2021 LHAS Meeting Minutes.

LOESS HILLS AUDUBON SOCIETY REGULAR MEETING via Zoom Minutes for 7 JANUARY 2021 AT 6:15 PM

Chapter Executives Present: Maria R., Jeri W., Randy W., Jerry V., Anne S., Dotty Z., Donna P., Jody M.

Chapter Executives Absent: Bob L.

Honored Guests: Michael O., Jan N., Rex R., Dawn S., Bill H., Jeanne B., Sharon P

I. Call to order at 6:17 PM by Maria

II. Thank you DPNC and Dawn Snyder for hosting this Zoom meeting

III. Nominating Committee and Elections

a) Chapter Executives with terms expiring in June 2021

i. Treasurer - Jeri Watkins

ii. Secretary - Randy Williams

iii. Director 1 – Jerry Von Ehwegen

iv. Director 3 – Anne Shaner

v. Director 5 – Dotty Zales

b) It should be noted that all of these executives are eligible for another 2-year term according to Chapter by-laws.

c) Known potential transitions:

i. Sharon and John Polifka have stated an interest in being Treasurer for 6/21 to 7/22

ii. Randy W. has stated an interest in becoming a Director if a position becomes available. He does not want to remain as Secretary due to hearing issues.

iii. Dotty Z. has stated she wishes to retire from the board but will help when needed and attend meetings.

iv. Anne S. has stated she wishes to retire from all responsibilities.

d) We need a nominating committee to start recruiting now

i. If interested, please contact Maria R. or Bob Livermore.

ii. Chapter by-laws state a nominating committee needs to be formed by the February meeting.

IV. Annual report to National Audubon

a) Submitted 12/29/2019 by Maria

b) Thank you to Jerry V. for all of your help with this!

V. Bird Flight and Music Concert Program (virtual)

a) Video-Program Cost: $150.00

b) Discussion: Do we want to learn more about this program and purchase the video?

c) Email for Terry Wolkowicz was sent to the board: twolkowicz@nbsymphony.org

d) A copy of the information will be re-sent with the minutes of this meeting.

VI. Secretary’s report - Randy W.

a) Approval of December minutes

i. No additions or corrections were noted for the December minutes.

ii. Motion to approve by Dotty Z. and Second by Jan N. and approved by unanimous vote.

b) SquareSpace website

i. Renewal coming up 1/31/21

ii. Credit card information moved from David H. to Randy W. Approximately $150.

iii. Samuel has turned ownership of the site to Randy W. and LHAS

iv. We need to find a back up for Randy W.

1. Rex R. has expressed interest

2. David H. has expressed interest

3. Anyone else?

4. Will need to provide training at some point.

v. Question was brought up regarding direct payments for credit/debit cards

1. Not at this time

2. Membership form is on the website

3. Print the form and mail to Donna P. or the PO Box along with a check.

4. Need to check with Paul R. regarding connection to PayPal account.

vi. Need to obtain CBC reports

vii. Working on member slide show for a page on the website.

viii. Question was brought up regarding website link to the LHAS Facebook page.

1. There is a link but it is not very prominent.

2. Randy will work on that.

c) Program tonight

i. A short “proof of concept” to see about a Zoom program for the general membership.

ii. This was a short back up in case a live speaker cancelled.

VII. Treasurer’s report - Jeri Watkins.

a) Budget

i. Sent to everyone via email

ii. No vote on the budget noted at this time.

b) Credits – None at this time

c) Debits –

i. $96.95 for our Post Office Box. This is a price increase.

ii. $4.95 for the Tripod website.

d) Balance - $11,493.47 as of 12/31/2020

VIII. Outings and Christmas Bird Counts - Bill Huser, Coordinator

a) Outings

i. January 16 – Winter Owls

ii. February 13 – Great Backyard Bird Count participation

iii. March 13 – To be determined, possible waterfowl migration

iv. Will provide more information for Facebook and website platforms

b) Christmas Bird Counts

i. Westfield - Dotty Zales, compiler – see Jerry V. summary, below

ii. Sioux City - Jerry Probst, compiler - see Jerry V. summary, below

iii. Yankton - Roger Dietrich, compiler - see Jerry V. summary, below

iv. Ida Grove - Don Poggensee, compiler - see Jerry V. summary, below

IX. Director/Committee Reports:

a) Director 1.- Jerry VonEhwegen

i. Westfield CBC – 12/16/20

1. 11 teams of 22 birders

2. 57 species and 5806 birds

ii. Yankton CBC – 12/20/20

1. 31 birders

2. 82 species and 13,282 birds

iii. Ida Grove CBC – 1/2/21

1. 14 birders

2. 48 species and 2908 birds

iv. Sioux City – no report yet, will contact Jerry P.

