FOC 2025 Promotional Materials for Presenters

On behalf of the Wheeler Wildlife Refuge Association, we thank you for agreeing to present during the 2025 Festival of the Cranes. We are a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization whose mission is to support the educational activities of Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge. The festival draws bird and nature enthusiasts from around the country and your presence is a wonderful addition to our next festival.

The festival will be held January 10-13, 2025, in downtown Decatur, AL. Presentations will be scheduled for Jan 11 and 12. Once we have finalized our schedule, you will be notified by email of your presentation time(s) and venue location. Please download your reimbursement agreement and W-9 and send them to us at wheelerwildlifeassociation@gmail.com. You may also upload these here once you’ve completed them.

Below is our promotional materials request form. If you have any questions, please email us at wheelerwildlifeassociation@gmail.com, and one of our board members will contact you. Thank you again for agreeing to participate in our festival.

Download Forms:

W-9

Reimbursement Agreement

Presenter Profile Example

  • Vicky Beckham Smith, the owner of A-Z ANIMALS, is known as The Bat Lady. Some people even say she is batty! She is a former educator for both the Birmingham Zoo and Eufaula National Wildlife Refuge. As an environmental educator, Vicky teaches about a wide variety of topics including mammals, birds, reptiles, invertebrates, plants, and fossils. Her fascinating bat program is her favorite and most requested program reaching over 5,000 people a year in AL, GA, MS, FL, SC, KY, and NC. The Environmental Education Association of AL honored Vicky as the 2012 Best Educator of the Year. She received the 2017 and 2018 Georgia Bat Working Group’s President’s Choice Award. She serves as education chair for the AL Bat Working Group and is a member of the Southeastern Bat Diversity Network participating in education programs and bat surveys. Vicky serves on the education committee of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Bat TAG (Taxonomy Advisory Group) helping produce teacher conservation kits for their work in Guam, Rota, Papua New Guinea, and Madagascar. The committee is currently working on BATS: A GUIDE FOR EDUCATORS for distribution to zoos. Vicky frequently shares her batty knowledge and passion through teacher workshops.

  • Vicky Beckham Smith will introduce you to the wonderful world of bats during her presentation, BATTY ABOUT BATS.

     You will learn:

    · About bats from around the world including the 15 species of AL bats

    · The truth about myths we often hear

    · How important these winged critters are to our environment with their special adaptations, varied feeding strategies, and various roosting places

    · About the different sizes of bats through various mounted bats and life-size silhouettes and the differences between microbats and megabats.     

    Vicky will bring live native bats and Egyptian fruit bats for you to meet.  There will be plenty of photo opportunities as she shows off the special flying mammals.  Vicky holds USDA, USFWS, and state permits that allow her to house and use the bats for educational purposes.