Minutes of the 2008 Board of Directors Meetings
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Minutes of the
Board of Directors' Meeting of Tulsa Audubon Society February 5, 2008 The February 5 meeting of the Tulsa Audubon Society Board Meeting was called to order by President John Kennington. Other members present were: Gail Storey, Carol Eames, Lauri Ribitzki, Gary Sifter, Jim Mitchell, Anita Mitchell, Mary Jackson, John Fisher and Martin Brown. Minutes from the previous meeting were approved. Old Business: 1. Scissortail Editor: Carol is ready to mail the current edition as soon as the labels are available. Lauri Ribitzki has agreed to be the Editor for one year. 2. Oxley Fund Raising: The Audubon appeal letter has not yet been mailed. The letter will be mailed as soon as John K. receives the list from Oxley and labels are prepared. 3. Tulsa Audubon Checklist: The new checklist has been completed and presented to members. The list will also be added to the TAS website. 4. Audubon Adventures: Kits have been received and delivered to the teachers that were interested in the program. Carol Eames will follow up with the teachers who received the kits. 5. Oklahoma Audubon Council: The council met in January and the first IBA has been established on the Selman Ranch, North of Woodward, Okla. On April 5 a plaque will be presented to Sue Selman of the Selman Ranch to commemorate this important event. At the same time work will be done to “tag” fences to prevent prairie chickens and other birds from hitting the fences. Duane Elmore (OSU) will help organize a birding festival in conjunction with the Selman activity. 6. River Parks – No update New Business: 1. Centennial Garden: Pearl Garrison has requested the TAS consider some type of Bird program for the Garden. The program could include presentations, bird walks, and a survey of birds in the area. This will be considered after the Gardens are open to the public. 2. Recorder Database: Paul Ribitzki has received the database from Amy. John will assist Paul in incorporating the prior year’s information in to the database developed by Paul. 3. Field Trips: A list of present and past field trips taken by TAS since 2001 was prepared by John Fisher and presented to other board members. For future out of town field trips it will be necessary to RSVP to the trip leader by phone or e-mail to ascertain the meeting place for each trip. It was also decided to develop a guide for trip leaders. Other: 1. Garden Tour: Work is progressing for this year’s tour. One homeowner has committed to participate and other leads for participation are being pursued. 2. Laurie Ribitzki continues to work on
a letter to companies requesting donations to 3. Bird Houses: The bird houses are no longer being used for the program for which they were originally purchased by TAS. There was discussion about retrieving these feeders and houses to sell for funding the IBA program. Anita Mitchell Minutes of the Board of Directors' Meeting of Tulsa Audubon Society April 20, 2008 The Tulsa Audubon Board of Directors Meeting was called to order by John Kennington, President. Members attending: Mary Jackson, Anita, Mitchell, Jim Mitchell, John Fisher, Paul Ribitzki, Lauri Ribitzki, Gary Sifter, Martin Brown, Carol Eames and Gail Storey. Minutes from the previous meeting were approved. Report of the Treasurer was accepted. Old Business: Scissortail: Laurie is waiting on the report from President John Kennington. Carol provided information from the post office on the proper folding for the Scissortail for mailing. Discussion was held on the proper mailing dates for the Scissortail. Oxley: The letter for fund raising has not yet been mailed. Audubon Adventures: No contact has been made with the teachers using the program as yet. IBA: IBA signs have been received from National and are to be posted on the fence line at the Selmon Ranch. Other materials needed for the Selman Ranch project will hopefully be donated by the Sutton Center. If not Eric will be reimbursed for the materials purchased. OK Audubon Council: Eighteen people attended the Selman Ranch IBA Festivities. A future birding festival, published as a Lesser Prairie Chicken Festival was discussed. After IBA (Selman Ranch) go thru review, the ranch will be a global site and will get more attention. Recorder Database: Paul received Amy’s data base and it is being incorporated into the present database. Paul is having trouble accessing OKBirds archives. New Business: Election: Jim Mitchell volunteered for the nominating committee and will contact prospective board members for election at the April meeting. All present officers agreed to run for their present office again. Directors Jim Mitchell, Gary