v. Jerry V. will get the information to Randy W.

b) Director 2 - Donna Popp – no report

c) Director 3 - Anne Shaner – no report

d) Director 4 - Jody Moats - Keep providing information for Facebook page updates

e) Director 5 - Dotty Zales (Program Coordinator)

i. Thursday, 4 February – Randy W. – Member slide show via Zoom and to be posted on the website

ii. Thursday, 4 March – Graham McGaffin

1. Iowa and China – More in Common than Loess, US-China Exchange on Loess Landforms (UCELL)

2. In 2019 US and China experts met in Yangling, Shaanxi Province, China to share information on the Iowa Loess Hills and the Chine Loess Plateau.

iii. Thursday, 8 April – Bill Huser and Jerry Probst

1. Bird identification program

2. Bird species are yet to be determined

iv. Thursday, 6 May – Diane and Warren Marton presentation on their recent birding adventure to Namibia and Botswana: Birds, Beasts and Beautiful Countryside.

f) Dawn Snyder - Public Relations and DPNC coordinator with LHAS

i. Unsure regarding opening of DPNC for meetings due to continuing COVID restrictions.

ii. February meeting, 2/4/21

1. Will be via Zoom – the remaining meetings to be determined

2. Possible conflict with an evening DPNC-sponsored hike with Kelly McKay

3. May need to enlist David H. as a back up Zoom host.

4. Dawn will check with Kelly regarding the hike.

iii. Question was raised regarding Zoom requirements/limitations

1. DPNC Zoom subscription can accommodate 100 participants

2. There is no time limit

3. Will probably require two sessions

a. One session for the board meeting

b. Second session for the presentation to the general membership

c. Probably shift the board meeting a little earlier and make sure board meeting is wrapped up by 7:00 PM

d. This allows time for the presentation to begin at 7:30 PM

e. Will probably require two MailChimp announcements, one for each Zoom session

iv. Question was raised about the recent Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation announcement for donations for the Oak Ridge Conservation Area addition.

X. Old Business – none stated

XI. New Business – none stated, although see Addendum, below.

XII. Program tonight is proof of concept for a Zoom-based program for our general membership.

XIII. Business meeting adjourn at 7:08 PM.

ADDENDUM:

I. This was not included in the board meeting discussion. I had to reference this email and re-discovered these items. I felt they should be brought to the Board’s attention, perhaps for further discussion in February.

II. Email from Paul R. regarding this meeting

a. Could an inexpensive financial program could be purchased as a time saver for the Treasurer?

i. In December Paul R. sent an Excel budget sheet as an example

ii. A copy of that sheet will be included with this report.

iii. A copy of Jeri’s financial report will also be included.

b. Paul also stated he wants to pull back from coordinating our next Birdathon.

LHAS Chapter Executives

President Maria Rundquist

Vice-president Bob Livermore

Secretary Randy Williams

Treasurer Jeri Watkins

Director 1 Jerry Von Ehwegen

Director 2 Donna Popp

Director 3 Anne Shaner

Director 4 Jody Moats

Director 5 Dotty Zales

Past President David Hoferer

Past Vice-President Paul Roisen

Retired Director 4 Rex Rundquist

LOESS HILLS AUDUBON SOCIETY ZOOM BOARD MEETING MINUTES THURSDAY, 4 FEBRUARY 2021

Executives Present: Maria R., Bob L., Randy W., Jeri W., Jerry V. Donna P., Dotty Z. Anne S., Jody M.

Executive Absent: None

Honored Guests: Bill H., Sharon P., Jan N., Dawn S.

