baars january 2014
DESCRIPTION
Holiday Photos Online ResourcesTRANSCRIPT
OFFICIAL PUBLICATION FOR THE BAY AREA AMPHIBIAN AND REPTILE SOCIETY January 2014
BEHIND BAARS
Scott Alexander found and photographed this Alligator Lizard in his backyard in Gilroy, California, last summer.
General Meeting “Pocket-Herps—Hot Pets for a Cold Night”
Friday, January 24 @ 7:30 p.m.New Earlier Time!—Doors open 7:00 p.m.
Cubberley Community Center, Room M-2 Music Room, 4000 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto
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Contents
President’sReport - 2
Elections - 3
Holiday PartyPhotos - 4
Events &Activities - 6
Treasurer’sReport - 7
Herp News - 8
Board Members& Contacts - 9
MembershipForm - 10
Online Resources
Older Newsletters
President’s Report
Hello BAARS Members and Supporters,
Send us your pictures of your reptiles and amphibians!! We want to build more original
content for our newsletter. Please, submit your ORIGINAL photographs to
[email protected]. To avoid any type of copyright issues, we are only accepting
photographs for which you own the copyright. Include a few sentences that mention your
name and the species and name of the animals that appear in the photographs! It would be
great to make this a regular feature of our newsletter!
For the January (1/24) general meeting, we have “Pocket-Herps—Hot Pets for a Cold Night”!
Members will bring smallish herps, and we’ll do mini-presentations where folks talk about the
herps that they brought. We are also planning an auction or raffle. If you have reptile- or
amphibian-related items in great condition that you’d like to donate to a good cause, please
bring them! We’ll be meeting in room M-2 at the Cubberley Community Center in Palo Alto.
In February (2/28), we’re pleased to announce that we will be featuring Dr. Kerry Kriger who
will be speaking on Frog and Amphibian Conservation. Dr. Kriger runs
www.savethefrogs.com, which is the first (and only) public charity dedicated to amphibian
conservation. The chytrid fungus and habitat destruction are two major factors that are
decimating the populations of frogs worldwide. All funds raised at this meeting will be
donated to www.savethefrogs.com.
Lastly, come to a meeting!!! We need to build up our membership in order to continue to be
a healthy club. Remember that we use a Yahoo! group named “baars” for communications, as
well as a facebook group and facebook page. See the Resources section for details on how
to stay in touch with BAARS.
I’d like to welcome Michael Pleban and Jeff Whitnack, two new BAARS board members and
excellent additions to a strong board of directors. We are still looking for a (recording)
Secretary and a Publicity chairperson (primarily for Facebook and internet activities). If you
know anyone who wants to get more involved with BAARS and with reptiles, these positions
would be ideal!
Sincerely,
Scott Alexander, BAARS President, 2014
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BAARS Board Notes: Election Resultsby the BAARS Board
ELECTED
President: Scott Alexander
Vice President: Eric Koessel
Secretary: Vacant
Membership Secretary: Kyna Hendra
Treasurer: Scott Petersen
Members-At-Large: Tania Tengan, Aria
Pleban, Michael Pleban, Tony Velez, Rhonda Velez,
Gilbert Castro, Jeff Whitnack
APPOINTED
Newsletter Editor: Aleks Haecky
Publicity Chairperson: Vacant
Show Director: Joanne Petersen
Webmaster: Aleks Haecky
Adoptions Coordinator: Austin Pleban
See Board Members & Contacts for details.
Scott Alexander found and photographed this Gopher Snake in his backyard in Gilroy, California, last summer.
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Holiday Party Photosby Jim Goehring
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BAARS Online Resourcesby Scott Alexander
Websitewww.baars.orgLists upcoming activities and contact information for most board members.
Facebook Pagehttps://www.facebook.com/BAARSocietyThe BAARS Facebook page lists events.
Facebook Grouphttps://www.facebook.com/groups/239964525544/ If you are a member of the BAARS Facebook group, you can posts and share your reptiles.
Yahoo Group/Email Grouphttp://www.yahoogroups.com/neo/groups/BAARS/infoSign up for the BAARS yahoo group (via Yahoo’s groups) if you want to get more engaged with the BAARS community,which will allow you to send out and receive emails to the BAARS distribution list.
Newsletter Exchanges
Minnesota Herpetological Society Newsletter Page - contact the BAARS Newsletter Editor for current MHSP
newsletters.
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UPCOMING EVENTS AND ACTIVITIESMore details are on our BAARS.org website under Events & Shows & Meetings.
January 2014
January 247:30 p.m.
BAARS General Club Meeting >>Room M-2 Music Room<<“Pocket-Herps—Hot Pets for a Cold Night”
NEW START TIME: 7:30 p.m. (Doors open 7 p.m.)
