On the warm evening of Wednesday, November 9, 2016, 60 volunteers came to join in the volunteer appreciation fun at Zenger Farms. A delicious turkey dinner with all the fixings was served up with the help of volunteers and staff, and we had a great night! Our community outreach coordinator Janel announced our new community science programs, and Katie, Restoration Project Manager announced our brand spanking new website. Raffle prizes (including CSA shares to Zenger Farm, Columbia sportsware apparel, and other goodies) were given out. And we even got to collect some of our volunteers’ favorite memories from the 2016 year!
Our sponsors for the night made it all possible, donating food, ambiance, and the space for the night.
-Zenger Farms
-New Seasons Market
-Grand Central Bakery
and the Lambert Street String Band!
Here is a list of our esteemed winners of the night:
We have a tradition of honoring volunteers who have given 20 hours or more in one calendar year with an “Excellence in Restoration” pin. Many of these volunteers gave much more than 20 of their hours making the watershed a better place.
Mark Fitzsimons Linda Parmer Tony O’Hare Sue Hayes Alexander Rhodes Wayne Siebenaler Chris Clark Noah Clark Jeremy Jackson Scott Kelly Lisa Loske Norbert Loske Alan Lumpkin Walt Mintkeski Dick Schubert Lloyd Viviola Brianna Ames Gary Klein Phil Nosler Kelsey Channing Lauren Senkyr
Creek Rock Stars Awards–
These fine people went above and beyond in a specific area that was just so darn cool they deserved their own award.
- Greatest Number of Restoration Events This Year: Lloyd Vivola
- Johnson Creek Clean-up Power Couple:
- Lisa and Norbert Loske AND Melanie and Matt Klym
- Greatest Number of Gloves Washed: Gary Klein
- Greatest Number of Beaver Dams Recorded: Kayla Tomlin
- Most Salmon Spotted in Johnson Creek in 2015: Kyza White & Dalton Meade
- Greatest Number of Dragonfly Species Recorded: Phil Nosler
- Greatest Number of Dragonfly Observations: Jim Koloszar
- Greatest Number of Powerful Creek Heroes Photographs Taken: Bruce MacGregor
PRESIDENTIAL SERVICE AWARD WINNERS
The presidential service award is a federal awards program that dates back to the 1980’s. Watershed Council volunteers can achieve this level of recognition by completing 100 hours serving their country (or watershed) in one calendar year. That’s about 9 hours a month a minimum.
Jack Sutherland– Jack Sutherland began working with the council as a Land Use Intern. In this internship he helped our executive director give input on the City of Milwaukie’s tree ordinance. After completing his internship, Jack wasn’t done. He helped us lead tree planting events, participated in the tree inventory, surveyed for salmon, and even participated in fundraising for our winter appeal. What a well-rounded intern!
Bart White– Bart is a web designer who graciously volunteered his skills to help us transition to a more user-friendly website. In his 120-hour internship, he designed the new site, met with staff to talk about messaging and usability, fixed glitches, and taught us how to use the new site. He was always professional and very helpful. Bart is currently freelancing as a web designer and has his own site at bartonwhitedesign.com.
Bruce Newton- Bruce serves on our Board of Directors and on the governance committee. He also volunteers as a salmon surveyor in our community science program. His most prominent role to the council is as the council liaison to the Inter Jurisdictional Committee, and he led the effort to publish our five year water quality study. Thank you, Bruce for your service.
Bob Sanders- Bob is our longest standing board member, serving since 2009. He is a busy man and serves on four committees: Governance, Facilities, Executive, and Land Use. He also serves as the board treasurer. An invaluable member of our board. Thank you, Bob, for your service.
Carol (Caz) Zyvatkauskas -Caz serves on our Board of Directors and on the Outreach and Fundraising Committee as well as the Facilities Committee. She assists the council with the use of her photography, graphic design skills, and helps to maintain our facebook page. Caz, Thank you for your service.
Mary Ann Schmidt- Mary Ann serves on our Board of Directors and on the fundraising and outreach committee. She is our Crystal Springs Partnership liaison, and has also played a lead role in developing the Salmon Celebration. Thank you, Mary Ann for your service.
Melanie Klym -Melanie serves on our Board of Directors and on the Land Use and Executive committees. She is one of the founders of the creek cleanup and has been organizing this event for all 9 years of its history. Melanie also serves as the board’s Vice Chair. Thank you, Melanie for your service.
Alexis Barton– Alexis began as a communications and event support intern with JCWC in late 2015. She is currently serving as the Confluence AmeriCorps member for the Council. In this role, Alexis will plan and implement restoration projects, community science programs, volunteer events, and environmental education for watershed residents from underserved communities. We are so happy to have you on board! Thank you, Alexis, for your service, past and present!
Some of your favorite volunteer memories from 2016:
“Getting paired up with an ornithologist and a bird watching professional for the ecoblitz at Powell Butte!”
“Hanging with Friends of Trees and them having portable bridges for Veteran’s Creek!”
“Seeing beavers on Johnson Creek and sharing photos I took on the JCWC facebook page”
Having a great blue heron land and stay in Crystal Springs while volunteers were weeding the Brennan property.”
Whether you were able to make it to the appreciation dinner or not, thank you so much to all of our 2016 volunteers-and see you at the next event soon!
Photos thanks to Myranda Keightley, our outreach and communications intern!