Call to order at 6:00 PM by Maria R.
1. Welcome new member Michael P. O’Connor
2. Need 3 people to serve on the nominating committee
3. We require nominations for:
  1. Treasurer
  2. Secretary
  3. Directors 1
  4. Director 3
  5. Director 5
4. We already have some agreements
  1. Sharon Polifka is willing to become Treasurer (Jeri Watkins has served 4 years)
  2. Jerry von Ehwegen is willing to continue as Director 1
  3. Randy Williams is willing to move to Director 3 (Anne Shaner wishes to retire)
5. We need to find
  1. Secretary (due to Randy’s hearing issues)
  2. Director 5 (Dotty Zales wishes to retire)
6. A nominating committee was established
  1. Bob Livermore
  2. Bill Huser
  3. Dotty Zales
7. Please contact one of the above committee members if you are interested in Secretary or Director 5
Secretary’s report - Randy W.
1. Approval of minutes
  1. Apologies the January minutes were sent earlier but not re-sent prior to this meeting
  2. Approval will wait for the March meeting.
  3. Only one correction was passed along
  4. Will re-send following this meeting.
2. Website update
  1. We are current for calendar information and all CBCs are posted
  2. The web page that correlates with tonight’s program is live
  3. Information available for Nebraska Crane Festival
Treasurer report - Jeri W.
1. Funds received from National Audubon of $572.25
2. Payment to PayPal for the Tripod website of $4.95
3. Balance of $12,060.77
4. Invoice submitted by Randy W. for
  1. Reimbursement of $154.08 for the SquareSpace website
  2. From 31 January 2020 through 30 January 2021.
  3. Motion by Bob L. and Second by Dotty Z. to reimburse
  4. Passed by unanimous vote
5. $100.00 grant received from The Blackbaud Giving Fund on behalf of Thermo Fisher Scientific
  1. This was unexpected
  2. Bob Livermore will investigate further
Outings Coordinator - Bill H.
1. January outing was canceled due to weather
2. February scheduled for Saturday, 2/13
  1. Great Backyard Bird Count participation
  2. Contact Bill H.
    1. Bill will assign small groups
    2. This will provide coverage for specific areas similar to – but not as strict – as Christmas Bird Counts
3. March is scheduled for Saturday, 3/13 – we will go to where the birds are
Directors reports
1. Jerry V. – CBCs are on the Tripod site
2. Donna P. – No report but is curious as to how many will log on to tonight’s program
3. Anne S. – No report
4. Jody M. – Keeping current with Facebook, all contributions remain welcome!
5. Dotty Z.:
  1. Programs remain on track
  2. 4 March – Graham McGaffin, Iowa & China – More in Common than Loess. This is planned as a Zoom virtual meeting.
  3. 8 April – Bill Huser and Jerry Probst, Bird Identification
    1. Addendum: This date was changed following the Board Meeting
    2. Change is due to Maundy Thursday religious services on 1 April.
    3. It remains undetermined if this will be a Zoom virtual meeting or an in-person gathering at Dorothy Pecaut.
  4. 6 May – Diane and Warren Marton, Namibia and Botswana.
    1. This is also our Annual Business/Membership meeting
    2. It remains undetermined if this will be a Zoom virtual meeting or an in-person gathering at Dorothy Pecaut.
  5. Question was brought up regarding the discrepancy between Zoom meeting times (7:00 PM) and traditional in-person meeting times (7:30 PM).
    1. We will continue with the earlier times with Zoom virtual meetings.
    2. We will return to the later traditional time when in-person meetings resume.
Vice-President – Bob L.: No report
Committee reports
1. Dawn S.:
  1. Building Better Birder Workshops and field trips are cancelled due to illness of the presenter
  2. Will try to reschedule the workshop and field trip for May
  3. We could have a tie-in with our Birdathon!
  4. Group use of Dorothy Pecaut remains undetermined.
2. Jan Null – 20 minute presentation about birds, birding and photography to a local women’s group.
3. Jeanne Bockholt – No report.
Old Business
1. LHAS displays need a new home
2. Currently in the garage of David H.
3. He needs the space and would like to have them stored under better environmental conditions
New Business
1. SquareSpace website backup
  1. Randy is the only one with access to the site
  2. LHAS needs to find a backup for Randy
    1. David H. previously expressed an interest
    2. Rex R. previously expressed and interest
    3. Anyone else?
    4. Randy will recheck with David and Rex
  3. Randy will provide training
  4. Need to have COVID cases continue to drop
2. Birdathon
  1. Paul R. stated he could not coordinate this year
  2. Were letters to businesses sent out last year?
  3. Bill H. will check with Paul
3. Woodbury County Conservation Board
  1. Upcoming annual meeting and presentation on 28 February
  2. Zoom presentation by naturalist Kari Sandage
4. Post Office Box
  1. Need to complete PS Form 1093 for continuation of box rental
  2. Randy will complete with home information, including two forms of identification, and return to post office.
  3. Jeri Watkins will also be listed on the form.
Adjourn at 6:59 PM

