Written by Will Skelton
Founding of the Sierra Club, Tennessee Chapter and Harvey Broome Group
The Sierra Club got its start in California in 1892 and remained pretty much a California organization until David Brower became Executive Director in 1952 and publicized the Club on a national basis. The Sierra Club's successes in several national campaigns, including stopping a dam in the Grand Canyon National Park, and heightened environmental consciousness reflected in the first "Earth Day" in 1970, led to an eastern expansion of the Sierra Club. Kentucky became a chapter with several groups, in due course including a Tennessee Group. The leadership of the Tennessee Group was interested in ultimately becoming a separate chapter and hoped to have groups in Memphis, Nashville and Knoxville.
It therefore was somewhat coincidental when, in the early 1970's two Knoxvillians, acting independently and without knowledge of each other, contacted the National Sierra Club and expressed an interest in having a group of the Sierra Club in Knoxville. Jim Anker was a professor of Psychology at the University of Tennessee and Will Skelton a practicing attorney with the law firm of Baker, Worthington, Crossley and Stansberry. Will was fresh out of the Marine Corps in California where a fellow marine had taken him on a weekend backpack in Sierra Nevada Mountains and later gave him an application for the Sierra Club. Jim had been a professor for some time at UT and had heard of the Sierra Club from various publications. Will and Jim's inquiries were forwarded by the national Sierra Club to the then fledgling Tennessee Group, which was primarily based in Nashville.
The Nashville people jumped at the chance to get something started in East Tennessee and scheduled a meeting of their executive committee in Knoxville to promote the formation of a Knoxville Group. That meeting was held in the University of Tennessee Student Center on June 24, 1972. Notices were sent to all Sierra Club members in the East Tennessee area and resulted in 15 or so people showing up. Lots of advice was given about how to get started with the formation of a group and the Knoxvillians proceeded to do just that shortly thereafter.
Several meetings of a defacto organizing group were held at Jim Anker's Psychology Department office (an old house on the North side Cumberland Avenue that has long since been demolished). Attendees at those meetings included Jim Anker, Will Skelton, Ken McDonald, Susie McDonald, Sharon Boyce and John Thomas.
Then, on November 14, 1972, at a meeting in the UT Student Center, officers were elected and bylaws adopted and the Group became an official Group of the Cumberland Chapter, along with, in Tennessee, the Nashville and Memphis Groups. Jim Anker served as the first chair and Will Skelton as Vice Chair. As with many start up organizations there was a lot of enthusiasm, both for getting organized and for environmental causes. Plans were laid out for a monthly program meeting and a monthly executive committee meeting, a schedule that has been maintained through the history of the Group. Issues facing the Group were numerous, including the Little Tennessee River Dam, the Eastern Wilderness Omnibus Bill, the creation of the Big South Fork National Recreation Area and the Obed Wild Scenic River, a Smoky Mountain Railroad rails to trails, and the Third Creek Bike Trail. Some succeeded and some failed, but the Group was involved in all of them.
As for getting organized, the Group initially met in various locations, including the UT Student Center, the Wesley Foundation, and Jim Anker's office, until moving in June 1973 to the meeting room of the old Hamilton National Bank (now First Tennessee Bank) in Western Plaza Shopping Center. Finally, in September of 1975 the meetings moved to the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church, where the meetings have continued to be held for over 25 years, moving with the Church in their new location a few blocks down Kingston Pike in the late 1990's.
The Group began publishing its own newsletter in March 1973, which continued through December 1974 when it was merged into a new Chapter newsletter. Harold Harkins, Jr., was the editor in 1973 and Dana Nitecki in 1974. The newsletter was called "Earth Notes" and reflected the enthusiasm and wilderness interests of the Group; every issue is filled with wilderness outing schedules and conservation to-do articles. It was typed on a manual typewriter and printed by the now-antiquated mimeograph process. From those beginnings, the Group now has an excellent website (where you are reading this now), created by Liz Dixon in 1997. In 2009 the Group initiated its own Facebook page, which has grown in readership and is regularly followed by almost a thousand supporters; and in 2010 the Group began distributing via email a monthly electronic newsletter which goes to over 1,500 subscribers. The newsletter is currently edited by Julie Elfin who also acts as the HBG webmaster.
At a meeting at Henry Horton State Park on the weekend of April 7-8, 1973, the Tennessee Group officially reorganized itself as the Tennessee Chapter of the Sierra Club, and the Harvey Broome Group became a Group of the Tennessee Chapter. Bob Brandt, a Nashville attorney, was elected chair of the Tennessee Chapter, Arlo Smith of Memphis as Vice Chair, and Will Skelton as Conservation Chair.
