Date: 1/26/26 8:56 am From: Kenny Nichols <kingbird101...> Subject: Re: James Society for Arkansas Birds
Nothing against Dr. James and his well-known and unmatched contributions to Arkansas ornithology, but I don't think our organization should be named after anyone.
I think Dr. Day's 'Arkansas Bird Club' is a good suggestion. Something with "bird" in the name would give meaning to both birders and non-birders.
My two cents.
Kenny NicholsDardanelle, AR
On Sunday, January 25, 2026 at 03:05:52 PM CST, Robert Day <rhday52...> wrote:
I'm not sure my comments will help, but here goes:
If the issue is one of being focused on bird conservation in Arkansas but not the Audubon Society itself, the name should change. A name somewhere along the lines of 'Arkansas Bird Conservation", "Arkansas Bird Club" (both abbreviated as ABC), or some similar name would be more appropriate to me. It sounds as though there is a lot of confusion because of the inclusion of Audubon in the name. I do worry, however, that having the official name staying put but changing the way it would be referenced to the public would simply beg for more confusion.
In Fairbanks, we had the Fairbanks Bird Club, which was associated with the University and held meetings once a month. It was a loose thing that focused on birds, so the monthly meetings had talks on birds in an area they visited or studied. However, it was a low-key thing that was more information-oriented than conservation-oriented. So, it seems to me that "Club" may not be a good moniker.
Whatever name is selected, I think that we should bite the bullet and redo all of the paperwork to match the official name. It will be a pain in the butt in the short term but will be better in the long run, methinks.
Bob
Robert H. Day, Ph.D.SW Bentonvillecell: 907-460-7061; <rhday52...>
On Sat, Jan 24, 2026 at 10:39 PM Barry Haas <bhaas...> wrote:
Dear ARBIRDers,
Every member of the Arkansas Audubon Society should have received an e-mail from AAS President Lynn Foster on January 15. It explains in detail why an ad hoc Insight Committee recommended AAS change its publicly facing name, the name AAS would be generally known by to the general public. In a legal sense AAS would still be the same- same IRS tax number, same Bylaws, same “Arkansas Birds” newsletter, Halberg Ecology Camp, Iola Rea Fund and Ruth Thomas Scholarship Fund. No change to any of that.
Lynn’s e-mail includes the following snip which some seem to have overlooked:
"The Insight Committee seemed to suggest that AAS retain its legal name but adopt a fictitious or "doing business as" name for branding purposes. This is easily done by filling out a form for the Arkansas Secretary of State and a form for the IRS [emphasis added].”
Barry Haas
