Connecticut Audubon’s 119th Annual Meeting
Brian Bradley of Skyhunters in Flight, with a Harris’ Hawk. Photo courtesy of Clay Cope.
Members of the Connecticut Audubon Society enjoyed a breathtaking raptor exhibition and then voted in three new members of the Board of Directors at our 119th Annual Meeting, in Sherman, on Sunday, October 15.
Held at Deer Pond Farm, our newest preserve, the meeting was highlighted by a spellbinding presentation by Skyhunters in Flight, featuring an Eagle Owl, Great Horned Owl, Red-tailed Hawk, and other raptors.
The show culminated in an aerial display by a Harris’ Hawk and Gyrfalcon.
Later, members elected Patrick J. Lynch of North Haven, Pamela Fraser-Abder of Easton, and Landon Storrs of Southport to the Board.
Lynch, recently retired from Yale University, is an author, illustrator, photographer, and artist. His most recent book is A Field Guide to Long Island Sound, published earlier this year by Yale University Press.
Fraser-Abder was a longtime faculty member at New York University, where she was director of science education, and retired as professor of science education. Her focus was models of professional development for graduate and undergraduate STEM teacher education.
Storrs, a professional pilot, has been a long-time member and supporter of Connecticut Audubon, and a former member of the Fairfield regional board. Most recently she served on the executive director search committee.
Jeanne Olivier, a resident of Kent, joined the Board of Directors in an ex officio position as chair of the Deer Pond Farm regional board.
The organization’s members also elected Peter Kunkel of Trumbull as chairman of the board. Kathleen Van Der Aue of Southport was elected vice chair, Chairman Emeritus Ralph Wood of Glastonbury was elected treasurer, and Charles Stebbins of Fairfield was elected as secretary.
Three volunteers and a staff member known for years of dedication to the Connecticut Audubon Society’s conservation work received the annual Dave Engelman Volunteer Benchmark Award.
New Board member Jeanne Olivier, center, is flanked by her husband, Robert Dineen, left, and Sherman First Selectman Clay Cope, who like Olivier is also a member of the Deer Pond Farm regional board.
The honorees were Louise Crocco of Milford, Dan Miller of Manchester, Richard Telford of Pomfret, and D.G. Warner of Southport, whose stories are below.
Louise Crocco
You’ll always get a smile and welcoming greeting from Louise at the Milford Point Coastal Center. Since its inception nearly 22 years ago, Lou has been more than its ambassador. She has handled every responsibility, from payroll to paper towels with a can-do attitude. Lou’s devotion to Connecticut Audubon and its mission, and her respect and passion for the environment and conservation, is unmatched.
Dan Miller
Dan has spent the past nine years volunteering roughly 4,620 hours at the Center at Glastonbury. He treats his work at the center like a paid position, helping to organize the volunteer database and update the website. He cares about our success and does what it takes to help behind-the-scenes operations run smoothly. He has great ideas, is organized, and his institutional knowledge has helped tremendously.
Richard Telford
Over the last six years, Richard has worked tirelessly on behalf of our Trail Wood Sanctuary and the legacy of Edwin Way Teale. He wrote a 10-year revitalization plan for the sanctuary as part of his master’s thesis. He founded and has run Trail Wood’s artist-in-residence program, which is in its fifth season, and has given numerous lectures. A scholar and author, Richard is currently at work on a biography of Teale, thanks to a sabbatical from Woodstock Academy.
D.G. Warner
D.G joined our Board of Directors in 2007 and served through this year, as vice chairman, treasurer, and chairman of the Investment and Finance committees. He also served for more than a decade on the organization’s Fairfield Board of Governor’s. These positions require daily diligence. It has paid off in recent progress toward financial sustainability. D.G. brought an outstanding ability to visualize trends and explain them in easily understandable terms.
Connecticut Audubon Society’s Volunteer Benchmark Award was established in 1993, and is given annually by its Board of Directors to one or more selected individuals whose volunteer activity has significantly enhanced the organization’s mission. Each year, at the annual meeting, recipients are presented with a plaque commemorating their dedication to conservation.
In 2007, the award was renamed the Dave Engelman Volunteer Benchmark Award for a longtime member, donor, board member, and one-time interim president. Engelman epitomized the characteristics of an extraordinary volunteer by helping Connecticut Audubon Society grow both in spirit and as an organization.
