October 2024: A Message from Our Director
Dear Wolf River Conservancy Friend,
Fall is upon us. Here in the Mid-South that means the leaves are changing color, the occasional 80-degree day still makes an appearance and the Wolf River Conservancy’s Greenway Soireé is just around the corner! The Soireé is our annual event celebrating the work of the entire Conservancy community. Educational programs, community outreach, land conservation and of course progress on the Greenway are all highlighted among friends and supporters. This year’s event is on Nov. 9th at the FedEx Event Center at Shelby Farms Park, and we are so excited to see many of you there! If you’re unable to attend, but still want to be a part of the celebration, you can participate in our silent auction which opens online on November 4th. Please visit our website for details, or get your auction bidder-only ticket here: Purchase Auction Bidder-Only Tickets.
Along with the changing of the leaves, our organization is evolving: our longtime CFO, Bob Rogalski is retiring at the end of the year. Bob has served our mission for more than 8 years and contributed to so much of the success that has positioned us where we are today. His financial leadership through countless projects including construction of the Greenway and the growth of our land conservation efforts has been indispensable. And on a personal note, I am so grateful to have had in Bob a trusted financial voice as we have navigated change and built out new opportunities during my first year with the Conservancy. His influence will be felt here for a long time.
Of course, Bob’s retirement means we have the chance to bring on a new perspective, a person who will work alongside our team bringing the mission of the Conservancy into its next season. I am proud to announce we have hired Mr. John Hartney to serve as our next CFO. John has been a dedicated Conservancy volunteer for many years while building a highly successful career at FedEx and we couldn’t be more excited to have him join the team. A more detailed account of his experience can be found in the newsletter below.
Finally, I want to thank the hundreds of participants who came out to one (or all!) of our Discover the Greenway Fall Series events over the past few months. This was a first for us and our team was blown away by the response we received. We loved seeing your creative costumes at the Shady Grove Trailhead Fall Fest, sharing a voodoo café beignet during our first Movie Night on Mud Island and enjoying a Saturday morning at the Family Fishing Frenzy out at Epping Lake. Connecting our community to the beautiful green spaces around us is core to our mission and we thank you for allowing us to deliver on that in such fun ways.
As always, thank you for your continued interest in and support of the Wolf River Conservancy.
Erik Houston
Executive Director
Wolf River Conservancy
Fall is upon us. Here in the Mid-South that means the leaves are changing color,
