Looking for a few good board members

Serving as a director on HMANA’s board of directors is fun, rewarding and an important way to help assure raptors and migration study continues into the future.  Now is the time for HMANA members and prospective members to get involved in board activities for 2016.     

HMANA’s board is comprised of nine elected and up to eight appointed directors.  Elected directors serve three-year terms; board-appointed directors serve one-, two- or three-year terms.  Board members are expected to participate in a majority of the board’s monthly meetings as a minimum commitment.  Most board members also serve actively on one or more of HMANA’s 14 committees, whose work includes overseeing HMANA award programs, directing HMANA’s communications, managing its endowment fund, creating and implementing development opportunities, creating raptor adventure tours, supporting and improving HawkCount and the use and archiving of data contributed by hawk watch sites, monitoring and working on conservation issues and assuring appropriate governance practices. 

HMANA currently is preparing the 2015 election ballot of HMANA members to serve on the board of directors.  The election occurs in September, when the board expects to fill at least three positions by election or appointment.  Any HMANA member interested in serving on the board should contact Gil Randell, whose duties as secretary include coordinating the election and appointment process (janngil@fairpoint.net).  HMANA members are also encouraged to suggest candidates to Gil.

This is an exciting time for HMANA with the hiring of its first full-time executive director anticipated within the next two years along with the opening of our new office.  Work as a director on the HMANA board has always been fun and rewarding, and is becoming even richer and more interesting as the organization embarks on this new stage of its development.   

If you are not quite ready for a board term, stay tuned for a chance to serve on one of HMANA’s committees.  Look for information about how to become active on a committee in October.

 
Get involved!  

Honoring HMANA's past Board Chairman

Iain MacLeod, Executive Director of Squam Lakes Natural Science Center in Holderness, NH has been honored recently for his extensive contributions to HMANA. Iain had been HMANA's Board Chairman for the last three years and was replaced by Gil Randall in December, 2009.

Since Iain was not present to accept his awards at HMANA's conference in Duluth, MN last month, he recently was presented with a HMANA appreciation award and a gift from the Board of Directors for his service. The gift was a beautiful painting of Pandion haliaetus by David Hughes, a wildlife artist from Pennsylvania.

Iain has given greatly to HMANA and to the raptor conservation field. Some of the outstanding contributions he has made include the groundbreaking work in the Raptor Population Index Project, as well as his guidance and contributions to the Hawk Migration Studies journal. The HMANA board and staff are grateful for his keen leadership and dedication to the organization.

Thank you Iain!

New HMANA board meets in New Hampshire

The Hawk Migration Association of North America held its annual face-to-face board meeting at Squam Lakes in New Hampshire this past weekend. For new board members, it was a time to meet the people they will be working with for the next several years. For the outgoing board members, it was a last time to see folks with whom they’ve already shared several years of work.

Among those going off the board were Iain MacLeod, who’s been the board chair for the past 3 years. Iain isn’t going too far, though, as he will stay on several HMANA committees and continue to spearhead the layout and design of Hawk Migration Studies. Iain, who is executive director of Squam Lakes Nature Center, also hosted the board meeting.

Replacing Iain as chair will be Gil Randell, from Mayville, New York. Gil was HMANA’s vice chair last year and has served as chair of the Conservation and Education Committee for several years. He is a regular at Ripley Hawkwatch.

Three new board members joined the group, though only two are really new to the board. Susan Fogleman of Plymouth, New Hampshire, is returning to the board after a year’s absence. She serves on the Marketing and Communications and the Conservation and Education committees and has been site coordinator at Little Roundtop in New Hampshire for longer than she’d probably want me to say. She’s also one of the writers of this blog.

The other two new board members are Allen Hale, head of Buteo Books based in Shipman, Virginia, and Daena Ford, from Braddock Bay New York’s hawkwatch. Retiring from the board due to term limitations are Steve Hoffman of Montana Audubon, Iain MacLeod and Paul Roberts.