Tag Archives: volunteers

Activities, Events

Volunteers Help Businesses and Preserves

They did it again, volunteers at the St. Joseph Bay Buffer Preserve thanked local business owners for their help in the last two previous Bay Day Celebrations. They also happily accepted donations for the Fall Bay Day and Live Auction which will be on Oct. 11th and Oct. 13th. The gift certificates are under lock and key for next February. Pat Caruana and Carl Janish have performed their magic – helping to promote local businesses with an outstanding Sponsors Display in the Visitor Center. All donations are used to raise funds for various projects during the year by the Friends of the Preserves Citizen Support Organization. Many locals are members of the group and membership is encouraged. Attending the Live Auction on Thursday before the Saturday Bay Day event helps the CSO even more. Come on out and be ready to be floored by the gifts and services available. Donations will be accepted in the form of cash or credit card.

Board President Lynda White “sincerely hopes everyone will attend the Live Auction on Thursday night and Bay Day on Saturday.  Birding and TRAM Tours, Low Country Shrimp Boil, Live Bluegrass music, Silent Auction and Raffles. You will have a great day and be glad you got out to enjoy the beauty of the preserves.”

This is an excellent opportunity to give unique gifts to family and friends for birthdays, anniversaries, or Christmas. Think how relaxed you will be in December when your Christmas shopping is almost complete! Shirts and ties are out of vogue and charter fishing trips are in. Your spouse will thank you profusely and you will make points for the whole year.

Want to know what kind of items you might find at the Live Auction, Silent Auction or Raffle? These items are listed on the Friends of the Preserves website.

So, if you have a fear of attending auctions just relax. Friends of the Preserves Board Members will help you so you can enjoy the night. Another site volunteer, Frank Hermanek will serve as auctioneer for the second time and he makes the event enjoyable even if someone outbids you on an item. There is wine and cheese to enjoy also.

Remember, your donations by membership or participation in the auctions, raffles, or by attending Bay Day are used to assist the Aquatic and Buffer Preserves exclusively. Keeping St. Joseph Bay in outstanding condition is a priority for the CSO. The 5,025 acres surrounding the bay serve as a water recharge area naturally cleaning the waters coming down the watershed before it reaches the bay. We are not just talking about the bay for our use now but for the next generations to follow.

Dylan Shoemaker, Preserve Manager “invites everyone to come to the preserve and enjoy being outside. Listen to bluegrass music and enjoy an authentic experience with a Low Country Shrimp Boil prepared right on the deck. Local wild-caught shrimp make the boil extraordinary for a mere $10 donation.”

The mission of the Friends of the Preserves is: Restoring the Land, Protecting the Water, and Preserving the Future! How can you help? Attend the Live Auction on Thursday, October 11th and Bay Day on October the 13th!

The LIVE Auction on October 11th and the Fall Bay Day on October 13th are two events it will be worth your while to participate in while you are helping the Aquatic and the Buffer Preserves.

Raising funds to help in YOUR backyard! The mission of the Friends of the Preserves: Restore the Land, Protect the Water, Preserve for the Future. You can help!!

News

National Volunteer Week!

It’s National Volunteer Week!
This is a perfect time to give a shout out to our “Extraordinary Volunteers”!
We have a great problem in that there are too many to list and we certainly would never want to leave anyone out. In order to familiarize you with what they do to help us and to give you some ideas of what you could do to help at the Preserve we are listing by categories. Not everyone could or would be a site volunteer; office assistant; fundraiser; board member; gardener; cook; event planner; grant writer, baker, tour guide, Visitor Center greeter, IT expert, webcam installer, event worker, purchaser, presenter, brochure maker, deliverer, . . . and the list goes on and on and on. If you have a talent and some time we bet we can find a place for you! Call Sandra at 229-1787, Ext. 1 for more information.
MANY THANKS to March Ard, Linda Palma, Lillian Hughes, Lynda White, Jeff Ross, Dusty Alford, John Ehrman, Gene Cox, Dewey Blaylock, Shannon Lynch, Nancy Thomson, Sonny Chafin, Christine Lutz, Pam, Roy Ogles, Lee Edmiston, Penny Weining and others for work on special projects throughout the year!
To ALL BAY DAY Volunteers – We can’t say thank you enough! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! You are awesome! There are too many to name and we certainly do not want to leave anyone out.
To our Site Volunteers — You are such a valuable resource for the Preserve. It would be really hard to try to do without you. You contributions are outstanding. We truly THANK YOU ALL!
To those who help us with our Prescribed Burns – we do appreciate your assistance. You make our burns possible! The Nature Conservancy, PFTC (Prescribed Fire Training Center, Tallahassee), FL Forest Service, Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve, T. H. Stone Memorial, St. Joseph Peninsula State Park, Bald Point State Park, South Gulf County Volunteer Fire Dept., and Karen, Robin, Mike, Kristy, and many more.