The Group was initially called the East Tennessee Group but was changed in March of 1973 to the Harvey Broome Group. The name change came at the suggestion of Harold Harkins, who arranged for Anne Broome, widow of Harvey Broome, to show some of Harvey's slides and read from some of his unpublished manuscripts at the March 13 meeting. Harvey Broome had been, of course, the most well-known environmentalist from Knoxville, having been an organizer of the Wilderness Society and a leader in the battles to preserve and protect the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Anne's consent to our use of the name and her readings made everyone very comfortable with the choice of a name for the Group.
Tennessee Chapter Activities
The Group quickly became active on a state level within the Chapter. The first annual meeting of the Tennessee Chapter, which has become a tradition for the Chapter, was held at Picket State Park in October of 1973. The next year, on the weekend of October 25-27, 1974, the Group hosted this meeting. This annual Chapter meeting has almost always been held at Picket State Park and is a family weekend designed for fun and entertainment, with outings and programs. In 1975 the Group assisted in getting a Group started in Chattanooga, ultimately named the Cherokee Group. Dan McDonald, Will Skelton and others went down to Chattanooga on several occasions to promote the Sierra Club and assist in formation of the Group, which received Group status at the October Chapter meeting in 1975. Subsequently, the Group did the same thing for a Tri-Cities Group with a committee being organized in 1978 and the State of Franklin being officially recognized in the Spring of 1979.
Many members of the Group have served as Chapter officers over the years, including Will Skelton, Roger Jenkins, Ray Payne, Liz Dixon, and Mac Post as Chapter Chairs.
The editorship of the Tennessee Chapter's newsletter, the TenneSierran, was rotated among the Groups until the late 1990's. In January of 1975, the Group assumed the editorship of the TenneSierrian for the first time. Dana Nitecki was the editor, and the Group not only was in charge of writing but also was in charge of getting the newsletter printed and to the post office. The editorship subsequently rotated back to the Group on several occasions, with Marsha Winters editing it during 1987-1988 and Roger Jenkins and Susie McDonald serving as coeditors during 1997-1998.
Meeting Programs
The Group's programs over the years have, as might be expected, featured some really memorable programs and some real duds. A few of the more outstanding programs: Anne Broome at the March 13, 1973 program, the Reverend Rufus Morgan, a mountain Episcopalian minister from North Carolina, talking and signing hymns at an early program, a slide show on Mexico caving by Bill Deane, and Mike Pelton's program on black bears. One of the duds was a slide show which featured national park visitor center purchased slides that were twenty years or so old.
The Group also developed a schedule of certain programs. March became the annual outings program where the outings for the year were previewed. August was a picnic, held at various locales, including the parks along Northshore Road in West Knoxville, Ijams Nature Center, and the City's Holston River Park. December was a member slide show program, with members showing slides of their trips during the year, a program that is often hosted by Roger Jenkins.
Outings
The Group's outings program kicked off with the first outing on the weekend of March 10-22, 1973, to Mt. LeConte Lodge. John Thomas recalls that around forty (40) people attended that outing, obviously a huge turnout. We stayed in the Mt. LeConte cabins and spent some time talking about future outings. Later, the Group adopted a recommended maximum of 15 participants for outings, although there was room for exceptions. The Mt. LaConte outing was followed on April 21 with the Group's first clean-up hike, along the Appalachian Trial. Subsequent clean-up hikes were held in the Smoky's although in the 1990's the Group switched to Third Creek Greenway clean-up outings.
Over time, the outings program evolved and emphasized outings to places other than Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which was well covered by the Smoky Mountain Hiking Club and where the trails were often crowded. Ken McDonald led a backpack in 1973 to the Shining Rocks Wilderness in North Carolina that for many years was a mainstay of our outings program and is still repeated occasionally. The timing was crucial for this outing as it was generally scheduled in the second weekend in August when the wild blueberries were ripe.
