After being a consumer and follower kind of member in this club for a number of years, I was asked two years ago to take a more active role in the operations of the OSFN, and I am happy to report that it has been my privilege these past two years, to witness some of the inner workings of this club, to step up when asked to cover for others, and to represent the OSFN at various events, meetings, and outings.
It has been very satisfying for me to give back to this organization in some small ways after the many years when my main contributions were the provision of various snacks to share at indoor meetings, and occasionally for outings as well.
Much of the club’s success is a result of the team efforts of the directors and other volunteers, who step up and cover for each other when needed. We are all very busy people, and this cooperative approach allows us to ensure that the programmes are delivered effectively to our members and guests.
I would like to encourage you in two areas – to let us know what you want from the club – more outings, perhaps on weekdays, speakers or guides that appeal to you, or if there is something the club used to do, that you miss, let us know, and we will see about restoring that activity.
Since becoming President in January of this year I have made a start on several initiatives
– to ensure that the club is able to Celebrate being 25 Years old throughout 2014
– to increase my own awareness and involvement with the Young Naturalists Club. Ensuring that this programme is vibrant, will pay dividends in the future when those youngsters continue to be engaged with Nature through their work or simply their lifestyle.
I have also tried my best to involve the club in activities of Ontario Nature, of which the OSFN is a member club. I am looking forward to increasing my interaction with Ontario Nature, personally, and as a representative of this club.
It is your club, so help us to keep you engaged, and feeling good about your membership.
The other area I see as having great potential is to invite your friends and associates to come and give us a try. One initiative that would be helpful is for you to give memberships as gifts to students, and other folks you would like to see enjoying what we have to offer. Increasing membership this way would be the simplest way to grow our revenues, so that we can deliver our programmes without relying on fundraising activities. It would also give us a greater pool of volunteers for club activities and for future directors.
I am looking forward to our new season of programmes being launched in September, as we take the Owen Sound Field Naturalists forward into the first of its next 25 Years.
John Dickson, President, Summer 2014