Hello Friends Of The Montezuma Wetlands Complex Members,
First, I’d like to say “Thank you” for being a member of the FOTMWC! Your financial support makes all the difference! Second, I’d like to ask you for your moral support and patience while we transition between presidents and get reorganized.

My name is Kyle Gage and I have been on the FOTMWC Board of Directors since February of 2019. I had also been serving as secretary for the last year and a half. During that time the Friends was impacted by the pandemic, just as almost everything was. We held off on in-person meetings for a year, and events, work outings, surveys and many other things were cancelled. Since recently resuming our in-person board meetings our president, Chuck Gibson, has decided to step down. We thank Chuck for his many years of exemplary service to the Friends. The vice-president, Gary Colvin has also decided to step aside and we thank him for his service as well.

As such, we are in a period of transition! I have recently volunteered to fill the role of president and other officer positions are being filled with new faces as well. Additionally, we are in the process of recruiting some new board members and have several amendments and modifications to the by-laws to address. Our main fundraiser, the Muckrace, will take place in September and that requires planning, garnering donations, and execution of the event; helped by numerous volunteers as well as the board members. Short term goals also include getting more articles and information into the Cattails publication to keep our members and the public apprised of events, surveys, and happenings throughout the Montezuma Wetlands Complex.

In short, your board of directors is quite busy! Please bear in mind that we are all volunteers as well, with jobs, family, and other commitments and interests. Obviously our dedication to the Friends organization is strong and we do our best to address all the items that come to our attention in a timely manner. I would ask that you please be patient during this phase of the Friends restructuring. Rest assured we will have things in order as soon as possible and that your donations will be put to good use helping to fund projects, events, and surveys at the Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge, Department of Environmental Conservation lands, and the Montezuma Audubon Center.

I would also like to encourage members to please share experiences, stories, or interesting items with us for use in the Cattails. Or, if you’d like to, we would welcome you to write your own article for submission!

If you have any questions please feel free to ask!

Sincerely,
Kyle Gage – (Acting) President
Friends Of the Montezuma Wetlands Complex