Roger Jenkins complained about the outings program in 1977 and was promptly named outings chair and has significantly improved our outings program over the years. Roger has now served as outings chair on several occasions for a total of eight years, far more than anyone else. In 1977, he produced the Group’s first year-long outings schedule. Roger also began in the late 1970's leading several outings that became mainstays. These included a winter backpack to give everyone a look the mountains in the winter and which produced some memorable outings, including a subzero degree night on Rogers Ridge, another weekend on Rogers Ridge when we had 8 inches or so of new snow and a particularly windy Saturday night in Grassy Gap in the Highlands of Roan area. Another one of Roger's traditional outings was initially a gourmet canoe trip on Fontana Lake, when everyone brought their best backpacking meals; that outing evolved into relatively short backpacks. Roger also led a fall colors backpack, often to the Joyce-Kilmer Wilderness or Citico Creek Wilderness and did a Highlands of Roan traverse backpack, from Carvers Gap to U.S. 19-E to see the spectacular grassy balds.
Other far-flung outings of the Group included backpacks to the Dolly Sod Wilderness in West Virginia, the Sepsey Wilderness in Alabama, and North Carolina's Linville Gorge Wilderness. The Group also did numerous outings to areas they were working on protecting, particularly in the proposed Wilderness areas of the Cherokee National Forest.
In addition to hiking and backpacking, the outings program included a few canoe day trips, bicycle rides, and, until the Sierra Club's insurance program banned such outings, Will Skelton did an annual rock climbing instruction outing at the Caryville Rocks off I-75. The Group also did several outings for inner city kids in the Smokies in the late 1970's.
Group Funding
The principal source of Group funding has been the payment of a portion of each member's dues to the Chapter which in turn passed on a small portion to the groups. Additional funding resulted from individual contributions and book and calendar sales; Steve Dyer has coordinated these sales for some time. Substantial funds have also been received from the royalties for the Group’s book, “Wilderness Trails of the Cherokee National Forest;” as of August 1996 the total was $7,067.00.
A couple of memorial funds have also provided the Group with funding. In January 1982, the Ian Walker Memorial Fund was established to fund the publication of the Citico Creek Hiking Map. And in April of 1985 a significant $3,500.00 fund was set up by Tom Lombardo in memory of his wife, Lana Lombardo, who died in an automobile accident. The use of this fund was limited to wilderness and hiking issues and purposes.
The Group has indicated its support of various issues by contributions and the establishment of one memorial. Copies of Harvey Broome’s book, “Out Under the Sky of the Smokies” were placed in the Knoxville branch libraries in 1983 as a memorial for Anne Broome upon her death. Contributions have included $1,000.00 to the Foothills Land Conservancy for acquiring the Abrams Creek Bear Preserve and $1,000.00 to the Knox Greenways Coalition for organizational purposes.
Starting in 2015, the Group established a fundraising committee with the goal of supplementing the steadily decreasing allocations from the national Sierra Club. Through events and an annual fundraising solicitation to our members and supporters, the Group has substantially increased our resources. Every year the Group donates small amounts of money to other local organizations that do environmental work and struggle financially.
Issues
The conservation activities of the Group have ranged over the spectrum of issues but have emphasized wilderness preservation, from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park to the Cherokee National Forest and the Big South Fork National Recreation Area. The Group has probably had the most impact in East Tennessee and Knoxville in two areas, wilderness preservation in the Cherokee National Forest and greenways in Knoxville and Knox County, both of which were the result of the Group's starting up coalitions to work on those issues.
From the beginning the Group was interested in protecting and having wilderness designated by Congress in the Cherokee National Forest and began meeting as early as 1972 with the Cherokee National Forest. Ray Payne and Will Skelton met with the then supervisor Bob Lusk who told them that, having come from the west, there was no wilderness in the Cherokee (he was proven wrong several years later when Congress passed wilderness bills for the Cherokee). The Group worked for passage of the Eastern Wilderness Omnibus Bill by Congress in 1974; however, it only designated 1.3% of the Cherokee as wilderness, primarily in the very small Gee Creek Wilderness.
In the late 1970's, the Forest Service’s RARE II process was supposed to inventory protected wilderness area, but, in the case of the Cherokee, they did not find any significant wilderness areas. The dismal recommendations by the Forest Service during that process spurred the Harvey Broome Group to organize the Cherokee National Wilderness Coalition. Starting in the late 1970's, the Coalition, led by the Group's members, including Will Skelton as chair, accomplished what had at one time seemed impossible. Both then-Congressmen John Duncan and Jimmy Quillen, who represented the areas within which the Cherokee National Forest is located, vowed to oppose any wilderness and an anti-wilderness group based in Tellico Plains had obtained almost 20,000 petition signatures opposing wilderness. However, with much effort, including collecting well over 20,000 petition signatures, producing a slide show and brochure, and many other activities, the Congressmen were turned around. As a result, in 1984 Congress passed a wilderness bill for the lower Cherokee National Forest and in 1986 a bill for the northern Cherokee National Forest, thereby protecting about 66,637 acres (10.7% of the Cherokee's acreage) as wilderness. Additionally, the Group's subsequent efforts during the Cherokee's forest management plan process resulted in additional protected areas as scenic or semi-primitive non-motorized areas.
