President's Corner
Seeking Membership Involvement with Meeting Programs
by John Shenot
Over the years, FCAS members have benefited from a variety of amazing presentations at our monthly programs. We've heard from experts about Saw-whet Owls, bison and black-footed ferret reintroductions at Soapstone Prairie Natural Area, restoring rivers for native trout, bird-friendly gardening, the amazing and aggravating fox squirrel, and scores of other fascinating topics.
For many members, our monthly programs are the best thing FCAS has to offer. If you've enjoyed any of our guest speakers, you can thank the FCAS programs committee and especially the woman who has chaired that committee for more than 10 years: Jessie Meschievitz. The committee is responsible for brainstorming interesting topics, and recruiting expert speakers who can entertain and inform us all.
As grateful as I am for Jessie's leadership, the time has come for another volunteer to step up. Jessie has wanted to take a break from leading the program committee for three years, and I can't guarantee we will be able to offer programs next year unless we find a replacement. So, if you love our guest presentations and have ever thought, “they should do a program about ________,” then please consider volunteering to chair the programs committee. And don't worry about whether you are “qualified” — we'll help you get up to speed.
While I'm on the topic, I'm also looking for feedback from members about whether you would like our monthly programs to be more interactive. We typically start each meeting with some organizational announcements, then transition to our guest presentation, and finish with a little Q&A. Our December potluck and slide show is the only meeting that is truly member driven. Are you satisfied with that? Would you like us to build in more opportunities for members to speak up and have conversations with each other? Or do you prefer the current lecture format? Would you attend meetings if we had an interesting subject for group discussion instead of a guest presenter? You can share your thoughts with me at johnshenot@gmail.com. Thanks!