As of November 1 our longtime Field Trip Chair, Richard Redmond, has resigned his position. He's been leading trips for Altacal for several years, and has done a great job, but it's time for someone else to take over. For the most part, it is not a difficult task. For day trips, you just need to plan the trip, announce it in the newsletter, and show up to lead it. Longer trips require more organization (for example, reserving space in areas where lodging is required), but we're sure that at least one of our members should be up to the challenge! You don't need to be a great birder to do the job - others on the trip can usually help out with identification problems. And, you don't even need to be the official Field Trip Chair to lead a trip - just get the information to the newsletter editor by the 20th of the preceding month, and the announcement will be included in the next newsletter.

Time for me to get up on my soapbox...

In every newsletter, there's a comment about the board needing new members to help lighten the load. As current board members resign, the load becomes heavier on those of us who remain. This makes it more likely that the remaining members will tire of their positions, and just decide it's not worth it anymore. For, if none of our 700+ members can take the time to help us with our volunteer efforts, why should we bother to continue?

Obviously, the reason we continue is that we feel that Altacal is a worthwhile organization. However, we can only do so much. For the moment, we are without a field trip chair. Occasionally someone may volunteer to lead a trip, but it probably won't be nearly as consistent as it has been for the last several years.

Be aware that there are others on the board who will also eventually tire of their tasks. I will probably only continue as newsletter editor for another year or two before I "burn out"; I've already noticed the signs of that process beginning (you, too, may have noticed a higher incidence of errors in the past few newsletters). I also wouldn't mind giving up a few of my other positions (I currently hold 3, not including the web page maintenance). I can't speak for other board members, but I would guess that some of them feel the same way.

You have the power to make a difference in this situation, by volunteering your time and energy. It's up to you to take the next step. Altacal cannot survive as an organization without volunteers!