Wisconsin Outdoor Communicators Association Minutes
July 29, 2023; Trees for Tomorrow
Announcements:
Power company vegetation management under power lines: Tim Eisele relayed an issue with Dairyland Power. The company clear-cut trees and vegetation under its lines on Eisele’s property without notice or consultation, thereby killing carefully cultivated and rare plants and trees on a re-established prairie. Eisele stressed that he understands trimming tall vegetation under powerlines is necessary, but there was no good reason to destroy vegetation far below that height. He is promoting a Wisconsin Conservation Congress resolution demanding a legislative change in allowed cutting by power companies under their lines, and allowing landowners to make necessary trims.
Member information: Pat Durkin reported long-time members Roger Saboda and Dave Carlson couldn’t attend this year’s workshop due to progression of debilitative disease. Send them a note, if you get the chance.
Redesignation of native fish: Paul Smith asked for assistance in promoting a legislative change that would remove native species from the state’s rough fish designation. Native species needing redefinition and relief from unregulated harvest include gar and burbot.
Business meeting:
WOCA’s future: Pat Durkin opened a discussion on the future of WOCA. He noted most members in the room were older, and in spite of our scholarship program and his recruitment efforts among younger outdoor communicators in web, podcasts, etc., WOCA is largely unsuccessful at recruiting the next generation of members to take the organization into the future. He asked members for ideas on recruitment or organizational modifications that will ensure WOCA’s future. Ideas mentioned by members include bringing a colleague, requiring scholarship winners to attend at least one meeting, starting an annual on line seminar, moving closer to UW-Stevens Point for meetings, having a booth at a career day or natural resources student organization, and asking member Chris Thomas to help promote WOCA in the College of Natural Resources. It was agreed WOCA needs to clarify membership advantages and, perhaps, develop a recruitment brochure. Discussion to be continued.
Board of Directors:
The WOCA Board of Directors entered this meeting with three vacancies. Current members were: Art Barlow, Dave Zeug, Lisa Gaumnitz, Ed Culhane, and Dave Clausen. And current officers Pat Durkin, Robert Haase and Laurel Steffes.Three new members were named and approved unanimously: Mark Horn, Dan Small and Ron Weber. We thank them for stepping up.
Scholarship fundraiser: The annual silent auction raised more than $1,800 for the treasury/scholarship. Special thanks to Tom Luba who worked with fishing manufacturers for donations, Bob Haase for donating a wall-size, mounted photograph of a loon, and to Pat Durkin for donating tickets to family night at Lambeau field. Pat, Jim Bishop, and Nick Vander Puy also donated books, dedicated by the authors.
Scholarship report: Scholarship Committee member Art Barlow (other committee members are Dave Zeug and Laurel Steffes) read the biography of Michelle Stangler, this year’s winner. She is a senior at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls in Agricultural Marketing and Communications and Journalism. She offered impressive tear sheets and was active in natural resources activities and natural-resources-related communications. She is currently interning in Idaho with a magazine and podcast, so she couldn’t attend this year’s meeting but asked if she could attend in 2024 instead. She was told, yes, of course. Michelle was the runner-up winner in 2022, applied again, and was the committee’s unanimous choice year. She would like to shadow a WOCA member in broadcast. Dan Small volunteered. Her win earned her a $2,000 scholarship, a year’s WOCA membership, and paid attendance to a workshop.
Scholarship donation: WOCA member Jenny Sereno donated $1,000 to the 2024 scholarship fund. This follows hundreds of dollars in scholarship donations from Jenny in 2022 and 2023. She is our best scholarship program cheerleader, and her generosity and support has been remarkable. Her previous donations allowed WOCA to return from $1,500 to a $2,000 annual scholarship after Covid lean years.
Mark LaBarbera has confirmed OHEC’s (Outdoor Heritage Education Center) $500 contribution for the 2024 scholarship, and with Jenny Sereno’s donation, WOCA has the happy dilemma of deciding if the 2024 scholarship should be a student-supportive $3,000 or if the amount should be split into two $1,500 awards. There was some discussion of the pros and cons, and it was decided the Board of Directors will make the call when accounts payable are settled and the WOCA treasury balance is clear. Due to donations and pledges, the scholarship fund already has $1,525 ready in 2024.
Laurel Steffes moved that WOCA approve a Resolution of Gratitude. It was seconded by multiple members and passed unanimously. We will draft and send a letter of sincere thanks from WOCA to Jenny Sereno.
Election of officers:
Officers were reelected and are as follows:
President and Prize Chair—Pat Durkin
Vice President and Webmaster—Bob Haase
Secretary-Treasurer—Laurel Steffes
WOCA Budget:
WOCA budget: Once accounts payable are brought up to date (Trees, reimbursements, annual CHF dues, etc.) WOCA should have more than $3,000 in the bank.
2024 WOCA Workshop:
The 2024 workshop will be held at Trees for Tomorrow on August 3-4.
Respectfully submitted:
Laurel Steffes
Submit articles for News from WOCA to Laurel Steffes at wisoutdoorcommunicators@gmail.com.