[Bristol-Birds] Larry McDaniel to join Nature Center staff
- From: "Wallace Coffey" <jwcoffey@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <bristol-birds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 24 May 2006 20:20:15 -0400
Bristol Area Birders:
Larry McDaniel, a long-time leader of the Bristol Bird Club, has been
selected by
the Bristol Tennessee Department of Leisure Services to join the staff of
the
Steele Creek Nature Center. He begins work Thursday, June 8.
He fills a naturalist position vacancy recently
created by the departure of Justin Moore who
has been hired by the Virginia State
Parks System as a ranger in costal Virginia.
The position was first held by Don Holt, an
educator-naturalist with the University of Tennessee's
Greeneville 4-H Camp and an active contributor to
Bristol Birds Net.
Larry makes his home in Johnson City. He is retired
from the U.S. Postal Service. He has a real estate
license and recently owned a frame shop.
He has been studying birds and other nature subjects
at Steele Creek for more than a decade. Larry has been a regular volunteer
field trip
leader at the park for most of that time and also a member and volunteer
with the
Friends of Steele Creek Nature Center and Park.
He has also been active with the Friends of Roan Mountain and with a friends
group
Johnson City's Winged Deer Park where he has often led public naturalist
activities.
His efforts have twice earned him annual awards from the Johnson City Parks
and Recreation Department at their public appreciation banquets.
He moved to Bristol Tennessee in July 1993 from Tampa, FL where he was a
postal
worker and took advantage of an opening as a letter carrier in Bristol.
His vast experience with nature activities include years of leading field
trips at the
Mount Rogers Naturalist Rally and Roan Mountain Naturalist Rallies.
He was a founding member of the Butternut Naturalist Club which was the
foundation
for what is known today as the popular Butternut Yahoo Group, created and
moderated
by Don Holt.
Larry served three terms as president of BBC. He also was active as a
contributing
columnist for the BBC newsletter The Eagle with his column "Bird Droppings"
which
was a compilation of outstanding region birding records. He also maintained
the
BBC Calendar of Events, which was published in the newsletter. He was
elected the
club secretary for one year before election as vice-president in 2000-2001.
He still
serves as V-P. In that capacity he serves as the club program chair.
Larry has served on the board of directors of both the Virginia Society of
Ornithology
and the Tennessee Ornithological Society.
He has a vast experience as a Florida birder and also birding most of the
U.S. as well
as pelagic trips and Costa Rico. His life list total is one of the best
among all birders
of the region. He was the first person named Bird of the Year in the
region. His
hawk watching experience extends from his earliest days at Hawk Mountain, PA
as
a young birder to countless days at Mendota, VA where he has become a
regular
and familiar face.
His naturalist interests have also included butterflies, odonates,
wildflowers, trees,
mammals and amphibians.
In recent years he has been an active member of the Lee & Lois Herndon TOS
Chapter at Elizabethton, where he also served as an officer and program
chair.
He is married to Dr. Janet Brown, a Johnson City ophthalmologist.
Let's go birding..
Wallace Coffey
Bristol, TN
Other related posts:
- » [Bristol-Birds] Larry McDaniel to join Nature Center staff
