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Hi and welcome to the first official edition of Discover-E News, our
new e-newsletter. A select few of you have already seen our earlier trial
version - to you, apologies for some of the repetition that follows. To
those receiving this for the first time - greetings! I hope you enjoy the
format, and invite your comments on this new communication tool.
Hello from Statehouse Lake 
Spring has sprung, or at least, the Northwoods version of spring. Like
the daffodil pictured, we are anxious to throw off the cold, dark days of
winter and embrace the warmth of summer and a bunch of new programs,
activities and initiatives that are set to bloom here at The Center. Among
them, this e-newsletter. It reflects our commitment to improving the
quality and frequency of contact with our members and supporters.
The Center is blessed to enjoy widespread community support from so
many people who truly care about the well-being of the organization. In
return, we believe we owe it to you to do more than simply tell you about
forthcoming events and then ask you to either volunteer or send us money!
Through Discover-E News we hope to keep you informed, in-touch and
involved. It's your Center, please, be an active participant!
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From Our Board President |
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| We are pleased to inform all our friends,
members and supporters that The Center's Search Committee has
selected an Executive Director - Dennis Breitholtz of Crystal Lake,
Illinois. Dennis' 30-year professional career has been entirely with
non-profits. Most recently he was Director of Funding Development
for the Pioneer Center in McHenry County, Illinois, a countywide
non-profit addressing the needs of adults & children with mental
illnesses and developmental disabilities. In that role he was
responsible for successfully securing funding in excess of several
hundred thousand dollars annually. Dennis and his wife Catherine
have had a home in the Presque Isle area for more than 15 years.
Dennis loves the northwoods and all it has to offer, and is
committed to the mission of The Discovery Center. He is a very
positive, dynamic, individual with a contagious "can do" attitude.
The Search Committee believes he is the right person for The
Discovery Center at this time.
These are exciting days for The Center. As we look forward to a
bright future, I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge
our existing staff, Bruce, Tracy & Zach for their sterling
effort throughout the past twelve months. I would also like to
acknowledge the additional time commitment and involvement of The
Center's Executive Committee who stepped up during the past year to
provide oversight and leadership. Thanks to the cooperation of staff
and board officers, not only did we rise to meet the challenges of
the past year, we were part of an organization that grew and
prospered!
This is a wonderful organization that enjoys unparalleled
community support, and I am proud to be associated with it. I look
forward to introducing you to our new Director in the months ahead.
Welcome Denny!
Very Truly Yours, Peggy Johnson Wiessner, President
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What's in a Name |
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| Our test e-mailing included an invitation to
help us name this e-newsletter. Our thanks to the dozen or so
members who offered suggestions. Ultimately, the judging panel
selected the offering of St Germain member, Bruce Van Hoozen.
Bruce used to ski the Statehouse trails before the existence of
the Discovery Center, and has been a member for a couple of years
now. He has participated in a few classes and also volunteered at
RiverFest, helping out in the Kids Games area. He and is his dad
Dexter run an electrical contracting business, and we have been
grateful for their assistance with some matters effecting our ageing
physical infrastructure.
For his creativity and suggestion, Bruce wins a Discovery Center
prize pack - a T-shirt, a four-pack of Sara Muender designed
note-cards and a Discovery Center pencil.
Onto another "housekeeping" matter. An outside vendor provides
this email newsletter service, although we control the creation and
content of each mailing. Please note that that the system is
"permission- based". That is, any names added to the list are done
so with the permission of the recipient. We have your email address
because you willingly provided it to us at some point in the recent
past. You will notice that every e letter includes an "opt-out" box,
as well as a "sign-up" box. The system vendors assure us the privacy
of all addressees is protected. We control the list, and they
guarantee they will not sell or otherwise make "our" addresses
available to any third party. |
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A Great Winter! |
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 Lots of snow and a first class
job by our volunteer grooming crew kept our ski trails in tip-top
shape this past winter. It was wonderful to see so many cars in the
parking lot as members and friends come regularly to enjoy our 20+
km of scenic XC ski trails.
The regularly updated trail conditions report on our website was
equally well patronized. Thanks to Zach & Tracy for keeping the
information up-to-date and informative.
Now as Spring is upon us and Summer approaches, we'll use the
trail conditions page to keep readers informed about both the state
of the trails, and opportunities to get involved in maintaining
them.
Trail Conditions
Page »
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Nature Notes |
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| Another relatively new feature on our website
is Nature Notes, where our talented and popular (not to mention
well-informed and good-looking) naturalist, Zach Wilson, keeps us up
to date on the phenology of our area. If you are unfamiliar with
that term, phenology simply means "what's currently happening out
there in the woods". We also invite your involvement in the page -
if you see something of interest happening in your back yard, please
let Zach know and he will add it to his column. Check it out towards
the bottom of our home page, or click on the Nature Notes link,
below.
Nature Notes »
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Helping Hands Days |
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| Please note that Helping Hands Days are
scheduled for Thursday May 6 through Saturday May 8, 2004. Hours
each day will be from 9:30 am - till 3:30 pm. Come for an hour, half
a day a whole day, or all three days. Please bring a sack lunch and
a pair of gloves. Tools, snacks and drinks will be provided.
Among the tasks we have on our TO-DO list are: *raking leaves
*dust and sweep lodge *get canoes and sail-boats out of storage and
repair as needed *clean windows and screens *sweep cabins *trail
brushing & clean-up *paint amphitheater seats *and a whole lot
more
For more information about Helping Hands Days or other Volunteer
Opportunities here at The Center, check out the Volunteers page on
our website, or click on the link, below.
More Volunteer
Information »
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Plant a Seed, Let It Grow |
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| On your next visit to the Center be sure to
stop by our new garden area. We'll be growing vegetables, herbs,
flowers and heirlooms. Our garden will not only be an attractive
feature to the Center but also a valuable teaching tool for
gardeners and environmentalists alike. Be sure to check your program
guide for garden related classes and programs.
If you want more information about our new Community Garden,
please drop Tracy an email. Simply click on the link below.
Tracy, tell me more about
the community garden »
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Snack, Sip, Shop & Socialize! |
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| The Center's Annual Membership Social and
Silent Auction will be Sunday, May 30, 2004 at the Discovery Center
from 4:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. That's the Sunday of the Memorial Day
Holiday Weekend.
Wines for tasting will again be donated by Trig's Cellar 70 and
will be presented by Dennis Kohl. Pine Baron's Custom Catering will
serve gourmet hors d'oeuvres.
Event organizers are already busy gathering fabulous items for
the Silent Auction and raffle, but if any of you have ideas or
contacts for donated items we would certainly appreciate your
suggestions.
Tickets are $15 each. In early May you will receive an invitation
in the mail with a return envelope to reserve tickets. We encourage
you to bring a guest or two to this wonderful eat, drink, shop and
spring social event. Don't miss it - mark your calendar now
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Th-th-th-that's All Folks! |
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| That's about all for now. In future issues we
are tentatively planning a number of regular items, including the DC
Quiz and "History Briefs" with snippets of information about our
Statehouse Lake campus in the days when it was a YCC camp. We will
continue to highlight forthcoming activities, provide information
about volunteer opportunities and include links to new features on
our web site.
And so we come to the end of our first issue. I hope you enjoyed
it and will take a minute or two to let me know what you think, or
make suggestions of articles or ideas to be included in future
issues. Thanks for reading.
Tell Bruce what you
think... »
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