I am just
back from five days in North Carolina and 10 more in Florida, hence this rather
tardy report to all of you on our 2007 Annual Meeting of the Board of FFLA.
In short, it was outstanding. The weather was sunny and warm, Gary Weber won
the honors of the most lookouts visited (53 at final count I think), the Forest
History Society was a wonderful host, the North Carolina Forest Service made a
nice presentation, and the Board members got down to serious business. In other
words, we worked hard and had a good time doing it.
I am really encouraged
over the direction and accomplishments of FFLA!
Our full color magazine
is outstanding, as is our website which is linked to ever more good information
about fire lookouts, both here in the US and worldwide.
More important,
our members are doing a great deal to restore and assist lookouts is many ways.
The only down side, is that our membership numbers did not increase much in 06,
but we think we can do better in 07!
The minutes of the meeting will be
online shortly, so I will not detail those here.
We adopted our largest
and most "can do" budget do date, and we remain firmly in the black.
We also established a permanent endowment, the proceeds of which will help us
do even more. We are also now a supporting member of Forest History Society which
is setting up an administering the Forest Fire Lookout archives. Also, we approved
an important new project for the Historian.
A special accomplishment was
an agreement on my end for a streamlined approval process for nominations to the
National Historic Lookout Register. I have promised this before! And I regret
that it just has not come to pass as planned. As you read this the new procedure
is already operating here at American Resources. The new signs are in, and certificates
are going in the mail. I am quite confidant that this time we will get it right
in this office......and time will tell!
Even though the election for officers
was uncontested, almost every Director voted which is a very good sign. And, most
of you are getting your 2006 Reports in too.
As they arrive they are posted
on the web. Take a look!
The winter issue of LOOKOUT NETWORK will be in
the mail soon.
Keep up the good work folks! See you in Seely Lake MT this
summer, and somewhere (TBA) the the east.
Keith