President's Message May 2025

Ann Paul, President, Tampa Audubon Society

It happened in a second. The Tesla truck drove out of a side street, not stopping at a stop sign. The driver hit my Toyota Prius, and my car was pushed across four lanes of traffic in the side street.

It was totaled, and I was shaken, but apparently mostly unhurt. I am getting checked out by doctors to make sure that there are no unseen injuries.

But the accident affected my mind a lot. My thinking has undergone a major shift. Things that might have bothered me immensely three weeks ago don’t seem too serious. I am so glad to see the sunset, to share time with my family and friends, to watch birds and wildlife. To breathe.

So when I tell you that one of the most important things, for me, is my membership and work for the Tampa Audubon Society, you will understand that I really mean it.

What is it that makes me feel that way?

Much of it is because we work together in a positive, proactive way to create a better world. We envision a future with clean air and water for our children and grandchildren and members of our country and community.

We work with a focus on birds and wildlife, using them as ways to explore our world and keys to open ourselves to a special sense of wonder and discovery. Learning about nature gives us solace in a confusing political landscape.

We give of ourselves, sharing our knowledge and love of nature with members of our community. We think it’s important to save and protect rare species – not because they might be of use to us someday, but because they are fellow denizens of a beautiful and wildly diverse world. We have compassion, kindness, and empathy.

It's also because of what we don’t do: we don’t berate others; we don’t hate or seek some weird type of revenge that would suck the joy out of our lives. We don’t concentrate on personal gain or monetary advantage. We aren’t selfish, warlike, aggressive, compulsive, or narrow-minded.

Thanks for being part of Tampa Audubon Society with me. I am so glad to be here with you!

Ann Paul

President

Tampa Audubon Society