We asked our Board members and a few volunteers to tell us why they joined TRWA. Our first volunteer is Dick Shafer.
“I attended the initial TRWA organizational meeting in 1988 led by Bill Napolitano, Kitty Doherty and others.
I joined that night as one of the founding members and have been a member ever since. I had just acquired a canoe and was interested in river trips,” says Dick Shafer, current TRWA’s Board member and Treasurer.
It’s the “that night” feeling we hope we can convey to you when you consider joining TRWA. We are in the “‘that night” period of our environmental activism needs.
He continues, “I was completely onboard with TRWA’s support of the Clean Water Act, as well as, later, the quest to achieve the Wild and Scenic River Federal designation.
After many years as a member, Kitty convinced me to join the Board of Directors where I eventually became President for seven years and am now Treasurer.”
Saying that he joined because he was interested in river trips is an understatement, by far. Since 1988, Dick has chaired or volunteered for many TRWA committees, activities and positions as well as, one of his proudest achievements, reviving the Taunton River Festival. Besides that, he is always ready to lend a hand.
Now, some thirty-two years after that first meeting, he still involved. He is working on the 2021 tide calendar photo contest. He is chairing the building renovation committee. He is a member of the fund-raising committee. If the Taunton River Festival hadn’t been delayed until 2021 by Covid 19, he would be very busy with that right now.
We need more volunteers like Dick and hope you will consider being one of them, even if you start with just one position.
He closes by saying, “We have a great team now and with the new Watershed Center a lot of great opportunities for the future.”
You can become a part of it. Our mission is to protect and restore the watershed’s natural resources for current and future generations. Join us and Become a Member or Become a Volunteer.
~Sally Spooner