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THE CONNECTICUT PARROT
SOCIETY - PEOPLE FOR PARROTS!
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Board Member
Biographies
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Bob Cosgrove - President
A pet lover
since he was a child, Bob never tired of the
interaction between his animals and himself.
During the past seven years, Bob has enjoyed the
companionship of parrots, both as a hobby breeder
and as a pet owner. He and his wife share their
home with numerous different parrot species. Bob
held many board positions (e.g., membership,
treasurer, vice president) with another state
avian association. He left that group to venture
into a new direction with the Connecticut Parrot
Society. Bob and his wife are retired and live in
Southington.
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Neil McKinnon -
Vice-President
TBD
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David DeFreest
- Secretary
David grew up with parakeets. He became
fascinated with them from the moment his parents
brought home this new type of pet He took care of
them when he was seven years old until he left for
college. After graduating, David became interested
in animals again, when introduced to a house full of
them, including several types of birds. A year or
two later, David adopted his first bird since high
school, a quiet, little Hahn’s Macaw (the smallest
of the macaw breeds) named Geno, and joined CPS.
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Lisa Smith - Treasurer
TBD
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Lynne
Heim - Fundraising
Lynne never
really discovered the animal world until she was
in her 30s, married, and had her own home. About
four years ago, she bought her children a Guinea
pig, and after doing lots of research, discovered
there was actually a Guinea pig rescue in
Connecticut. Lynne worked with Critter Connection
in Durham, CT for about a year, taking in and
adopting out unwanted Guinea pigs. About three
years ago, Lynne and her family got their first
parrot, a Solomon Island Eclectus named Jade.
After that, Lynne was hooked. The woman from whom
she purchased Jade was a small breeder in
Delaware, and they have been friends ever since.
She gave Lynne the idea of breeding about a
year-and-a-half ago, and she has been at it ever
since. Lynne met Allyson Faucher through one of
the Yahoo chat groups more than a year ago.
Lynne's breeder friend and Allyson have been her
mentors. Lynne's husband, Bruce, and their two
daughters, Kaitlyn and Sarah, also are bird lovers
and members of CPS. In addition to Lynne's
breeding pairs, the family shares four dogs, four
parrots, and a bunny.
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Barbara
Cosgrove - Adoption Co-Chairperson
Barbara Cosgrove has been an animal lover for her
entire life. As a child, she brought home to her
mother every type of animal (e.g., lizards, snakes,
bats, birds, dogs, cats) to love and care for. This
process continued with her husband and children's
involvement. Currently, Barbara shares her home with
her husband and their beloved feathered friends. She
takes pleasure in keeping and caring for a variety
of different parrot species - from Senegals to large
macaws - both as a pet owner and as a small hobby
breeder. Barbara also enjoyed an exciting and
rewarding career as a registered nurse for 30 years
prior to her life with parrots. Currently, Barbara
serves as president of the Connecticut Parrot
Society. During the past seven years, she served the
Connecticut Association for Aviculture in many
capacities: hospitality, refreshments, adoptions,
auction proceedings, assisting at special events,
arranging open house speakers and vendors, and
organizing a field trip and annual picnics. In
addition, Barbara was on the board of directors as
membership co-chairperson for two years and as
program chairperson for two years. She continues to
be a member of that association. Barbara is serving
her fourth year as Connecticut state coordinator for
the American Federation of Aviculture.
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Karen Douyard
- Adoption Co-Chairperson
TBD
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Vacant
- Conservation Chairperson
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Margaret Weber -
Membership Chairperson
Margaret is a
relatively new member of the Connecticut Parrot
Society, but a life-long animal lover. Her
interest in birds began years ago, when an African
Grey chomped on her ear in a local pet store.
Since that time, she has been adopted by a
Yellow-crowned Amazon and a Congo African Grey
(not the same one), and is tolerated by her
cockatiels. When she is not at home entertaining
the birds, Margaret is employed full time as an
office manager handling administrative,
accounting, compliance, and receptionist duties in
a small office, and is employed part time in a
Connecticut YMCA.
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Jessica
El-Beck - Merchandising Chairperson
Jessica has been
an animal lover since she was a baby and grew up
in a house full of pets. She got her first
cockatiel when she was 12 years old. Ten years
later, during college, her now-husband, Mike,
suggested that they bring the bird to live with
them. Soon after, they fell in love with a baby
African Grey at a bird store that no one wanted
because “it was mean.” Their vet asked if they
knew what they were getting into. They had no
clue, but fortunately, this bird store put them
through a three-hour course. After graduating from
Illinois State University with a M.S. in
chemistry, moving to Connecticut, and joining CPS,
they adopted several more parrots that needed
homes. Jessica and Mike also adopted six cats and
two retired racing greyhounds. Jessica now works
as the merchandising chairperson for CPS and is on
its adoption and outreach committees.
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Elizabeth
A.
Douglas - Newsletter Editor, Historian, and
Librarian
A favorite aunt piqued Elizabeth’s childhood
interest in birds, which began with parakeets and
led to her later attraction to cockatiels. She
served as editor for the North American Cockatiel
Society’s Tiel Times for ten years, and previously
edited the Avian Fanciers of Western Connecticut’s
Fancier publication for three years. Currently,
she shares her home with seven cockatiels.
Elizabeth collects bird-related items, and during
the holidays, she displays a tree with hundreds of
bird ornaments. “Elizabird” counts genealogy,
conchology, antiquing, and ancient history as
other hobbies.
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Vacant - Outreach and
Education Chairperson
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Connie
Johnson - Program Chairperson
TBD
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Crystal
Gagnon - Publicity Chairperson
In 2008,
Crystal’s lifelong interest in birds led her to
volunteer at the Livingston Ripley Waterfowl
Conservancy, both caring for and raising waterfowl
for various classroom and educational purposes.
After purchasing her Sun Conure, Mango, in 2009,
she was in search for a community that shares the
same love for parrots, which is what drew her to
the Connecticut Parrot Society. As of 2012,
Crystal serves the club as the publicity
chairperson and as an active board member.
Crystal holds a B.S. in marketing and works as a
marketing executive for a publishing/distribution
company. When she is not working, volunteering, or
caring for and raising waterfowl, she enjoys
spending time with her mischievous bird, Mango.
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Michael Herbst -
Website Chairperson
Michael became interested in parrots during college
when he and his wife, Jessica, brought her childhood
cockatiel to their apartment. While visiting a local
pet store, Michael was introduced to a shy African
Grey and was subsequently exposed to many types of
parrots. Almost 10 years later, Michael and Jessica
have moved to Connecticut and have joined CPS.
Currently, they have nine parrots ranging from
cockatiels to macaws, including the African Grey who
is no longer shy. Michael enjoys entertaining,
cooking, and building things for his flock of
adopted parrots in his spare time.
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Connecticut Parrot Society, Inc
P.O. Box 488
Middletown,
CT 06457
Copyright
2006-2013 Connecticut Parrot Society, Inc.
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