And the Group was not done with protecting wilderness. In the 2000’s, members of the Group helped start a new Coalition, TN Wild, to advocate for additional wilderness in the Cherokee National Forest. Starting on December 9, 2009, at a meeting between Senator Lamar Alexander and Bill Meadows, then President of The Wilderness Society, Jeff Hunter, then Field Organizer for TN Wild, and Will Skelton, momentum gradually developed for the protection of several additional areas. Senator Alexander had a long history of supporting wilderness in the Cherokee, having supported the two prior Tennessee Wilderness Bills. With his substantial help, on December 20, 2018, President Trump signed into law the Farm Bill which contained The Tennessee Wilderness Act that designated as wilderness seven areas totaling 19,556 acres of the Cherokee National Forest. Especially important was its adding almost the entire watershed of the Bald River as wilderness.
After accomplishing wilderness protection, the Group turned to forest management, and the Coalition, now under the leadership of Hugh Irwin, managed to stop many clearcuts and to influence forest management in general toward less timber harvesting. Hugh organized a new coalition, Cherokee Forest Voices, which continues to monitor Cherokee National Forest activities under the leadership of Catherine Murray. For his work on forest management Hugh was awarded the Teddy Roosevelt Conservation Award in October of 1990.
The Group's actions also led fairly directly to a substantial greenway system in Knoxville. Judith Idecker and Will Skelton talked at several meetings about developing greenways in Knoxville and, in the early 1990's, teamed with University of Tennessee landscape architect, Sam Rogers to organize the Knox Greenways Coalition. The Group provided initial funding and many of the members of the Coalition. The Knox Greenways Coalition's efforts were amazingly successful, as then Mayor Victor Ashe quickly became a proponent of greenways. He organized a Knoxville Greenways Commission and appointed Will Skelton as its chair; then County Executive Dwight Kessel also organized a Knox County Greenways Committee. A real greenways development spurt followed. From 1½ miles of paved and 2½ miles of unpaved greenways in 1992, the City of Knoxville by 2022 has 55 miles of greenways (43 individual greenways) and 60 miles of soft-surface trails, with many more miles in Farragut and Knox County. In 1999, a new greenway from Ijams Nature Center through the Forks of the River Wildlife Management Area was dedicated and named the “Will Skelton Greenway” in recognition of his contributions to greenways in Knoxville.
The Group has been involved in most local and regional issues, and even a few national ones (including the Alaska Lands Act that was passed in 1980). Local issues included many Tennessee Valley Authority actions and the naming of several TVA directors. Current work related to TVA includes the Group’s involvement with and support of a local coalition concerned with the impending retirement of the Bull Run Power Plant, the associated disposition of its legacy toxic coal ash impoundments and the future reclamation of the site. The Group was also frequently involved in issues relating to management of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, including the adoption of its General Management Plan, supporting the Elkmont cabin removal, and successfully opposing the continued efforts to build the infamous “Northshore Road,” which efforts continue to this day. In 2001, Beverly Smith and Ray Payne spearheaded the formation of a new general coalition on Smokies issues, called initially “Save Our Smokies,” or “SOS,” and subsequently Greater Smoky Mountains Coalition. This coalition had its first victory in 2003, stopping the planned 4-laning of Hwy 321 from Gatlinburg to Cosby. In 2010 the Group advocated for and succeeded in having Knox County and Knoxville adopt the Hillside & Ridgetop Protection Plan, although Knox County only adopted it on a voluntary basis. Climate change has been and continues to be a major issue for the Group. From being a founding member of the Climate Knoxville coalition in 2014 to helping found Trees Knoxville and advocating for the preservation of Knoxville’s urban forest canopy to serving on the Mayor’s Climate Advisory Council and on the Knoxville Utilities Board the Group is actively engaged in improving Knoxville’s climate mitigation posture. A major victory was an agreement with the mayor in 2022 to preserve the mature trees in a downtown park, which were threatened by redevelopment of the park.
