Because of You…
Johnson Farm is saved Page 1
“Tons of Fun” engages Kids with Nature Page 3
Appreciation Report 2013-2014 Page 4
March 2015
High Vistas Journal The Newsletter for Members of FRIENDS of the Blue Ridge Parkway
You Did It! Johnson Farm Restorations In Full Swing For 2015
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hanks to your generous gifts this past Holiday Season, the work on Johnson Farm that began last fall is paid for and more renovations are scheduled to begin this month! You showed your love for the Parkway and Johnson Farm by giving beyond our expectations. FRIENDS Board and staff cannot thank you enough for supporting this important work and saving a priceless Parkway treasure! On a sunny afternoon last October, two FRIENDS staff members visited Johnson
Farm and spoke to National Park Service staff and Parkway volunteers as they worked on restorations. Penny Bryarly is one of a dedicated crew of volunteers who helped prep the farmhouse for new siding and paint. Asked why the restoration is important to her, she said, “It would just break my heart to come up here and see the condition it was in. This is our heritage.” The siding on two sides of the farmhouse had deteriorated beyond repair and needed a complete
replacement. The roofs were in such bad shape that Park staff worried the house and outbuildings might not survive another winter and that the farm would have to close. Thanks to your donations, the house is newly clad in hardy Poplar siding. Poplar trees from the Parkway that were damaged or already fallen were put to use for the siding, milled Continued on page 2 >>
FRIENDS of the Blue Ridge Parkway uses your donations wisely. See how on page 4
Announcing “Ride For The Parkway”
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eginning the first weekend in May, Greg Baltad, Retired Ranger and Chair of the FRIENDS Peaks of Otter Chapter, will embark on a cross country bicycle ride to raise funds for the Parkway such as the ongoing renovations at Johnson Farm. The ride will take Greg six to eight weeks originating in Oregon and ending in Virginia on the Blue Ridge Parkway. He welcomes
anyone who’d like to ride along. FRIENDS’ own Fernando Gracia will join Greg for the final leg along the Parkway. Stay tuned for more information about Greg’s “Ride for the Parkway.” For information about the ride or to find out how you can help Greg with his journey, please email Staff@FriendsBRP.org or visit our website, www.FriendsBRP.org.
3,382 Virginia BRP Plates On The Road V
irginia Blue Ridge Parkway Specialty License Plates are Restoring Parkway Views. Thanks to everyone who has purchased plates for your cars, motorcycles and RVs! Did you know? $15 of every plate sold goes directly to FRIENDS to fund Parkway projects! That equated to over $43,000 in 2014! Go to www. dmv.state.va to buy your Blue Ridge Parkway plate
Continued from page 1
by a local business. White Oak trees (also naturally-felled), were split into shakes and have been curing over the winter. They will be installed this spring on the farmhouse porch roof and will be used to re-roof several of the outbuildings. Parkway Ranger and Supervising Law Enforcement Officer, Jon Holter, takes great pride in the ongoing restoration work at Johnson Farm. He has devoted countless off-duty hours coordinating the project along with Greg Baltad, Retired Parkway Ranger and Chair of the FRIENDS Peaks of Otter 2
today and your vehicle will not only look great, but will give back to FRIENDS in a big way! Live out of state; contribute matching funds so together we may double our efforts.
Chapter. Holter says the work could not be done without the help of FRIENDS, the volunteers who contribute time and labor, and the donors who give so generously to cover the cost of renovations. Baltad puts it Greg Baltad in front of clearly, “Through the generosJohnson Farm house. ity of a few it has been preserved to exist as a museum for millions.” There is a lot of work yet to be completed on this living “mountain museum” but your gifts have given new life to the farm and hope for another century of educating and r. ts a voluntee e re g r e lt o H Jon delighting millions of Parkway visitors each year. FRIENDS of the Blue Ridge Parkway
Alternative Break Program Your Support Gave the Johnson Farm 24 Helping Hands
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welve students from Elon University visited the Parkway’s Peaks of Otter area providing invaluable support to FRIENDS and the National Park Service in the rehabilitation project of historic Johnson Farm.
Elon University Students
and Greg Baltad.
In spite of chilly, rainy ABP Volunteers work even in the autumn weather, the students rain. succeeded in painting the fence National Parks like the and parts of the farmhouse. They helped with the installaBlue Ridge Parkway are really tion of roofing materials, new humbling. Just a few days ago siding and just about anything I was really stressed out about else that needed attention midterms and I was getting at the work site during their caught up in the tiny trials and Alternative Break. tribulations of everyday life. Your generous support This experience reminded me ensures that programs like the of the bigger picture and how Alternative Break remain a everything culminates in a way reality! It is critically important for FRIENDS to engage young that is so much bigger than people in stewardship of our yourself. public lands. Your contribuElon University student Darrah tions help FRIENDS continue O’Flaherty of Denver, Colorado to provide that opportunity.