LHAS Presentation

Thursday, 4 February 2021

Zoom LHAS General Meeting – 7:02 PM
1. First virtual meeting for the general LHAS membership
2. There were 19 log on’s for the presentation but several log on’s had more than one individual watching and listening to the presentation.
3. General announcements for upcoming events
Presentation of LHAS member slide show by Randy Williams
1. Coordinate with SquareSpace webpage of the images and stories behind the images
2. Thank you to the photographers and storytellers who contributed images to the presentation and webpage.
Adjourn at 8:30 PM

LHAS Chapter Executives

President Maria Rundquist

Vice-president Bob Livermore

Secretary Randy Williams

Treasurer Jeri Watkins

Director 1 Jerry Von Ehwegen

Director 2 Donna Popp

Director 3 Anne Shaner

Director 4 Jody Moats

Director 5 Dotty Zales

Past President David Hoferer

Past Vice-President Paul Roisen

Retired Director 4 Rex Rundquist

LOESS HILLS AUDUBON SOCIETY ZOOM BOARD MEETING MINUTES THURSDAY, 4 MARCH 2021

Executives Present: Maria R., Jeri W., Randy W., Jerry V., Donna P., Anne S., Jody M.

Executive Absent: Bob L.

Honored Guests: Sharon P., Bill H., Jan N., Dawn S.,

Call to Order at 6:00 PM by Maria R.
1. Maria extended an invitation to Sioux City NAACP president Ike Rayford and other members of this local chapter to attend our Board and/or general meeting tonight.
2. Bob L. – No report regarding investigation of $100 Blackbaud Giving Fund grant

Approval of minutes:
1. 7 Jan 2021
  1. No additions or corrections noted
  2. Motion and second to approve the minutes
  3. Approved by unanimous vote
2. 4 Feb 2021
  1. No additions or corrections noted
  2. Motion and second to approve the minutes
  3. Approved by unanimous vote

Secretary’s report - Randy W,
1. One back up is needed for our website
  1. Rex R.- Accepted to help Randy W.
  2. Randy will contact Rex regarding training
  3. Randy is scheduled for second COVID vaccination in mid-March and will make arrangements following second vaccination.
2. LHAS / Bird Banders in Latin America
  1. Message from the website contact page
  2. Invitation for short Zoom presentation
    1. Collaboration of Upper Midwest conservation organizations
    2. With under-sourced Latin American conservationists
  3. Three Minneapolis-area Audubon chapters are involved
  4. Collaboration could be
    1. Research on shared species
    2. Providing bird banding supplies
    3. Birding and ecotourism visits to project sites
  5. Contact is Lauren Helton, Institute for Bird Populations staff biologist
  6. Would like to hear more but will table the partnership program to next season.
3. Contact information for PO Box 5133 is updated at the main Post Office to Randy W. and Jeri W. as official “keepers of the keys”. Information can be further updated if there are future changes.

Treasurer’s Report - Jeri W.
1. Jeri re-submitted the Biennial Filing for 2021 to the State of Iowa to maintain our nonprofit status.
2. Credits –
  1. $100.00 Blackbaud Giving Fund grant
  2. $175.00 for memberships
3. Payments -
  1. $4.95 to PayPal for the Tripod website
  2. $154.08 as reimbursement to Randy W. for annual fee for the SquareSpace website
4. Balance - $12,176.74

Outing Coordinator - Bill H.
1. GBBC report
  1. Greater than expected due to Paul R.’s contributions from Arizona
  2. Lists have been submitted
  3. Report is available on both websites
  4. It is difficult for 1 individual to report for multiple individuals to eBird (data repository and analysis for the GBBC).
  5. Try to set up your individual eBird accounts. This will help for an upcoming program.
2. What should we do for the March outing?
  1. Waterfowl field trip to Yankton?
    1. We would not gather at someone’s home for lunch due to continuing COVID restrictions.
    2. Still require individual travel which could be a large(-er) group of vehicles traveling a greater distance.
    3. Good waterfowl and better chances for itinerant gulls.
  2. Waterfowl field trip locally?
    1. Lunch could still be done locally but not at someone’s home.
    2. Still could have a larger(-er) group of vehicles but we would not be traveling as far.
    3. Good waterfowl and other birds.
  3. Let’s keep this local for the time being. Information will be made available shortly.
3. Thank you to everyone who has participated.