The Group's involvement in political activities has varied over the years. In the late 1970's the Group hosted, with several other environmental organizations, several forums for political candidates to discuss environmental issues. Representative Victor Ashe, subsequently a state senator from Knoxville and Knoxville's Mayor, spoke at an early meeting of the Group and subsequently made several appearances as the speaker at program meetings. Mr. Ashe’s positive environmental record resulted in the Group’s endorsing his candidacy for Knoxville mayor in 1987, and in his three subsequent reelection campaigns. Political contacts with Tennessee's congressmen and senators were probably at their height during the 1980's when the Group worked on getting wilderness designation bills for the Cherokee National Forest. Political engagement continues to this day with the Group’s endorsement of Knoxville’s mayor, Indya Kincannon, contributing to her victory in the 2019 race. And in 2021’s Knoxville City Council election, the five candidates endorsed by the Group won election to the five seats at play out of nine seats on the City Council.
Inspiring Connections Outdoors
One of the Group’s proudest achievements has been the establishment of the Knoxville Inspiring Connections Outdoors program, originally named Inner City Outings and popularly known as ICO. This volunteer program, founded by Mac Post in 2014, works with disadvantaged children through youth groups and local schools to provide nature-oriented outings and programs for inner city elementary school children who have never experienced nature. Although the ICO program is independent of the Harvey Broome Group, reporting only to the national Sierra Club, it is run by mostly HBG members.
Publications and Slide Shows
The Group has been involved with several publications over the years. In the aftermath of the RARE II process, the Group produced an outstanding slide show, "Wilderness for Tomorrow," on potential Cherokee National Forest Wilderness areas. Ken and Susie McDonald principally produced the show, which featured music, a local dj extolling wilderness, and beautiful photographs by Ken, Roger Jenkins and others of the Cherokee's natural areas. The first showing was at the Chapter meeting in the GSMNP Cosby Campground in July of 1979. This slide show certainly gets part of the credit for converting then Congressman John Duncan from being a wilderness opponent to a supporter who introduced a wilderness bill for his District The Group's involvement in political activities has varied over the years. In the late 1970's the Group hosted, with several other environmental organizations, several forums for political candidates to discuss environmental issues. Representative Victor Ashe, subsequently a state senator from Knoxville and Knoxville's Mayor, spoke at an early meeting of the Group and subsequently made several appearances as the speaker at program meetings. Political contacts with Tennessee's congressmen and senators was probably at their height during the 1980's when the Group worked on getting wilderness designation bills for the Cherokee National Forest. Members of the Group showed it to him at a meeting in Sweetwater in the early 1980's.
The Group's first publication was probably a small pamphlet advocating wilderness in the Cherokee National Forest in the aftermath of RARE II. This was followed in 1984 by the publication of a hiking map of the proposed Citico Creek Wilderness area; Roger Jenkins did most of the work on the map. Finally, the most extensive publication was "Wilderness Trails of Tennessee's Cherokee National Forest" in 1992 by the University of Tennessee Press, which book covered trails in Wilderness areas and other protected areas in the Cherokee. A cooperative effort of hikers across East Tennessee, the book was written by Group members, including Will Skelton as editor and Roger Jenkins as principal photographer. The book was subsequently redone by the Group, with members re-hiking and re-measuring all of the Cherokee's trails instead of just the protected area trails. Such revised edition, entitled “Cherokee National Forest Hiking Guide,” was published by UT Press in 2005. A third edition, again completely revised with all or the 226 trails hiked, measured and described, was submitted to UT Press in October 2022 with publication expected in late 2023 or early 2024.
Group Officers and Committee Chairs
A list of the Group’s principal officers over the years follows below. The Group has been fortunate to have a number of well qualified people in the various officer and committee chair positions. Most have served for some time and then moved on although a few true old-timers from the 1970’s are still active in 2022, including Will Skelton. Several people have also served in various positions for much longer than average, as the lists below will indicate. These include Hugh Irwin as conservation chair, Ken Warren as secretary, Priscilla Watts as program chair, Linda Smithyman as secretary, Ken McDonald as treasurer, Mac Post as program Chair, Ron Shrieves as outings chair, Bob Perlack as treasurer, Roger Jenkins as outings chair, Robin Hill as Group chair, and Axel Ringe as conservation chair. Roger Jenkins also has the distinction of being the only person who has come back for more punishment as Group chair; he first served in 1981-1982 and again in 1990-1991. And the longest serving officer of all was Margaret Olsen who kept the Group’s finances in perfect order as treasurer for 14 years, 1983-1996.
In 2022, with five decades of history behind it, the Harvey Broome Group continues to be one of the leading environmental voices in the greater Knoxville area, to provide organized outings all over the southeast, and to provide informative and entertaining programs for its members.