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FRIENDS Engages Kids In Nature! Thank You for Helping with “Tons of Fun”
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he Roanoke Valley FRIENDS Chapter hosted a booth at “Tons of Fun,” an annual event that draws thousands of kids and their families for a day of fun and games. The chapter volunteers offered a number of naturerelated activities such as an Enviroscape that teaches kids about storm water run-off pollution and prevention; a “Pin the Tail” game in which kids matched pictures of tails to the appropriate animal; rock painting; photos with Grover; and more. www.FriendsBRP.org
Because of your donations, events like these are just one of the many ways FRIENDS is reaching our youth and encouraging them to engage in the natural world.
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Blue Ridge Parkway by Numbers A wide variety of animal species including* Amphibians
Fish
Mammals
Birds
Reptiles Globally rare plant and animal species
Kids having Tons
of Fun!
* Blue Ridge Parkway Final Management Plan Summary
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Appreciation Report 2013-2014 Your support empowers volunteers to accomplish great work on the Parkway
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our support is making a tremendous impact on the Blue Ridge Parkway! Through YOUR donations, volunteer hours and support for FRIENDS programs, you help preserve and enhance the Parkway for now and for future generations.
2,226 x 102,367 = $2,308,968 Parkway Volunteers
Hours of Service
In Wage Equivalency
Your help strengthens Parkway communities through the FRIENDS Network of Chapters
8 x 9,528 = 102
FRIENDS Chapters
Volunteer Hours
Projects Completed
Your generous investment maintains parkway assets & engages kids in nature
76%
Trails Adopted
1,746
74%
Overlooks Adopted
31%
Junior Rangers Served
Cemeteries Adopted
“
I volunteered to be the (Adopt-A-Cemetery) coordinator and have thoroughly enjoyed every minute. Mapping and identifying the people interred in the cemeteries is a great way to provide visitors to our Parkway with an insight to those who lived here.
”
Drew Daniels, Roanoke Valley Chapter Volunteer
Your volunteer time & donations revive cultural & historical sites
Brinegar Cabin Gardens
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isitors get a sense of what the garden and life might have been like for the Brinegar family near the turn of the Twentieth Century. Northern Highlands Chapter volunteers contributed over 200 volunteer hours to bring the garden back to life after years of neglect. Check out this great video on YouTube titled: The Garden at Brinegar Cabin.
Johnson Farm farmhouse
NEW FRIENDS eNEWSLETTER
Subscribe to our FREE e-Newsletter and stay up to date on volunteer opportunities, ongoing projects, Parkway news and more. Visit FriendsBRP.org and sign up today.
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eaks of Otter Chapter volunteers and Elon University students provided over 800 volunteer hours to restore the Johnson Farm farmhouse. See stories on page 1 and 2 for details.
FRIENDS Board of Directors
FRIENDS Staff
KEN RANDOLPH, President - Rockydale Quarries, Corp DAVID POTEET, Vice President - Nomad Mobile Guides STEVE BEYER, Vice President - Leisure Media 360 J. RICHARD WELLS, Treasurer - Lesiure Media 360 LYNN DAVIS, Secretary - Virginia Tech College of Natural Resources & Environment PERRY KEYS, Assistant Secretary and Treasurer - Enterprise Software KIM BLAIR - Ferrum College MARTHA BOGLE - Nationl Park Service Superintendent, retired WILLIAM BRENTON, JR. - The Brenton Group KYLE EDGELL - Caricature Artist GEORGE HUMPHRIES - Photographer and Author, Mars Hill University
SUSAN JACKSON MILLS, PH.D, Executive Director MICHELE G. CRIM, Director of Marketing & Donor Fundraising FERNANDO GRACIA, Director of Programs & Community Outreach GAIL WEBB, Membership Services Coordinator MARY ELLEN BELCHER, Administrative Assistant
FRIENDS Volunteer Staff Jill Darlington-Smith Kathy Van Duzer Virginia Ehrich Richard Hoffman
Pam McCallister Pauline O’Dell Leslie Lindsay Mark Lindsay
P.O. Box 20986 Roanoke, Virginia 24018 540.772.2992 | 800.228.PARK (7275) www.FriendsBRP.org | Staff@FriendsBRP.org