Sifter agreed to a second term. Martin Brown has completed his second term and will not be able to run for director. A new director and all officers will be voted upon at the April meeting. Garden Tour: Four gardens have committed and one more is needed. Four vendors have also committed to the tour on the weekend of June 7 and 8, 2008. Oaks and Prairies: Oaks and Prairies Joint Venture is trying to establish a program to protect avian specific areas in Texas/Oklahoma with involvement by conservation and nature groups (government and non-government). Looking for someone from TAS to attend the initial organization meeting April 24, 2008, in Forth Worth, Texas. Field Trips: Laurie will have cards on hand at the next meeting for members input on field trips, i.e. suggestions for improving trips, locations, etc. Keystone Ancient Forest: A motion was made and seconded to authorize a $50 Subsidy for the butterfly count in the ancient forest area. Motion passed. Submitted by:
Minutes of the
Board of Directors' Meeting of The TAS Board Meeting was called to order by President John Kennington. Members present were: Jim Mitchell, Gary Sifter, Linda Clark, Anita Mitchell, Carol Eames, Gail Storey, Lauri Ribitzki and Mary Jackson. Also in attendance was Martin Brown. The minutes of the previous meeting were approved as corrected. The treasurer’s report of April was approved. The final birdseed sale accounting indicated $808.00 profit realized from the sale. Old Business: l. Scissortail Editor Laurie Ribitzki reported on her first newsletter as Editor. An excellent job. Laurie stated that she needs more stories and articles. 2. Oxley Nature Center: A letter was sent to Audubon members and the response was very well received. The remodeling project is still on schedule. 3. Audubon Adventures: No update 4. OK Audubon Council: A meeting is planned for August l6. A discussion on the planned Birding Festival in Woodward will be on the agenda. 5. River Parks Advisory Council: A representative from TAS is needed to attend the advisory council meeting. 6. Centennial Garden: John Nelson and John Fisher are in the process of putting together butterfly, bird and dragonfly lists for the garden area. The list will be available on line. Trails are under construction and the lake is beginning to fill. 7. Garden Tour: Tour is scheduled for June 7, 8, 2008. Six gardens and five vendors are on the tour. Donation chances will be available for a stained glass panel and a garden basket. Gail will get the tax permit for out-of-state vendors. It was suggested that a check list is needed for the garden tour information, so that nothing is forgotten. It was also mentioned that more TAS volunteers are needed for the tour. 8. Field Trip Etiquette: Very little response received from TAS members. Anita and Lauri will work to put together a report. New Business: 1. Field Trips: Meeting at Cyndi Browning on June 10. 2 Programs: Gail is working on several suggestions. 3 Other Committees: Committees will be updated and positions filled. 4 Together Green Grant: A grand was received by TAS to encourage work on conservation projects and increase the number of volunteers and organizations participating in TAS projects. 80% of the money will arrive by June 16. A special meeting will be held on June 19 – 6:00 p.m. to discuss these projects. 5 Other: John Kennington will be meeting with a representative from B.A. Indian Springs to discuss a new Audubon center. Next regular board meeting will be July 29, 2008. Anita Mitchell Secretary
Minutes of the
Board of Directors' Special Meeting of A special board meeting on June 15, 2008 was called to discuss how to best use the Toyota Together Green grant that TAS was awarded. The meeting was called to order by President John Kennington. Other members present were: Linda Clark, Gail Storey, John Fisher, Martin Brown, Mary Jackson, Paul and Laurie Ribitzki, Anita and Jim Mitchell. National Audubon will send guidelines to TAS soon, which will help Tulsa Audubon Society’s decisions in how the money is to be spent. The amount of the grant is $7,000. And needs to be spent of six projects by May 31, 2009. Events need to be scheduled throughout the year and encompass other volunteer groups or new volunteers in each of the six projects. Projects discussed for possible inclusion in this program: 1. Garden Tour – scheduling and expansion of the scope of the tour. 2. Bird Festival – Woodward – fence marking. 3. Oxley Nature Center – Plantings, trail maintance. Partner with TAS for volunteer Day. 4. Deep Fork – National public Lands Day. Trail day and clean up. 5. Sustainable Green Country – Talk with this group for ideas. 6. Eagle Days – Native American participation. 7. Botanical Garden - Involve Botanical garden volunteers in wildflower planting. Two National Days may need to be scheduled with events on these days. Further meetings will be scheduled to further these ideas. A motion was made in seconded to allow Laurie Ribitzki to be reimbursed for a registration fee and mileage to attend a grant writing seminar. Motion carried. Anita Mitchell Secretary
