News > Press Releases >

Contact: Susanna Scallion
410-745-9283
Fax: 410-745-9230

EASTON, MD (October 10, 2006)—If a nonprofit organization was a mammal, the staff members would be the circulatory, respiratory, and nervous systems—vital to keep everything in ‘the body’ running smoothly, making sure programs are excellent, that maintenance is kept in check and the day to day things as well as the larger picture items of all systems are working in concert with one another so ‘the body’ remains healthy. Volunteers would then have to be the skeletal system. The skeletal system is the support for all the other systems. Without the skeletal system the other systems don’t have the critical support and infrastructure needed to make sure they can keep things running smoothly in the body.

If volunteers are the skeletal system, Board of Directors must then be the backbone. The backbone ensures that everything can stand up and function as it should. The board of a nonprofit is the central mechanism that organizationally knows the past present and future direction of an organization. Unlike the backbone of a mammal that eventually wears down and tires, however, since it is critical that the backbone of a nonprofit organization remains strong and healthy, Boards often adopt term limits to ensure the backbone doesn’t get worn out.

As of August 2006, the Board of Pickering Creek Audubon Center in Easton Maryland received six new ‘vertebrate,’ if you will on the backbone of the Pickering Creek animal. Eva Smorzaniuk, a radiologist at Memorial Hospital in Easton and also new board member of the state Audubon Maryland-DC board joins the Pickering Board with experience on both the YMCA and Memorial Hospital boards. Mark Greene is a specialist in investment and wealth management and has served on a number of local boards. Bill Corace is an avid sportsman and has been in Easton fulltime with his wife and two children for the last three years. Bonna Nelson is a freelance writer and columnist for the Chesapeake Business Ledger. Bonna’s writing skills will be featured in the upcoming newspaper circular for the Waterfowl Festival. Richard Tilghman is recently retired from a prominent Baltimore law firm and has served on numerous boards of non-profit educational institutions. Tom Lane has served on a number of local and regional boards and is the President of Lane Engineering.

In addition of the new board members, the Board elected to recognize two longtime friends of Pickering who have remained very strong pieces of the backbone both in official and unofficial capacity. Both Dr. Peter Stifel, retired from the University of Maryland and Dr. Stuart Strahl, nephew of George Olds, the donor of the Pickering Creek Property, were elected as Emeritus Board Members. In their new capacity, their expertise can still be called on if needed, but they serve the Board at their own will due to their love and dedication of Pickering.

Michael Linardi, founder of Halcyon Coaching is the new President of the Board, John Bayliss, an agriculture consultant, has taken on the role of Vice President and Mark Jules is the Secretary. Dick Welch begins his second year as Treasurer. The staff and Board wish to thank departing members William Richkus, Amy Haines, Linda Goss, Sean Callahan, Mary Griffin, Marguerite Beebe and Bob Mason for their generous and valuable service.

Pickering Creek Audubon Center is open to the public 365 days a year from sunrise until sunset. Miles of trails among some of the Eastern shores most beautiful habitat offer visitors a great place to enjoy the peace and quiet and get back to nature. The staff of Pickering welcomes more than 16,000 children and adults each year for education programs about the natural world. For more information about Pickering Creek visit www.pickeringcreek.org.

Eva Smorzaniuk, Mark Greene, Bonna Nelson, Bill Corace, Richard Tilghman and Tom Lane (not pictured) join the Board of Directors of Pickering Creek Audubon Center. Stuart Strahl (not pictured) and Peter Stifel are elected as Pickering Creek's first Emeritus Board Members.

Audubon is celebrating its centennial year of protecting birds and other wildlife and the habitat that supports them. Our national network of community-based nature centers and chapters, scientific and educational programs, and advocacy on behalf of areas sustaining important bird populations, engage millions of people of all ages and backgrounds in positive conservation experiences.

# # #