By Rachel Hudson
Joe Zabransky, who was on the Board for six years, has now officially retired from Board duties but shall still continue OYAS (Olympia Youth Audubon Society) work. He volunteered for various things throughout BHAS, including selecting bird-banding scholarship recipients and leading field trips, but organizing and continuing OYAS was his primary responsibility.
Joe, who started birding in New Jersey at 10 or 11 years of age, and had seen most of his Life Birds by age 25, says of his time on the Board, “…Working with the Board members was wonderful. Everyone was respectful and non-combative. It was a pleasure.”
Of the history of OYAS, he writes: “OYAS began with the encouragement of Dorianne Seel and her mother, Jennifer, in the spring of 2017. I was involved from the beginning and with help from Paul Moody and Craig Merkel established some initial limited goals and recruited several middle and high school students. Since the first year OYAS has had its ups and downs but is now focused on recruiting younger children. Being ever optimistic, we have put together another year of monthly OYAS field trips for 2021-22. The kids are the best thing of all about OYAS and seeing them take in some of the natural world around them is especially gratifying.”
We greatly appreciate Joe and all the hard work he has done for BHAS and OYAS over the years.