As of October 2022, the Group and Chapter continued to have large numbers of members, especially compared to the early days. Here’s how it stood:
GROUP # GROUP/LOCATION MEMBERS
4300 Tennessee Chapter 8,273
4301 Cherokee Group (Chattanooga) 894
4302 Harvey Broome Group (Knoxville) 2,593
4303 Middle Tennessee Group (Nashville) 3,038
4304 Chickasaw Group (Memphis) 1,314
4306 Upper Cumberland Group (Cookeville) 336
HARVEY BROOME GROUP OF THE SIERRA CLUB PRINCIPAL OFFICERS 1972-2022
(Complied by John Thomas and Will Skelton)
1972-1973
Chair: James Anker
Vice-Chair: Will Skelton
Treasurer: Sharon Boyce
Secretary: Barbara Ott
Conservation Chairs: Ken McDonald (Wilderness) & Lynne Capehart (urban)
1974
Chair: Will Skelton
Vice-Chair: Branley Owen
Treasurer: Grady Morgan
Secretary: Louise Barden
Conservation Chair: Ray Payne
Outings Chair: Charlie Frye
1975
Chair: Will Skelton
Vice-Chair: Dan MacDonald
Treasurer: Grady Morgan
Secretary: Russ Langdon
Conservation Chair: Ray Payne
Outings Chairs: John Thomas & Peter Bengtson
1976
Chair: Ken McDonald
Vice-Chair: Bob Allen
Treasurer: Jim Fleming
Secretary: Colleen Donohue
Conservation Chair: Ray Payne
Outings Chair: Tommy Feinberg
1977
Chair: Ken McDonald
Vice-Chair: Sharon Simpson
Treasurer: Jim Fleming
Secretary: Patsy Feeman
Conservation Chair: Jim Lewis
Outings Chair: Roger Jenkins
1978
Chair: Sharon Simpson
Vice-Chair: Bob Allen
Treasurer: Lola Jenkins
Secretary: Russ Manning
Conservation Chair: Linda Melgarrd
Outings Chair: Roger Jenkins
1979
Chair: Sharon Simpson
Vice-Chair: Candra Phillips
Treasurer: Ken McDonald
Secretary: Russ Manning
Conservation Chair: Ray Payne
Outings Chair: Roger Jenkins
1980
Chair: Bob Allen
Vice-Chair: Roger Jenkins
Treasurer: Ken McDonald
Secretary: Hugh Irwin
Conservation Chair: Andy Butler
Outings Chair: Roger Jenkins
1981
Chair: Roger Jenkins
Vice-Chair: Susie MacDonald
Treasurer: Ken McDonald
Secretary: Hugh Irwin
Conservation Chair: Lance McCold
Outings Chair: Will Skelton
1982
Chair: Roger Jenkins
Vice-Chair: Andy Butler
Treasurer: Ken McDonald
Secretary: Hugh Irwin
Conservation Chair: Lance McCold
Outings Chair: Will Skelton
Program Chair: Andy Butler (previously handled by vice-chair)
1983
Chair: Suzie McDonald
Vice-Chair: Preston Young
Treasurer: Ken McDonald
Secretary: Margaret Olson
Conservation Chair: Hugh Irwin
Outings Chair: BJ Bogle
Program Chair: Randall Grimsley
1984
Chair: Suzie McDonald
Vice-Chair: Preston Young
Treasurer: Margaret Olson
Secretary: Ken McDonald
Conservation Chair: Hugh Irwin
Outings Chair: BJ Bogle
Program Chair: Randall Grimsley
1985
Chair: Linda Christensen
Vice-Chair: Lance McCold
Treasurer: Margaret Olson
Secretary: Mary Vavrik
Conservation Chair: Preston Young
Outings Chair: Pete Bengston
Program Chair: Michelle Currie
1986
Chair: Linda Christensen
Vice-Chair: Ray Payne
Treasurer: Margaret Olson
Secretary: Mary Vavrik
Conservation Chair: Richard Bolen
Outings Chair: Roger Jenkins
Program Chair: Sandy Lonas
1987
Chair: John Finger
Vice-Chair: Ed Soler
Treasurer: Margaret Olson
Secretary: William Meyer
Conservation Chair: Hugh Irwin
Outings Chair: Roger Jenkins
Program Chair: Lance McCold
1988
Chair: Ed Soler
Vice-Chair: Sunny Jenkins
Treasurer: Margaret Olson
Secretary: Samantha Pack
