A reposting to include an email contact for WSO VP Kim Kreitinger: 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 k.kreitinger@xxxxxxxxx Carl Schwartz Milwaukee County #################### You received this email because you are subscribed to the Wisconsin Birding Network (Wisbirdn). To UNSUBSCRIBE or SUBSCRIBE, use the Wisbirdn web interface at: //www.freelists.org/list/wisbirdn To set DIGEST or VACATION modes, use the Wisbirdn web interface at: //www.freelists.org/list/wisbirdn Visit Wisbirdn ARCHIVES at: //www.freelists.org/archives/wisbirdn