Awards Dinner
2008
Volunteers
Honored at Volo Bog & Moraine Hills/McHenry Dam
Friends of Volo Bog receive special award
On Thursday, December 11, Illinois Department of Natural Resources
staff from Volo Bog State Natural Area presented the Friends of Volo Bog with a
special 25 Year Anniversary plaque. The award recognizes the Anniversary
of a group that has contributed both financial and volunteer services to this
unique IDNR site in Ingleside, Illinois. FOVB founding member Esther
Larson of Johnsburg accepted the award on behalf of the group. Esther began
volunteering for Volo Bog in the late 1970s and was on hand when a small group
of volunteers organized to form the Friends group in 1983. After a 14-year
hiatus, Esther has returned to Volo Bog State Natural Area and is again active
as a volunteer. Visit the Friends of Volo Bog at www.FriendsofVoloBog.org
The Friends of Volo Bog 25th Anniversary award was just
a part of an evening of celebration that honored ninety volunteers who donated
their services to Volo Bog State Natural Area and Moraine Hills State
Park/McHenry Dam in 2008. Together they contributed 4,528 hours to these
Illinois Department of Natural Resources sites.
Special Recognition was given to two individuals as Volunteer of
the Year at their respective sites.
Nancy Bodinet of
Lake Zurich was named 2008 Volunteer of the Year for Volo Bog State Natural
Area. Nancy contributed 163 hours to the site where she serves as a weekend
Docent. Docents are monthly volunteers who greet visitors, answer questions
about Volo Bog and the site in general, assist with program registration and other
tasks associated with the Visitor Center, and operate the Tamarack Shop - the
Friends of Volo Bog’s book & gift shop. She can often be found docenting
more than once per month, filling in when other docents are unavailable. In
addition to her docent contributions, Nancy also assists with Adopt-a-Road
cleanup, mailings of The Bog Log, and Bluebird Monitoring. She filled in when
extra help was needed in maintaining the site’s Prairie Gardens. Finally, Nancy
can be found helping out at Volo Bog’s special events such as WinterFest,
International Bog Day and Ghost Stories.
Bob Vetter of
Grayslake was named 2008 Volunteer of the Year for Moraine Hills State
Park/McHenry Dam. Bob’s tireless devotion of over 200 hours to the complex
located in McHenry, Illinois, spanned multiple duties and talents. Bob
coordinates the Native Gardeners - a team of ten gardeners who tend to the
site’s Native Plant Demonstration Gardens. Bob is a founding member of the
Friends of Moraine Hills State Park (founded in 2007) where he serves as
treasurer & membership secretary. Bob also manages the FOMHSP web site
which can be visited at www.FriendsofMoraineHillsStatePark.org . Mr. Vetter is a
resident of Saddlebrook Farms, a retirement community in Grayslake, where he
often promotes the programs at Moraine Hills as well as Volo Bog State Natural
Area where he also volunteers.
Volunteer-of-the-Year plaques were presented on behalf of Mrs.
Bodinet and Mr. Vetter by Site Superintendent Greg Kelly and Site Naturalist
Stacy Iwanicki. Both also receive a Certificate of Appreciation and a Centurian
Award Plaque which is presented to all volunteers contributing over 100 hours
for a given year.
Also Receiving Awards:
The following individuals also received Certificates of
Appreciation and Centurian Award Plaques for contributing over 100 hours each
in 2008:
Bill Ewert of Ingleside, John Holmes of Lake Villa, Carl Krautwurst
of Grayslake’ Merry Miller of Lake Villa, Myrna Nelson of McHenry, Ray Purcell
of Grayslake’ Nancy Schietzelt of Crystal Lake, Carol Shaffer of Grayslake,
Richard Wend of Spring Grove (Lake County side), and Neil Whitman of
McHenry
The following received Certificates of Appreciation for
contributing 50 - 99 hours each to Volo Bog and/or Moraine Hills/McHenry Dam in
2008:
Chris Brenner of Grayslake, Jerry Donahue of Mundelein, Nancy
Doughty of Barrington’ Mark Ginger of DesPlaines, Gail Goeke of McHenry, Pat
Henschen of Lake Villa, Billie Kocal of Antioch, Kathy Kozacky of Roselle,
Esther Larson of McHenry, Yvette Liautaud of Streamwood, Meg Macdonald of Lake
Bluff, Randy Schietzelt of Crystal Lake, Gary Seiler of Cary, Rebecca Tippens
of Fox Lake, and Jan Wemple of Ingleside
Thirty-two additional volunteers received certificates for
contributing between 20 - 49 hours each, together providing a combined 851
hours to the two sites, with another 22 folks offering their help on smaller
(often one-time) projects.
We had two photographers taking photos of the event, Paul
Howerton, is a director on the board for FOMHSP, and Gwen Selby is the
President of the “Sutterbugs” at Volo Bog.. The dinner was pot luck with
everyone bringing a dish to share, and some guests even brought ornaments for
the tree. There will be some different photos for the same event on the Friends
of Moraine Hills State Park website
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Photos by Paul Howerton |
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Photos by Gwen Selbey |
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Certurian
& Volunteer of the year plaques |
Ester Larson Receiving special award for FOVB’s 25th Anniversary with Volo Bog |
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Photos by Gwen Selby |
Photos by Paul Howerton |
Photo by Cheryl Graves |
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We had a good
attendance from both the FOVB & FOMHSP, and we ended the evening
introducing our Chairmen, left to right Randy Schietzelt replacing Dan
Haller, who is stepping down as Chairman of FOVB, Stacy Iwanicki Site Naturalist for both
sites, Neil Whitman, Chairman of FOMHSP And Greg Kelley, Superintendent of
both sites. |
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Photos by Paul Howerton |
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Volunteers contribute in numerous ways to the programming and
public relations at Volo Bog State Natural Area and Moraine Hills/McHenry Dam
State Park. Trained volunteer naturalists lead tours of Volo Bog for
individuals and small groups on Saturdays and Sundays at 11 a.m. & 1 p.m.
Youth Program Naturalists lead environmental education programs including Bog
Life tours. Nearly 5,000 school and youth group children were introduced to
Volo Bog in 2008. Special events such as International Bog Day, Ghost Stories
and WinterFest rely heavily on volunteers. Volunteer Docents greet visitors in
both sites’ Visitor Centers, while others lead Bird Walks at both Volo Bog
& McHenry Dam. Volunteers tend the demonstration Prairie & Woodland
Gardens at each site and others monitor bird nesting programs. Many volunteers
from the sites are members of the Friends of Volo Bog or the Friends of Moraine
Hills State Park but membership is not required - the two groups are separate.
Volo Bog State Natural Area is an Illinois Department of Natural
Resources site located on Brandenburg Road in Ingleside, Illinois west of U.S.
Highway 12 between State Routes 120 and 134. Celebrating their 25th
Anniversary in 2008, the Friends of Volo Bog, is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3)
corporation and may be visited at www.friendsofvolobog.org . For information on Volo Bog or
volunteer opportunities, please phone site Naturalist Stacy Iwanicki at
815-344-1294.
Moraine Hills State Park and McHenry Dam are Illinois Department
of Natural Resources sites located in McHenry, Illinois on River Road south of
State Route 120 and north of State Route 176. The Friends of Moraine Hills
State Park is a not-for-profit organization formed in 2007 and has applied for
501(c)(3) status. FOMHSP may be visited at www.friendsofmorainehillsstatepark.org . For information on
volunteer opportunities, please phone site Naturalist Stacy Iwanicki at her
main office at Volo Bog - 815-344-1294. For general information on Moraine
Hills or McHenry Dam, please phone 815-385-1624.