Dear Colleagues;

Thank goodness we can do this electronically and don’t have to chop down any trees! It is just there seems to be so much to talk about. So let me begin with a Thank You.

THANK YOU to our out going president, Dody Wyman. Dody devoted many years to the board of directors and began transitions that are paying dividends today. But she has not escaped and is chairing the Course Development Committee (CDC) – more about that group later.

Now to our present board. Let me introduce everyone to you. Please check out the IWRC website for comprehensive bios on your board.

Harry Kelton, Vice-President. Harry has a wealth of knowledge in many fields and is truly special.  Check out Harry’s bio on IWRC’s website. He is amazing.

Brenda Harms, Secretary. New to rehab, and a wonderful resource to IWRC with her background in the law. Brenda has taken on the job of secretary and has made a huge difference to our understanding of the many aspects involved in this job. To work as a legal entity, IWRC must explore the many rules and regulations governing an organization that boasts a membership world-wide. Brenda is making this so easy because she understands all the big words used in legalese.

Earl Fox. Treasurer. A new addition to the board, Earl has taken on this extremely important task. In this, he is supported by the Finance committee. It is such an important role and we are delighted Earl is on board.

Randie Segal. Co-chair of the Symposium committee and maker of the best foot baths (want to know more, see me at the conference). Home is sometimes the ‘Songbird’ a wonderful bus, sometimes Arizona and sometimes Wisconsin. Take a guess at when those residences are occupied! Here’s a hint, it looks as if Randie does not like snow!

Deb Teachout. Veterinarian and all round good egg. Deb is in her last termon the board. We will miss you. Deb also was involved with making the Certified Wildlife Rehabilitator exam a reality. I am so delighted that IWRC has made this exam a professional qualification to be proud off. It is no
romp in the park, but a great feeling to pass it.

Mary Seth. Masks’r’us. Mary made sure we had some great laughs at last year’s Symposium with fun masks that brought some stunned looks, and then laughter when she and her gang crashed the classes in progress. What’s next Mary???  Mary also is a very active rehabber and often shares wonderful cases with us.

Melissa Matassa-Stone. As an engineer, precision is Melissa’s world, and it is this expertise we see coming to the foreground as Melissa chairs the Development committee. I have also learned so much about how to run a meeting from you, thank you.

Susan Wylie. A very active bird rehabber and amazing organizer. Susan also co-chairs the Symposium committee, and helps to bring together many aspects we all love including the silent auction goodies to be perused at the annual Symposium.

Adam Grogan. Our newest board member. We have been waiting on Adam to be able to join the board for some time. He is based in England with the RSPCA’s wildlife rehabilitation program. With Adam joining, I am no longer the only oddly accented person on the board. Adam is also on the Symposium committee and very involved in the program of presentations.

Finally, me, Lynn Miller. Growing up in New Zealand, I never thought I would be living in Canada, pursuing my passion in caring for our wildlife. I also have the very great privilege to be an IWRC instructor for many years meeting many wonderful rehabbers, sharing knowledge, tears and laughter. Thank you.

For more  information check out the board bio’s on IWRC’s website.

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IWRC Staff. We are so fortunate to have Kai Williams as Executive Director extraordinaire! She is aided by Kim Forrest. Together, they are helping IWRC on so many levels, as well as making sure you get to talk to a real person, quite a pleasure in this age of automated services. Thank you both for your hard work and dedication.

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The Journal is wildlife rehabilitation’s only peer reviewed publication.
Kieran Lindsey guides its production, ensuring high quality information
available for all of us. The next issue was recently published, and announced in the April Newsletter. Go to the IWRC website and log in to access JWR.

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This is a working board and everyone is extremely involved in many committees and activities. The following committees groups are all working on a diversity of aspects involving IWRC. They are all open to new members, and we encourage anyone contemplating becoming involved with IWRC to consider
joining a committee. These committees are all very active and if one appeals to you, please contact Kai at director@theiwrc.org.

Course Development Committee. Chaired by Dody Wyman. This dedicated team works very hard to bring new courses into being. The courses begin in one of several ways. One way may be a person with expertise is willing to write a course and approaches the CDC, or the committee has identified a subject and a writer is then sought. That is only the beginning. With a draft course in hand, the CDC puts it through the peer review process where it is evaluated by other experts. Their comments are then reviewed and incorporated into the course. This ensures the course is of extremely high quality and meets the needs of the rehab community.