February 2014
February 77:30 p.m.
BAARS Board Meeting - 7:30 pmFor details, contact Joanne Petersen.
February 287:30 p.m.
BAARS General Club Meeting >>Room M-2 Music Room<<Speaker: Dr. Kerry Kriger of Save The Frogs
NEW START TIME: 7:30 p.m. (Doors open 7 p.m.)
March 2014
March 77:30 p.m.
BAARS Board Meeting - 7:30 pmFor details, contact [email protected].
March 287:30 p.m.
BAARS General Club Meeting >>Room M-2 Music Room<<Speaker: TBD
NEW START TIME: 7:30 p.m. (Doors open 7 p.m.)
Do you know anyone with an interesting herp story to tell? BAARS is looking for local, high-quality guest speakers whowould be interested in speaking at BAARS. They should have slides, digital photos, or live animals! (We can provide alaptop and a PC projector, or even an old-fashioned slide projector, if necessary!)In the past, we’ve had speakers on topics as diverse as venomous bite research, South America trip reports, reptilediseases, and breeding successes. Contact Scott Alexander to suggest a speaker or be a speaker yourself. (Submittedby Scott Alexander)
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Treasurer’s Reportby Scott Petersen
This report covers the club’s 2013 fiscal year-end summary as well as the activities for the months of November and
December. (Please note that the cents portion of the numbers presented has been rounded.)
BAARS ended 2013 on a positive note. Total assets for BAARS increased by $343 for the year, giving us a total of $4,152
in assets as of December 31, 2013. This amount is spread out over checking ($3,144), petty cash ($40), Salamander fund
($213), and the Tax/Legal fund ($755). The Adoption fund was closed in January with funds being rolled into the general
checking account.
Total expenses for the year were $2,492. The single largest expense for the club this year was the room rent for our
general meetings. This accounted for 57% of our total expenses. Our situation was actually better than it could have
been, as we were able to lower our rent during the year by finally receiving confirmation from the California Secretary of
State that BAARS is a California non-profit. (Note that we are still working on our 501(c)3 status with the IRS.) Our next
largest expenses were the miscellaneous line item at 14% (which included the merchandise purchases for the
fundraiser), our speaker stipends at 12%, and our hardcopy newsletter printing and mailing (for those members without
email accounts), which accounted for 9% of our total expenses.
Total income for the year was $2,947. Membership dues continue to be our single largest source of income, accounting
for 29% of total income received. Surprisingly, cash donations from general meeting food sales, the events donation jar,
and contributions as a result of member sales at BAARS meetings and/or electronic media came in a close second at 24%
of total income. This year’s holiday-timed catalog fundraiser was a great success and we plan to do it again next year.
This single event represented 17% of the club’s total income for the year. Stipends that the club received for doing
public events came in at 12%. Many thanks go out to all those members who contributed their valuable time and money
to keep BAARS going. Without your continued efforts and support, the 30+ year legacy of BAARS would come to an end.
Because there was no newsletter in December, the November financials will be shared here along with the December
financials.
For November BAARS took in $534 in income and had expenses of $346. This gave us a monthly positive cash flow of
$188. Income came from the money raised through the holiday catalog fundraiser and one membership renewal. The
two expenses for the month were the fundraiser merchandise payment and the hardcopy newsletter printing and
mailing. Because we pay our meeting room rent prior to the first for the upcoming month, and the holiday party was held
at a different location this year, there was no rent expense during the month of November. The checking account as of
the end of November had a balance of $3,271, plus $213 in the Salamander fund and $755 in the Tax/Legal fund. Petty
cash stood at $40.
December’s monthly financial numbers included $119 in income with $236 in expenses. This resulted in a negative cash
flow of -$117. The only expense for December was paying for the January meeting room rent and the city-required
2014 meeting room insurance. Income came from membership renewals and the holiday party raffle. Thanks to those of
you who bought raffle tickets and contributed prizes.
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For both November and December, the following remained the same:
● Salamander Fund: $213
● Tax/Legal Fund: $755
● Petty Cash: $40
In November, the checking account ended at $3,261 and in December it ended at $3,144.
Posting Date: ___YTD__ 10/31/2013 11/30/2013 12/31/2013Expenses $2,492.09 $68.81 $345.98 $235.74Income: $2,947.10 $284.86 $534.00 $119.00Cash flow: $455.01 $216.05 $188.02 $116.74
Herp News
Michele G. convinced the Sheraton of New Orleans to stop serving frog legs on their Club Level.I first complimented the Club Manager on featuring local New Orleans cuisine. Then I said that I was surprised (&disgusted) by the frog legs they served the previous night on the club level. I mentioned inhumane treatment andconditions of transporting frogs. I closed with "with all the choices New Orleans has to offer, perhaps the chef couldpick something else besides frog legs." I also mentioned that I had met Dr. Kerry Kriger, who founded the Save theFrog organization. The club manager suggested that I leave a message for the hotel director. When I ran into the clubmanager a few hours later, she said she had already gotten word to stop serving frog legs because of my message (&perhaps previous complaints).
