Summer 2002

From the President's Desk:
Who cares?
Dear Friends of the Grand River Members:
As July 2002 nears the end, I've finally found the time to get the summer newsletter under way.
Friends of the Grand River (FOGR) is made up of a wide variety of people who value the Grand River for many reasons. Many of our membership are fly-fishers with a deep and abiding love for the river and all of its creatures. Others are outdoor enthusiasts who enjoy hiking, canoeing, birding and the like and some are simply residents of the Grand River watershed who recognize that the world is our home and we must care for it. But standing back and admiring the view is not nearly enough. We must work hard to preserve and protect our river and to undo some of the harm that "civilization" has wrought. Much of this work is done with volunteers giving freely of their time and resources, however, many of our projects do incur costs and like so many other groups we need to raise money.
This is why it's so important that you support the on going efforts of these groups in their ventures to raise funds; be it selling Raffle tickets, membership or simply just a small donation on the day. No one is getting rich off of volunteering their time, as a matter of fact most of these people do not realize the out of pocket expense that they occur in being involved. I myself donate 25-30 hours every week to FOGR, you just have to do the math to figure out my commitment, not to mention the financial commitment and  I stand not alone, many more members are busy volunteering their personal time each and every week. This is why it never fails to amaze me how hard you have to convince someone, who not only uses, but enjoys a resource, to contribute to the betterment of that resource, I probably will never  understand their reasoning.
I would like to thank everyone who contributes to the efforts of FOGR in our ventures to improve the Grand River Tailwater Brown Trout Fishery and the Grand River Valley for all to people and wildlife to enjoy.

Sincerely,

Larry R. McGratton
President