It's a girl, and another girl, and another girl, and yet another. No, we don't know anybody who recently gave birth to quadruplets, but we are very excited to announce four new additions to the Discovery Center Family. After surviving a winter in close quarters with four male work associates, Program Director Maggie Moesch is pleased to finally have some female work companions. Do stop by and welcome the newcomers. In the meantime we'll let introduce themselves:

Licia Johnson (Pictured, right)
I was born and raised right here in the Northwoods. When I was young I loved camping and playing outside with my family which started my interest in the natural world. I attended Carroll College in Waukesha where I studied math for two years before I went on a field study to Alaska and decided that natural resources was the right path for me. I graduated in 2004 with a degree in Natural Resource Conservation and Geography. Following graduation I worked at Trees for Tomorrow as a seasonal naturalist, and have been back every winter since to help out. For the past year and a half I have been working seasonally at YMCA Camp Colman in Washington as an environmental educator and assistant director to the program. When I am not out leading students through the woods or teaching them to XC ski, I enjoy reading, crafting, skiing and doing anything that gets me outside! I am really excited to gain new skills and knowledge while working at the Center. I love meeting new people, helping them understand the natural world around them and also learning new things myself. I am sure that the Center can help me with those goals!

Amber Gray (Pictured, left)
I will be joining the Discovery Center in June as a summer naturalist. I graduated in 2006 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Zoology and certificate in Environmental Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Last summer I was an environmental intern at the Riverland Conservancy and the previous summer I was a research assistant at the UW-Center for Limnology at Trout Lake. I also got to work with school groups during an internship at Olbrich Botanical Gardens in Madison, and recently finished a seasonal naturalist position at Trees For Tomorrow. I am really looking forward to this summer, continuing to work in my chosen field of environmental education. I hope to meet many of you soon!

Beth Meyer joined us in late April as our part- time bookkeeper and administrative support person. She comes to us with a wealth of administrative experience, a love of the Northwoods, and a true desire to help us advance our mission. We can't ask for much more than that. Beth will be working three days a week and already we are seeing a marked improvement in the organization and productivity here in the office. We will introduce Beth in more detail next issue.

Heather Palmquist Not so much a newcomer as an old friend coming back for a return gig. Many of you will remember Heather as our Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) specialist last summer. We are thrilled to announce Heather will return to the position again this summer. On behalf of The Center, Heather will be delivering contract AIS services to the Town of Manitowish Waters four days a week and to the Town of St Germain Lake Committee one day per week. Welcome back, Heather!

Looking for a great way to kick off the Northwoods social season? Then look no further than these two wonderful events.

The Great Northwoods Fishing Celebration will be held next Saturday May 12 at Red Crown Lodge on Trout Lake, from 5:30 pm to 9 pm. The event includes: live music; hors d'oeuvres; wine and beer tastings; home-made deserts; fire-side stories (featuring Andy "Buckshot" Anderson, and our own Tom Joseph); pontoon boat rides; great raffle & door prizes; and giveaways for all! This is a cooperative offering by Red Crown Lodge, MAVWACC and The Discovery Center. Tickets are $40 in advance and can be purchased at the Discovery Center or the Minocqua Chamber. Tickets are selling fast so call now to secure yours! Proceeds from the event will benefit The Discovery Center. Click here for more information

And of course, responsible Discovery Center members will already have the Member Social & Silent Auction on your calendars - Sunday May 27 at 4pm. This perennial favorite is a great way to catch up with Northwoods neighbors, sample some fine wines, enjoy some scrumptious hors d'oeuvres and bid on some truly spectacular auction items. Tickets are just $15 each. Discovery Center members will receive a written invitation and ticket order form within the next week or so, but why not put it on your calendar now?

Member Social partners-in-crime Marilyn Gabert & Tom Joseph announce raffle and auction winners at last year's event. By the way - if you're someone who likes to organize a good party - Tom & Marilyn would love to hear from you. After running the event for ten years, they are looking to hand over the reigns. If you'd like to contribute to the Center's success by running the event next year, please give us a call. Marilyn & Tom assure us they will be more than happy to show somone new the ropes. Please give the matter some thought.

And one final note: Do you have items to donate? The organizers of the Discovery Center's Silent Auction and of our second annual Dinner and Derby need your help. We're looking for some high quality top prizes for these events: sporting tickets, vacation getaways (in the past, we've featured Florida, the Caribbean and Bayfield), antiques, canoes, kayaks, or even a boat and motor in good condition would be great prizes. Or perhaps you have a skill - we've auctioned massages, architectural services, computer help and many more. Please contact Marlyn Gabert, mgabert@centurytel.net or phone 715-543-8224.

