Back to the Future from the Year 2010!

I apologize for not posting this in a more timely manner. I was under the impression that I would be able to edit & post from my smartphone...alas, I cannot at this time. Anyway, on to the post that was supposed to be posted last year, on Dec 29. 

The last meeting of 2010 was a HIT! Last night we met at Panera & took over the little back nook. 10 people were there! 10 people in 2010! There has been a flurry of activity this month, even though our web presence has been a bit quiet. Lots of research, paperwork & networking has occured & will continue. Here are a few of the highlights:

1. RESEARCH:
• We are pretty sure the hoopla that the botanist made about "the fern" all those years ago was all over a tiny plant called the Geocarpon. It only grows in Western MO & a few spots in Arkansas & Louisianna! Listed endangered by the Missouri Department of Conservation and threatened by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. It seems that it is one of the world's rarest plants & most likely lives at Graydon Springs! We are developing plans to research it & protect it...of course, we must buy the land first.
• We have researched all kinds of fundraising ideas & details to go along with those. 
2. PAPERWORK & ADMIN:
• Plans are in place to open a bank account in the new year.
• 501(c)3 paperwork is coming along.
• As soon as that is mailed, we can open an account with Community Foundation of the Ozarks. This will enable us to take donations & donors recieve tax deductions.
• Rhonda & I will be joining the National Association for Professional Women on behalf of GSOL.
3. FUNDRAISING:
• Kristy said she & others were doing the math of how many campers were likely involved in Camp Wakahni over the years. Yes, we realize many (like myself) were multi-week &/or multi-year campers...but lets just go with general numbers here. We approximate there could have been close to 17,500 campers over the years there! Now, if we could track down all of those people & each of them donates just $5, we would have $87,500!
• I am happy to announce that we have our first $5 donation from a friend of mine that wasn't ever a camper there, but has a great enthusiasm for our goals. I promise it was super easy to ask a friend for $5. 
• For more information about this effort, please see the next blog post. 
• If you have questions about this fundraising idea, please just shoot us an email.
• We would like to create a HUGE push for fundraising & "friend-raising" in the month of April - Earth Day Month. 
• A family-oriented Adventure Race of some kind. 

More updates to come! What is YOUR outdoor legacy?
-Alexis

Kids Incorporated!

Howdy everyone! I know its been a bit since I updated the blog. Sorry about that. So, tonight, you will get a quick list-style update. 

*Had a GSOL meeting at Panera on East Sunshine in Springfield on Nov 16. Lots of good news!

*Our mission statement was approved by the attorney who is kind enough to look over our stuff before sending it in! This meant that the paperwork was sent in soon after. This meant that the State of Missouri approved our articles of incorporation soon after that!!!!!!!!!!! WE ARE INCORPORATED! It made me feel the need to sing the theme song to Kids Incorporated!

*We are now working on our business plan.

*We are now working on our 501(c)3 paperwork as well. 

*I had a super meeting with Community Foundation of the Ozarks! They were great & helpful. As soon as our 501(c)3 paperwork is sent in, we can set up a fund with CFO to begin fundraising!!!!! 

*We will need "all hands on deck" soon. Even if this just means you fundraising from your family & friends...that's awesome! We plan to share at least 1 viable fundraising idea at the next meeting. Please share any ideas that you might have!

*If you would like to join in on any phase of this exciting journey, please don't hesitate to contact one of us with the place you will fit in. The more help the better!

******NEXT MEETING: December 27, 2010, Panera Bread on East Sunshine. HOPE TO SEE YOU OR HEAR YOUR IDEAS THERE!*******

Favorite of 5?

As we continue on this exciting journey of revitalizing this amazing gem of the Ozarks, we have come to some conclusions that have been apparent for years. There are many camps around the country that were opened in the 1960's that were simply intended for summer camp. This was great at the time...but slowly we have seen these camps fold under financial strains, urban areas encroaching on the properties, as well as just an inability to really keep up high quality facilities (even rustic ones) during 9 months of disuse & 3 months of heavy use year after year. Because of this, we know that Graydon Springs Outdoor Legacy MUST find year-round uses of the property for it to not return to what it is currently. We realize some uses of the property may not be year-round by itself. By combining all of these will make it a great resource to the Ozarks & USA at large! Below is a quick list of the 5 viable areas we see making Graydon Springs a year round facility. What is your favorite of 5? Maybe that's where you can become involved!

Education

• Environmental Education Center
• for schools
• for public classes
• for Summer Camp focuses on Environmental Education/Sciences
• Training ground for aid workers destined for remote areas
• Training ground for volunteers of all kinds of areas
• Space for a ‘Seeds of Peace’ type camp- http://www.seedsofpeace.org/

Recreation

• Campground for public use from the trail 
• Summer Camp
• Recreation - adventure training, races, orienteering

Ozarks Heritage

• Nature preserve
• Site for historic education- dealing with early settlements, 19th century medicine, early 20th century science
• A place for ‘train enthusiasts’ to gather
• Wildlife/Native American education

Sustainability

• “Lab” for green technology & techniques
• Agriculture - local, organic, gardens, possibly lease pasture land to other parties
• A teaching center for sustaniable agriculture techniques

Community

• Family Retreat Center - to foster healthy families, which prevents child abuse issues in Ozarks, etc
• Host music festivals
• partner with other organizations to find new uses for property

Taking it to the Next Level!