Conservation Chair: Hugh Irwin
Outings Chair: Roger Jenkins
Program Chair: Lance McCold
1989
Chair: Ed Soler
Vice-Chair: Sunny Jenkins
Treasurer: Margaret Olson
Secretary: Carolyn Hahs
Conservation Chair: Hugh Irwin
Outings Chair: Cheryl Ranz
Program Chairs: Randy Humble & Sunny Jenkins
1990
Chair: Roger Jenkins
Vice-Chair: Martha Ketelle
Treasurer: Margaret Olson
Secretary: Ken Warren
Conservation Chair: Lance McCold
Outings Chair: Carolyn Hahs
Program Chair: Randy Humble
1991
Chair: Roger Jenkins
Vice-Chair: Randy Humble
Treasurer: Margaret Olson
Secretary: Ken Warren
Conservation Chair: Lance McCold
Outings Chair: Hartwell Herring
Program Chair: Unknown
1992
Chair: Randy Humble
Vice-Chair: Stan Gloeckner
Treasurer: Margaret Olson
Secretary: Ken Warren
Conservation Chair: Jim Blackstock
Outings Chair: Hartwell Herring
Program Chair: Unknown
1993
Chair: Randy Humble
Vice-Chair: Stan Glockner
Treasurer: Margaret Olson
Secretary: Ken Warren
Conservation Chair: Jim Blackstock
Outings Chair: Barbara Allen
Program Chair: Susie McDonald
1994
Chair: Jim Blackstock
Vice-Chair: Steve Dyer
Treasurer: Margaret Olson
Secretary: Ken Warren
Conservation Chair: Stan Gloeckner
Outings Chair: Barbara Allen
Program Chair: Unknown
1995
Chair: Jim Blackstock
Vice-Chair: Barbara Muhlbeier
Treasurer: Margaret Olson
Secretary: Ken Warren
Conservation Chair: Stan Gloeckner
Outings Chair: Ed Soler
Program Chair: Emily Ellis
1996
Chair: Stan Gloeckner
Vice-Chair: Barbara Muhlbeier
Treasurer: Margaret Olson
Secretary: Ken Warren
Conservation Chair: Ray Payne
Outings Chair: Ed Soler
Program Chair: Earl Lampard
1997
Chair: Barbara Allen
Vice-Chair: Steve Dyer
Treasurer: Stan Gloeckner
Secretary: Linda Smithyman
Conservation Chair: Ray Payne
Outings Chair: Ed Soler
Program Chair: Earl Lampard
1998
Chair: Earl Lampard
Vice-Chair: Liz Dixon
Treasurer: Stan Gloeckner
Secretary: Linda Smithyman
Conservation Chair: Jan Benjamin
Outings Chair: John Schmidt
Program Chair: Priscilla Watts
1999
Chair: Earl Lampard
Vice-Chair: Barbara Allen
Treasurer: Stan Gloeckner
Secretary: Linda Smithyman
Conservation Chair: Liz Dixon
Outings Chair: John Schmidt
Program Chair: Priscilla Watts
2000
Chair: Liz Dixon
Vice-Chair: Steve Dyer
Treasurer: Ed Soler
Secretary: Linda Smithyman
Conservation Chair: David Reister
Outings Chair: Earl Lampard
Program Chair: Priscilla Watts
2001
Chair: Liz Dixon
Vice-Chair: Steve Dyer
Treasurer: Ed Soler
Secretary: Linda Smithyman
Conservation Chair: David Reister
Outings Chair: Earl Lampard
Program Chair: Priscilla Watts
2002
Chair: Beverly Smith
Vice-Chair: Linda Smithyman
Treasurer: Ed Soler
Secretary: Barbara Allen
Conservation Chair: David Reister
Outings Chair: Roger Jenkins
Program Chair: Priscilla Watts
2003
Chair: Linda Smithyman (through May & Roger Jenkins, after May)
Vice-Chair: Roger Jenkins (through May 31, no Vice-Chair thereafter)
Treasurer: Ed Soler
Secretary: Barbara Allen
Conservation Chair: David Reister
Outings Chair: Roger Jenkins
Program Chair: Priscilla Watts
2004
Chair: Axel Ringe
Vice-Chair: Beverly Smith
Treasurer: Ed Soler
Secretary: Barbara Allen
Conservation Chair: David Reister
Outings Chair: Roger Jenkins
Program Chair: Priscilla Watts
2005
Chair: Axel Ringe
