The CLA participated in the Community Foundation’s Annual Meeting on Wednesday, June 19, by hosting an exhibit in their dining room. It was their 35th Anniversary of “Caring for Chautauqua County.” Doug Conroe, President of the CLA, and his wife Jane from the Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy were there along with other staff to work our exhibit which featured a truckload of weeds on display. The Community Foundation has helped the CLA over the years with funding for capital projects and this year they were able to help us with our annual lake maintenance operations ($15,000). They also have granted us a matching grant for new CLA membership. Basically what that means to us is if we can account for $7500 in donations from new members (people who are first time donors to the CLA), they will match the $7,500!
It was very nice to be asked to participate in this event! There were over 200 people in attendance. The folks at the Community Foundation said they felt the lake was one of the most important places in the county and they wanted us to show their members exactly what we do for the lake. We showcased a 2-ton dump truck full of freshly harvested aquatic vegetation along with a wheel barrel and pitch forks. We had several people touching the weeds, asking how many truckloads we remove in a day and what we do with them once we haul them out. We also displayed several pictures of our volunteers and crews at work. Overall it was a great event and we were thankful for the exposure!