We had a fantastic meeting on Tuesday, October 19! Thank you to Becky, Laurie, Kristy & 2 newcomers - Mary & Melissa for a wonderful discussion! Thank you to Drury for allowing us to use a conference room. If you weren't able to attend, that's ok. Here are some highlights of the meeting. If you see a place to put your passion, talents, or skills to use, then step right up! 


Graydon Springs Outdoor Legacy Steering Committee
October 19. 2010  - Drury

Shared Powerpoint with a few extra attendees to explain purpose of GSOL.  Open discussion.  Thanks to Mary and Melissa for joining us!

Followup items/ideas:

• Need to establish as 501(c)3 - PRIORITY #1!! - Alexis is the lead.  We need to review the criteria to establish this status and decide on basic organizational structure.  We know it costs $500 to register - steering committee will front the money. Would like to get this status before end of year (ideally Nov) to take advantage of charitable giving in 4th quarter for 2010 tax deduction. Shooting for deadline:  Submission by Nov 5th.  Since we have no idea how long the IRS will take to process, we need to work quickly.  Alexis - will start working on that while Kristy, Becky and Laurie start business plan. Divide and conquer! 
• Registing for Historical/Environmental Protection/Preservation/Endowment/Register or whatever.  We feel the historic "dual springs" or ferns near Drury Acre or the 1880s well houses might qualify for something.  Ideas that Sierra Club "Clean Water Act" initiative might apply to the springs, Mo Dept of Conservation - ferns, EPA - something, Historic Groups, etc maybe too.  James River Watershed has a group in Springfield - maybe they would know of a resource for our Springs.  Also gather research on any Native American connection to the land.  Elise is the lead on this.  All of this info will be important to help share the significance of this land to potential donors :)  Deadline:  Something to share by Nov 16th meeting
• Kristy talked to Kevin Killian about some of this and Boys Ranch still wanting to use some pasture land for their horses.  - we will use some of this info in drafting business plan ideas
• Contact Ozark Greenways - let them know what we are up to since we desire to promote & utilize the Frisco-Highline Trail traffic - Alexis.  
• Camp Photo from Google Maps or Polk County Assessor - Kristy has.  This will be useful in the business plan.
• Write basic business plan - just a few pages to start sharing ideas with potential board members, early donors - Becky, Laurie, Kristy.  Shoot for deadline:  November 5th.  

Then we start the process of securing funding. Get ready! It's time to take this to the next level!!!!


Please let us know if you have any ideas, or other contacts who might be interested in joining the team!

I'm So Excited - for Next Tuesday's meeting, that is!

In case you haven't heard, we are holding our first Public Discussion Meeting next week! Consider the blurb below the "theatrical trailer" for the meeting:


We wanted to tell you about something we're pretty excited about... do you remember Camp Wakahni? The property is up for sale again and we are creating an interest group to find a way to purchase the property and make it usable to the community for a variety of purposes. The property is a little run down, but has excellent potential for a variety of Educational, Recreational, Historical, Sustainable and Community uses. It is just too much of a gem to let go! Right now, we are just gathering ideas from various groups and community members with the hope that together we can make this happen. We are meeting to discuss ideas next Tuesday night, October 19 at the Shewmaker Center at Drury at 7pm. We would love for you to join us!


You know you are excited! You just can't wait to get involved at the very beginning of this AWESOME legacy project! Thus, you should come!!!


If you cannot make it, do not fret! We will be posting minutes of the meeting soon after. Read them. Love them. Feel like you were actually there...then respond to the info. YOUR participation is desired! This is a legacy for everyone - including YOU!


Lastly, if you know someone who you think would be interested in hearing more about GSOL, please pass this along to them. THANK YOU!

GSOL meets Go Lead & Monthly Meet Up

Posted by Alexis

My wonderful momma heard about a great opportunity in Springfield. I will be attending a monthly class/networking for new Non-Profit professionals, Go Lead at MSU. As you might know, the non-profit world is where my heart lives. I am not motivated by the bottom line (although we always have to keep it mind), but alturism spurs me on. How can I help someone else? I have worked many years on the programming side of non-profits & LOVE it. You have deemed me worthy of taking that next step though. Jumping into a different realm of the non-profit world...Executive Director. Honestly, I am terrified of this idea, because I have always found myself flourishing in the programming side. Now its time to take the leap. This class will help give me the skills to take our little idea of GSOL (ok, its a really BIG idea) from idea, to reality. The class, paired with you (if you are reading this, I AM talking to YOU, even if we haven't met yet) & your support will get us to the next step.

In light of the fact that many of us will be in Springfield at the same time, we have decided a monthly meeting is called for. Our first of these (does this feel like history in the making?) will be held on September 29 probably in the evening. Please leave a comment, or email us (graydonsprings@gmail.com) to let us know if you would like to join the conversation & what time would be best for you. 

I leave you with a question, "What is your outdoor legacy?"

New Blog Home Sweet Home

Posted by Alexis/Taxi

Well, the ning community was a good one. We liked it...but they have changed policies so that there is no free option. In light of the fact that we still need to find quite a bit of $$$ to buy Graydon Springs, Elise & I decided to move away from ning & keep this online community free. We have moved to a facebook group for the community part & the blog is here now. i spent a bit of time moving the blogs here so that we did not loose our story.

One of the benefits of blogger is that we can earn a bit of $$ by using this site! Soon, I will "monetize" this blog. This simply means that there will be ads on the site that we will earn a few pennies everytime someone looks at the blog & even more pennies anytime someone clicks on the link. Every penny helps!

I have more updates to post...but no time to type them right this moment. Do you feel the suspense building?!

I hope that you  will come back often & comment often as well.

See you all soon!
-Alexis/Taxi