Directors reports
1. Jerry V. – Bird of the Month photo and article submitted.
2. Donna P. – Membership report received from National Audubon
3. Anne S. –
  1. Do we need to continue publishing a newsletter?
  2. We have a very few members without internet/email access
  3. Possibly 11 printed copies might be needed
  4. This would save printing and postage costs
  5. By-Laws
    1. State that a newsletter is published
    2. Nothing is stated regarding how often
    3. We could revise the by-laws
    4. We could restrict publication to annual or biannual (summer and winter)
  6. We could print just a few copies based on website information
  7. Something could be put together if a display is required.
  8. Randy will try printing directly from a webpage.
4. Jody M. – Facebook page is updated. Keep sending reports and photos!
5. Dotty Z. –
  1. Programs remain set
  2. Still waiting for opening of DPNC for live programs or continuing with Zoom virtual meetings.
  3. Nominating Committee report (Dotty Z., Bob L., Bill H.)
    1. No volunteers for the two opens positions, Secretary and Director
    2. Several suggestions were provided

Other reports
1. Dawn S.
  1. Will record tonight’s program with Graham’s permission
  2. Interest from other Iowa conservation groups
2. Jan N. – No report
3. Jeanne B. – No report

New Business – None presented.

Old Business
1. NEED a volunteer for Birdathon! coordinator
2. A purchase of a financial program? Sharon P. has one available
3. New home for LHAS display? No volunteers at this time.

Adjourn - at 6:46PM, following motion and second.

LHAS General Zoom Meeting

Thursday, 4 March 2021

Call to Order at 7:00 PM by Dawn Snyder
Announcements
Welcome to Graham McGaffin.
1. This program will be recorded
2. Please mute your microphones and questions will be taken after the presentation
The Zoom meeting was terminated after Graham’s Zoom presentation was disrupted by Zoom hackers.

Attendance: 29 viewers for the Zoom presentation.

LHAS Chapter Executives

President Maria Rundquist

Vice-president Bob Livermore

Secretary Randy Williams

Treasurer Jeri Watkins

Director 1 Jerry Von Ehwegen

Director 2 Donna Popp

Director 3 Anne Shaner

Director 4 Jody Moats

Director 5 Dotty Zales

Loess Hills Audubon Society ZOOM BOARD MEETING MINUTES Thursday, 8 April 2021

Executives Present: Bob L., Jeri W., Randy W., Jerry V., Donna P., Anne S., Jody M., Dotty Z.

Executive Absent: Maria R.

Honored Guests: Dawn S., Bill H., Jeanne B., Jan N., Bill Z.

