Club with your orders again this year!
So, welcome to a new and exciting year of birding! Get involved; learn and teach; enjoy the camaraderie; reach out and touch the natural world; make a difference; and above all: enjoy!
