MAY/JUNE NEWSLETTER

WELCOME

Please welcome new members Kaitlee Williams and Joe Dyson

Sad news

Ellie Underwood, who worked for many years at the camp store, passed away in March. Friends requested Wayne Underwood, her husband who works part time at the front gate, make a donation of $50 in her name to the organization he feels bests advances the cause of pancreatic cancer research. She will be greatly missed.

PRESIDENT’S CORNER

Joan Crow

Friends participated in two major events in March. We celebrated the annual 3 In 1 Day on March 10 with special guests Ana Mayor, niece of Anna Hyatt Huntington and her son, well known author Archer Huntington Mayor. Attendees were able to spend some time with the Mayors and talk to them about their relationship to the Huntingtons.

Danny MacLaughlin once again painted a beautiful Atalaya scene to be used as a fund raiser. This year's lucky winner was Karen Morris from Little River.(Sure wish I had bought more tickets.)

At Wild Life and History Day, March 17, Friends sold coffee and doughnuts and for the very first time offered mugs for sale. The logo was designed by Mimi Gula, our talented artist and member. Thank you Mimi for volunteering your time and talent to help us in our fund raising efforts. Beautiful new note cards were also available for purchase.

Member Karen White donated some photos of Atalaya and Phil and Sharon Turner gave us some bird photos which made this project possible. Karen oversaw the project and had the cards printed. Pat Lyons was responsible for ordering the mugs and making sure they were here on time for the event. A big thank you to Pat and Mimi. We now have two items which we can sell at Friends functions to help with our fund raising efforts. They will be available for sale on Naturally Fit Day, May 22, and at our annual meeting June 16.

Our annual meeting and volunteer recognition will be held June 16 in Anna's studio at 6 PM. This will be a pot luck dinner and I hope everyone who attended last year will be present again along with many new members. It was a good time with lots of Friends and lots of good food. Ranger Mike Walker will be our featured speaker. Mike is a talented presenter and if you have not heard him before, you will not want to miss his interpretation of local folk tales. Volunteers will be recognized during the evening and new board members and officers will be named. Please mark your calendars!!!

Have you seen the beautiful planters in Atalaya's covered walkway? The flowers were once again grown at Brookgreen and then planted by Cheryl Reilly and Spence Crow. The red geraniums not only brighten up the walkway, but provide a nice photo op for visitors.

ANNUAL ATALAYA CLEAN UP DAY

Fourteen volunteers, Atalaya hosts and park personnel worked to sweep the entire building, trim creeping fig from walls, plant flower boxes in the covered walkway and generally spruce up the courtyard. After work was completed, we shared lunch in the Visitors Center.

It was too rainy to paint but the attention really makes Atalaya shine.

SANDPIPER POND TRAIL BRIDGE REPLACEMENT

Brenda Magers Park Manager

The trail bridge was not ATV accessible. We use ATVs for search and rescue operations and not being able to cross two bridges complicated our ability to extract a person. Typically, at a beach location, our medical emergencies revolve around heat related illness and blood sugar levels. Both conditions can quickly get worse and time matters. Now we are able to enter the trail and drive all the way through to find a person and get them off the trail to proper medical support. I want to thank the entire friends group for their support. We could not have done this without you.

NEW COMMITTEE CONTACTS

Sue Green and Karen White have taken over the job of scheduling the Visitors Center staffing starting with the month of April. The Center is open on Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays at this time. I

If you or anyone you know is interested in volunteering, please contact:
Sue Green 215-3357 green.suz@gmail.com or
Karen White 650-3657 kdawhite@juno.com

Working at the Visitors Center is interesting and a great way to meet people from around the country and the world.

Starting in the near future, the center will be opened from 9:00 till 5:00 seven days a week. Arrangements will be made to install locks and secure valuable equipment. Needless to say, there will be limitless opportunities for volunteers, in addition to the schedule mentioned earlier in this article, to stop by whenever you have time to spare.

ELECTION TIME AGAIN

This year we will be electing both our President and Vice President as well as four Board Members. A ballot is enclosed for your attention. Tom and Marge Mugno will chair our nomination committee this year. Please either mail your ballot to the address shown on the reverse side or e-mail it to them at tomarge@aol.com These elections are very important as our executives and board members make decisions that determine Friends course during their terms. We need and want your input.

If you want to run for any of the spots, please do not hesitate to nominate yourself. Fresh viewpoints and ideas are always welcome.

Results will be announced during our June 16 General meeting which will be held in Anna‘s studio, Atalaya, 6:00 pm. Please bring a dish to share. As Friends is “going green” we request you bring your own plates and eating utensils. Of course, should you forget they will be provided.

NATURELY FIT DAY

Pat Lyons-Fund Raising Chair

We Friends will be selling healthy snacks, books, note cards & mugs on Nature-ly Fit Day, Saturday, May 22. Will you help? If you have books to contribute to the sale, you can drop them off at the Visitors Center at Atalaya during the week prior to the sale. ( Please don't leave them sooner since we have limited storage space ).

If you can contribute healthy snacks such as granola, fruit or relatively healthy baked-goods, please package them in individual-sized servings ( to be sold for $1 each ) and bring them or send them with a Friend on the morning of the sale.

If you don't have books or snacks to contribute, then please come to the park on May 22 & buy some!

GENERAL MEETING

APRIL 7

Our quarterly general meeting was held at the Education Center after the April board meeting.

Sharon Turner gave an excellent introductory bird watching program. Phil and Sharon Turner have been giving birding tours for many years.

Our organization is fortunate to have them as members and the park is fortunate to have such dedicated volunteers.

Thank you Sharon for a job well done.

MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL TIME

As mentioned in our previous newsletter, it’s that time again. Your badges will not be recognized at the park front gate after June 30. If you have not mailed in your check, please do so.

If you have sent in your dues, new badges will be mailed to you with plenty of time to spare.

WILDLIFE AND HISTORY DAY MARCH 17

As usual this event was well attended. Friends sold coffee, donuts, mugs and note cards. Our net profit from all sales was $445. As usual, Pat Lyons, our Fund Raising Chair, did a superb job of coming up with fresh ideas to raise funds.

3 IN 1 DAY

This year’s event was the most profitable and best attended ever. We raised $1,100.