Limpkin November 2003

Make Your Voice Heard: Vote on Changing the Name of Indian River Audubon Society

By Dee Fairbanks, IRAS Vice

After much discussion, the Indian River Audubon Society is now ready to put renaming our chapter to a vote by our members. Please refer to past issues of the Limpkin for details, but in summary, here are the reasons we, the board of directors, encourage this change:

The name “Space Coast Audubon Society” more accurately describes our geographic location. Tom Atkinson and I represent IRAS at many festivals and events, and when we introduce ourselves we inevitably have to explain that, “No, we are not in Indian River County, we are in Brevard County...”

Visibility. There is a lot of money put into advertising the Space Coast as a eco-tourist destination, and if we are known as the Space Coast Audubon Society, it will be easier for out of town visitors to associate us with the area.

Economics. This is closely tied to having greater visibility. We simply cannot continue our conservation and education work if we do not have members to support the chapter. We need to be more visible in the community; people have to know not only that we are here, but exactly where “here” is.

The main argument that we have heard against changing our name is that the Cruikshanks named this chapter for the most significant resource in the area, the Indian River, and out of respect for them we should leave the name. This is a compelling argument, and the board sincerely appreciates the history of the chapter, and understands the great affection that our members have for the history. Which is why we are asking you to cast a vote on this issue. Please cut out the attached ballot, and mail it to: IRAS Name Change Ballot P.O. Box 1741 Cocoa FL 32923

All ballots must be postmarked by December 1, 2003. Results will be posted in the January Limpkin.