As I begin my final month of my term as President, I have been reflecting on almost 20 years of connection with St. Louis Audubon. I first was introduced to St. Louis Audubon during my time as a student Park Ranger with the US Army Corps of Engineers at Riverlands. I worked with John Solodar, Torrey Berger, and Paul Bauer to help design and build a bird blind on Ellis Island. During my 20 years as Biologist at Riverlands, I continued to work with SLAS with various projects including the Heron Pond shorebird enhancement. I joined the Board of Directors in 2011 and served two terms as President beginning in 2016.
I have been honored to serve as President for the past 4 years. This organization has been and continues to be supported by unbelievably dedicated Staff, Volunteers, and Members. So, thank you to Amy and Mitch, Board of Directors, and all the amazing program volunteers for making SLAS a priority in your lives. I feel lucky to have been a part of the interworking of this organization. To our members, in case you didn’t know, this organization has the best volunteers!
The future of SLAS is better than ever with new initiatives to engage our members and diversify our programming. We have a newly designed website where you can access our Five-Year Strategic Plan that outlines our inspiring approach for the future of this organization. Also, I invite everyone to visit our Facebook page and stay tuned to your emails for upcoming “virtual” programming opportunities, including our Annual Meeting with presentations by Bills Salsgiver and Dave Tylka on recent birding trips to faraway lands.
I’m not going anywhere; I plan to remain active on the Board (if they will have me). I hope to continue to see everyone at events and on the trails (of course from a safe distance). Thank you, and truly, it was an honor.
With gratitude,
Katy Fechter
President
