On Thur. Nov. 15, 38 Friends of Tamarac gathered at the Discovery Center for their annual meeting with dinner catered by Spanky’s. It was a time to celebrate the year’s accomplishments and to honor Ron Jenson, who will be concluding his board terms, eight of which he has served as president. Photos by Denise Warweg
Accomplishments
Friends donated the Discovery Center to the Fish and Wildlife Services, held Dedication and Open House events.
The fall festival event “Bees and Butterflies” had about 425 in attendance. It had events carried out at the cabin site, Visitors Center and at the Discovery Center.
We hosted the fifth annual “Toast to Tamarac” fundraising event which included wine tasting, appetizers, games, a silent and live auction with attendance of over 200 in attendance.
We participated in two on line giving programs-Give to the Max and The Giving Hearts.
Additional funds were raised through the We Fest Clean-up and a quilt raffle.
Much work was done in pursuit of multiple grant funds. The process has been initiated to set up an endowment fund.
Friends sponsored another successful photo contest with 95 entries.. A photo display was exhibited in the Washington Square Mall during National Wildlife Refuge Week and awards were presented.
Friends hosted an all-day event in the DL mall with a variety of display tables and activities in early spring.
Friends participated in bud capping 35,000 pines which were planted as a result of the partnership with the refuge on the Tamarac Restoration Grant.
Quarterly newsletters were developed and sent to an expanded mailing list to continue making connections in the communities touched by Tamarac.
Webpage and Facebook representation were expanded to increase connections with the public.
Friends co-sponsored the 2014 Detroit Lakes Festival of Birds. and a luncheon was served for the Tamarac tour.
We reached out to the community through a display booth at the Becker County Fair.
Friends continued to help refuge with interpretive programs, plant hikes, the citizen science program, and photo safaris.
Friends contributed thousands of volunteer hours at Tamarac,, many were for environmental education, trail work, and maintenance.
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