It fascinates me how, every fall, NAFA Members descend on some unsuspecting rural U.S. community and turn it into “Falconry Central” for a week. Birds and dogs take over the grounds of the Meet hotel. Last year in Kearney, hundreds of falconers fanned out across the countryside, seeking landowners’ permission to hunt on their property. This year, we’ll create a significant change to normal life in Alamosa.

Of course, in exchange for the disruptions we create, NAFA Meet host communities realize significant returns. Local economies benefit from the money falconers spend for lodging, food, gasoline, and entertainment. School kids see birds of prey up close in their classrooms and in the NAFA weathering yard. Landowners and their families enjoy extensive exposure to a sport many didn’t even know existed.

But we surely appreciate our local hosts.

They make NAFA Meets possible.

We want them to know we appreciate their hospitality.

Last year, NAFA started a tradition of leaving one more thank you gift in our wake: the gift of life. We held a blood drive and gave everything we collected to the community.

At that first ever NAFA Meet drive, the Kearney Red Cross chapter collected 37 units of blood. That blood has the potential of saving more than a hundred people’s lives. This enormous gift didn’t cost donors anything but a few minutes of their time.

We’re going to thank the Alamosa community this year with our second annual blood drive, Tuesday, November 26, 2013 from 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM at the Meet hotel, the Inn of the Rio Grande. Colorado’s Bonfils Blood Center will have a team in place ready and eager to accept your donation.

If you’re a regular donor, I hope you’ll be able to schedule your usual donation so you may give at the NAFA Meet. If you’re a past donor, but have fallen out of the habit, perhaps this will inspire you to make it a regular part of your calendar again. If you’ve never given blood, join us. It’s a quietly rewarding thing to do.

Please let me know if you would like to donate blood at this year’s NAFA Meet. I’ll make sure you get all the information you need to make an appointment. Call me at (907) 723-6840 or Anne Price at (303) 587-6987 if you have any questions.

Thank you for being a silent hero.