2026 CCAS Board Elected
The slate of Mariska Harshbarger, president; Roger Digges, vice-president; Nancy Dietrich, secretary; and Todd Kinney, treasurer; was approved unanimously during our annual membership meeting in December. There were no nominations from the floor for officers or for members-at-large.
Plans for 2026
CCAS had a great year in 2025, with returning to in-person monthly programs, a booth at the Urbana farmers market, Sunday morning bird walks during migration seasons, field trips to some birding gems in the area, Kendeigh Grants awarded to university research students, an Education Mini-Grant awarded to a local school, and producing newsletters to keep CCAS members informed. CCAS has big plans to continue these activities in 2026 and needs help from our membership to ensure that can happen.
How You Can Help?
CCAS has needs for support in several critical roles. Most of these positions take just an hour or two of time each month, which includes attending Board meetings for chair positions. As a non- profit, CCAS relies on its membership to operate and provide programming. We hope you will participate on a committee or even consider taking on a leadership role so that CCAS can continue to serve our membership. If you might be interested in a chair position or just want to help but don’t want to be in charge, send an email to mail@champaigncountyaudubon.org. Consider coming to a board meeting to get a feel for what we do and how you might contribute.
Program Chair: If you enjoy our monthly programs, consider volunteering as Program Chair. This person (or a team, if more than one person is interested) will contact potential speakers, organize events, and coordinate promotion and advertising. This position is currently vacant, and we would like to fill as soon as possible to continue programming for the coming year.
Membership Chair: This role supports CCAS by maintaining an up-to-date list of members, recruiting new members, and managing renewals. This position is vacant, and we would like to fill as soon as possible.
Newsletter Editor: Help CCAS communicate to our membership. Edit articles, lay out print files, and coordinate printing and distribution for 9 issues annually. Experience with InDesign or other software is helpful. Our current editor’s term ends in 2026. If you would like to take on this position and help CCAS continue to provide a newsletter, please contact our current editor
Communications Chair: Work with a team of volunteers to oversee our newsletter, email
announcements, website maintenance, graphic design, and social media. This position is
vacant.
Outreach Team: Would you like to staff a table at an event, talk to others about birds, wildlife, and CCAS? Outreach is the role for you! Become part of the outreach team and chat about nature while representing CCAS at local events.
Conservation Chair: This person facilitates CCAS workdays with other local organizations, recommends funding for local projects, helps select Kendeigh Grant recipients, and monitors legislative and administrative actions that affect the environment. This position is vacant. Review Kendeigh Grant Applications: Do you have experience reviewing project proposals and about three hours to spare for reading, rating, and discussing submissions to our Kendeigh Research Grants and/or Mini-Grants for Educators? Kendeigh Grants are reviewed in late February, and Mini-Grants are reviewed in October. To learn more about volunteer positions or attend a CCAS Board meeting, contact us at mail@champaigncountyaudubon.org.
