|
|
Hot
Topics!
updated April
28, 2024
April 2024 New Member Induction posted
April 6, 2024
On Saturday, April 6, 2024, Mike Weiss and Sandy
Stanford gave an orientation to a new group of members
for the chapter at the chapterhouse. The newest members
of the chapter include, from left to right, Maria
Dreber, (fiance Craig Boyd was unable to attend), family
membership; Maritza Marquez, Individual membership; and
Marilyn Carter, individual membership.
Welcome our four newest members of the chapter.
Mowing and Trimming to Continue each Thursday Morning
Updated
April 28, 2024
Jimmy Miles, Grounds Committee chair, has announced
that the first grounds activity for controlling weeds
and grass began on Thursday morning, April 11, 2024 and
is schedules to repeat each week until further
notice. If it rains heavily and in thunderstorm
activity there will be no grounds-keeping activity (it
might be rescheduled to an alternate day), if there is
drought and little grass growth there will be no mowing
and during some events the scheduled might be altered to
support the event. A notice by email will be given
for exceptions but otherwise there will be mowing and
trimming on Thursday mornings usually starting at 8 am
conditions dependent. The mowers and string
trimmers have been working well and are awaiting
operators. We need more than the two or three
string trimmer operators to perform this task
efficiently.
The 2024 Wild Game Dinner was Held on March 16 at the
Chapter House Posted
March 17, 2024
On the evening of Saturday, March 16, the chapter
hosted the annual Wild Game Dinner at the chapterhouse.
See the Activities
page for a few snapshots of the event.
On March 30, the Chapter Hosted a Pancake Breakfast,
an Easter Egg Hunt and a Painting Event for the New Bee
Boxes Updated
April 28, 2024 (Photos pending)
A good time was had by about 80 members and guests.
Events for the week of April 28 and Our Next Chapter
Work Day on May 4, 2024 updated
April 28, 2024
See
the official chapter calendar for events
during the month and for any changes to the official event
schedules. Note especially our monthly slate of
meetings and dates where there are range closures.
Note also that our seasonal schedule of lawn mowing and
weed trimming started on April 11, 2024 and will recur
weekly on Thursday morning unless there is a steady
rain. The season ends when the weeds stop growing around
the latter part of October. The equipment has been
serviced and is ready to start the season. Work
hour credits will accrue for new members and there will
be a sense of appreciation for all members who come to
help keep the grounds looking neat and tidy. It
will make the perks of chapter membership, like shooting
and fishing, camping, hiking, etc. much more enjoyable
knowing you are part of an organization that cares for
and has pride in the entire facility. Come and
participate with the other volunteers who toil every
week to make the chapter a showplace. A few more
volunteers will lessen the load on what now is a small
percentage of the organization. If you can't make
it on a weekday, come out on the first Saturday monthly
work day.
If you desire an event to be placed on the calendar,
please communicate with the president, Herbert Pritchett
Sr at his cell phone number 540-226-0015
or his email address hwpritchettsr@yahoo.com. You
should also reference the event requirements detailed in
the Premises
Use Agreement located on the Facilities
web page.
Usually in the first week of the month, the chapter
will hold our board meeting on Monday (sometimes Tuesday
if there is a holiday or event such as Halloween)
evening at 6:30 pm and our membership meeting on
Thursday evening at 7 pm. Both meetings will be in the
chapter house.
Scheduled monthly workdays (first Saturday of the month is
our typical schedule):
- Saturday, grounds
maintenance tasks begin at 8:00 AM,
All new members need to sign the roster sheet
to obtain credit for work hours. You must
sign in when you arrive and sign out when you
leave. There are no exceptions. The
kitchen area of the chapter house is off-limits
except for kitchen crew on work day.
- Saturday,
Adopt-a-Highway roadside pickup event at 8:30 am (We
have obtained our new charter so are able to pickup
trash when the conditions are right.) Trash has been
collecting on Herndon Road and it will be removed on
May 4, at our next workday. For safety reasons a
pickup will not be scheduled if the roadways are wet
and slippery even if the rain has subsided.).
IMPORTANT: When a pick-up is scheduled and you are
intending to participate, review and heed the
safety requirements on the Conservation
page.
- Saturday, 9 AM,
Prospective member interviews in the Activity Center
temperature permitting (or chapterhouse-- ask) and
new member orientation in chapterhouse.
- Saturday, All-in-One
badging photos between
9:30 AM to 12 noon.
The photo sitting will be first come first served.
