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As the
Piedmont Bird Club (PBC) completes its 70th Anniversary Year, I would like
to thank the Executive Board members for all their hard work this past year.
Many of you will be sporting our 70th Anniversary T-shirt or sweatshirt. In
the next 70 years many of us will not be here, and so it is important for us
to continue to leave a legacy for those who are to come after us.
It is my wish that future members will be as dedicated
to the environment and the need for preserving our bird population as our
present members are. The Education Committee and the Conservation Committee
are prime examples of our commitment to the environment. The Education
Committee set up exhibits at Bur-Mil Park for the Fall Festival and at the
Kathleen Clay Edwards Library for Earth Day. The Conservation Committee is
devoted to monitoring the Blue Bird houses in Country Park.
The Program Committee provided us with programs that
were inspiring and informative. Presenters provided a wealth of information
about the recovery program for the Red-cockaded Wood-pecker, the birds of
Nicaragua, the birds of Hawaii, and a brief introduction to the history of
the PBC.
The Finance Committee decided on several conservation
projects to which the club made donations. These included the Piedmont Land
Conservancy, the Meadowlark Meadow at Price Park, the Tortoise Reserve in
Bladen County, Piedmont Wildlife Rehab and students engaged in research.
The PBC Web site has been a source of superb photos,
updates on club activi-ties, links to other birding sites and various forms
used by the club. If you are out-of-the-loop, you are not reading your
newsletter, your yearbook or checking the Web site.
The Field Trip Committee provided members with a range
of field trips that took the participants around the Greensboro Lakes, to
the mountains of Virginia, to the Outer Banks and to the Savannah River
Area. Many local field trips included the White Street Landfill, A&T Farm,
Mears’ Fork Trail and Pilot Mountain for hawk watching. A new concept called
“potluck” was introduced this year which allowed members to visit any
“hotspots” that the group might want to pursue and no definite destination
was set until shortly before the trip.
The Christmas Bird Count went off without a hitch; the
Telephone Commit-tee contacted members without email; the Social Committee
orchestrated the Fall Picnic and the Holiday Dinner; the Membership
Committee continued to welcome new members and coordinated the T-shirt sale;
the Publicity Committee kept posters in KCE Library, and the Nominating
Committee provided us a slate of officers for 2008 – 2009.
Many thanks to all who participated in the activities
provided by our hard-working committee members. We hope that you will
continue with us as we march through the 21st Century.
70th ANNIVERSARY
This year is the 70th anniversary of the founding of the
Piedmont Bird Club. It began as a group of concerned citizens pursuing the
protection of birds and the environment. When they approached the City
Council looking for approval of an ordinance, they were told that they
needed to be an “organized” group to be able to ask for an ordinance. Thus,
the Piedmont Bird Club was formed on February 6, 1938.
Forty-five presidents later the Piedmont Bird Club continues to grow
and contribute to the community. Conducting education projects and
conservation projects, generating bird lists, conducting Christmas and
Spring Bird Counts, hosting the Carolina Bird Club, sponsoring students to
Audubon Camps, providing the Audubon Film series for the general public to
view, and leading field trips are some of the ways that the Club has
contributed to the people in this local area.
The Piedmont Bird Club is not only about birds; it also is about
people. Members of the Piedmont Bird Club )have spent many hours gathered
together at the homes of various members, dined at the yearly Fall and
Spring Picnics, enjoyed many a Holiday Dinner, and celebrated their 50th
anniversary with style and grace.
The Club has grown with many new members joining and becoming
outstanding contributors to the Club.
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