Annual Meeting at Holmes Educational State Forest
39 members attend morning of hikes led by Charlotte Caplan and Dan Lazar and enjoyed a meal to celebrated the Blue Ridge Naturalist Network’s 10th anniversary at the annual meeting at Holmes Educational State Forest on September 6. After lunch, president Mayo Taylor mc’d the meeting which included recognition of the original board members, honoring outgoing board members and announcing the Blue Ridge Naturalist of the Year.
Former original board members in attendance included Barb Harrison and Charlotte Caplan. Barb read a heartfelt acknowledgement of Charlotte’s long history of public service in the Asheville area as well as her 10 years on the BRNN board, written by Ken Czarnomski, another original board member, who was unable to attend. Charlotte was presented with a framed photo of a bloodroot taken by outgoing board member (and excellent photographer) Randy Richardson.
Mayo read a tribute to Randy Richardson who was unable to attend, noting that he has been planning and leading BRNN outdoor outing since 2018. Mayo pointed out that outdoor programs are important to attract and keep members and Randy had a wide variety of well-organized programs that were well-attend by members. Randy was thanked for his service with a picture frame to display one of his photographs.
A slate of three new broad members was approved at the meeting: Kris Stewart, treasurer; Claudia McGrath, secretary; and Paul Fredrickson, outdoor programs. Please read their bios in the newsletter.
Charlotte announced the BRNN Naturalist of the year, Dan Lazar. Dan served for many years as the director of education at the Western North Carolina Nature Center and has been an instructor in the Blue Ridge Naturalist program since 2005. Jesse Wilder, who created the original Blue Ridge Naturalist certificate program, lauded Dan as an essential advisor as she worked on the program. Jeff Boyea praised the radio program Nature News which Dan had done with Carlton Burke (last year’s naturals of the year) for over 30 years. Dan was presented with a signed copy of A Life on our Planet by David Attenborough.
