2019 California Fall Challenge a Big Success!

By Outreach and Communications Director Kristin Butler

Thanks to great participation from all of our staff, voluntees, and SFBBO community, we reached our goal to raise $30,000 through our 2019 California Fall Challenge (CFC)! 

We also had a great Annual Membership Meeting on Oct. 27! Thank you to our great guest speaker Dorian Anderson, to our t-shirt designer Julie Ho, to volunteer photographer Rachel Podlishevsky of Pro Bono Photo, and to all of our event volunteers that day! Read more below for highlights! 

​Thank you to the following trip leaders for leading great guided trips: Karen DeMello, Alvaro Jaramillo, Dave Johnston, Lisa Myers, Kitty O'Neil, Kay Partelow, Bill Petellier, Ryan Phillips, Mike Rogers, and Merav VonShak! Congratulations, also to The Refugees for winning the Mewaldt Cup bird-a-thon by counting 150 species, and to The Sharpies for being great competitors!

Thanks to the following volunteers who raised money through peer-to-peer fundraising: Gina Barton, Barbara Coll, Karen DeMello, Chuck Coston, Jan Hintermeister, Robin Leong, Mike Mammoser, Marty Michael, Lisa Myers, Anastasia Neddersen, Kay Partelow, Mike Rogers, Vivek Tiwari, Lynne Trulio, Anna Zivian, and Jing Zhu! 

​Thank you to the following people and businesses for donating items for our silent auction, raffle, and contest prizes: American Adorn, Anne Hepburn, Gina Barton, Better Every Ride, Camels Garden Hotel, Cheesemans' Ecology Safaris, Columbia Sportswear, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, CuriOdyssey, Karen DeMello, Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Sharry Dunn, Family Giving Tree, Filoli Gardens, Christina Garcia, Elton Glover, Jessica Gonzalez, Guglielmo Winery, Heyday Press, Julie Ho, John Muir Laws, Los Gatos Birdwatcher, Betty McDonald, Anastasia Neddersen, Oakland Zoo, Pacific Locomotive Association Inc., Patagonia, Santa Cruz Pianos, Larry Spivak, Touchstone Studio Climbing, Lynne Trulio, Wildside Nature Tours, Vortex Optics, Zanker, Christine Zack, and Jing Zhu!

Congratulations to the following photographers for their achievements in the Click Off bird photo contest: Kathy Raffle, "People's Choice Award" and Birds and Their Habitats Category winner with "Roadrunner Takes Flight;" Jon d'Alessio, World Birds Category Winner with "Emperor Penguin Parent"; Jackie Deely, Bird Humor Category Winner with "Marbled Godwits: Don't Touch Me;" and Mark Rauzon, Bird Behavior Category Winner with "Anna's Hummer."

Congratulations to the following artists for their achievements in our Kids Bird Art Contest: Nikita Mylavarapu in the Ages 3-17 Category for "My Fun with Turkey Hen;" Michelle Hsu in the Ages 8-11 Category for "California Scrub Jay;" and Mars Trinh in the Ages 12-17 Category for "Juvenile Western Bluebird."