President's Perch

by Cheryl Hart, President

Did you miss us? We skipped a month with our newsletter. This doesn’t happen very often, except our “Christmas Holiday” each December. But this was a very special occasion as Bonnie

Anderson, our Executive Director and newsletter editor and her family traveled to Iowa to celebrate the college graduation of her daughter, Blair from Drake University.

Blair grew up on the refuge and has been a part of so many activities through the years, most recently assisting with the judging of the second annual Oregon Chinese Coalition/Refuge/

Friends Art Contest. It is hard to believe that Blair has fledged and is off making an impression in an even larger world. Congratulations! We wish her all the best!

The end of April and first of May was important for another reason. It was the National Friends Workshop at National Conservation Training Center in Shepherdstown, WV. Four of our Friends leaders attended the workshop: Board members Sharon Miller, Phyllis Millan, and me, and our Executive Director, Bonnie Anderson. We were joined by Refuge Project Manager Rebecca Chuck. This was the first national get together for Friends since 2016 so it was wonderful to have an opportunity to join over 200 Friends and FWS Staff from all over the country to learn, share ideas, and grow. There was a full agenda of informative plenary and breakout sessions as well as lots of informal get-togethers (where we all know the most learning is done). Topics were varied and session facilitators included Friends, FWS Staff, and others with expertise in nonprofit management, governance, fundraising, collaborating, and a wide variety of other topics. It was hard to choose which sessions to attend.

 Looking ahead, we hope that all Friends members and their families are planning to attend our 30^th Anniversary Celebration. Yes, it’s hard to believe but our Friends group is 30 years old this

year! Members should have received your invitation via email. If you haven’t sent your RSVP yet, please do. There will be good food, under the direction of Chef Walter Chuck, husband of

our Project Manager; live music with refuge biologist Curt Mykut and The Dudes; door prizes; and fun for all ages. We are looking forward to seeing you all and enjoying an evening of celebrating all that has been accomplished through the partnership of FWS and Friends.

 And don’t forget to mark your calendar for the BEST NEW EVENT OF THE SUMMER, BREWS FOR THE BIRDS! Beer & Music Festival August 5-6 at Langer’s Entertainment Center in Sherwood. This is a family-friendly event

and a fundraiser for Friends. Thank you to our partner, Langer’s Entertainment Center! Look for more information as the date for this great event gets closer.

Summer is here. See you on the refuge!

-Cheryl

Focus on Friends

by Bonnie Anderson, ED

A special recognition to all of the recent graduates that Cheryl and I have had the pleasure of getting to know this year working on the Oregon High School Youth Summit- Alan, Emily, Mathew and Leah- I know that your future is bright and I know the world will be in capable hands.

On Tuesday Greenway Staff invited . volunteers and partners to a celebrations of another inspiring school year. Principal Witten spoke about the amazing partnership that continues to grow between USFWS, the Friends, the dedicated volunteers and this community.

The Friends support many of the Greenway activities including the mini Bird Fest and grade Pre-K-5th grade Changemaker Project each year. We also funded the all school Fieldtrips last week and the special 5th grade fieldtrip to Horning's Hideout to go fishing! When a 5th grade teacher tells you that her student were 100% engaged in an activity and that it was the "BEST DAY EVER!"- you can't help but know what an impact the Friends are making in the community. A huge THANK YOU to Wil Warren and everyone at I'm Hooked for making this day so special for the students.

Brews for the Birds Beer & Music Festival: A Benefit for the Friends

We hope to see everyone out at our first every Brews for the Birds Festival fundraiser from noon- 9 on Saturday August 5th and noon- 6 on Sunday August 6th.

We are looking for

• Festival Sponsors
• Nature inspired Artist to vendor
• Nature Photographers to vendor
• Conservation Exhibitors
• Auction & Raffle Donations

Volunteer needs include

• Auction and Raffle Sub-Committee
• Vendor and Exhibitor Sub-Committee
• Alcohol Monitoring Support Crew
• Set up/ Clean up Crew

Please email me for details

We hope to see everyone at Langer's Entertainment in Sherwood, Oregon in August- and a huge thank you to Langer's for their support of the Friends and the Refuge.

See you on the trails!

Bonnie