ANNUAL REPORT AND REVISED BY-LAWS 
867 
Centre, characteristically warm Nebraskan hospi¬ 
tality. and numerous opportunities for the confer¬ 
ees to interact both professionally and socially, 
and 
RECOGNIZING that our host chose this time 
and place to coincide with one of the world’s truly 
great migration phenomena, the staging of 
innumerable Sandhill Cranes on the Platte River. 
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT the 
Association of Field Ornithologists, the Wilson 
Ornithological Society, and the Cooper Ornitho¬ 
logical Society hereby offer their sincere gratitude 
to all who made this conference an inimitable 
success. 
COMMENDATION 
WHEREAS E. DALE KENNEDY has over the 
past two years served as President ot the Wilson 
Ornithological Society, and 
RECOGNIZING that her presidential tenure 
follows her service to the Society in numerous 
other capacities, and 
RECOGNIZING that under her able leadership 
the Society has a vibrant and eflective committee 
structure, including a newly reconstituted Conser¬ 
vation Committee, and 
RECOGNIZING that under her vision the 
Society has reaffirmed and deepened its commit¬ 
ment to making the field of ornithology attractive 
and accessible to students, who represent the 
future of this discipline, and to that end has 
overseen significant increases in the substantial 
financial and honorary incentives that we oiler to 
students, 
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT the 
Wilson Ornithological Society oilers its sineerest 
appreciation to E. Dale Kennedy for her leader¬ 
ship and friendship, and looks forward to her 
continuing contributions to the Society as she 
begins her new role as Past-President. 
BUSINESS MEETING 
President E. Dale Kennedy called the Annual 
Business Meeting to order at 1224 hrs. Thursday, 
10 March 2011. in the Chrystal Room of the 
Youncs Conference Centre. Kearney. Nebraska. 
Noting that the hundreds of members assembled 
greatly exceeded the required quorum of 25. she 
introduced Secretary John A. Smallwood, who 
presented a synopsis of the Council Meeting, 
which had taken place the previous day. At the 
end of 2010. the Society’s membership stood at 
1.691 individuals, including 250 students. In 
addition, 254 libraries and institutions subscribed 
to The Wilson Journal of Ornithology. Secretary 
Smallwood then asked those assembled to stand in 
recognition of the following members who were 
recently deceased: Lawrence Binford (Seattle, 
WA). Nicholas Collias (Los Angeles, CA). Jurgen 
Haffer (Essen. Germany), James Hodges (Daven¬ 
port. IA), Barrie Hunt (Charleston. IL). Bertram 
Murray (Somerset, NJ). David Swetland (Miami, 
FL). J. Daniel Webster (Hanover, IN), Alfred 
Wehrmaker (Stuttgart, Germany), and Mrs. Elmer 
Worthley (Finksburg. MD). 
Secretary Smallwood reported that the Society 
enjoys an excellent financial position with an 
endowment of over $2,500,000 that continues to 
increase in value as the market improves. On 
behalf of Council, the Secretary offered sineerest 
gratitude to the WOS Finance. Audit, and 
Investment Committee, chaired by Allan Keith, 
for its perspicacious management of the Society’s 
funds. 
Secretary Smallwood noted that the WOS 
membership recruitment poster, continually re¬ 
vised and updated by the Membership Committee 
chaired by Timothy J. O'Connell, was currently 
on display, and encouraged conferees who were 
not yet members to visit said poster and be guided 
by its influence. Secretary Smallwood further 
noted that after 5 years of exemplary service, Tim 
would be retiring from his chairmanship of the 
Membership Committee. 
Secretary Smallwood was delighted to inform 
those assembled that Council could not be more 
pleased with the quality and production of The 
Wilson Journal of Ornithology, and expressed 
enormous gratitude to our Editor. Clait E. Braun. 
Further, Council had unanimously re-elected Clait 
as Editor of The Wilson Journal of Ornithology 
for Volume 124, 2012. This will be his sixth 
volume, after which he’s looking forward to being 
the former Editor of The Wilson Journal of 
Ornithology. Council has begun its search for 
the next Editor, who’ll take the reins for 
Volume 125. 2013. 
Finally Secretary Smallwood addressed the 
issue of proposed changes to the Society s By¬ 
laws that Council had unanimously approved at 
the 2010 Annual Meeting to place before the 
membership for a ratification vole at the 2011 
Annual Meeting. The following are the proposed 
changes, as announced at the 2010 Annual 
Meeting and published in the proceedings of that 
meeting ( The Wilson Journal of Ornithology 
