President's Corner
Proposed Annual Budget
by John Shenot
In keeping with our bylaws, the FCAS Board agreed in November on a proposed annual budget for our 2022 operations. Members can vote on whether to approve the budget at our annual meeting in January. The following charts show our proposed expenses and revenues for 2022 by category. The proposed budget represents a 19.4 percent increase in budgeted expend-itures compared to 2021. This significant increase re-flects the fact that our chapter boundaries expanded this year, meaning we are serving more Audubon members and a larger geographic area than ever before. We also have very active conservation and education committees looking to increase the impact FCAS has in the communities we serve. The Board is confident we can increase revenues to meet this demand and do so without raising member dues (which haven’t increased in a decade). The complete budget proposal with details on expenses and revenues is available to any member upon request.
Report of the Nominating Committee on 2022 FCAS Board Candidates
In October, the FCAS Board of Directors appointed a nominating committee, consisting of Andrew Monson, Barb Patterson, and John Shenot, to identify candidates to serve as officers and directors on the 2022 Board. The president serves a two-year term and is not up for election this year, but all other board members serve one-year terms. In keeping with our bylaws, the nominating committee hereby announces a slate of recommended candidates to be officially nominated at our January membership meeting: President-Elect, none (volunteer needed); Vice-President, Liz Pruessner; Treasurer, Joe Polazzi; Secretary, Kim Vercimak; Directors-at-Large (up to six positions to fill), Jay Breidt, Kate Burgess, Alan Godwin, Kit Gray, and Ron Harden (one more volunteer needed).
More nominations will be accepted from the floor at the January meeting. Members present will vote, and those elected will be installed at the conclusion of the meeting.
The nominating committee also identified recommended candidates to chair our standing committees in 2022. Committee chairs are not elected; rather, they are appointed by the president with the consent of the board. The recommended candidates are: Conservation, Ellie Harrison; Membership, Harry Rose; Education, Sheila Webber; Finance, still seeking a volunteer; Programs, Jessie Meschievitz; Field Trips, Nolan Bunting; Publications, Janae Malpas; Public Relations, Andrew Monson; Hospitality, still seeking a volunteer.
If you could fill a vacancy, please contact any of our current board members or nominees.
