2010 Annual Report • Preserve
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Friends of Great Smoky Mountains National Park 2010 Annual Report • Preserve. Protect. Provide. Photos by Genia Stadler About This Publication Our 2010 Annual Report exists exclusively in digital format, available on our website at www.FriendsOfTheSmokies.org. In order to further the impact of our donors’ resources for the park’s benefit we chose to publish this report online. If you would like a paper copy, you may print it from home on your computer, or you may request a copy to be mailed to you from our office (800-845-5665). We are committed to conserving natural resources in and around Great Smoky Mountains National Park! The images used on the front and back covers are If your soul can belong to provided through the generosity, time, and talent of a place, mine belongs here. Genia Stadler of Sevierville, Tennessee. Genia Stadler When asked to describe herself and her love for the Smokies, she said, “I was born in Alabama, but Tennessee always felt like home to me. My love for the Smokies started as a small child. My daddy brought me here each summer before he passed away. I was 9 when he died, and by then I had fallen in love with the Smokies. My husband (Gary) and I had the chance to build a cabin and move here in 2002, so we jumped at the chance. Since then, we’ve been exploring the park as often as we can. We’ve probably hiked over 300 miles of the park’s trails (many repeats), and I’m trying to pass my love for this place on to my two children and two grandchildren. If your soul can belong to a place, mine belongs here.” Enjoy more of Genia’s Smoky Mountain wildflower photos below. Passionflower Flaming Azalea Asiatic Dayflower Yellow- Fringed Orchid Squirrel Corn Mountain Laurel Mission Statement The mission of Friends of Great Smoky Mountains National Park is to assist the National Park Service in its mission to preserve and protect Great Smoky Mountains National Park by raising funds and awareness and providing volunteers for needed projects. 2 Board of Directors • Jan. 1, 2010–Dec. 31, 2010 OFFICERS EMERITUS BOARD MEMBERS Mark Williams ........................................Chair Dr. Myron Coulter, Waynesville, NC Knoxville, TN Natalie Haslam, Knoxville, TN Stephen W. Woody ..........................Vice Chair Mary Johnson, Shady Valley, TN Asheville, NC Kathryn McNeil, San Francisco, CA Linda Ogle .........................................Secretary Judy Morton, Knoxville, TN Pigeon Forge, TN John B. Waters, Jr., Sevierville, TN John Dickson .................................... Treasurer David White, Sevierville, TN Arden, NC Leon Jones, Wilma Dykeman Stokely, and Justice Gary R. Wade ...............Chair Emeritus Lindsay Young (deceased) Sevierville, TN BOARD MEMBERS Kay Clayton, Knoxville, TN Vicky Fulmer, Maryville, TN Bruce Hartmann, Knoxville, TN Luke Hyde, Bryson City, NC Dale Keasling, Knoxville, TN John Mason, Asheville, NC Dan Matthews, Waynesville, NC Jim Ogle, Sevierville, TN Hal Roberts, Waynesville, NC HONORARY BOARD MEMBERS Sandy Beall, Maryville, TN Mimi Cecil, Asheville, NC Deener Matthews, Waynesville, NC Board Member Luke Hyde with President Jim Hart Jack Williams, Knoxville, TN and Chair Mark Williams Friends Staff Jim Hart ................................................President Holly Scott ........................... Marketing Director Nan Jones .......................Chief Financial Officer Kathryn Robertson ..Special Projects Coordinator Lauren Gass ................Special Projects Director Holly Demuth .............. North Carolina Director Sarah Weeks ...............Director of Development Office Information Tennessee/Main Office North Carolina Office Jim Hart, President Holly Demuth, North Carolina Director 3099 Winfield Dunn Parkway, Suite 2 160 South Main Street PO Box 1660 Waynesville, NC 28786 Kodak, TN 37764 Phone: (828) 452-0720 Phone: (865) 932-4794 or 1-800-845-5665 Fax: (828) 452-0767 Fax: (865) 933-7607 E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] Friends Website: www.FriendsOfTheSmokies.org 3 Friends Across The Country In 2010, nearly 4,400 individuals, corporations, and foundations representing 40 states and the District of Columbia made gifts to Friends of the Smokies, hailing from as far away as Alaska to as close as Cherokee, North Carolina. Great Smoky 6. Ohio Mountains National Park benefits from tremendous 9. generosity! We’d love to count Friends of the Indiana Smokies in every state. Can you help us? If you 10. Virginia know someone who loves Great Smoky Mountains 8. Kentucky National Park and lives in Hawaii, Kansas, 2. North 1. Tennessee Carolina Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North or South 5. South Carolina Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, or Rhode Island, please 4. encourage them to become a Friend, or make a gift Georgia 7. of membership to them for a special occasion! Alabama Top Ten States (# of donors) 1. Tennessee 6. Ohio 3. Florida 2. North Carolina 7. Alabama 3. Florida 8. Kentucky 4. Georgia 9. Indiana 