Need to do a little gift shopping? Don't forget we have a small collection of quality goodies for sale in the Discovery Center Office. Bird books, note cards by Terry Daulton and Sara Muender, framed Sara Muender prints, T and polo shirts, books by local authors John Bates, Mary Burns, Buckshot Anderson, and photographer Jeff Richter.

And another gift idea - how about a Discovery Center gift certificate? Your loved one can use the voucher any time they like to enroll in the class or program of their choice.

>>> INVENTORY REDUCTION SALE <<< Our "Decade" mugs were selling for $10 each. But if you'd like a permanent souvenir of our special 10th year, act now and you can buy a set of four (4) mugs for just $30.00

So... whether you are looking for graduation gifts, birthday gifts or gifts for any other occasion - please keep the Discovery Center in mind. The gift recipient will know you care for our wonderful Northwoods, and you will be supporting our continuing efforts. Everyone wins!

Once again, we are asking for your help as we continue the task of readying ourselves for the summer season that will soon be upon us. Our annual volunteer days will be Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday May 14-16, from 8:15 am to 5:15 pm daily.

Come for an hour, come for half a day, a whole day or all three days - whatever time you can spare us will be greatly appreciated - especially by staff Building & Grounds guru Mark Charon who thus far this spring has pretty well done everything on his own. Come and show Mark you care! We'll be doing everything from sweeping cabin floors to raking leaves and from repairing screens to replacing batteries in smoke detectors. Maybe even a little painting here and there. We will provide snacks, fresh fruit and drinks - if you plan to stay all day, please bring a sack lunch.

Come along and meet some nice people who share your love of the Northwoods and commitment to responsible stewardship. Heck, we plan to have some fun too!

Look out for a separate email announcement of this event in the next day or two. In the meantime be sure to mark your calendar - Friday and Saturday May 18 & 19. For complete details of the event go to our website by clicking on the link below, then scrolling down the page a little.

Children enjoying the BirdFest Kids Tent at last year's event. Here they are busily building bird- feeders.

As this edition of Discover-E-News makes its way to your computer, the new summer program guide is nearly ready for snail-mailing. You should see it in your mail box by the end of this week or early next week. In the meantime you can use the link below to check out the summer schedule on our website.

Just a quick heads-up to let you know the Discovery Center will be one of three local charities to benefit from a fun new event to be held at Trout Lake Golf Club throughout the coming summer - a Million Dollar Hole-in-One contest.

The contest will work something like this: Golfers can purchase chances to participate in the event. Daily nearest the pin winners will get to return to an end-of-season play off and ultimately try to put a ball in the cup for a million bucks.

Chances will be on sale here at The Discovery Center office and at various businesses around town. The more tickets we sell, the larger our share of the proceeds. So if you are a golfer, be sure to participate. Have some fun, support the Discovery Center and other worthwhile local organizations, and maybe win yourself a million dollars.

Stay tuned for more details.

There is a renewed energy at the Discovery Center and several new things have occurred since our membership meeting last July. The Center has:

* a new Executive Director, Bruce Greenhill. Bruce is new to the position of Executive Director but a familiar face at The Center. The Board is delighted that Bruce was willing to accept the Executive Director position.

* increased the number of our Voyageur members from 19 to 44. Our Voyageurs help keep the Center's gates open and enable us to produce high quality programs each year. In July 2006, we established a goal of having 100 Voyageurs. We are well on our way with Voyageur recruiting events planned throughout the summer. Please help us by encouraging your neighbors and friends to become Voyageurs.

* new class-room space, office and restrooms to support year-round programming. If you haven't seen the new arrangement yet, please come out and look it over.

* entered into a contract arrangement with the DNR to provide programs at the Crystal Lake Nature Center and other campgrounds in the Northern Highland-American Legion State Forest. Our partnership with the DNR continues to grow in a way that best utilizes the skills of our outstanding staff throughout the year and strengthens the Center in many positive ways.

* several new full-time and part time staff members who will be delivering programs and keeping the Center well maintained. Please come out and meet them.

The Center continues to offer high quality programs to our members and the community and we work hard to expand the rage of program offerings. Protecting and maintaining the Center's property and facilities for use by all members and the community is the reason the Center came into being. It continues to be the primary goal of the Board of Directors.

We hope you enjoy your time at The Center this year.

Sincerely,

Dick Hemming, President