As you all know, 2006 marks our tenth year of programs here on the shores of Statehouse Lake. We kicked off our special year with an evening of personal reflections at last week's Nibbles 'n' Knowledge volunteer appreciation party. The celebrations will continue throughout the year - at this weekend's Member Social; at our July 15th Decade of Discovery Dinner and Derby; and at our August 13th Decade of Discovery Family Appreciation Day.

As you look over our program guide, you cannot help but be struck by the quality, variety and diversity of our programs. Continuing a tradition that began in 1996, The Center offers program participants of all ages the opportunity to develop and enhance skills in outdoor recreation, and improve their knowledge of local flora, fauna nad ecology. More importantly, all programs are presented within the context that the better we understand this special environment we call the northwoods, the more likely we are to embrace our shared responsibility to look after it.

What's more we do it in a fun, engaging, hands-on manner. We do it by sharing; by working together; through our belief in community; and our belief that learning is a life-long undertaking. All of us associated with the Center (and that includes you, dear reader) can take pride in the fact that in ten short years, The Discovery Center has become not only an important local educational resource, but also an important social and economic resource as well. Our contributions to the local community are many. Let's celebrate those contributions throughout the forthcoming summer and fall. And with the continuing physical, emotional and financial support of our members, the next ten years will only get better!

At last week's Nibbles n Knowledge volunteer appreciation party, member and volunteer, Julie King shared some of her thoughts about the Center's first ten years. A number of people complimented Julie for her words, so we thought we'd share them here with those who were unable to attend the event. Thanks to Julie for sharing her thoughts with us, and to Julie, husband Jack and their friends Bill & Ticki Lambrecht for their continued support.

I decided to put my remarks on birchbark to give them some authenticity. That's because I've always felt like a bit of an imposter at the Discovery Center. I'm definitely not a Campfire Girl. Except when trying to make a good impression on Jack during our courtship, I've never camped out. Sleeping on the ground or in a bunk, worrying about critters and particularly snakes, is my idea of purgatory. So what could possibly attract me to an Outdoor Education Center, especially one that has outdoor plumbing starting each fall?

Just plain curiosity is how it all started. During our M.W. summer vacations from 1960 on, we always wondered what lay at the end of that road going back from County W to a lake we'd never seen. We first drove down that road in August of 1996 to see the Youth Conservation Camp recently taken over by the North Lakeland School District. What we found was a very special kind of place. Cabins on a pristine lake with no houses or boats. It reminded us of the camps our parents had sent us to years ago. Five years passed after that first drive-through, during which Ticki Lambrecht and I served as cheerleaders for our two husbands. Going through my journal I've found notations about the following Bill/Jack milestones: Sept. '97 Reorganized the tool- shed. June '98 Rebuilt a long pier. June '99 Constructed an endurance course. Oct.'99 Created trail signs for the new Interpretive Trail. May 2000 Started the fiendishly difficult octagonal treehouse. June 2001 Refurbished the Fire Circle. August 2001 reframed and recovered the Tepee. Of course, these were accomplished with many good buddies.

During those five years the Discovery Center became a regular stop on our house-guest tours, and Jack and I enjoyed evening lectures by the likes of Laura Erickson and John Bates. The Center had become not only a hobby for Jack but an emotional investment for both of us. So in 2001 I began volunteering at the Reception Desk and on the Finance Committee. I had been a public radio fundraiser during our years in Washington. I became a dedicated data-retriever about Discovery Center renewers and new members, and Ticki set about bringing order to the chaos of office-files and to feeding ravenous triathletes.

As of 2002, I combined my reception duties with fundraising strategies, working on the Development Committee and participating in strategic planning. In both 2004 and 2005 I did some limited large donor outreach and was part of the team that called out to program participants to find out what meant the most to them at the Discovery Center. Those calls were a revelation to me. I found folks generally supportive and enthusiastic about the Center. But I also realized that their grasp of what went on and why was very tenuous. This was a surprise given the very attractive program guides and frequent newspaper publicity.

Ten years since our first turn into the driveway leading to the Youth Conservation Camp, and more recently when our children & grandchildren have been active participants, Jack and I continue to fervently believe that the Discovery Center will prosper. But we also recognize how challenging it is to attract and engage people whose time in our area is limited, whose charities tend to be in other places, and who come here to relax, be entertained, and above all - not to attend meetings or make strategic plans or fundraising calls. This area and the people who now visit may have priorities different than ours. An example are the huge condo-resorts being erected on our shorelines.