Minutes of the
Board of Directors' Meeting of The meeting of the Tulsa Audubon Society was called to order by President John Kennington. Members present were: Anita Mitchell, John Fisher, Mary Jackson, Carol Eames, Gail Storey, Lauri Ribitzki, Jim Mitchell, Gary Sifter, and Paul Ribitzki. A motion was made and seconded to approve the minutes of the previous meeting. Motion carried. The Treasurer was instructed to send a check to Oxley for $5000, to be used toward new backyard habitat displays in the remodeled building. This project was already approved by the board. The June budget was approved. A motion was made and seconded to approve the proposed yearly budget presented by the Treasurer. Motion carried. Old Business: l. Audubon Adventures – No update. 2. Oklahoma Audubon Council LPC Festival – The festival planning is moving forward. A meeting with the Oklahoma Agritourism representative will be scheduled to secure money for advertising. Duane Elmore, John Kenning ton and Gail Storey will discuss the advertising. A meeting also needs to be arranged with the Woodward Chamber director of Tourism. Meeting of the OK Audubon Council is scheduled for August 16, 2008. 3. River Parks Advisory Council – No update. 4. Centennial Gardens Program and Fall Field Trip – A meeting was held with Centennial Garden representatives to discuss the need for various brochures and check lists. Work is currently in progress to develop both lists and pictures for the brochures. A possible project is being discussed for TAS to do wild flower planting on the property. A TAS field trip is scheduled for October 4 to the Garden in conjunction with the Garden’s open house. 5. Garden Tour – The TAS Garden Tour is scheduled for May 30 and 31, 2009. 6. Field Trip Etiquette – A series of suggestions is being developed for use by field trip guides and will be in a future newsletter. 7. Together Green Budget - A budget needs to be submitted to National Office for Together Green. The kick off event is to be scheduled between September 20 and October 5. Gail will check with Deep Fork National Wildlife Refuge, pertaining to having an event between Sept 20, and Oct 5. A planting weekend at Oxley for April 2009 was discussed as a Together Green project. Carol Eames will check on dates. More events will be discussed in depth at future meetings. New Business: l. Field Trips – Proposed trips were reviewed and discussed. 2. Programs – Proposed programs were reviewed and discussed. The next Board Meeting will be August 13 for further planning of Together Green projects. Anita Mitchell Secretary
Minutes of the
Board of Directors' Meeting of The meeting was called to order by President John Kennington. Members present were: Lauri Ribitzki, John Fisher, Linda Clarke, Paul Ribitzki, Jim Mitchell, Carol Eames, Anita Mitchell and Mary Jackson. Also present was Martin Brown. This meeting was called to discuss the Together Green Grant, budget and projects. The minutes from the previous meeting were approved. New Business: A discussion was held about updating the TAS display panels and possibly using some of the Together Green money for this purpose. Carol Eames and John Kennington will bring the current panels to the next Board Meeting. A motion was made and seconded to buy a TAS Banner. The motion carried. John Kennington will purchase the banner. Board member Linda Clarke resigned from the Board. She is moving to Texas. A new member will be appointed. Old. Business: Oxley: The plans for native planting will not go forward at this time. Scissortail – Editor Lauri Ribitzki will include a call for volunteers in the next addition. Help is needed in gathering internet information, advertising, phone calling, etc. A Historian is also needed. A tentative schedule for TAS Together Green Projects follows: l. Deep Fork – between September 27 and October 5, 2008. 2. Oxley Habitat Improvement Day – early December, 2008. 3. Eagle Days – Saturday, January 3, 2009. 4. Oxley Bluebird Trail – late January, 2009. 5. Sustainable Green Country – Earth Day Event – April 22, 2009. 6. Woodward Birding Festival – fence marking. April 18, 2009. 7. Garden Habitat Tour – May 30, 31, 2009. Two alternate projects are: 1. Oxley Nature Center – Wildflower planting. 2. Ray Harral Nature Park – Bixby. The Budget for these events is: $500. Bluebird Boxes $2000. Display and promotional materials $1500. T-shirts and refreshments ` $1000 Fence Marking materials $1000 Food for volunteers $1000 miscellaneous items related to all projects Meeting adjourned. Secretary Anita Mitchell