Call to Order at 6:09 PM – Bob L.
1. Zoom bomb of the March program
  1. Thanks to Randy for sending an apology to members RE: Zoom Bomb.
  2. Suggestion to perhaps change the title of the program?
  3. “China” in the title may have triggered the actions.
  4. Communication on who we need to share our zoom programs.
2. Dawn S. spoke with IT representatives regarding more stringent protocols on screen sharing.
3. Set up an email link in order to pre-register for the program via email to allow screening of participants.
4. Thank you to Dawn for all of the follow up work
Report from Jody M. since she has other obligations this evening
1. Will work on communications to help prevent future program hijacks by zoom bombers
2. Send more photos and other contributions for our Facebook page.
3. Include permissions if you are sending photos.
Vice President - Bob L.
1. Thank you for filling in for Maria R. tonight
2. No report on Blackbaud Giving Fund and their donation to LHAS – will do some more digging.
Secretary’s Report - Randy W.
1. March minutes
  1. Two corrections reported and modified appropriately
  2. Moved and seconded to approve the minutes from the March meeting – motion passed unanimous.
2. Website update
  1. Bird sightings are up to date
  2. Activated regional birding location maps with brief descriptions
    1. Local areas highlighted by state
    2. Iowa and South Dakota pages are active
    3. Nebraska page is in progress
  3. Only public locations are listed
    1. Based on hotspots documented in eBird
    2. eBird does include private property
    3. Only eBird members have access by password protection
  4. Will gladly accept suggestions to expand all three pages
Treasurer’s Report – Jeri W.
1. Debit - $4.95 to PayPal for the Tripod website
2. Credit - $25.00 from National Audubon
3. Balance - $12,196.79
4. Moved and seconded to accept the report by unanimous vote
Outing Report - Bill H.
1. March outing summary has been documented to eBird, our website and our Facebook page
2. April outing is set for Saturday, 10 April with a route similar to March but we’re looking for shorebirds and waders (and anything else of interest).
3. Birdathon! Coincides with International Migratory Bird Day on Saturday, 8 May
  1. Primary birding will be on Saturday, 5/8
  2. Will continue with a broader window from Friday, 7 May through Monday, 10 May for Birdathon! Bird sighting contributions.
4. We will continue with outings through the summer
5. To enhance the experience of new birders to our outings:
  1. Would like permission to find used or discounted field guides
    1. These would be used on outings
    2. Mainly for newcomers who may not have the resources
  2. Suggestion was brought up to expand this for binoculars as well
    1. Newcomers may not have brought anything with them
    2. A good idea to not share your binoculars in these pandemic times
    3. The extras can be cleaned and stored until the next trip
  3. Bill will look at some options for both and bring them to the board.
Directors Reports:
1. Jerry V. - April Bird of the Month is posted: Cinnamon Teal
2. Donna P. –
  1. Has anyone checked the PO box for any chapter-only memberships?
  2. No, but Randy W. will check tomorrow, Friday, 4/9 and report
3. Anne S. – no report
4. Jody M. – see above since she had other commitments
5. Dotty Z. - Programs
  1. April and May are set
  2. Will reschedule Graham’s program on China and US loess hills for next season.
  3. Bluebird boxes
    1. 80 boxes surveyed
    2. 27 bluebird nests
    3. 20 house wren nests
    4. 14 tree swallow nests
    5. 2 mice
    6. 3 wasp nests
    7. 10 are empty
    8. 4 are new
Other reports or announcements
1. Dawn S.
  1. See above regarding future zoom-based meetings
  2. Building Better Birders workshop
    1. Saturday, 8 May – International Migratory Bird Day
    2. Indoor programs and outdoor activities
    3. Pre-registration is required, please contact Dorothy Pecaut Nature Center
    4. Information is posted to our website and Facebook page
2. Jan N. – no report.
3. Jeanne B. –
  1. Advertising assistance for a Zoom-based program sponsored by Northwest Iowa Sierra Club
  2. Bicycling with Butterflies by Sara Dykman on Tuesday, 27 April at 6:30 PM.
  3. Need to register through Sierra Club website
  4. Book of the same title is available through Book People.
  5. Sara was here in 2017 as part of her bicycle trek following Monarch butterfly migration.
  6. Will post registration information via MailChimp, Facebook and website
New Busines – none reported
Old Business
1. Nominating committee report
2. Elections to take place in May
3. No volunteers for Secretary or the open Director position – a few more names were suggested for the committee to contact.
Adjourn – motion and second and unanimous vote to adjourn at 6:50 PM to prepare for the general program.

LHAS General Meeting

Thursday, 8 Aprli 2021

Call to Order at 7:10 PM
Recent bird sightings were noted
1. Pileated Woodpecker sighting just north of Stone Park and into Plymouth County
2. Red-breasted Merganser at Bacon Creek
Announcements
1. LHAS upcoming outing on Saturday, 10 April
2. Building Better Birder workshop at DPNC on Saturday, 8 May
Red-tailed Hawk Identification by Bill Huser and Jerry Probst
Adjourn at 8:15 PM

Zoom log in participants for the general program: 20

LHAS Chapter Executives

President Maria Rundquist

Vice-president Bob Livermore

Secretary Randy Williams

Treasurer Jeri Watkins

Director 1 Jerry Von Ehwegen

Director 2 Donna Popp

Director 3 Anne Shaner

Director 4 Jody Moats

Director 5 Dotty Zales

Loess Hills Audubon Society ZOOM BOARD MEETING MINUTES Thursday, 6 May 2021

Executives Present: Maria R., Randy W., Jerry V., Donna P., Anne S., Jody M., Dotty Z.

Executive Absent: Bob L., Jeri W.

Honored Guests: Jerry P., Sharon P., Bill H., Jeanne B., Dawn S.

