THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT

Our 32nd Annual Banquet and Fundraiser couldn't be possible without the help of our friends and local businesses. Extra special thanks to the businesses who believe in our efforts and who donated items to the silent auction. First and foremost we would like to thank Benedetto's who donated the facilities as well as three $20 gift certificates. Gift certificates, entrance passes and other items were graciously donated by: Babcock Wilderness Adventures, The Backyard
Bird Company, Bailey Shell Museum, Bobcat Trail Golf Club, Bok Tower Gardens, Busch Gardens, Carrabba's Italian Grill, Central Florida Zoo, Charlotte State Bank, Circus Sarasota, Edison and Ford Winter Estates, Grande Tours, GWIZ Science Museum, Fegers Health Foods, The Florida Aquarium, Florida Railroad Museum, Henderick's Food Vault, Imaginarium,
Jason's Deli, Kennedy Space Center and Delaware North Companies Parks and Resorts, Kingfisher Fleet, La Esperanza, Louie Desguin Cruises, Marie Selby Gardens, Outback Steakhouse, The Perfect Caper, Pineapple Press, Pinemoore Golf Club, Port Charlotte Natural Foods, Punta Gorda Historical Society, Riverwood Country Club, Sea World, Starbucks,
Sunnybreeze Golf Course, Sweet Scoops, Tijuana Flats, Total Wine,Wal-Mart, and The Wyvern Hotel.

Thank you for making our fundraising event such a success!

BRINGING BACK THE CRANES

AN EVENING WITH AUDUBON

OUR 32ND ANNUAL BANQUET & FUNDRAISER

Please join us on Thursday, March 19th, 2009 at Benedetto's Steakhouse in Punta Gorda for our annual banquet and fundraiser. In addition to Pat Casselberry's lively discussion of the whooping crane reintroduction program, the evening also includes a delicious dinner (choice of prime rib, stuffed grouper or chicken cordon bleu), a silent auction, and a photo contest.

Proceeds will benefit the Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership and PRAS's Environmental Education Programs. Tickets are $31 per person (until February 19th they are $28 per person) and the reservation deadline is March 13th. Tickets are not available at the door - so call today to make your reservations!

Please call Starr Zachritz at 941.766.7686 for reservations or if you have any questions.

Pennington Park Workday

• Did you know that the Audubon Pennington Park in Port Charlotte is maintained by PRAS?
• Did you know that Brazilian pepper, carrotweed and air potatoes have been invading the beautiful habitat?
• Did you know that every Wednesday at 8AM our volunteers meet to maintain the park?
• Did you know that a special Saturday workday was held on January 24th and that 12 people helped to rid the park of exotic vegetation?

Well, if the above is news to you - you're missing out on a wonderful opportunity to enjoy birding AND make a diference in our community.

On January 24th, the volunteers had a great hour of briding before attacking the invasive species. They saw 27 species including a barred owl and a limkin sitting on a nest. Then, with tools in hand and lots of refuse bags, they spent the next hour or so spucing up the park. Bags and bags of nasty vegetation removed and a fun morning in the park - not a bad way to spend a Saturday morning in our beautiful area!

If you'd like to join in the fun, please meet at the park entrance on Wednesdays mornings at 8 AM. The entrance is off Alton between Peachland and Midway Blvds - approx. 1 1/2 miles west of Kings Highway.

Our annual birdathon will be on Saturday, April 4th this year so its time to start readying your teams and join this fun fundraiser. Get your old team together, join or form a new one and get ready to compete. If your feet hurt, or you've left your binos up north, fear not - you can still participate in the fun by sponsoring a team. Call or email Cathy Olson for more info.

PRAS LOOKING FOR NEW BOARD MEMBERS

Several PRAS Board positions are ending their terms so please consider joining the Board. The White Bird editor as well as the President's position need replacements so please see a Board member if you'd like to volunteer for one of these. The newsletter is done electronically, so a seasonal member could do this job and it wouldn't require being a member of the Board.

Attend Meetings and Learn

Get Your Water Conservation Brochures Now

Two PRAS board members were awarded a grant from the Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program (CHNEP) to develop water conservation brochures. Both brochures -- "Waterwise Gardening in the Charlotte Harbor Region" and "Household Water Conservation Tips for the Charlotte Harbor Region" are available at PRAS meetings.

Get yours now -- we always need to preserve water and our seasonal rain pattern will be changing soon as well.

PRAS College Scholarship Fund Established

Thanks to a generous $5,000 bequest by deceased member LaDonna Kennedy, the PRAS board has established the Peace River Audubon Society College Scholarship Fund. It is an endowed fund to support an advanced college undergraduate environmental studies major residing in Charlotte or Desoto Counties. Our April Birdathon fundraiser added another $1,400 to the fund, so now we are more than 20% of the way to our $30,000 goal for the fund. Once the goal is attained, the interest earned will support yearly scholarships. If you would like to donate to this fund please contact our Treasurer Walt Williams at 235-3352.

If you would like to take advantage of the tax benefits for planned giving options by leaving a legacy through a bequest in your Will or through a gift annuity in yours or someone else's memory please contact your attorney or financial advisor. Your gift will support our work while meeting your own personal needs for income, retirement planning, and tax savings.

31 Years and Still Going Strong

Welcome PRAS members to our 31st year. Your board has prepared an exciting calendar of events for 2008-9. Our meetings are full of interesting speakers and our field trip and walk-about schedules are sure to delight as we explore some of our old favorite spots and a few new ones. Our photography group chair Bill Marr has some exciting trips, instructional sessions, and photo sharing sessions planned. Hopefully you will be able to join us for our monthly meeting as well as the Annual Banquet and Silent Auction in April.

PRAS Monthly Meetings

Our 2008-9 member meetings will be held on the 3rd Thursday of each month at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church 2565 Tamiami Trail, Port Charlotte (just south of Midway Blvd). This is the church where we used to have meetings before Hurricane Charley. We are very thankful to have been invited back. The hall has now been rebuilt and will be a wonderful place to meet. Our doors open at 6:30 PM for friendship, snacks, and sharing bird tips, etc -- meetings begin at 7 PM. See you at the next meeting!

Member Survey

Please take a few moments to help us improve our chapter. Your input is essential in helping us design our programs to your interests. Click here to download a pdf version that you can print and mail to us..