By Olivia Bautch
During a year that found Amos Butler Audubon Society devoid of a volunteer for one of its most intimidating roles, a Wisconsin transplant and adventurer with an MBA stepped in. For the 15 years that Ted Meyer served with Amos Butler, he has gone above and beyond to ensure the success of the organization, and to meet needs as they surfaced.
Hailing from Brookfield Wisconsin, just outside of Milwaukee and its Lake Michigan shores, Ted began birding at the suggestion of his Uncle Bob. Birding was one of his several outdoor pursuits. In 2000, he climbed Mt Kilimanjaro, and he enjoys international travels. Ted had been living in Indianapolis since 1995, until several years ago when family called him out of state for good. However, over the last 15 years, he found the birds of Central Indiana a worthy cause to contribute to.
A Little Bit of Everything
Ted was drafted as Treasurer in 2010 by Donna McCarty, who was Birdathon Chair at the time. A couple years later, an Executive Committee was formed around President, Recording Secretary and Treasurer.
Although a volunteer-run nonprofit, supporting Amos Butler Audubon Society requires commitment and skill. However, people move out of the region. They start families, they find the commitment to no longer be feasible. Ted witnessed this over his years of service, as he recalls, “I worked with about 53 different Directors. The Chairs are about the same. We created the Communications, Website, and Volunteers committees/Chairs.”
Yet again in 2013, the Board was at a loss for a major player- this time the President. With no other willing and qualified participants in sight, Ted took on that role of President until 2015. That following year, at the infancy of our website, he took over for the “webmaster” (now the Website Chair) to post content and maintain technical administrative tasks.
Ted was retired at the time, but you would never know it. Over the next several years he added to this resume the positions of Membership Chair and publications copyeditor. To these additions he recounts, “no one else would take it, so I did it.” While not necessarily an official Chair, the latter role was detailed as helping to “create a process whereby articles were reviewed before being laid out on pages on a specific schedule” and creating “a style guide for our publications.” It was not until 2022 that Website Chair was filled and 2023 that copyeditor tasks were passed off. You can read about all our active Chairs and Directors on our blog and in coming newsletters.
Investing in Impact
The duties of a Treasurer alone are not for the faint of heart (numbers, am I right?). So finding someone who could be trusted not only to maintain the nonprofit’s finances, but to wisely grow, invest and strengthen its portfolio is a gamble. Ted proved himself through his accomplishments over the last decade-and-a-half.
In 2015, Ted and the Board made a board-designated investment. Some members of the Board were wary of the idea of investing, but Ted writes, “it has proven to be a good investment.” The investment has more than tripled in ten years. In the same year, Ted and the Board also created a Permanently Restricted fund for the long-term financial health of Amos Butler. The principal for this fund is almost $50,000. It is also invested in the market, and the Board can use the investment proceeds to benefit the birds and finance the conservation and education projects Amos Butler is known for supporting.
“We aren’t just accumulating money, we are using [it] for the benefit of the birds.”
As to the projects, Ted has a few favorites. “Land conservation with CILTI [Central Indiana Land Trust], lots at Eagle Creek, especially the Ornithology Center, Holliday Park’s outdoor learning center, International Crane Foundation’s Whooping Crane programs in Indiana, and lots of smaller projects… we aren’t just accumulating money, we are using [it] for the benefit of the birds.”
To date, Amos Butler Audubon Society has raised over $345,000 for American Bird Conservancy’s Latin American partnerships via Birdathon fundraising. Outside of Birdathon, we have donated $150,000 to Central Indiana Land Trust, $100,000 to Holliday Park’s Outdoor Learning Lab, and $90,000 to the International Crane Foundation. Our support is not only on the breeding grounds, but on every step of their journey, from Central American non-breeding grounds to migratory pathways and stopover sites.
A Way to Give Back
Starting in 2013, Ted and his wife, Cindy, began spending winters in Raleigh, North Carolina, where Cindy’s two daughters and their now three grandchildren reside. In 2022, they sold their house in Indianapolis and made Raleigh their permanent home. That means the last three years of Ted’s service have been remote. He says it worked because it was administrative. This year he passed off Membership Chair and Treasurer- both of which are now held by Val Chambon.
“Volunteering for a conservation organization to help the birds was very rewarding. My skills are more administrative in nature, and that is the part that few want to do for this type of organization. I think most people want to give back in some way and this was an excellent one for me.” Amos Butler extends our gratitude to Ted for his many years of service in multiple roles, and his commitment to our mission and projects. We wish him well as he continues on in North Carolina.
As to his future endeavors? Ted shares his plans are to “focus on my grandchildren and other hobbies that I will now have more time to pursue.”