Friends of Morrow Mountain State Park

The summer meeting of Friends of Morrow Mountain State Park (FMMSP) was called to order at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, August 23rd, 2015. Present were: Vanessa Mullinix, Marie Lilly, Robert Flake, Greg Schneider, Ron Anundson, Phil W. Lowder, Tevis Smith, Walter Deppe, Janet Davis, Derrick Davis, and Tanya Davis.

Chair Mullinix welcomed and introduced everyone, including Marie Lilly, who has a special interest in equestrian planning and events for Morrow Mountain State Park (MMSP). Chair Mullinix also took a moment to thank Superintendent Greg Schneider for his hard work at dedication during his three years at the park. She elaborated on his dedication not only to MMSP, but the Friends group as well. The last of September will mark the end of his tenure with MMSP, as he will become the new Superintendent of Lake Norman Sate Park. Everyone expressed best wishes, but he will certainly be missed by all. Another significant loss to Morrow Mountain State Park will be the retirement of Toni Phillips. Toni has been a valued employee of the park for the past 40 years, and she will truly be missed as well. A retirement celebration is planned at Tillery Tradition on Saturday, Sept. 12th.

As introductions continued around the table, Phil Lowder introduced a recent photo gallery addition to the website called SmugMug. Phil encouraged everyone to take a look and also outlined software capabilities to include allowing members to upload and share photos with this software. Chair Mullinix then expressed appreciation to Phil for his exceptional work on the website, etc. and additionally expressed gratitude to everyone lending a hand to complete the south entrance wall. Some clean-up is still needed, but everyone is very proud of the renovated park entrance. The Barrack reconstruction is still under consideration as a major project for the future, and fundraising strategies for this important project are ongoing.

The minutes were presented from the May 17, 2015 meeting by Secretary Tanya Davis. Several copies were distributed to members and highlights from that meeting were noted. A motion was made by Tevis Smith to accept minutes as read and a second motion was made by Phil Lowder. The minutes were accepted as read.

Next on the agenda was a Treasurer’s report by Tevis Smith. For those new to the process, Tevis explained the two accounts stating that any contribution under $250 was placed in the local account, and any contribution over $250 was sent to Raleigh to be placed in the state account. The local and state account balances are as follows:

The balance on the local account can be reconciled on a monthly basis, while the state account balance is reconciled on a quarterly basis. The $5,000 FSP grant contribution for the reconstruction of the wall was not part of the balance on the state account because invoices were sent directly to FSP for payment. That said, all expenses for the wall restoration have been covered by grant and community contributions, as well as in-kind contributions from individuals and organizations.

There were a couple clarifications from Tevis regarding the state account balance. At the beginning of the year, the state account had a $600 discrepancy, which Tevis and the Friends of State Parks resolved. Because of a pending audit with the state account, individual state account balances were distributed early. Currently there is a $740 difference (with Tevis showing $740 less ($8,301.12) than the balance of $9,041.12 that was recently received from the state.. Following the audit, Tevis will again reconcile his figures to match that of the state.

Tevis noted that the contribution boxes strategically placed at MMSP averaged $120 a month. We briefly discussed the need for a projector that we could depend on to present the FMMSP PowerPoint to local groups. We will investigate this need, along with options and costs before a decision is made to purchase a projector.

The meeting then moved to committee reports.

John Young was not present to report on latest activities of the History Committee, but a flyer from the Stanly County Museum was distributed to promote an historical presentation on Sunday, September 20th on the Kron Family. Registration will take place through the SC Historical Society and will be held at MMSP Lodge at 2 p.m. The SC Museum will also have cookbooks printed and for sale. A partnership to help sell the cookbooks was briefly discussed.

Ken Knight was not present to report on latest hiking activities, but he is still organizing hikes and will likely coordinate more this fall.

Chair Mullinix gave a brief report from Membership and Promotions to include clean-up now that the south wall is complete. Additionally, a split rail fence will eventually be added to the end of the wall on the south side. Janet Davis offered a suggestion for FMMSP fundraising through Zumba. Janet noted many of the Zumba members have never visited MMSP, and this type of fundraiser is popular and typically very well attended. We discussed the possibility of granting an annual FMMSP membership to individuals participating in this event who contributed $20 or more. A date would need to be confirmed soon, as the lodge is often booked for wedding events in the spring and fall. The Zumba fundraising event would take only 2-3 hours, and Janet will continue to work on coordination of this.

Another fundraising dinner event highlighting the music of John Denver was presented as a possibility. The group discussed a Friday evening, rather than Saturday, as a potential time to host the event. November 6th and 13th were discussed as possible dates, and Brunswick stew and desserts would be served in addition to music. Chair Mullinix will continue to work on this.

Run the trails is currently scheduled for Saturday, January 2, 2016. Janet Davis did an outstanding job previously coordinating this event, and once again agreed to lead this effort. Go Run the Trails begins at 9 am and volunteers are asked to arrive about an hour prior to the beginning of the fun. The maximum contribution is $600, but everyone feels it is a quality event and agreed that FMMSP should provide continued support.

Vice Chair, Robert Flake, reported that points remained much the same regarding land acquisitions. Vice Chair Flake and John Young continue to work with the Land Trust of North Carolina and are planning a meeting with the organization in the near future to discuss any new developments. Vice Chair Flake would like to schedule this meeting prior to Superintendent Schneider’s departure.

The next item on the agenda was to hear from park officials on upcoming news, activities, and events. A Halloween activity is planned for October 23rd. This will include trick or treating for the children, a movie and a hot air popcorn machine for serving popcorn during the movie. Various contests are conducted on the evening also. Park officials would like volunteers for the evening, in addition to providing publicity through FMMSP website and Facebook page.

Old Fashioned Day is scheduled for the lst Sunday in November. The park has been working hard to expand events and demonstrations this year. FMMSP will provide a $500 contribution and Tevis will issue a check in this amount near the end of September.

At the end of the meeting, Superintendent Schneider concluded with a special thanks for all that has been accomplished through FMMSP. He noted it had been a genuine pleasure to be a part of getting FMMSP re-established and appreciated the dedication and enthusiasm over the past several years. Farewell and we wish you the best Greg!!

With no further business, Chair Mullinix adjourned the meeting at 3:44 p.m.