Tuesday, April 26, 2016 in the GIAC multipurpose room 6:45-7:00 pm: Refreshments, bird quiz and social time 7:00 pm: Annual Membership Meeting. We will be voting on CA trustee positions for a three-year term to begin July 1, 2016. You can review the schedule and see all the details at our website, www.columbusaudubon.org. 7:15 p.m. – Conservation Spotlight: Tom Sheley will share his insights on our annual Birdathon and it’s importance to Columbus Audubon and the birding community. If you haven’t yet joined a team or would like to get inspired to pledge a donation, you won’t want to miss Tom’s presentation! 7:30 p.m. – Columbus Audubon is honored to present Hope Taft, former First Lady of Ohio, who will talk about her work promoting the benefits of native plants and gardening. Mrs. Taft, served as Ohio’s First Lady from 1999- 2007. She focused on promoting positive youth development, alcohol and other drug prevention and community volunteerism during her tenure. She transformed the Governor’s Residence into a Living Museum to preserve the property’s rich heritage and created a showcase of artistic, industrial, political, geological and horticultural histories of Ohio for educational purposes. This project includes the Ohio Heritage Garden, Ohio’s botanical garden of native plants, designed to replicate the major ecosystems of the state. She still oversees the garden’s development and maintenance as chair of the Heritage Garden Committee of the Friends of the Ohio Governor’s Residence and Heritage Garden, a non-partisan, non-profit organization and organizes over 100 volunteers to help maintain it on a yearly basis. She is an honorary Master Gardener and an Ohio Certified Volunteer Naturalist. She has been trained and taught the Landscape for Life program developed by the Lady Bird Johnson Wildlife Center, the US Botanical Garden, and the American Society of Landscape Architects.