So that makes the mission of the Discovery Center even more crucial. I am especially pleased that the Center continues to offer its children's and youth programs. I want the next generation to form an attachment to our part of Wisconsin - and in particular to this place which our family discovered back in August of 1996.

Thanks for this opportunity to acknowledge what the past 10 years at the Discovery Center have meant to Jack, the handyman, and to Julie, the neophyte Camp Fire Girl.

$15 tickets are still available for the Discovery Center's annual Member Social and Silent Auction this Sunday, May 28 from 4:00 pm - 6:30 pm. Enjoy great hors d'oeuvres from Skyview Supper Club and wine tasting sponsored by Trig's Cellar 70. Send in your RSVP's or call the Center by Friday, May 26 at 715- 543-2085. Limited tickets will be available at the door for $20

And bring your checkbook or plastic! Featured items for the silent auction include:
* 2-night stay in the historic Bayfield home of John and Barb McFarland
* Gourmet dinner for six with wine at your home prepared by Chef Jesse Van Rossum
* 4 Green Bay Packers' tickets for Sept. 1. The outdoor club seats were donated by Bob & Diane Jenkins.
* Fine Vintage Wines from Chateau Clerc Milon - one of the finest vineyards in France. Bid on either the '89 or '90 vintage - considered by experts to be the two best vintages in recent years! Thanks to Bill Bablitch and Ann Milne for their generous contribution to the auction.
* And this year's one of a kind: a 2002 Team USA Olympic hockey jersey signed by Chris Chelios and Gary Suter.

The more than 70 auction and raffle items include jewelry, a guided fishing trip, spring plantings, pottery, restaurant certificates, and so much more. Join us for the grand kickoff of our tenth anniversary season.

Can't make it but want to bid on an item? Call the Center for a surrogate bidder.

And if you want to get a sneak peak at all the Auction and Raffle goodies, we could use a few able- bodied persons on SATURDAY to help us set up for the event. We'll be gathering at The Center at about 3:30 on Saturday to set up tables and displays. If you can spare us an hour or so, we'll get the task done in no time at all. If you want more information on how you can help with set-up, please use the link to drop an email to event organizer, Marilyn Gabert.

And they're off...soon. Put Saturday, July 15 from 4- 8 p.m. on your calendar for our Tenth Anniversary Dinner and Audacious Indoor Derby. Invitations will be mailed in mid-June and information posted on our website.

Once that information is posted to our website we will let you know. You will be able to read all about the derby - how to buy a horse and participate in the excitement of the owners' race; how to bet on the races; in short, how to enjoy all the fun of a day at the races!

Thanks to Dave Debauche of Feathered Friends (wildbird rescue & rehabilitation), we have the opportunity to add to our teaching resources - to wit, one Boreal Owl. Dave rescued the bird in question a little over a year ago, after it was struck by a car in the Tomahawk area. Unfortunately it recently died, and Dave has kindly offered it to us to be mounted. If you are interested in sponsoring the mount by paying the taxidermy costs, we'd love to hear from you.

The Boreal Owl, sitings of which are fairly rare in these parts, is of the same genus as the Northern Saw-whet Owl, though it is a little larger and a deeper brown than is the Saw-whet. The Boreal's crown is thickly white spotted and it has large white markings on its back, too.

Congratulations to Al & Julie Hillery of Boulder Junction, who were the first to correctly answer last months TrivEa question. For their knowledge that:
Black Spruce is best adapted to wet, lowland sites; Hemlock (as a seedling in the understory) is the most tolerant of shade; and Jack Pine is best adapted to withstand frequent fires, The Hillerys won themselves a Discovery Center gift pack.

Now for this month's TrivEa: With BirdFest just completed, and our Silent Auction coming up this weekend, we thought the following question would be appropriate:

What is the highest price ever paid for a bird book (or set of books), name the book(s), and name the author.

Be the first to provide the correct answer and a Discovery Center gift pack could be yours!

BirdFest 2006 took place last weekend, and once again it was a huge success. Congratulations to Sarah Johnson and the Bird Club for putting on such a first class event. More that 110 people registered and 77 bird species were recorded throughout course of the one-day event. Our thanks to all our marvelous sponsors, presenters and our willing cadre of volunteers, without whom the event simply could not take place. Our website will soon include a complete list of the species spotted during the event.

email: bruce@discoverycenter.net

phone: 715 543 2085

web: http://www.discoverycenter.net