April Meeting

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Meeting Minutes

April 17, 2025 Members Meeting

Location:  Nevada State Museum, Las Vegas

Meeting was called to order by Jim Parish at 2:30 pm.  Thirty-three people were in attendance.  Motion to accept the March minutes was made by Maggie Laas and seconded by David Boyea.  Motion passed.  

  1.  Museum update:
    • Searching for a new custodian as one position is open
    • Old Spanish Trail Exhibit is complete on July 6, 2025.
  2. Financial update:
    • Checking:  $45,362
    • Savings:      $5,010.
    • Committed funds:  Display Cases ($7,000); Incubation room ($5,500); staff training ($1,000); Staff supplies ($267).
  3. Old business:
    • Incubator project is underway:  Room has been stripped down and painted.  Electrical and HVAC prices are being finalized.  The Friends will get a review of the room when complete.
    • Our next book fair is on Saturday, May 3rd, at the Rainbow Barnes & Noble.  Buy your Mother’s Day and graduate gifts at the event.
    • The show wall is being renovated using grant money.  Change has already started.
    • New membership cards are now available.  Please let an officer know and they can get for you.
    • We received thank you notes from Lara Brown on the Friends help with the store, and from Deb Fox, our February speaker.
    • On April 10th, 21 members and friends enjoyed a tour of the Old Spanish Trail site at Blue Diamond.  The tour was led by Nick Saines and Glenn Shaw, Nevada Director for the OST.  It was a beautiful morning and a great tour, followed by lunch at the Cottonwood Station.
    • Future speakers are:
      • April:  “A Peek at the Park” – a presentation on the Wetlands Park by CHRIS LEAVITT
      • May:  GARRETT WAKE from  the Nevada Department of  Minerals
      • June:  ANGELO ROBLEDO
      • July:  DAN SECINARO, Springs Preserve horticulturist
  4. New Business:
    • Friends and guests are invited on a group visit to the Wetlands Park on May 7.  We will meet at 9am at the Nature Center Main Deck.  The tour will be hosted and led by our Friends from The Wetlands Park.  All those interested in attending, please send an email to jimparish72@gmail.com.
    • The Friends are planning a tour in early June at the Old Spanish Trail park in Las Vegas.  Nick and Glenn will again be our tour guides.  
    • Summer  Campaign:  the Board has decided, based on the request of the museum to seek money to purchase UTE Native American saddle bags from the 1850’s.  The museum is seeking to increase its artifacts from the native Americans who settled and developed the Southwest.  More information will follow in June/July.
    • Fall auction:  Donna is looking for 1-2 volunteers to help her, Maggie, and Pat in developing the gifts and finding donors for the event and helping to contact organizations for auction items, pick up of items, write thank you letters, etc.
  5. Speaker:  Our speaker for the meeting was Chris Leavitt .  Her topic (A Peek at the Park) was a good overview of the Clark County Wetlands Park and Nature Center.  Chris was instrumental in both developing the park when she was a county employee and then founding the Friends of the Wetlands when she was a retiree. 

    Chris covered the history of the park, the physical design and considerations, and the uses of the park (human and animal).  The presentation was appreciated by all because of its facts, pictures, and human interest activities.  The Friends of NSMLC will be touring the Nature Center and some of the park on May 7.  Join us!
  6.  The meeting was adjourned at 3:35pm.

Announcement

NEXT FRIENDS MEETING!  APRIL 17, 2025!!!

WHERE:  Nevada State Museum, 309 S. Valley View

WHEN:  2:30 PM (doors open at 2 PM)

WHO:  All Friends members, visitors, and interested public – open to all!!

Join us to hear Chris Leavitt, Founding President of the Board for the Wetlands Park, lead an engaging presentation about the remarkable creation and development of Clark County Wetlands Park that began in the early 1990’s.  She will also discuss the amazing transformation the Park has made since its early years, why it’s so important to the Las Vegas Valley, and where it’s poised to go in the future.

Ms. Leavitt’s career at the Barrick Museum of Natural History (UNLV), the Clark County Museum, and Clark County Wetlands Park have given her a rich and broad background in the development, implementation, and evaluation of educational programs for visitors of all ages on southern Nevada’s natural history.  

Ms. Leavitt was instrumental in the formation and operations of the Park since its inception in the mid-1990’s.  Upon her retirement from Park operations in the mid-2000’s, she has actively volunteered to lead in Park programs and was involved in archiving early historical records.  She was also responsible for the creation and founding of Wetlands Park Friends.