Successful Year, Expanded Leadership

A year in review: two officers have stepped down - President Jeff Sanborn resigned due to health issues and moving downstate, and Secretary Phyllis Cowden retired. At our July annual meeting, Michelle Swanson was elected Secretary and Rich Russel elected President. Continuing officers are Karen Powers, treasurer, and co-Vice Presidents John Virga and Mike Genther.

We’re pleased to introduce a new watershed management team. They will assist, help, and expand the watershed going forward. Current members of this management team are: Austin Thompson, Cory Brown, Tyler Dula, Keaton Foster, Alex Ontkos, and Christina Van Doornik. The combined group of these young people have unique talents. They are volunteering their time and talents to protect, improve, and preserve the watershed for future generations. We are so fortunate in having such a dedicated team.

We had a well attended breakfast annual meeting in July with Keaton Foster, owner of BrixStone Farms, as our guest speaker. We hosted a free summer social on the grounds of the Blarney Castle property as a token of thanking the local community for their support of our watershed.

We are pleased to report good results, again, from all of our lake water testing. We are developing new educational materials to be distributed next year. Our monthly meetings are held May through October, the 4th Wednesday of each month. The meetings start at 7pm at the Bear Lake Township Hall. Our 2025 annual meeting will be Saturday, July 26th, starting with a complimentary breakfast at 8am at the Bear Lake Community Church.

The watershed team wishes you a joyous Christmas season with good health and happiness in the New Year.

Sincerely,

Rich Russell