Call to Order at 6:00 PM by President Maria R.
1. On April 7^th, 2021 Rex & Maria interviewed
2. By Stuart Sparkman, Iowa Bird Life Magazine writer/editor.
Secretary’s report -- Randy W.
1. No additions or corrections reported for the April minutes.
  1. Motion and second to accept the minutes
  2. Unanimously approved.
2. Website report
  1. Up-to-date with observations, outing report, IOU Big Weekend, and Bird-of-the-Month.
  2. Regional public birding locations are being added for Iowa, Nebraska, and South Dakota.
  3. Email sent to our best birders and educators regarding a proposed addition to the site.
    1. Page would be a comparison of two easily mistaken, challenging to differentiate bird species.
      1. Eventually this could be run similar to Bird-of-the-Month
      2. We would keep adding the comparisons to the page
      3. Keep the birds in taxonomic order
      4. Appeal to beginners as well as more advanced
      5. Add local observations to the comparisons
      6. Try to work with the season
    2. Examples for the comparison
      1. Eastern versus Western Meadowlark
      2. Hermit versus Swainson’s Thrush
      3. Hairy versus Downy Woodpecker
      4. Add more difficult species (flycatchers, peeps) as we go along
    3. Opinions were favorable to set this up
    4. Work on this following migration season and Birdathon!
    5. Anyone who wants to write up a comparison is more than welcome!
Treasurer’s Report -- Jeri W., sent by email since she could not attend tonight
1. Credits – None
2. Debits -- $4.95 for Tripod website
3. Balance as of 30 Apr 2021: $12,191.84
4. Moved and seconded to accept the report with unanimous approval
Outing Report -- Bill H.
1. 10 April outing
  1. Well attended with 16 birders
  2. Traveled to the oxbows south of Sioux City
  3. Excellent report was submitted by Jerry V.
2. Birdathon! Is next
  1. Global Big Day is Saturday, 8 May
    1. Assemble in small teams
    2. More independent than Christmas Bird Counts
    3. Do the most counting on Saturday to coordinate with Global Big Day.
    4. Please submit your own eBird data.
  2. Our Birdathon! Runs from Friday, 7 May through Monday, 10 May
  3. Bill H. will compile the species numbers for the chapter – send your Birdathon! data to him.
  4. No need to count individual birds, just different species.
  5. Difficulties
    1. Asking for pledges
      1. Flat rate
      2. Per species pledged to a specific birder (or group)
      3. Per species pledged to the collective number of species identified by all of Loess Hills Audubon
    2. Collecting pledged money
    3. Getting the collected funds to our Treasurer
  6. Contact Bill H. with any questions
  7. Bill is willing to accept the funds for turn over to the Treasurer.
3. Summer outings – for both June and July. More information to follow.
Director reports
1. Director 1 -- Jerri V
  1. Black-crowned Night Heron is our Bird-of-the-Month
  2. Jan N. and I participated in the IOU Big Weekend and will get the data for the website.
2. Director 2 -- Donna P. – No report
3. Director 3 -- Anne S. – No report
4. Director 4 -- Jody M.
  1. Thank you for the Facebook contributions!
  2. Don’t want to overload the page so some contributions may be spread out over time.
  3. Photos are wonderful to let everyone know what is appearing locally.
5. Director 6 -- Dotty Z.
  1. Thanks to everyone getting out publicity for tonight’s program.
  2. There are program suggestions available for the next Program Chair.
  3. We have candidates for the officers and directors so we are ready for the elections. We can take nominations from the online audience of members.
New Business
1. Dawn S.
  1. Just discovered the Closed Captioning function of Zoom.
    1. Subtitles on the bottom of the screen
    2. Full transcript is also available
    3. It works and it helps but it is not 100% accurate.
    4. You can get the general idea of the discussion
  2. Fonts can be changed for the individual user’s preference using a slider scale in the Zoom program.
  3. Full Transcript mode allows a user to go back to see what was said but who said what.
2. Vice President position – Maria R.
  1. Bob L. notified Maria that he is resigning from the Vice President position.
  2. This occurred about 20 minutes before the start of this meeting.
  3. Email “appeared strange” with some unusual numbers.
  4. Will try to contact Bob to verify just to be sure; make sure no one has hacked his account.
  5. Once his resignation is confirmed we will seek and appoint a willing replacement.
3. Board Retreat
  1. Should we set a date for our Board Retreat since everyone is available?
  2. Discussion ensued regarding date, time and location.
    1. Saturday, 26 June 2021
    2. 9:30 AM to 11:30 AM
    3. Dorothy Pecaut Nature Center
    4. Indoors or outdoors, depending on the day’s weather.
  3. This provides the opportunity for board members-elect to interact with the current board members and turn over information for the appropriate position.
  4. Plan for the next season of programs and outings
  5. Establish a budget for the next season
  6. Establish projects for the next season
  7. Establish committee assignments/volunteers/members for the next season.
  8. Review long-term and short-term chapter goals and modify as required.
  9. Will provide notification to current and newly-elected chapter executives and program chairs/members.
4. Program Chair
  1. It was noted we should have a program chair prior to the Board Retreat in order to work on programs for the next season.
  2. There is a list of programs and presenters that were delayed due to COVID restrictions or other reasons.
  3. Randy W. was asked if he would be program chair for the chapter.
    1. He respectfully declined
    2. Prefer to chair Communications committee
    3. Continue with website development and work with Facebook and MailChimp authorities
    4. Devise a process for notifications for members without email or internet connections.
  4. Dawn S. was asked is she would consider Program Chair for the chapter.
    1. Also respectfully declined
    2. Due to work and duties with other organizations.
  5. We will work on finding a Program Chair prior to our Board Retreat.
    1. Committee responsibilities can be discussed
    2. Provide details for volunteers
5. Following elections during the general meeting we need to
  1. Ask for volunteers for committees
  2. Ask for anyone interested in the Vice President position
  3. Ask if anyone wants to chair the Program Committee
  4. Ask if anyone wants to chair the Projects Committee.
6. Projects
  1. Maria asked if there are any Adams Homestead or Dorothy Pecaut projects Loess Hills Audubon could provide some financial assistance.
    1. LHAS does have funds available, in part, due to COVID restrictions and relative inactivity of the chapter.
    2. Adams is re-vamping the inside of their visitor center
    3. DPNC has a trail project under consideration
    4. Both will provide a more complete presentation for the chapter
  2. A basic budget was discussed at the 2020 Board Retreat
    1. Due to COVID we did not get much farther than the basics
    2. We need a more complete budget in order to track expenses and better provide assistance to worthwhile causes.
  3. No one ever came forward to become the chair of our Projects committee
    1. Purpose of that committee was sub-divided to other committees
    2. This is where the projects committee is required, to evaluate proposals such as these.
    3. Then work with the board to determine the projects that best fit the chapter’s goals and finances.
Adjourn meeting
1. Motion and second to adjourn meeting for the general meeting, elections and program
2. Meeting adjourned at 6:58 PM