Symposium Committee.  Co-chaired by Sue Wylie and Randie Segal.  If you have attended a conference, you see the end product, but the reality is that a huge amount of work goes into making it successful. IWRC’s Symposium committee has many aspects within its mandate; the program, the location, fun events, the dinner and silent auction.

Development Committee.  Chaired by Melissa Matassa-Stone.  It takes money to develop and update the courses that serve our mission.  This committee has recently put together a Development Plan that looks at fundraising on several fronts, including applying for grants and to foundations, seeking corporate support, and of course filling our membership in on the benefit of private donations to meet IWRC goals.  Keep an eye out for more information in the IWRC newsletter and website!  We are actively looking for a few enthusiastic committee members who have fundraising and marketing experience to help IWRC to keep our programs current, plentiful and serving membership needs.

Finance Committee. Chaired by Earl Fox.  IWRC has been making its financial reporting and practices a priority. Ensuring bookkeeping practices are current and governmental reporting needs are met, takes time. This committee is preparing a Finance manual to aid the treasurer and executive director in their activities.

Ethics Committee. Randie Segal and Deb Teachout. The ethics committee is in place to help guide and evaluate issues that relate to ethics or ethical situations. If you are interested in this aspect of our work as rehabbers, please let Kai know.

States, Provinces and Territories Committee. Chaired by Brenda Harms. One question we often hear is “how do I go about getting my permit?” One way IWRC can help is by setting up a members section which has all the relevant information for each State, Province and Territory. Brenda is currently working on the template for this section. However, we need help to make this
undertaking a reality. The information we hope to provide is only one part of this undertaking. We also need to have member ambassadors for each of the States, Provinces and Territories. IWRC can then ensure meetings, conferences, and local information is relayed from these ambassadors to our
membership. Interested in helping, please let Kai know.

International Committee. Steering committee chaired by Mikal Deese. To ensure IWRC reaches out to our colleagues in the rehab community all over our planet, this committee will set up a framework to ensure International committee members come on knowing the goals of this committee. Essentially IWRC knows that the material that we find relevant here in the North American sphere may not be so in Katmandu or Veracruz. So by working with our colleagues in as many countries as possible, we can all learn from each other, finding equivalencies, and alternatives that are realistic for the many different regions. We have a Canadian, Caribbean, and USA rep, now we need rehab colleagues in as many countries as possible.

Scientific Advisory Panel Committee. Chaired by Kristin Madden. Have you ever wondered about an odd behavior in your foxes, a disease that seems new in your raccoons, or how a cliff swallow fledges? But who to turn to? This committee is mandated to approach experts in a wide range of subjects, introduce them to IWRC and invite them to share their expertise with our membership.

Educational Webinars.  We are starting to develop mini courses available free to our members only. Under the working title ‘Almost everything you wanted to know about …’ the first mini course is now with the review team. Also, these courses will be available in English, Spanish and French with other languages being added as we reach out to members world-wide. So the first mini-course subject – Needles and syringes. Subjects discussed for additional mini-courses; what is that white spot in your birds mouth?; Disinfection; rehydration fluids; IM and SQ injections; gavage; bandaging; physical exams; microscopes and how to use them; ruptured airsacs; illustrated glossary; you get the picture, how about helping? Contact Kai.

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We also have another new member section underway.

The monographs on North American mammals will bring a wealth of biological data together, species by species. We are hoping to add much more to this section. More to come.

Interested in what is happening in, say, Nepal? A new section will post newsletters and information from all over our world. Do you know of a great publication that highlights the world of rehabilitation and conservation that can be added to this section? You know who to contact!

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There is so much happening at IWRC. Are you interested in becoming more involved? Contact Kai and let her know what interests you. Also, keep visiting IWRC’s website, there’s lots more to come.

Lastly, don’t forget to check out news for the 2011 Symposium. Plan your holiday to relax from your rehab season and pre-holiday craziness by joining us in Florida this November. It will be a wonderful gathering, packed with great classes, lectures, networking and social events.

Meantime, I know many of you are already busy, caring for your wild patients. Don’t forget to care for yourself too, we all need you.

Cheers,

Lynn