In that case, I propose that we call a meeting in order to get organized. I'd be happy to make arrangements. Just need interested parties to let me know when they are available.
Jordan

On Nov 12, 2012 10:48 PM, "Emily" <[address removed]> wrote:

Carmen: I do not know Tracey's prognosis.  She will have to tell you that herself.  

I can't speak for Tracey, but my needs are currently being met.  However, if you want to do something to help, feel free to pick up any of the duties I listed in the original email. 

Likewise, Jordan, feel free to pick up any of those duties as well.  Since Tracey and I are stepping down, we are not in a position to delegate anything.  This is anarchy, my friend.  There's no one at the top of the food chain to bestow a position upon you; you just need to step up and take whatever duties you feel best suited to do.  Of course we will be here to answer questions, and some of these duties will require getting information, passwords, etc., from one of us, but for the most part, you kids are on your own!

On Mon, Nov 12, 2012 at 10:42 PM, Jordan VanNess <[address removed]> wrote:

Sign me up for whatever you need. I don't come to the meetings because of work conflicts, but I have free time during the week that I would be glad to spend on APS.
Jordan
[masked]

On Nov 12, 2012 10:37 PM, "Emily" <[address removed]> wrote:

Greetings, APS members!

I come to you today with some pretty important news.  We have reached a crossroads at APS, and what happens next depends entirely on you.

Our inimitable leader, Tracey Harrington, has been diagnosed with lung and ovarian cancer and is currently in treatment.  While she has been a trooper throughout this process and is doing remarkably well given the circumstances, she is unable to continue her duties with APS.

Around the same time that Tracey received her diagnosis, I ended up in the ER with an acute back problem that turned out to be a subluxating rib.  While my diagnosis is much less serious than Tracey's, it nevertheless requires physical therapy and some modifications to my schedule and lifestyle.  Simultaneously, I have ended up with increased responsibilities in other areas of my life.  All of these things combined mean that I, too, need to drastically reduce my involvement in APS.

The way I see it, this leaves us with two possible outcomes:

1) Other members of APS can step up to the plate and help pick up the slack, basically becoming the new leaders, officers, movers and shakers of APS.  This would require people to take on the following responsibilities:

• Coming up with meeting ideas, scheduling the meetings, contacting guest speakers, arranging for their travel and payment, hosting them while here or delegating, etc.
• Plan our events, fundraisers, holiday parties, Pet Expo booths, etc.
• We desperately need a webmaster!  Someone has hacked into our main website and it is now inaccessible.  We'd need someone to go in, get rid of the malware, fix the website, and get it up and running again.  Ideally, we'd need someone to also maintain the website and be able to make the changes that Frank had planned to make before Tracey's diagnosis.
• Answer incoming emails and phone calls, pointing folks in the right direction.
• Help find foster and adoptive homes for birds who are brought to APS.
• Screen foster and adoptive families and help them through the application and home check process.
• Track our finances, take over our bank and paypal accounts, process membership fees and keep track of who has paid and who hasn't.
• Keep minutes at our meetings and save all minutes recorded.
• Video record our meetings (we have a camera now, thanks to Bill Cryer!).
• Perform community outreach, helping the public become aware of us.
• Be our marketing coordinator, including finding sponsors and thanking them for their sponsorship.
• Coordinating refreshments at our monthly meetings.

Those of you who are currently performing some of those duties are free to either continue them or pass them on to someone else.  The majority of these, however, were done by Tracey, Frank, or myself, so we'd need quite a few people to be willing to become more involved in order for APS to continue on as it has been operating.

2) The other option is to put APS on indefinite hiatus.  I would be willing to pony up the $75 twice a year to keep our meetup site operational.  If anyone else wanted to pitch in to help keep it up, that would be awesome, too.  That way, people could still have access to the information we provide on the meetup site, as well as be able to communicate with each other.  If any of you ever want to put together a social get-together with other APS members, you'd be welcome to use the meetup site to get in touch with other members and coordinate something.  Other than those occasional social gatherings, though, APS would pretty much stay dormant until either Tracey and I are at a place where we can pick up where we left off, or where other people are willing to step into the leadership roles listed above.

Honestly, I'm fine either way, but I need to hear from the group what YOU want to have happen with APS.  After all, Tracey, Jamie and I didn't create this group for ourselves.  We created it for you.  So APS is now going to become only what you want it to be.

As a side note, we are still probably going to have the holiday party as scheduled, although it may not be at La Madeleine, since I haven't called them to see if they're available on that date.  Please RSVP as soon as possible so that I can have a good idea of how many people we need to accommodate and find a suitable location ASAP.  This holiday party might very well also be APS's last hurrah, so I hope as many of you can make it as possible.

It's been a pleasure getting to know all of you, and I hope we are able to stay in touch no matter what happens with APS.

Be well,

Emily

--
Please Note: If you hit "REPLY", your message will be sent to everyone on this mailing list ([address removed])
This message was sent by Emily ([address removed]) from Austin Parrot Society.
To learn more about Emily, visit his/her member profile


Meetup, PO Box 4668 #37895 New York, New York 10163-4668 | [address removed]

--
Please Note: If you hit "REPLY", your message will be sent to everyone on this mailing list ([address removed])

This message was sent by Jordan VanNess ([address removed]) from Austin Parrot Society.
To learn more about Jordan VanNess, visit his/her member profile

Set my mailing list to email me As they are sent | In one daily email | Don't send me mailing list messages

Meetup, PO Box 4668 #37895 New York, New York 10163-4668 | [address removed]

--
Emily Strong

AFA Certified Aviculturist, Level 1

Co-founder and Vice President, Austin Parrot Society

Owner, From Beaks To Barks

Austin, TX
[masked]
frombeakstobarks.com
austinparrotsociety.com

--
Please Note: If you hit "REPLY", your message will be sent to everyone on this mailing list ([address removed])
This message was sent by Emily ([address removed]) from Austin Parrot Society.
To learn more about Emily, visit his/her member profile
Set my mailing list to email me As they are sent | In one daily email | Don't send me mailing list messages

Meetup, PO Box 4668 #37895 New York, New York 10163-4668 | [address removed]

--
Please Note: If you hit "REPLY", your message will be sent to everyone on this mailing list ([address removed])
This message was sent by Jordan VanNess ([address removed]) from Austin Parrot Society.
To learn more about Jordan VanNess, visit his/her member profile
Set my mailing list to email me As they are sent | In one daily email | Don't send me mailing list messages

Meetup, PO Box 4668 #37895 New York, New York 10163-4668 | [address removed]