Well, I am no longer the Chair of MiBCI now that the first elections have taken place. Congratulations to Keith Harrison, our Michigan Audubon Society representative, for stepping forward to take the helm.  I do however, want to take this opportunity to thank a few of the others that have made the past few years as exciting and rewarding at they have been.

After years of working with many different folks representing just about any player in the field of avian conservation a few people stand out as having played, and continue to play, critical roles in getting MiBCI off and crawling (we are just about standing upright now).   First, a little history.  Our first Ornithological Congress (OC) was put together in a scant three months at a time when we had no money, only time offered up to some of us due to our job descriptions, and a few interested volunteers.  This “meet and greet” OC went well enough to introduce many of the individuals in the avian conservation field to MiBCI and to set the stage for consideration as to whether we would be around for another OC.  Could we be useful to our membership?

Thanks to the organizational, marketing, and persuasive skills of Karen Cleveland, Lori Sargent, and Jean Fierke, all of the DNR, we managed to not only put together this first OC program and supporting materials, but to come out having paid all of the costs with change left over.  Enough to provide seed money for another congress- we were good to go for another year!  Once again Karen, Lori, and Jean stepped forward to shoulder most of the burden preparing for the second OC.  This time we were joined by a few others, including Mike Monfils, Dave Cuthrell (both from the Michigan Natural Features Inventory) and Kerry Fritzpatrick, another member of Wildlife Division, DNR.  Despite a delay in the schedule for the congress, we proceeded to the second OC, with better participation and a varied program.  The third OC was held and again proved as  successful as previous efforts with greater attendance.  We were still alive and moving.

Fund raising is a fact of life for an organization, MiBCI is no exception.  Thanks to the above mentioned individuals, we solicited items from our member organizations and individuals and made a little money over expenses during each OC.  Our participation in the Southwest Michigan Birdathon by formation of the “MiBCI Mob” in 2007 (Mike, Dave, Kerry and myself the first year, with the addition of Joe Lipar to the team in 2008) resulted in additional revenue to move us forward.  Joe did a great job in obtaining pledges and getting the team around Berrien County to put the team in a more competitive position on our second outing.

None of MiBCI’s progress mind you, would have transpired had it not been for the interest and support of many of our member organizations and those individuals who provided silent auction items or offered services in one form or another (Kalamazoo Nature Center staff helping with OC registration for two years, The Nature Conservancy, helping with collection of OC fees, the USFWS Upper Mississippi Joint Venture with funding support).  Space is limited here to name all, but please know that without your assistance MiBCI would not be here today.