[wisb] WSO Is Looking to Recruit Treasurer, Committee Chairs and Pigeon Editor
- From: "Carl Schwartz" <cschwartz3@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: "Wisconsin Birding Network" <wisbirdn@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 27 Aug 2012 13:46:07 -0500
HELP WANTED!
WSO Is Looking for Treasurer, Committee Chairs and Pigeon Editor
Nothing endures but change.
--from Lives of the Philosophers by Diogenes Laertius
Through the ages, that piece of wisdom has had many translations:
· There is nothing permanent except change.
· The only constant is change.
· Change alone is unchanging.
It's perfectly normal and applies to everything, including the Wisconsin
Society for Ornithology, which has embraced the need for ongoing change by
embarking on a strategic planning process. Concurrent with that, it is moving
to bolster its committee structure by issuing a call to the general membership
for new volunteers in a range of responsibilities.
Committees are the heart and soul of many volunteer organizations. WSO is no
exception. But in practice, many of our chairs have elected to shoulder the
workload largely by themselves, in effect giving us standing chairs rather than
standing committees. For some "committees" that works just fine. But in some
areas, the potential exists for accomplishing our goals more quickly if we
enlist some additional members to help us. Staffing a volunteer organization is
always a challenge. But one thing I have learned in running the Honey Creek
Birdathon/Birdathon: Sometimes people are just waiting to be asked to help do a
good thing.
This also gives us the opportunity to increase transparency and involve a wider
cross-section of our membership in carrying out our work and shaping our future
initiatives.
Changes also are occurring at the top of our structure. WSO regularly rotates
its presidents and vice presidents on a two-year cycle. Its other officers -
treasurer, secretary and editor -- have generally served much longer terms. But
right now, we are in a two-year period that will see all three of those jobs
change hands. The May convention in Middleton saw the retirement of Secretary
Jane Dennis, who was succeeded by Jenny Wenzel, after serving the Society for
16 years. Christine Reel, who has served as treasurer since 2002, has announced
her plans to retire next May, while Bettie and Neil Harriman plan to retire in
May of 2014 after more than a decade as co-editors of the Passenger Pigeon.
They each have been gracious enough to give us sufficient time to conduct a
search for successors talented and energetic enough to fill the big shoes they
are leaving behind. This is a volunteer organization, and while the editor and
treasurer positions require very different skill sets, they have in common the
commitment of a significant amount of time.
So those jobs are at the very top of our Help Wanted board. Interested? Contact
WSO president Carl Schwartz or vice president Kim Kreitinger (contact
information at the end of this article).
At the committee level, the Board of Directors recently voted to approve two
new committee chairs and board members. Ed Hahn of Watertown is succeeding
Barbara Duerksen of Richland Center as head of the Youth Education Committee,
and Bill Mueller of Milwaukee is succeeding Mariette Nowak of Mukwonago as
chair of the Education Committee.
Bill is teaming up with WSO Web Administrator Paul Jakoubek to develop an
expanded education section on the WSO website. Maybe there are a few educators
in WSO's ranks who might have some good suggestions...and who might wish to
help. Contact Bill at 414-698- 9108 or wpmueller1947@xxxxxxxxx
Paul says the website itself can use a photo editor who also could help create
a larger photo library for WSO. You can contact Paul through the web site
itself: www.wsobirds.org
Bill took over the Education Committee after many years of service as WSO's
Conservation chair, leaving a key opening there to fill at a time when the
Badger Army Ammunition Plant site is up for grabs and a Sandhill Crane hunt is
being proposed. This person is charged with keeping the WSO Board and
membership informed of important conservation issues that develop throughout
the state, plus elsewhere when deemed necessary, as well as expressing official
WSO opinions on conservation matters via letters and testimony.
So if you have a strong interest in helping shape avian conservation policy,
here is your opportunity. Contact Carl or Kim.
Another important opening was created with the recent retirement of Sandy
Petersen as Publicity chair.
The Publicity chair has previously served the society largely by seeing to it
that several WSO displays were set up at appropriate meetings, along with an
array of informative handouts regarding birds, birding, conservation issues,
etc. Providing assistance to the Wisconsin news media on bird-related subjects
was a secondary concern.
Going forward, the board is looking to expand the duties of the Publicity
committee to bring WSO into the 21st century. It would be great if we could
have a Facebook page, and post articles there as well as in Badger Birder the
newsletter and on our recently revamped website. This should help us attract a
much different, and likely younger, audience.
So do you have a knack for social media? Would you like to help write for the
web site and the Badger Birder? Contact Kim or Carl
The Convention Committee, which is actually our newest standing committee,
benefits from the team that first Scott Baughman and now Christine Zimmerman
have assembled, but it is among those also looking for some additional help.
Contact Christine at; 920-453-4037 or jeff.chris@xxxxxxxxxxx
Finally, Kim and I are conducting a search for a Development Chair, a vacancy
that has existed for some time and whose duties have never been fully defined.
But given the challenges in avian conservation and the prospect of launching a
second edition of the Wisconsin Breeding Bird Atlas, we would like to bring
someone aboard who has some background and interest in the position and would
take time to get grounded in WSO and help define the job and recruit a
committee.
Jobs we are seeking to fill:
Treasurer
Editor of the Passenger Pigeon
Conservation Committee Chair
Publicity Committee Chair
Development Committee Chair
Additional members for Publicity, Convention committees
Who to contact:
President Carl Schwartz, 7239 N. Barnett Ln., Fox Point, WI 53217-3610; 414.
416. 3272; cschwartz3@xxxxxxxxx
Vice President Kim Kreitinger, 2228 Monroe St., Madison, WI 53711; 415. 265.
9153
Carl Schwartz
Milwaukee County
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