The River Reach Foundation

Annual Meeting

February 2, 2023 – 6:00pm
Farmington Civic Center

The River Reach Foundation will hold its annual meeting on Thursday, February 2, 2023 at 6:00 pm at the Farmington Civic Center.  All members of the River Reach Foundation along with anyone interested in joining or learning more about the Foundation are encouraged to attend this meeting.  Annual dues are due so please either plan on making that payment at the meetings, or online here on our website.  Your annual dues will need to be paid prior to the ability to vote for any directors or officers whose terms are expiring.  To pay your dues online, click here:  Membership Levels.

One of the main events at the meeting will be voting in our new officers and directors.  The proposed slate is as follows – however, nominations can also be made from the floor.

Directors – 3-year terms:

• Director:  Doug Abe
• Director:  Bob Lehmer
• Director:  Monica Smith
• Director:  Jim Luther
• Director:  Brian Turner
• Director:  Bernadette Allred

Officers – 1-year term:

• Vice President:  Gary Hanson
• Treasurer:  Evan Noel
• Secretary:  Chris Troyer

Officer – 2-year term:

• President:  D-Ann Waters

Riverfest 2023

May 26, 27, & 28, 2023

Mark your calendars and plan to attend a fun-filled Riverfest!

It may be just the beginning of February, but the Riverfest committee is already hard at work.  Marketing has already come up with a theme for Riverfest 2023.  It is Splash Back to Flower Power!  We think this will be a fun theme as we look back to the 60s and early 70s with tie-die t-shirts, headbands, and classic rock.  We will be asking people to flow with the theme and are asking vendors to decorate their booths and food trucks.

Las year, Riverfest raised over $114,000 that helped finance not only Riverfest, but also Riverglo and the Animas River Jam.  It also helped fund our ongoing project to provide educational, instructional, and warning signage at various put-ins and bridges along both the Animas and San Juan Rivers.  This year, we hope to raise $150,000 to help pay for many of our planned activities this year.  See the “2023 River Reach Foundation Projects” section of this newsletter.

The President’s Corner

D’Ann Waters

Welcome to 2023!  Here’s hoping we all have a very happy and prosperous year filled with fun and excitement!  The River Reach Foundation’s annual meeting will be held on Thursday, February 2 at 6:00 pm at the Civic Center.  I hope you all can make it to the meeting as we will be voting in our new officers and directors at that time.  We have some new members and are looking forward to getting to know them better, and helping them get involved in some of our upcoming projects.  Your annual dues are due.  Remember, we have a variety of ways you can join so check that out.  The dues structure is on the Become a Member page of our website.

We have already started to work on Riverfest 2023, and would love to have you become involved in both the planning and production of Riverfest.  Our Riverfest Facebook page is up and running, so be sure to follow it and share it with your friends and acquaintances.  The Facebook page is Riverfest New Mexico, and the website is riverfestnewmexico.com.

Other News

2023 RIVER REACH FOUNDATION PROJECTS

The River Reach Foundation has scheduled several new projects for this year.  Some of our projects are the same as in the past, such as trail clean-up and maintenance.  The Foundation plans to hold at least two park and trail clean-up events.  One will be held on May 13 (two weekends before Riverfest) and will include the Animas floating river clean-up.  The second one will be held in the fall, possibly in late September or early October.

Other projects planned include the removal of dangerous concrete debris and old tires in both the Animas and San Juan Rivers, tree stump carvings along the trails in the park, a tree wrapping event to combat beaver damage to the trails, a fishing derby for children, and the production of a calendar showing photos of life and activity along the trails.  The tree wrapping event will be held around Arbor or Earth Day.  Stay tuned through the River Reach Foundation website and Facebook page for more information on the fishing derby and tree stump carvings.

2023 RIVER REACH FOUNDATION CALENDAR

Board member, Earleen Dudley, will be heading up the calendar project.  She will be asking the public to submit photos they have taken this past year and in 2023 of people, animals, or scenery along the trails.  Rafting trips, family outings, graduation pictures, encounters with the wildlife, seasonal scenery, and pictures taken at events are requested.  The only thing you have to remember is that the pictures need to be along the river trail between Animas Park off Browning Parkway and the Among the Waters Trail at the Bisti Highway.

Pictures taken while rafting along the San Juan River between McGee Park and Kirtland are also allowed.  Recognition of the photographer will be included on the calendar.  More information will be available through both the website and Facebook page – and future Ripples newsletters.  You can also contact Earleen at (909) 520-5887 or at trqtessa@gmail.com for more information.

RIVER REACH FOUNDATION DUES STRUCTURE

Individual Annual Membership:  $25/year
Family Annual Membership:  $35/year
Corporate Annual Membership:  $100/year

Individual 5-Year Membership:  $110
Family 5-Year Membership:  $125

Full-time High School and College Student Membership:  Free

All members are welcome to attend our monthly meetings, receive the quarterly electronic newsletters, and have one voting right at our Annual General Meeting.  Corporate memberships also receive recognition and their logo in the newsletters.

Getting to Know our Board Members

Latest Newsletters