This month of thankfulness would not be complete without a shoutout to one of our most involved and dedicated volunteers. Tom Pelletier is not only our Board Chair, he also co-chairs the Marketing, Building and Grounds, and Fund Development committees. He spends countless hours supervising building construction, repairing parts of the lodge, writing blogs and grants, working on the website, and guiding our fundraising.

 Tom has always been interested in nature and shares his fascination through the website ”Ask a Naturalist,” where curious naturalists can ask questions and Tom will find the answer if he does not already know it himself.  Learning about fascinating phenomena in nature is his life-long passion. His expertise in writing and biology has led him on a career path of writing for many non-profit organizations, including creating fundraising campaigns for over 250 organizations. Tom has also been an integral part of CEED’s funding, whether seeking from outside sources or funding projects himself.

If you have attended any of our festivals or events, you most likely ran into Tom.  He is involved in all levels of what we do and often brings his family and friends to share the exciting happenings at CEED. Tom has helped spearhead the efforts of repairing the roof on our historic second empire structure and has been instrumental in arranging the installation of our fire safety system, which just began this month.

And right now, Tom has agreed to match any gifts made to our Giving Tuesday campaign. And he wants you to take him up on it!

Both CEED and the surrounding community are thankful that Tom is involved.

Patrice’s original goal in retirement was to relax from the pressure of that high responsibility job and focus on being a grandma to her granddaughter and grandson on the way. During her time in the Probation Department, Patrice had seen a lot of the more difficult problems facing troubled individuals and our society. And she learned that in her own life, nature was a solace, a source of peace and perspective. In addition, she had always enjoyed gardening and found comfort being in the out of doors, and nurturing her own part of the earth.

Concerned about how little connection so many people have to nature, Patrice was perfectly primed for the day that she and her partner Bob stumbled upon a spring festival at CEED. Patrice put her name on a list as a potential volunteer and very quickly proved the same competence and value that resulted in her high-profile career. It wasn’t long before CEED co-founder Rebecca Muellers called to ask if Patrice would consider being on a newly reconstituted CEED Board in the spring of 2018.

As a grandmother, a citizen of earth, and someone who spent 43 years trying to help people who need healing, Patrice is committed to CEED’s mission of connecting people to nature.

“There is such joy in being outside,” Patrice says. “People need that. And we need to take care of this world. We don’t own this planet. We just inhabit it.”

At CEED, we’re honored to have Patrice as a critical member of our Board, our Executive Committee, and a co-chair of our Program Council and Events Committee.

As Chair of the Board of Directors of CEED, I’m happy to announce that Sally Wellinger, our part-time Executive Director, will expand her role to full-time as of tomorrow, July 1.

In the spring of 2020, the Board planned to hire a full-time executive director to lead CEED in a new phase of program development and renovation of the Washington Lodge. Those plans were disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but through the dedication and creativity of our staff, the Board, and our many wonderful volunteers, CEED weathered the storm, and we can now return to the original plan for a full-time professional executive director.

Sally has done a remarkable job in her first year with CEED, despite her part-time status, and the Board is excited to see progress in so many areas – from virtual programming for schools to expanded spring and summer in-person nature experiences for children. Her dedication to the mission and vision of CEED is amazing.

Please join me in congratulating Sally. And please continue to support her and CEED in whatever ways you can as we work to become a community resource for environmental education and nature discovery in our region. Thank you!

– Tom Pelletier, Board Chair

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