“Let your Resources Roar!” Keynote Speaker: John Cunning

John says his work in parks started when he was four years old when his family visited the Grand Canyon.  He picked up litter in the picnic area and could trade a bag of litter for ice-cream. Throughout his 34-year career with Missouri State Parks, he worked as a historic site manager, a museum director, and as director for the Resource Management and Interpretation Program.  In 2013, John was awarded AMI’s Outstanding Professional Interpreter in and NAI Region 6’s Distinguished Professional Interpreter. John has helped plan and has been a trainer at the annual Spring Interpreter School for many years.  He has presented living history programs as a snake oil salesman in a 1870s medicine show, guided countless historic building tours, interpreted Tom Benton’s capitol mural to Chinese diplomats, and interpreted interpretation to elected and appointed officials.  And he loved just about every minute of it.

Now retired, John started a consulting business (Heritage Interpretation Services LLC), works part-time with an estate sale management company, and is planning a few motorcycle trips.

2019 AMI Conference Registration

September 15-17, 2019
AMI Conference Registration has been extended to August 31st!

See the updated registration packet for conference details.

Full Registration:

Pre-registration deadline is August 22, 2019–after that, you must register at the Workshop ($10 higher fee))

(includes membership renewal for the upcoming year, banquet & some meals)

A 2019 Registration Packet, with a paper registration form, is available for download below. To register online, please fill out the linked form on SurveyMonkey.

The SurveyMonkey registration form will give the workshop committee a means of tracking registrations electronically, but you will NOT be able to pay for your registration form here.  Your confirmation email will include instructions on how to send payment to AMI treasurer Phillip Brinkley via mail, email, or fax.  We realize many of you will use your agency’s purchasing cards for payment, so AMI obtained the ability to accept credit card payments.  To save service charges, you will be asked to fill out a form and mail or fax the information to Phillip, or call him and give him your credit card number.  We hope to have online payment capability in the future without the use of third-party processors, but we are still looking for a safe and affordable option.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER ONLINE!

CLICK HERE for more information on the 2019 AMI Conference.

HELP WANTED! At the First Annual Birds and Bees Festival

Arrow Rock, Missouri – May 11th 2019 – 10 am – 4 p.m.

The Missouri River Bird Observatory (MRBO) is launching a new festival aimed at increasing public awareness and enjoyment of Missouri’s native birds, pollinators, and nature in general! In 2019 the Birds and Bees Festival will be held in conjunction with the Village of Arrow Rock’s Garden Show and Vintage Bazaar, which typically brings in 300-500 people interested in plants, gardening, and aesthetics. Our goal is to provide a great new experience for Garden Show attendees, as well as bring in hundreds of other people of all ages to experience and learn about nature! We want to show that wildlife, habitat, and natural resources conservation is not only important but enjoyable.

MRBO’s small staff will be operating a bird-banding station, bird hikes, and a kids’ activity as well as performing general festival coordination. The festival will take place all along Main Street in Arrow Rock and throughout the Arrow Rock State Historic Site and Visitors’ Center. The Garden Show is held at the Schoolhouse, a public building on the west end of Main Street – the entire remainder of the street will be Birds & Bees!

We are looking for volunteers to operate their own booths and activities to provide visitors with a diverse, educational and super-fun experience. Here is a list of possible activities and topics that we would love to have at the festival – but we welcome your ideas and the activities or presentations with which you already have experience!

  • Any bird and/or pollinator activities, particularly hands-on learning experiences
  • Educational stations for kids on bird or insect biology, adaptations, ecology, etc.
  • Guided insect or plant walks
  • Native plant ID workshops or lectures
  • Basic ecology and conservation experiences for any age level

If you are interested in volunteering at this event, please see the attached file for contact information.

2019 AMI Conference: Call for Papers

If you are interested in presenting at the 2019 AMI Conference, please complete the attached form and send it to Janice Schnake Greene at Missouri State University. The 2019 AMI Conference will be held at Roaring River State Park, near Cassville MO, September 15-18, 2019. Roaring River State Park is one of Missouri’s crown jewels and one of the most attended state parks.