Minutes of the
Board of Directors' Meeting of The meeting was called to order by President John Kennington. Members present were: Lauri Ribitzki, John Fisher, Jay Pruett, Paul Ribitzki, Jim Mitchell, Carol Eames, and Mary Jackson. Also present was Martin Brown. John Kennington welcomed Jay Pruett to the Board. Jay was previously elected as a Board member via electronic vote by the Board to replace Linda Clark who had resigned. Minutes from the August Board meeting were approved. Mary Jackson reported that the Society’s Certificate of Deposit was renewed for seven months at a rate of 3.2 percent. The Board reviewed the Society’s Annual Plan for the fiscal 2007/2008 year. After discussion, the Plan was updated and revised for the current fiscal 2008/2009 year. See attached updated Plan. The Board discussed and completed the Society’s Annual Report to be submitted to the National Audubon Society. John Kennington will submit the Report to the National Office. See attached Annual Report. Carol Eames and John Kennington brought the current TAS display panels to the meeting for review by the Board. Laurie Ribitzki agreed to update the information used on the display panels. Together Green Events: A. John Kennington reported TGE tee-shirts have been ordered at a cost of $250 and will be received by October 10. B. Gail Storey reported on plans and activities for the Deep Fork NWR Habitat Improvement and Big Sit event to be held October 12. As previously approved via electronic vote by the Board, Gail has purchased plants for TAS to contribute for habitat improvement at a cost of $500. John Kennington reported a request had been received from the Tulsa Area Chamber of Commerce for a list of TAS activities for the coming year. These activities will be included in the Chambers published information on Tulsa events. Carol Eames said she would provide the requested information to the Chamber. Discussion was held on the monetary needs of the Oklahoma Audubon Council in conjunction with the Woodward Birding Festival to be held in April, 2009. Recognizing that funds would be needed by OAC in preparation of the event, the Board approved advancing $1,000 to OAC to be repaid from the proceeds of the Festival. After discussion of the high level of TAS activities being planned for the coming year, the Board agreed to temporarily adjust the regular Board meeting schedule and meet on the first Tuesday of every month. The Next Board meeting will be held November 4, 2008. Meeting adjourned. Jim Mitchell Acting Secretary
Minutes of the
Board of Directors' Meeting of The meeting was called to order by President John Kennington. Members present: Gary Sifter, Paul Ribitzki, Lauri Ribitzki, Anita Mitchell, Jim Mitchell, Gail Storey, Martin Brown was also in attendance. Minutes of the previous meeting were approved. Toyota Together Green Events: 1. Oxley Bluebird Trail – The Bluebird Society will provide boxes. 2. Eagle Days – Will be discussed in detail at next meeting. 3. Oxley Habitat Improvement – Remove invasive plants. Girl Scout troop will volunteer. Old Business: 1. Oklahoma Audubon Council LPC Festival: Discussion and preview of the Preliminary schedule and brochure titled Lek Treks and More. Several suggestions were made and will be considered before the schedule is finalized. 2. Centennial Gardens Bird Guide: The brochure is progressing and Jim Mitchell will contact Garden Personnel in the upcoming week. New Business: 1. Information was received from the Parks Department regarding the Fred Pianalto Bench placed in Riverside Park. The bench has been removed by the Parks Department. The plaque was saved and will be displayed some place in the future. 3. Jim Mitchell will contact Toyota in Tulsa to discuss the Together Green Projects. A display board with pictures in the showroom is a possibility. 4. A Motion was made and seconded to purchase Audubon Business Cards for Audubon members for use in promotion birding. Motion carried. The next Board Meeting will be held December 2, 2008. Meeting adjourned. Anita Mitchell Secretary
Minutes of the
Board of Directors' Meeting of The meeting was called to order by President John Kennington. Board Members in attendance were Gary Sifter, Paul Ribitzki, Lauri Ribitzki, Jim Mitchell, John Fisher and Mary Jackson. Martin Brown was also in attendance. Minutes of the previous meeting were approved. Together Green Events:
Old Business:
The next Board meeting will be held January 6, 2009. Jim Mitchell Acting Secretary |