January 2012

Resident Volunteers

Happy New Year everybody.

A few years ago after the completion of the new Visitor Center and Administration Building the auxiliary office building was converted to a bunkhouse. It has six bedrooms, a kitchen, a bath, and a common area. At the same time three concrete trailer pads with electric and water hookups were installed in a nearby adjacent area. Since then the bunkhouse has continuously housed between 2 and 6 residents-some of them volunteers, some of them staff members on short term assignments, and some of them students here for a semester. And the trailer pads are fully occupied in the winter months.

This innovation has been a great boon for the Refuge. Staff members can be added as needed for special projects (typically six months or more), and they can be recruited from all over the US without any concern for immediate housing. And the corps of resident volunteers-typically retirees with trailers who love to winter in Florida-is absolutely outstanding. As I write this we have four resident couples-three in trailers and one in the bunkhouse-all of them returning for a second year! Some work with our biologists, some work in maintenance, some in administration, and some in visitor services. The Friends have provided internet capability to that area which certainly helps Ranger Chuck Ryan in his annual recruitments. Hat's off to Deputy Project Leader Rolf Olson and Head Maintenance Mechanic Allen Hansen for the foresight, initiative, and drive that brought this enhancement to fruition. And thanks Jan and Dave Conley, Chele and Chuck Walls, Janet and Bob Phillips, and Margaret and Morey Zuber for again making Loxahatchee your winter home.

See you around and about.

Steve

Steve Horowitz President 561-637-9751 stephenjayme@yahoo.com