Website Updates

I am sure that you have noticed that our website has a new look. I have changed the design not only for desktop users, but it is now mobile friendly as well. For all of the current AMI members, I’ve also cleaned up and updated the members-only section of the website.

In addition to the new look, I’ve added an events calendar so that we can post events and workshops that are offered throughout the state. If you have an event that you would like to see added, please send me an email or fill out the form below.

If you notice any errors or if you would like to see me add something, please fill out the form posted below. While I have made some major changes, I will also be making some adjusments over the coming weeks to make sure everything is working correctly.

Save the Date for the 2019 AMI Conference!

Save the date for the next AMI conference “Let your Resources Roar!” at Roaring River State Park, near Cassville MO, September 15-18, 2019. Roaring River State Park is one of Missouri’s crown jewels and one of the most attended state parks. Key features include the Roaring River Spring and trout hatchery, Emory Melton Inn and Conference Center, hiking, camping, Roaring River Hills Wild Area, and Hardwood Cove Natural Area. Please make plans to join us for a wonderful conference where we will find techniques and ideas to help you “Let Your Resources Roar!”

Care and Feeding of Your Interpretive Program

2019 Interpretive Site Coalition Professional Conference
at Anita B. Gorman Discovery Center
4750 Troost Ave.
Kansas City, MO 64110
Monday, February 4, 2018
8:00 am to 4:00 pm

Everyone can be great because anybody can serve.
Martin Luther King, Jr.

Here is your personal invitation to the amazing ISC Professional Conference. Please plan to come and invite all your staff and volunteers. The content of this conference will be valuable for supervisors, front-line interpreters, clerical staff and volunteers! There will be a share fair at this conference.

Conference Theme: Whether volunteer, front-line interpreter, clerical staff or supervisor, each role is a crucial
cog in the wheel of our interpretive program. We achieve success by serving each other and our guests.

Meals are provided by ISC. We will serve fruit, pastries, and coffee for breakfast and homemade soups, salads
and bread for lunch.

Please complete the registration form and/or proposal and send them to:

Lisa LaCombe, ISC Program Chair
1401 NW Park Rd
Blue Springs, MO 64015
(816) 655-6263 ext. 1332

Please make checks payable to: Interpretive Site Coalition

Registration Deadline: January 25, 2018

NEW Education Resource: Missouri River Information Packets

Missouri River Relief is excited to announce their “Missouri River Information Packets”, new educational resources. The Missouri River is home to fascinating creatures, as well as many issues. That is why they felt it was necessary to develop information packets. In these packets, a broad range of information is introduced and discussed; from the giants who dwell in the depths, to the consequences of the interaction between cities and the Missouri River.  To download 14 different information packets directly visit: www.riverrelief.org/education/resources/

2018 AMI Awards

Congratulations to all of the 2018 AMI award winners!

Scholarship Winners

Left to Right: Lee Wilbeck – AMI Award Chair, Emily Deeba (Saint Louis University), Jacob Lutes (Missouri Western University), Melissa Nyga (SE Missouri State University).
Not present:  Cole Hoover, University of Central Missouri.

Outstanding Volunteer

Dennis Burd (Shepherd of the Hills Fish Hatchery, Branson)

Outstanding New Interpreter

Karen Seward (Mark Twain State Park) (left to right: Karen Seward, Amber Edwards (awards committee), right: (sorry, I forgot the nominator)

Outstanding Interpretive Effort

Discovery Day Camp: Libby Sanders (Bonebrake Center of Nature and History – Salem)

Outstanding Interpretive Media

 Jamin Bray (Oak Hill R-1 School, Salem) (left to right: Libby Sanders (nominator), Jamin Bray (middle), Rebecca Rodriguez (right – awards committee member)

AMI Giant Award

George Kastler (retired DNR Chief Park Naturalist) (back row left to right: Alan Kastler (son), Neil Kastler (son), Bill Kastler (half-brother)) (front row left to right: George Kastler, Elizabeth Kastler (wife)).

2018 Best Workshop Presentation

Phillip Brinkley (Burr Oak Woods NC) (left to right: Lee Wilbeck, Phillip Brinkley)

Photos courtesy of John Miller.