(Submitted by Michele G.) [Editor: How cool is that!]
Michele G. also learned from Dr. Kerry Kriger, Founder of the Save The Frogs organization, that the organization hasnew headquarters in Berkeley.Note that Dr. Krieger will also be our February speaker for the General Meeting!
Save The Frogs offers a great ongoing research opportunity for a college graduate to spend three months in YosemiteNational Park. Read more on this page:http://www.savethefrogs.com/frogblog/jobs-environment/amphibian-job-in-yosemite/(Submitted by Michele G.)
Happy 2014 Year of the Salamander!
Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation (PARC), is celebrating 2014 as the Year of the Salamander toenergize salamander education, research, and conservation. This is a worldwide effort, leveraged through the actionsof numerous partner organizations and individuals – from the general public to professional wildlife conservation.Please check out the Year of the Salamander website at www.yearofthesalamander.org!
(Submitted by Joanne Petersen)
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BAARS 2013 Board Members
ELECTED OFFICERSPresident: Scott Alexander408-823-3675, [email protected]
Vice President: Eric Koessel510-847-4392, [email protected]
Membership Secretary: Kyna Hendra408-204-5131, [email protected]
Recording Secretary: Vacant
Treasurer: Scott [email protected]
MEMBERS-AT-LARGEGilbert Castro408-582-4247, [email protected]
Tania Tengan & Michael Pleban & Aria Pleban 408-499-5867, [email protected]
Rhonda Velez & Tony Velez831-540-8119
Jeff [email protected]
T-SHITS & BAARS MERCHANDISEhttp://www.cafepress.com/baars
APPOINTED OFFICERSNewsletter Editor & Webmaster: Aleks [email protected]
Show Coordinator: Joanne [email protected]
Publicity Director: Vacant
Adoptions Coordinator: Austin [email protected]
NEWSLETTERSubmissions: [email protected]
We love herp-related original articles, trip and show reports,stories about your animals, and original photographs anddrawings. You retain all rights but grant us permission to use,edit, and publish in the newsletter and on our website withattribution. Only submit materials for which you own copyrightor have written permission from copyright owners.
BAARS exchanges Newsletters with a number of other clubs.Check out the folder of recent newsletters at the GeneralMeeting, or contact the Newsletter Editor.
MEMBERSHIP DISCOUNTSEast Bay Vivarium, Berkeley - 10%Dr. R. Singh, Veterinarian, Sunnyvale - 10%
ADVERTISING IN BEHIND BAARSAdvertising PoliciesBAARS assumes NO RESPONSIBILITY regarding the health or legality of any animal, or the quality or legality of any product orservice advertised in the BAARS Newsletter. Any ad may be rejected at the discretion of the Newsletter Editor; complimentaryadvertisements are run as space permits.
Classified AdsAll BAARS members in good standing are allowed one classified ad, run free of charge as space permits. Ads may be run three(3) consecutive months, after which time they may be resubmitted. Advertisements must be submitted electronically [email protected].
Non-members: send payments by check (payable to: Bay Area Amphibian and Reptile Society) to: BAARS, ℅ Palo Alto JuniorMuseum, 1451 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto, CA 94301. Once payment has been processed, the ad will be posted.
Advertising CostsBusiness card sized ad $5/month or $40/year1/4 Page $10/month or $80/year1/2 Page $20/month or $160/year
To advertise on our website, please, contact [email protected].
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Membership Application
__New Membership __ Renewal Membership __Change of Address
Individual/Family: __1 Year ($25) __2 Years ($50) __ 3 Years ($75) __4 Years ($100)
Special: __Sustaining ($35) __Contributing ($50) __Patron ($100) __ Institutional ($20)
__Check to have your special gift mentioned in the newsletter
NAME:________________________________________________________________
EMAIL: ______________________________________________________________
Address:_______________________________________________________________
City/State/Zip:___________________________________________________________
Phone: ________________________________________________________________
What reptiles/amphibians do you own?__________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
What other herps do you have experience with?____________________________________
How did you learn about BAARS?_______________________________________________
Are you interested in:
__Learning about something in particular
__ Field herping
__Photography
__Participating in shows
__Participating in educational events
BAARS Membership Secretary
c/o Palo Alto Junior Museum
1451 Middlefield Road
Palo Alto CA 94301-3351
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