Message from the President...

Hello again,
It's difficult to believe that the next time I write the message from the President it will be a brand new year!! That's right, our next publication is due on January 1st 2027!
This year seems to have gone by so exceedingly quickly, I have to stop and think about what we've achieved so far,  but we've certainly been busy.

Firstly, members of both the Executive Board and then the full Board finalized a rewrite of our Bylaws, a process that began several years ago while Dave Eslinger was the CMNA President.
It was a lengthy process which first needed many discussions of the changes between myself, and other Executive Board Members, then a month to approve the changes by the Executive Board, confirmation of the changes by Mallory Maher, our Statewide Clemson Co-ordinator, then an approval of those changes by the full board.

For full disclosure, the changes were unanimously adopted by the 9 members of the Board, and my thanks go to everyone involved in the process!

You can download a copy of the updated Bylaws here, or by clicking the link at the bottom of this post.

Next, to fulfill our role as educators and 'spread the word' of our activities as volunteers, the board confirmed the purchase of a canopy, logo'd table runners and vinyl banners, along with rack cards, so that we can attend appropriate festivals.
Over the years, we have had several offers of displaying our wares at these festivals and this was the year we went full steam ahead!
Recently, on behalf of the CMNA, I accepted a very generous donation from the SCDNR for a variety of props to help us in this project. We also have 11 CMNA members that are able to volunteer for SCDNR at tabling events and utilize these props in joint CMNA/SCDNR events while we are also building our own selection of items to talk about with the public while representing the CMNA .

One of our challenges is we need MORE VOLUNTEERS to help us with these and other events!
It's that time of year when we're also looking for volunteers to join us to fill vacant and soon to be vacant roles on the Board and on Committees . 
Vacancies arise sometimes because life happens and situations change, but mainly because every Board Member serves for a certain time, so when our time's up, we need to be replaced!
So, if you're struggling to find those volunteer hours to maintain your certification, or you'd like to take a role in defining the direction of the CMNA, please consider joining us! Oh, it doesn't matter how long you've been a member either, recent graduates are welcome.

If you'd like to discuss the possible roles available, please reach out to me soon: ColinDHocking@gmail.com

Until next year...

Oh, the photo is for no other reason than I'm looking forward to another season of Bald Eagle nesting at Caw Caw! This is one of the 2025 fledglings.