If you are possessing a temporary access badge
(either orange or white), please come in to obtain
a proper photo ID. If you are replacing a badge
(where a photo exists but the badge has failed due
to misuse) there will be a new photo badge
reissued for a fee of $10 using either your
archived photo or a new photo taken at the time of
issue.
- Saturday, around 10 AM,
a trap thrower training session will be offered as
needed and weather permitting for the auto clay
pigeon thrower with wobbler base on shotgun range
(range 4). This is a 15 minute tutorial and
demonstration (if demand exists; please advise Sandy
Stanford if you want an orientation.)
- Saturday after work has
completed there will be a lunch served in the
activity center or the chapterhouse, if weather is
too cold, before workday is considered complete.
Updated Note: Nominally
the monthly workday is 8:00 am to 1:00 pm but in
some cases, the workdays might continue even later
when workload demands it. In consideration of the
fact that fellow members are volunteering their
efforts in support of the chapter on monthly workdays,
other recreational pursuits (fishing or shooting as
prime examples) are closed until the workday is
complete. It could be as late as 2 pm although it
might end as early as 12 noon when work has been
completed. The workday tasks have priority and all
members are requested to participate whether or not
the required new member work hours have been
met. Come out on a workday to meet your
fellow members and lighten the workload by spreading
it out. The earlier the work is finished, the
sooner we can all get back to enjoying our property.
No
other events are presently planned, however, it is
always prudent to check with the official chapter calendar for any last
minute changes.
February 2024 New Member Induction posted
February 3, 2024
On Saturday, February 3, 2024, Mike Weiss and Sandy
Stanford gave an orientation to a new family member at
the chapterhouse. The newest members of the chapter
include, from left to right, are Megan and Matthew Woyak
and baby Woyak. A second family was elected on
Thursday at the membership meeting for February but were
unable to make this month's orientation. They are
the Cropp family, Richard and Susan, who wil be oriented
on the next workday..
Welcome our four newest members of the chapter.
New Version of Range Rules Published posted
January 6, 2024
New rules for use of the ranges have been
published. A change has been made to define better
the use of suppressors on the chapter property.
See either the Member
Login page or the Facilities
page to read the new requirements.
January 2024 New Member Induction posted
January 6, 2024
On Saturday, January 6, 2024, Mike Weiss and Sandy
Stanford gave an orientation to several new members at
the chapterhouse. The newest members of the chapter
include, from left to right, Kirby and Barbara Jean
Johnson, Daniel Schwarz, William Hurst, Sylvia Walker,
Michael Lansden and Robert Sargeant. Al but the family
member Johnsons are individual members.
Welcome our seven newest members of the chapter.
Our Pond has Received a Second Stocking of Trout (see
story at the Activities Page)
posted
December 17, 2023
Chapter Membership Approved the Fiscal Year 2024
Budget posted
December 8, 2023
At the December 7, 2023 membership meeting of the
Fredericksburg Rappahannock chapter of the Izaak Walton
League of America, Inc. the chief financial officer, Joe
Webb, presented the board proposed 2024 budget. After a
discussion, the budget was voted on and passed with no
disagreements. The content of the line item budget
can be viewed as a PDF file at the Member
Login page of the website.
Elected Officials Installed for Chapter Year
2023/2024 posted
September 8, 2023
At the September Membership Meeting held this
evening, Past President Steve Kotowski swore in the
officials elected for the year 2023/24 chapter
board. All officers and half the directors were
elected at the August meeting. Pictured below is
the ceremonial swearing in of those officials.
From left to right are pictured, Jim Lloyd, vice
president; Sandy Stanford, membership director;
Barbara Pritchett, secretary; Herbert Pritchett,
president; Ralph Kinch, treasurer; and Darrell
Schultz, director. Also elected but not present
was Latoynia Ransom-Harvey, director. Officers
are elected for on-year terms and directors for 2-year
terms. A complete breakdown of the board
constituency with term limits can be found at the member login page.
Our Pond Supports All Kinds of Natural Flora and
Fauna posted
August 11, 2023
The pond has an abundance of examples of all
aquatic animals and flora in central Virginia.
This year there is a return of pond weed growth to the
shoreline of the pond. Our pond manager and a
few volunteers have been waging a battle to reduce the
growth to make fishing a little easier. The
growth will be abated when colder weather settles
in. Also, the pond has yielded an abundance of
fishing experiences throughout the winter and spring
when anglers have been rewarded with all sorts of
large catches including trout and bass. The pond
also serves as a source of other natural
wildlife. Occasionally, the wildlife that
inhabit our pond will sometimes need some
management. Here is a photo of one of our
members who has reduced the population of a healthy if
not ugly snapping turtle. I am sure there are
others in the pond so it is important not to dangle
your toes in the water lest you encounter the jaws of
one of these reptiles.
