Honorary Board Newsletter – January 2024
There’s a lot happening with the Florida Greenways & Trails Foundation. So we thought a few short newsletters during the year would be a good way of keeping our Honorary Board members posted.
Here we go with our first one.
New Board Officers, Board members and Honorary Board Members: New Board Officers were elected for 2024: President - Ned Baier; Vice President – Kim DeLaney; Treasurer – Mike Stephens; Secretary – Harry Barley. And four new Board members have been added: Laura Kelley (Orlando), Tina Russo (Odessa), Bob Romig (Tallahassee) and Peggy Huff (Everglades City). Please let us know if you can recommend any good prospects from South Florida or the Jacksonville area so we can have all major markets represented. New Honorary Board members are Beth Alden (Tampa), Dale Allen (Tallahassee), Billy Hattaway (Orlando), Karen Klena (Tallahassee), Brandyn Littleton (Tampa) and Deb Orton (Bonita Springs). A full roster of our Board members and Honorary Board members is attached to the email that brought you this newsletter.
Where’s Dale Allen? Well, Dale is no longer serving on the Foundation’s Board due to term limits but he isn’t going far. Both Dale and Karen will continue serving the Foundation as members of the Honorary Board and Dale will be working on a few trail projects of particular interest, some with the support of our Foundation. And, of course, Dale will continue as a trusted advisor to the Board on all Foundation matters.
New website and lots of news on Facebook: The Foundation’s website (www.fgtf.org) got a complete makeover last year. This was under the leadership of Ned Baier and Charlie Johnson (both Board members) and with the talents of Erika Stanley from Mile End Digital, a woman-owned business in the Tampa Bay area. Erika did a fantastic job. If you haven’t visited the site recently, be sure to check it out. It will be updated 3-4 times each year. Also, special thanks to Sally Thompson (an Honorary Board member) for the amazing work she’s done with our Facebook page. The numbers have soared in recent months!
Update to the Five-Year Strategic Plan: This update was needed to reflect the passage of SB106 last year by the Florida Legislature (with a unanimous vote!) and it being signed into law by the Governor. This game-changing legislation provided a huge boost in SunTrails funding and included other initiatives such as the integration of the state’s greenways and trails network with the Florida Wildlife Corridor. You can review the updated plan by going to www.fgtf.org, click on “About Us” and then click on Read Our 5-Year Strategic Plan.
Fundraising: Over the past few months, you probably heard from every wonderful organization you’ve ever helped about making a year-end contribution. Well, the Florida Greenways & Trails Foundation wanted to be the first deserving organization you heard from asking for a donation in the new year. We are an all-volunteer organization so we don’t have major expenses like staff salaries, benefits or rent. However, we need to raise at least $30,000 each year to cover basic operating expenses. Individuals and organizations have always stepped up to help and we need this to happen again this year. Perhaps you can make a personal contribution – or maybe you know of a company, an organization or a foundation that is aligned with our mission and would be willing to help if you asked them. The IRS has designed the Foundation as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization so contributions are tax-deductible. Contributions can be made through the “Donate” button our website or checks should be sent to Florida Greenways & Trails Foundation, P.O. Box 4142, Tallahassee, Florida 32315. We thank you for your consideration of this request.
An invitation: The Foundation will have an in-person Board meeting in the City of Winter Garden on Thursday, February 29 from 12:00-5:00 p.m. followed by a reception from 5:30-7:00 p.m. Then the Board meeting will resume on Friday, March 1 from 8:00-12:00 p.m. Honorary Board members are invited to attend all three sessions, or just one or two if that’s all your schedule will allow. More information on this event will be sent to you when arrangements are finalized. We’re hoping to have good participation by our Honorary Board members so please look at your calendars to see if you can make this work.
And finally: This is a good opportunity to say thank you for all you’ve done to help the Foundation in a variety of ways in recent years. As an Honorary Board member, you’re called upon from time to time based on your areas of expertise, your location, your interests, who you know or some combination thereof. Whenever we’ve asked, you’ve been there – and this has really been appreciated. So from all of us serving on the Foundation’s Board, thank you!