5. South Carolina 10. Virginia Get Social with Friends Keep up with us in 140 characters or less at Our Flickr feed is @SmokiesFriends on Twitter. http://www.flickr.com/photos/smokiesfriends/ We still have a great website Please “Like” us at http://www. where you can sign up to receive facebook.com/SmokiesFriends Watch our latest Mission Video on e-newsletters, watch inspiring Daily updates include park events YouTube at http://www.youtube. videos, hear Steve Whiddon’s and happenings, hikes and Trails com/user/friendsofsmokies song “Be a Friend of the Forever workdays, plus gorgeous Smokies”. Check it out at www. Smokies photos! FriendsOfTheSmokies.org 4 2010 Highlights In 2010, Friends of the Smokies continued its mission to help preserve and protect Great Smoky Mountains National Park by raising funds and awareness and providing volunteers for needed projects. Positive notes included the Trails Forever program, the purchase of twenty acres of land adjacent to the Soak Ash Creek wetlands (often referred to as the Hoffman property), and the continued engagement of our supporters in our special events and fundraising activities. Friends of the Smokies thanks the park staff for their ongoing hard work and dedication! Evergreen Ball with photos by Jack Williams The Seventh Annual Evergreen Ball at Cherokee Country Club raised more than $350,000. Board Chair Mark Williams presented the inaugural Legacy Award to Gary Wade, Tennessee Supreme Court Justice and founding Friends of the Smokies board member and Emeritus Chair. More than 450 of Justice Wade’s closest friends were in attendance to celebrate this special honor. Friends of the Smokies selected Wade for this special award based on his trailblazing efforts to establish the Friends of the Smokies organization in 1993, his many years of service as chairman of the board, and his heartfelt appreciation for the park and its resources. Wade’s rich history of community leadership was also a factor, including his roles as Mayor of Sevierville, Tennessee Criminal Appeals Court Judge, and Tennessee Supreme Court Justice. “Even among our many treasured supporters, though, Justice Wade has set himself apart from the crowd, and he very much deserves this special recognition,” said Jim Hart, President of Friends of the Smokies. (continued on page 6) Boogertown Gap 5 2010 Highlights (continued) Over the years, Wade has also earned a solid reputation as a generous philanthropist and tireless fundraiser for a variety of causes, including wildlife, education, historic preservation, and the underprivileged. With that track record in mind, Friends of the Smokies also announced the creation of the Gary Wade Wildlife Fund to support wildlife conservation projects in the Smokies. The Gary Wade Wildlife Fund was jump started with $25,000 in gifts or pledges from board members and other donors. Do you come to the Smokies to see black bears, wild turkey, or elk? Your gift can become part of the Gary Wade Wildlife Fund by giving on Friends’ secure website today, or you can send a check Justice Gary R. Wade and Sandra Wade payable to “Friends of the Smokies,” PO Box 1660, Kodak, TN, 37764, with “Gary Wade Wildlife Fund” in the notation line. “I can’t think of a more deserving person,” said Mark Williams, “Gary has done so much for the park and for Friends of the Smokies. It’s a great honor to recognize him through this special award and the new wildlife fund.” Scripps Networks once again headlined the 2010 list of sponsors for the 2010 Evergreen Ball. Additional sponsors included Home Federal Bank, Citizens National Bank, the Haslam Family Foundation, Pilot Oil Company, Jim and Natalie Haslam, Riverside Towers, and a host of additional benefactors. Superintendent Dale Ditmanson and Suzanne More information about the Evergreen Ball is available online at Evergreen Ball.org. View Jack Williams’ photos of the Legacy Award presentation at http://www.flickr.com/photos/smokiesfriends/ sets/72157627161557797/ John and Dee Mason 6 2010 Highlights (continued) Cades Cove Loop Lope The park staff offered Friends an once- in-a-lifetime opportunity in the form of a footrace on the newly resurfaced Cades Cove Loop Road on April 25th. For many years, individual runners and track clubs had vied for the chance to host just such an event. Two courses (a three-mile and a ten-mile) attracted runners of all ages and skill levels. With only five weeks to plan the event, and with participation limited by parking availability, the eventual total of $18,000+ raised made it all worth it. Diana Condon, Director of Advertising for the Knoxville News Sentinel fondly remembers her experience running with colleague John North. “We drove to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park together early in the morning on April 25, 2010 to run in the Loop Lope as ride sharing was important to accommodate the number of cars entering Cades Cove. I love to run and I love the mountains and really wanted to take part in Photographer Bruce McCamish captured this shot from the starting line this unique experience.