Dear Tall Timbers Constituents:

On behalf of the Tall Timbers Board of Trustees, I am proud to announce the selection of Dr. William (Bill) Palmer, as President/CEO of the organization later this year, as Lane Green, longtime Executive Director of Tall Timbers Research Station & Land Conservancy, will be retiring in December 2012. Dr. Palmer’s vision, energy and clear view of where Tall Timbers needs to go in the future, were the reasons for the Board of Trustees’ choice to replace Mr. Green. In addition to Dr. Palmer’s promotion, Mr. Vann Middleton, Director of Operations and Support, was promoted to Executive Vice President of Tall Timbers and Executive Director of Tall Timbers Foundation. The Board feels certain that they have selected a strong administrative team to continue to grow Tall Timbers’ programs. 

Dr. Palmer joined Tall Timbers in 1996. Over the past 15 years, he has built a nationally-recognized research and management program with biologists in three states and multiple Federal and State partners. Bill Palmer operates the largest program at Tall Timbers and has consistently raised the greatest outside support (>$4 million dollars in grants and contracts to date). Bill has also attracted a major share of annual contributions to Tall Timbers. He is passionate about fire-maintained ecosystems, and was instrumental in promoting the restoration of Tall Timbers’ lands, which now support excellent quail and grassland bird populations. 

Bill sees conservation of the plantations of north Florida and southwest Georgia as a critical but important challenge for Tall Timbers, and he is firmly committed to continue what makes Tall Timbers such a valuable resource to natural resource managers — a focus on long-term, applied research, and dissemination of that information through the newly created Outreach program. Bill says, “Thanks to our long-term research programs, Tall Timbers is uniquely positioned to provide reliable information to our constituency, and help them with their conservation and management objectives. While research is critical, it is the land that is the beneficiary of our work, and therefore we must continue to strive to protect these special landscapes for generations to come.” Learn more about Bill’s perspective on future opportunities for Tall Timbers in an upcoming issue of our E-News.

Mr. Middleton, who came to Tall Timbers in 2001, has been the most productive Development Director in the history of the organization. Vann recently led and completed a $9 million, 50th Anniversary Endowment Campaign, and has set records for annual giving. He is an essential element in our new administration team that will take better advantage of all he has to offer Tall Timbers and this community in the years to come. In his role as Executive Director of Tall Timbers Foundation, he will work with the Foundation Board to manage our endowment funds, as well as oversee the other financial and development activities of the Foundation.  

The Board of Trustees feels strongly that we have found the ideal candidates for the future, as both Bill and Vann have earned the respect and admiration of our constituents through their outstanding accomplishments for more than a decade at Tall Timbers. We feel that we are in good hands, and know that you will give them the same continuing generous support and encouragement that Tall Timbers has enjoyed for more than 50 years.  

Sincerely,

Dave Perkins
Chairman, Tall Timbers Board of Trustees