Chapter Leadership Award
In Recognition and Celebration of Outstanding Individuals
Who Have Given Extraordinary Service to Their Chapter
Our Pennsylvania Audubon chapters have a decades long history. The National Audubon Society launched the initiative to establish the “chapter network” in the 1960’s under the leadership of Audubon Vice-President Charles H. Callison. This far-sighted initiative was a recognition by Audubon’s leadership in that era that a community-based chapter network would be a key to advance the work of bird conservation at the community level. Over the years, the chapter network expanded to over 500 chapters nationwide as part of the mission of Audubon’s nine regional offices established in the sixties, seventies, and eighties. This network made Audubon unique among the other national environmental organizations. Many of our chapters were established over fifty years ago and continue to serve as a “voice for birds” from generation to generation.
Most of our chapters are volunteer led organizations. Their duration and success reflect the personal investment of time, energy, and talent of the many volunteers who dedicated themselves to the work necessary to sustain the chapter and advance its programs, activities, and events. Chapter officers, board members, and committee chairs have been the key to advance the conservation of birds in the communities they serve. Most chapters can point to individuals whose leadership has been indispensable to the life of the chapter. These individuals are recognized for their contributions at special events that might include an annual picnic, an awards dinner, or other similar type of event.
There are times that the service of some individuals to their chapters rises beyond their own chapter and attract broader recognition. In Pennsylvania, Walt Pomeroy, the Regional Vice-President of the Audubon MidAtlantic Region, made a special effort to recognize these individuals with the National Audubon Society William Dutcher Award. The “Dutcher Award” was named for the founding President of the National Audubon Society and presented to individuals with a stellar record of service. Every Regional Vice-President in the Audubon network at the time had the authority to bestow the award to chapters in their respective regions. Walt Pomeroy understood that the “Dutcher Award” was particularly important because there were very deserving chapter leaders whose service was an inspiration to the broader chapter network. The tradition of the “Dutcher Award” disappeared after the original Regional Offices were closed. It was revived briefly when the National Conventions were reconvened over a decade ago with one chapter leader from each region selected to receive that award during the Convention. The awards have not been given since that time.
The Pennsylvania Audubon Council “Chapter Leadership Award” has been launched by our Council Board to reinaugurate the tradition of the “Dutcher Award” to recognize and celebrate those individuals who have been indispensable in the life of the chapter they serve. The award will be in the form of a framed print with a small, engraved plaque. It will be funded from the Council’s “Walt Pomeroy Fund” which was established by a lead gift from Lin Pomeroy and managed as a restricted account. The “Walt Pomeroy Fund” was first established to support and sustain the “Walt Pomeroy Conservation Award.” Lin Pomeroy recommended that this new “Chapter Leadership Award” not bear Walt’s name but be given in the tradition of the “Dutcher Award” that Walt so widely promoted.
Lin Pomeroy has recommended that this award be in the form of a framed print with a commemorative plaque and that it be simply identified as the Pennsylvania Audubon Council’s “Chapter Leadership Award.” The presentation to the worthy recipient will continue to be at a local chapter event in the tradition of the “Dutcher Award” as had been Walt’s practice. The Council welcomes nominations from chapters for individuals to be considered for this recognition.