Butch Morris Awarded for his "Save Our Streams
(SOS)" Conservation Effort posted
August 4, 2023
See article and photo on the conservation
web tab on the Fred-Rapp chapter website.
New Officials Were Elected as Officers of the
National Chapter posted
August 3, 2023
The Izaak Walton League of America, Inc wrapped up
their annual convention last week. The
Fredericksburg-Rappahannock Chapter is proud to
announce that our chapter president, Herbert
Pritchett, Sr., of Fredericksburg VA has been elected
as the vice president of the national chapter of IWLA,
Inc. Pictured here is a photo of the
installation of the officers' ceremony conducted at
the convention. From right to left are the new
president-elect, Jodi Arndt; vice-president-elect,
Herbert Pritchett, Sr.; and treasurer-elect, Scott
Meyer, who is also from a Virginia chapter.
Herbert is the Newly Elected National Chapter
Vice-President (See the News Page) posted
July 29, 2023
We Have been Hearing Recent Claims of Very Large
Bass in Our Pond posted
June 28, 2023
Member Dirk Johnson sent a photo of a catch made by
his daughter at the chapter pond yesterday. This
is proof positive that we have some big ones in our
pond just waiting for someone to put a hook in their
mouth. She looks very happy!
Communications with Membership posted
June 9, 2023
It is again apparent that not all members are getting
communications from the chapter. We use a
variety of email, calendars and social media to try to
communicate information. Some information is
critical, for example firearms range closures. We try
to pass the word as quickly as we know when critical
situations arise. The fastest way to do this is
by email and the use of the chapter calendar. If
you are not on distribution for email please let me
know at newsletter @ iwlafred-rapp.org (take out
spaces to form the email address) and I will put you
on the list of distribution. If you have a family
membership include your significant other's
information as well. I need your first and last name
and email address to do this after checking to assure
you are a member. (No non members are on the
distribution.) I also try to make sure
information of import on the use of the property is
listed on the chapter calendar. You can always
check the chapter
calendar at this link. The calendar trumps
any other scheduling information usually. The chapter
calendar is a Google calendar and if you use Google
calendar as your personal calendar you can overlay the
chapter calendar so you can always be up to date with
chapter events. Less often, information can be found
at our website and our Facebook sites. If it is
a time critical notification, look for an email and a
calendar entry.
The only US postal mail notification you will receive
in any year is the annual mailing for annual dues
which normally happens in early to mid October each
year.
By the way, if you are changing either your postal
mail or your email address make sure you notify the
chapter so our communications will keep up with
you. Again, you can send it to me (Jim Lloyd) at
newsletter @ iwlafred-rapp.org (remove the spaces to
form the email address) and I will assure that the
databases needing change will get changed.
Two SignUp Events Added to the Member Login Web Page
posted
May 20, 2023
The SignUp links for the Fredericksburg Dog Mart and
the recently scheduled Fall Spotsy Wine Festival have
been added to the Member Login
page so members may access the links and volunteer
support for the events later this fall. Sign up
soon and often!
The Prestigious Judge John Tobin honor was awarded
at the May Membership Meeting
See the News Tab.for
details.
Work Day, June 3,
2023 posted
June 4, 2023
Work day on June 3 had many varied
activities. Some brush clearing was done on
several parts of the property, weeds were pulled
from the pond to make fishing from the bank a little
easier (and to keep the weeds from taking over the
entire pond surface.) A camera was added to
the power pole in the parking lot to provide a fixed
"stare" and a higher resolution record of gate
entries and exits. The pan, tilt and zoom camera
will be relocated in the near future to provide more
dynamic coverage of the upper part of the
property. A good portion of the ramp leading
to the chapterhouse entrance was replaced as the 5/4
planking were getting very deteriorated. Some
stone was added on the side of the sidewalk leading
to the stairs at the chapterhouse to reduce a
tripping/falling hazard. A warning stripe of
yellow was also pointed to draw attention to the
sudden change in elevation of the sidewalk. A
heavy bolt was added to the new doors to the tool
shed to secure the doors flush with the frame. The
gasoline engine powered garden pump was serviced and
restored to proper function. Nona prepared a hot dog
lunch for rewarding the workers who toiled that
morning to improve the property.
Come out to your chapter next
month on workday to keep our investment properly
maintained and a source of beauty, utility and pride!
|