Loess Hills Audubon Society

ZOOM GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING MINUTES

Thursday, 6 May 2021

Call to order at 7:02 PM by President Maria R.
Nomination and Election of Chapter Officers and Directors -- Dotty Z.
1. Thank you to the nominating committee from Loess Hills Audubon:
  1. Bill Huser
  2. Bob Livermore
  3. Dotty Zales
2. Committee report
  1. Secretary nominee: Jerry Probst
  2. Treasurer nominee: Sharon and John Polifka (shared position)
  3. Director 1 nominee: Jerry von Ehwegen (continuing as Director)
  4. Director 3 nominee: Randy Williams
  5. Director 5 nominee: Dawn Snyder
3. Are there any nominations for any of these positions from the Zoom attendees of this meeting?
4. No nominations were forthcoming from the Zoom attendees of this meeting.
5. Voter eligibility
  1. Chapter-only Loess Hills Audubon Society members
  2. Loess Hills Audubon Society membership through the National Audubon Society.
6. Vote – be sure to un-mute your system.
  1. Motion by Dotty Zales to accept slate of officers and directors as proposed by the nominating committee
  2. Second to the motion by Donna Popp
  3. Discussion? No discussion ensued.
  4. Vote unanimous in favor of the slate of officers presented by the nominating committee
7. Congratulations to our elected officers and directors!
Announcements
1. Bird sightings prior to the start of the general meeting
  1. Black-headed Grosbeak at South Ravine Park
  2. White-winged Crossbill at the Hansen feeders in Kingsley, IA
2. Announcement regarding Zoom closed caption and transcript function
3. No other announcements made regarding
  1. Opening for Vice President
  2. Committee membership opportunities
  3. Upcoming outings
Program -- NAMIBIA and BOTSWANA with DIANE and WARREN MARTON
1. Wonderful program
2. Well-presented and well-received
3. Thank you for this outstanding presentation!
General meeting adjourns at 8:08 PM

Zoom attendees: 21 participants

LHAS Chapter Executives

President Maria Rundquist

Vice-president Bob Livermore

Secretary Randy Williams

Treasurer Jeri Watkins

Director 1 Jerry Von Ehwegen

Director 2 Donna Popp

Director 3 Anne Shaner

Director 4 Jody Moats

Director 5 Dotty Zales

Secretary-elect: Jerry Probst

Treasurer-elect: Sharon & John Polifka

Director 3-elect: Randy Williams

Director 5-elect: Dawn Snyder