NYSBS Annual Meeting – October 22, 2022 – Batavia
By: Martha Moran
After three years of not seeing each other due to Covid, the 2022 Annual Membership meeting took place on Saturday, October 22, 2022 at the First Baptist Church in Batavia, NY. Many thanks go to our President, Sarah Hodder and John Ruska, for organizing a very nice event in his hometown. Thanks also to Jim Engelbrecht, Deb Wines, Cheryl Miller and all of our other volunteers who helped make the meeting a success.
Hans Kunz led a bird walk early on Saturday at 7:30 am to get the day going. John Ruska brought in donuts and coffee as everyone assembled before the board meeting, which started at 9:15 am and included the election of Officers and Directors, followed by the Presentations of Awards and Certificates of Appreciation at 10:00 am.
The NYSBS Annual awards presented:
Fran Hanes Award
This award was established in 1998 in recognition of Fran Hanes and her legacy to the society. It is presented annually to recognize an individual’s work in Bluebird conservation. The 2022 award was given to Pete Van Hensbroek for his work as the nest box monitor at the Nassau County Dorothy P. Flint 4 H Camp in Riverhead, NY for the past 12 years. At the encouragement of Dr. Bill Zitek, a former board member of the NYSBS, Pete enthusiastically took over monitoring the nest boxes that were installed by Bill and some of the staff at the camp. Pete was nominated by Tom Damiani, who accepted the plaque on his behalf.
Hermann Bressler Award
This award was created in 2006 and is given annually to a person who demonstrates extraordinary service in support of NYSBS. This year, we celebrated recipient Cliff Davis, who has diligently monitored 14 boxes at the Genegantslet Golf Course for many years, in addition to 8 boxes on his own property. Cliff was nominated by Sarah Hodder, who accepted the plaque on his behalf.
Certificates were also presented to recognize the special efforts of several long-time members. Jim Englebrecht nominated and accepted the award for John Trombly for his amazing Nest Cam work. Donna Brown was also recognized for her continuing, behind-the-scenes support of NYSBS over many years. Donna’s certificate was accepted on her behalf by Deb Wines.
The first presentation by Rick Bunting was called “Got Cavities.” Rick shared his beautiful photos of all sorts of cavity nesting birds with a story about each one.
The second presentation by Tom Damiani called, “Birth of a Bluebird,” described his journey to becoming a bluebird enthusiast.
Both presentations were informative and very entertaining!
And finally, the auction was a lot of fun and, along with donations, generated some funds for the society. Thanks to our members and guests for their generosity in donating items for the auction, as well as those whose bid made the auction a success. All funds collected are used to further our mission.
Photos from past Fall meetings
