The CMNA Annual General Meeting and more!

Our 2023 Annual Meeting for the Coastal Master Naturalist Association was a place of comradery. On Sunday, January 8, the newest class of graduates along with members from over the years gathered at McLeod Plantation to enjoy some good food, great weather and connect with old and new friends.

Folks brought their favorite foods, and the meeting began with a social hour. After plates were cleaned, we had to cover the "business" portion of the day, where our fearless leader, Dave Eslinger, led us through introductions, membership updates from Bill Reehl and budget discussions from Amy Evans. We voted on re-electing our Board leadership for the new year and made a call for nominations for our two open positions: Membership Chair and Events Committee Chair (cough cough, join the board!! cough cough).

Dave and Kristina thanked Bill for his service in his role as Membership Chair. How he kept up with all of those excel sheets, we will never know—but he has been a great addition to the Board and the Association over the years! We ended our "business" on a very positive note.

As she is stepping down from her many years of leadership in the CMNA, the Board awarded Debbie Seabrook with the second Carl Cole Service Award, where she joined the first recipient, Linda Rowe, in being honored for her tireless service to our Association. Thank you again for your years of dedication to making this group what it is today!!

We couldn't end the day with "business", so we followed the meeting up with an informative presentation from Ista Clarke, CCPRC’s Cultural History Interpretation Specialist, about the history of McLeod Plantation and explored the area on a nature ramble, led by Kristina Wheeler (one of our favorite nature ramblers!). XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

There was also an appearance from a Screech Owl, which got the photogpraher in everyone excited!

Being able to meet up with members and connect with folks in person (as opposed to Debbie's favorite Zoom platform!) is definitely something I look forward to throughout the year. Not everyone appreciates the world in a way that Master Naturalists do. I am thankful for this tribe and as a Board Member, we hope to see all of your faces as we have another great year of learning, appreciating and protecting the environment that we love.