November is National Gratitude Month, and we want to let you know how grateful we are that you are part of our Women of Fisheries community. Without you, we would not be able to do what we do or be who we are, and without your support, we will not be able to grow and expand our services for all women in fisheries.
More specifically, we want to thank you for supporting us through all our exciting changes this year. We have become a nonprofit organization, created a new website and public Facebook page…and held our first ever fisHER Adventure Classic!
The fisHER Adventure classic will be an annual fundraising event to help support many of our initiatives such as scholarships, awards, mentoring support, and planning for future annual meetings. This year, the event took place virtually throughout the month of October. We encouraged registrants to participant in an outdoor adventure of their choosing and share their stories with us.
In all, we had 29 participants checking in from Washington to Florida, and all together we raised approximately $360. Not too shabby for our first group adventure!
Here are a few of the adventures shared with us by our members. Maybe you will even catch a glimpse of your own.
The fisHER Adventure Classic also included a contest for Most Impressive Adventure, Most Interesting Location, and Best Adventure Story, with winners having the option to choose from personalized prize race swag. Thank you to everyone who submitted stories and shared your adventures with us. Below, we present our 2020 story winners and their winning entries. Congratulations Lynn, Gina, and Jess!
Most Impressive Adventure – Lynn Mattes
Participated while at annual Ladies Weekend at the Cabin. A cabin in the Wenatchee National Forest in Washington. Over the 3 days, adventures included: *running into snow at Chinook Pass on the way *4+ mile hike to get marshmallows when we found out the burn ban had been lifted *nighttime treks to the outhouse *several leisurely walks in the woods *pumping water *wood burning stoves for heat and cooking, lots of moving firewood *a cheeky chipmunk got into the porch and stole some food * got “attacked” by a vicious “beast”, a 7-10 lbs. Yorkie from a nearby cabin *several very competitive games of Yahtzee ( I lost 3 of 5) * completion of a very tough puzzle * more laughs and quality time with friends than can count.
Most Interesting Location – Gina Alvarez
My fiance and I spent about 4 hours canoeing a creek in Tate’s Hell Forest which is right next to our home in Carrabelle, FL. The trip was so lovely, and the temperature was great! Since we both love to view wildlife, we were on the same page about staying quiet most of the time, and we were rewarded! We saw a lot of wildlife such as an owl. ducks, great blue herons, anhingas, alligators, otters, turtles, and fishes (we dip-netted for some). If we did not see an animal, we most definitely heard it. We feel lucky to live so close to this beautiful haven and will be visiting it soon for more wildlife encounters.
Best Adventure Story – Jess Sutt
Living in Southwest Florida, I spent most of the month mulling over places that would make for the Most Interesting Location. Like waist deep in the swamp on Gator Hook trail in Big Cypress National Preserve or SUPing through mangrove tunnels in Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge. I beat myself up a bit for choosing North Collier Regional Park, the most nearby County park to my home. Turns out, it was still a beautiful and fun adventure! Alas, like every other month this year, time got away from me and my motivation was weak. So I decided instead of aiming for prizes in any category, I’d just take care of myself by finallllyy going for a run. The evening before Halloween felt like the perfect night to hit my goal of running again directly before all of the holidays this season. And it kicked off the November goal to train for my wildlife fire management pack test. I twice ran through the over 2 miles of boardwalk loop that weave through cypress swamp, pine flatwoods, and the unique ecotones in between. With cold fronts finally moving in, it was a gorgeous autumn evening that had me smiling right from the start: cool breeze, glowing sunset, fruiting holly, blowing grasses, wildflowers drying, birds calling. What I didn’t expect were the costumed little ghouls strolling the trails! There was a trunk-or-treat event nearby and several families must have decided to stroll the boardwalk too because around random turns I ran into Little Red Riding Hood, witches, Iron Man, a family of woodland critters, and a classic sheet ghost. Around one turn was a father playing spooky music on his phone while telling his two young sons scary stories; which was a pretty neat thing to hear on an evening in the swamp. A final highlight was watching a black racer snake pretty literally race across the boardwalk, to the slight horror of a small family. I stopped to tell them its a nonvenomous, beneficial, and super cool animal friend, which they really appreciated and lead them to talk to me about animals and habitat. So part of my run included doing my usual job of environmental education and it lit up my soul 🙂 What a fun way to support Women Of Fisheries – Thank you for the inspiration to think about my fishy self and to get outside for a purposeful round of exercise in a beautiful place!
We can’t wait for next year’s event to share even more adventures with all of you!