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Roland Clement Addresses the 111th Annual Meeting
See the whole speech - click here
The Audubon Society of Rhode Island, the state's first environmental organization, celebrated 111 years of creating and sustaining environmental awareness and promoting conservation when 200 members and supporters gathered at the organization's annual meeting on Sunday, October 26, at the Providence Marriott Hotel.
The meeting featured a provoking message from keynote speaker Roland Clement, Audubon's first full-time executive director. He led the independent Audubon from 1950-1958 before becoming the National Audubon Society's headquarters biologist in New York City.
The Audubon Society of R.I. changed direction under Clement's leadership, developing into an environmental organization concerned not just about birds and wildlife, but also the protection of valuable habitats.
Correlating the state of bird and human populations, Clement told the audience, "Basically, the problem is that there are now too many of us making too many demands on the planet's productive systems...we transposed too much forest to agriculture, and we over-fished the oceans...we cut corners and polluted the atmosphere, the waters, and the land itself."
"The more humble function of environmentalists is to be the ecological conscience of the human community...we will learn to green the cities. We will also learn that survival is built on cooperation, not on competition," Clement concluded.
Audubon also premiered a short film, Connecting People with Nature, produced to promote the Society through the telling of the organization's past and present with glimpses of the future. The project was funded by The Howard Bayne Fund and produced by Paul Erickson Studios, of Beverly, Mass.
At the meeting, the Society elected four new members for the 2008-2009 Board of Directors.
They are: Robert Parker, of East Greenwich, an attorney with the law firm McIntyre, Tate & Lynch, LLP, is a strong advocate for maintaining and expanding the state's permanent open space and heightening the public's understanding and appreciation for the critical necessity of that space. He has been successful in preserving open space in his own town by advocating at town planning and zoning board meetings against sprawl.
Suzanne Paton, of West Kingston, works for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in R.I., and serves as the Senior Biologist for the R.I. National Wildlife Complex. She oversees all biological programs for the five local National Wildlife Refuges, which have involved numerous habitat restoration, research, and monitoring efforts and coordination with a wide variety of partner organizations and landowners.
Cynthia Warren, of Wickford, is an attorney with the law firm, Cameron & Mittleman. She has extensive experience dealing with governance issues in non-profits and drafting bylaws and policies. Warren also has experience with land use issues from serving on the North Kingstown Conservation Committee and testifying before legislative committees at the State House.
Richard Wilkins, of Providence, is principal and owner of Concordia Intel, a strategic consulting and market research firm working with non-profits to create sustainable revenues. He has extensive experience in strategic planning, plan execution, and generating revenue. His expertise extends to strategic alliance development and management as well as management of legal agreements and financial data.
Additionally, the Audubon presented its annual awards for Business, Educator and Volunteer of the Year. The 2008 recipients are: Business of the Year Award went to SolarWrights, an alternative energy company under the guidance of founder and president Bob Chew, of Bristol. SolarWrights is a socially and environmentally responsible business serving the Northeast with attractive, efficient renewable energy systems, including photovoltaic, solar thermal, and wind systems. Chew, a solar designer and contractor, is nationally recognized in renewable energy and green building design and construction.
The North Smithfield PTO, a model of support for children's education, won the Audubon's Educator of the Year Award. The visionary group had the foresight 10 years ago to start raising funds for enrichment programs to enhance student learning. With input from teachers, the PTO has funded science, arts, and other cultural programs. Audubon has worked with the PTO each year since 1998, providing hands-on, environmental-based education programs to North Smithfield elementary classes.
Volunteer of the Year is Mary Jo Murray, a tireless octogenarian, who has faithfully led group bird walks on Tuesday mornings in Charlestown since 1990. A South Kingstown resident, Murray is a retired schoolteacher. Besides being an avid birder, she has served on the Audubon's Kimball Wildlife Sanctuary Committee. This marks her final year of leading the Tuesday walks.
The Audubon Society of Rhode Island began in 1897, initially protecting birds and their habitats. Today, the Audubon addresses a comprehension mission in three areas - environmental education, land conservation and advocacy. Counting more than 17,000 members and supporters the Audubon staff teaches more than 33,000 school children annually - many at the Environmental Education Center in Bristol - and enlightens thousands of others through a wide array of nature-oriented programs and special events.
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New 2008-2009 
