Now is the time to honor your birding hero, mentor, or inspiration by
nominating them for one of the four MOU Awards. Yes, four! MOU is
excited to announce a new
award: The Volunteer of the Year Award! Please send nominations to
Awards Committee Chair Susan Elliott at [email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]> by October 15.
• The *Thomas S. Roberts Memorial Award* has traditionally been the
MOU's lifetime achievement award. This award is for “Outstanding
Contributions to Minnesota Ornithology and Birding”, with previous
recipients having contributed to the ornithology in many different ways.
For example, one served as President of both the MOU and the Wisconsin
Society for Ornithology, another taught ornithology courses for 32 years
and thereby ignited interest in birding and bird conservation for
countless students, and the 2018 recipient was recognized as a “mentor,
motivator, educator, instigator, traveler, adventurer, story-teller,
legislative liaison, and bird bander.”
• The *Brother Theodore Voelker Award* is for “Special Achievement in
Field Ornithology" during the past year. The award honors field
ornithology in one of three categories: significant bird sighting(s);
something written (e.g., journal article, book, or technical paper); or
a field research project, as well as involvement in special events,
conservation, mentoring, and education. The Voelker Award has been
presented to people whose achievements have ranged from spotting first
state record birds to taking action to conserve land critical to boreal
species in Minnesota.
• *The Young Birder Award* is given to a person under 25 years old who
has contributed to our knowledge of Minnesota birds or to the MOU. Young
birders have received the award for an assortment of achievements,
including starting birding clubs, participating in dozens of Christmas
Bird Counts and Birdathons, and volunteering at places like Hawk Ridge.
• *The Volunteer of the Year Award*, created in 2019, is presented to a
person whose dedicated, useful service to the MOU and/or the birding
community at large has made a significant difference, and is a way for
the MOU to honor those individuals who have devoted many hours and much
energy to the good of birds. Nominees should be actively involved with
birds, with bird-related conservation, and/or with the MOU. Nominees do
not have to be members of the MOU. Current MOU officers and/or Board
members are not eligible for this Award.
These awards are presented each year at the MOU’s Paper Session/Annual
Meeting, typically held on the first Saturday in December. Award
descriptions and the names of all previous Award recipients are listed
below and the presentation speeches for the awards are available from
2009 and forward.
To nominate someone for an award, please provide the Awards Committee a
description of the contributions which you believe makes your nominee a
candidate to receive an award. Your written description typically forms
the basis for the award presentations, and we encourage you to present
the award should your nominee win. We know that not everyone is
comfortable speaking publicly or writing a presentation, so please
contact us if you would like assistance in either regard. Nominations
are due no later than October 15 and can be emailed to Awards Committee
Chair Susan Elliott at [email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]> (if you prefer to send your nomination
by mail or other means, please contact Susan via email for assistance).
Thank-you for your interest in MOU’s Awards!
*Certificates of Appreciation*
Throughout the year, the Awards Committee issues Certificates of
Appreciation to individuals, businesses, or others with a "rare" bird on
their property who provide access for visiting birders. A complimentary
MOU membership is included with a Certificate for non-MOU members. The
following are criteria which could be relevant when a Certificate is
proposed:
* How significant or unusual is the occurrence of the bird?
(Rare-regular species and Regular species out of range or out of
season, along with Casual or Accidental species, can be considered.)
* Was permission for birder access extended willingly and was access
open to all birders?
* Were there restrictions or conditions on birders? Were the limits
reasonable regarding the number of visitors, the time of day to
visit, the views birders could get or how close they were to the
bird, requests for donations or entry fees, etc?
Please contact Susan Elliott, chair of the Awards Committee, if you
would like to propose that a Certificate of Appreciation be issued.
Susan can be reached at [email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]>. Thank-you!
----
Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net
Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
