FoF President, Francine Stevens

December is a month when we can be consumed with holiday preparations. However, it was a pleasure for me to manage the Welcome Back dinner as I looked forward to spending some time with my Friends of Fakahatchee. The emails I have received since Saturday indicate the dinner was one of our best ever.

I would like to thank Jinny Ball who does all the hard work in the background to register everyone and welcome them at the entrance with a name tag. Thanks to Bruce Bunch who does all the publicity for our events and tours and who managed to get filmmaker Richard Kern for our evening program. Richard proved to be an engaging speaker as he narrated his film live and flawlessly. His film surpassed my expectations—it really captures the spectacular beauty and fragility of the Fakahatchee and its surroundings.

It was my pleasure to introduce the entire Park staff: Gina Gilmore, Steven Bass, Mike Duey, Mike Owen and Steve Houseknecht, who was recently promoted to park manager. It is important to remember that the Friends of Fakahatchee are supporting a staff of five to manage the largest Park in the State at nearly 80,000 acres.

One of the best ways we have found to support the Park is by educating the public while they are having fun. With Patrick Higgins and Glen Stacell’s leadership, the FOF scheduled 53 tours for December through March. We have Glen Stacell to thank for this success; three years ago he persisted to introduce tram tours on Janes Scenic Drive, and the tours continue to be very popular—so don’t wait too long schedule your tour on the Ghost Rider. Tickets will sell even faster after the holidays…please see our schedule on our Events page.

With this letter, I want to send out an invitation to those who like to volunteer outdoors.  We can always use help with the tours and help working in the field with the Faka-hackers. Our most loyal Faka-hackers, Dino Barone and Howard Lubel, drive in from the East Coast to work in the field, so no one is too far to join a great group that tells me Faka-Hacking is more fun than work and reason why they keep coming back. There are four ways to access volunteering information. Visit our How to Volunteer Page. Send us an e-mail for info at higginspjc@gmail.com or call the FOF phone line 239-695-1023, and leave a message. We will return your call. Finally, you can write to us via the US Mail at Friends of Fakahatchee, P.O. Box 35, Everglades City, FL, 34139.

Thanks for a great 2016! With your support and volunteer hours, we look forward to an exciting new year for the Friends of Fakahatchee. Best wishes for a happy holiday season.
Francine Stevens
President, Friends of Fakahatchee, Inc.