Vice-Chair: Beverly Smith
Treasurer: Ed Soler
Secretary: Barbara Allen
Conservation Chair: David Reister
Outings Chair: Ron Shrieves
Program Chair: Priscilla Watts
2006
Chair: Axel Ringe
Vice-Chair: Beverly Smith
Treasurer: Ed Soler
Secretary: Barbara Allen
Conservation Chair: David Reister
Outings Chair: Ron Shrieves
Program Chair: John Finger
2007
Chair: Axel Ringe
Vice-Chair: Beverly Smith
Treasurer: Ed Soler
Secretary: Cheryl Quinn
Conservation Chair: David Reister
Outings Chair: Ron Shrieves
Program Chair: John Finger
2008
Chair: David Reister
Vice-Chair and Program Chair: John Finger
Treasurer: Ed Soler
Secretary: Barbara Allen
Conservation Chair: Axel Ringe
Outings Chair: Ron Shrieves
2009
Chair: David Reister
Vice-Chair and Program Chair: John Finger
Treasurer: Ed Soler
Secretary: Linda Smithyman
Conservation Chair: Axel Ringe
Outings Chair: Ron Shrieves
2010
Chair: Robin Hill
Vice-Chair: David Reister
Program Chair: Mac Post
Treasurer: Beverly Smith
Secretary: Linda Smithyman
Conservation Chair: Axel Ringe
Outings Chair: Ron Shrieves
2011
Chair: Robin Hill
Vice-Chair: David Reister
Program Chair: Mac Post
Treasurer: Bob Perlack
Secretary: Linda Smithyman
Conservation Chair: Axel Ringe
Outings Chair: Ron Shrieves
2012
Chair: Robin Hill
Vice-Chair: David Reister
Program Chair: Mac Post
Treasurer: Bob Perlack
Secretary: Vacant
Conservation Chair: Axel Ringe
Outings Chair: Ron Shrieves
2013
Chair: Robin Hill
Vice-Chair: David Reister
Program Chair: Mac Post
Treasurer: Bob Perlack
Secretary: Kris Christen
Conservation Chair: Axel Ringe
Outings Chair: Ron Shrieves
2014
Chair: Robin Hill
Vice-Chair: David Reister
Treasurer: Bob Perlack
Secretary: Kris Christen
Conservation Chair: Axel Ringe
Outings Chair: Ron Shrieves
Program Chair: Mac Post
2015
Chair: Rocky Swingle
Vice-Chair: Robin Hill
Treasurer: Bob Perlack
Secretary: Kris Christen
Conservation Chair: Axel Ringe
Outings Chair: Ron Shrieves
Program Chair: Mac Post
2016
Chair: Ron Shrieves
Vice-Chair: Denise Bivens
Treasurer: Bob Perlack
Secretary: Kris Christen
Conservation Chair: Axel Ringe
Outings Chair: Ron Shrieves
Program Chair: Mac Post
2017
Chair: Ron Shrieves
Vice-Chair: Denise Bivens
Treasurer: Bob Perlack
Secretary: Kris Christen
Conservation Chair: Axel Ringe
Outings Chair: Ron Shrieves
Program Chair: Mac Post
2018
Chair: Ron Shrieves
Vice-Chair: Joanne Logan
Treasurer: Bob Perlack
Secretary: Kris Christen
Conservation Chair: Axel Ringe
Outings Chair: Ron Shrieves
Program Chairs: Mac Post & Melanie Mayes
2019
Chair: Ron Shrieves
Vice-Chair: Joanne Logan
Treasurer: Bob Perlack
Secretary: Kris Christen
Conservation Chair: Axel Ringe
Outings Chair: Ron Shrieves
Program Chair: Mac Post
2020
Chair: Joanne Logan
Vice-Chair: Jerry Thornton
Treasurer: Bob Perlack
Secretary: Kris Christen
Conservation Chair: Axel Ringe
Outings Chair: Ron Shrieves
Program Chair: Mac Post
2021
Chair: Jerry Thornton
Vice-Chair: Kent Minault
Treasurer: Bob Perlack
Secretary: Kris Christen
Conservation Chair: Axel Ringe
Outings Chair: Joan Tomlinson
Program Chair: Mac Post
2022
Chair: Jerry Thornton
Vice-Chair: Kent Minault
Treasurer: Bob Perlack
Secretary: Kris Christen
Conservation Chair: Axel Ringe
Outings Chair: Joan Tomlinson
Program Chair: Mac Post