The Friends of the St. Joseph River hosted another successful wetland partnership outreach event in Howe, Indiana with about 35 in attendance for a very polished program. A dozen of the attendees came in response to our targeted invite (representing about seven percent of all letter recipients). Most of the attendees came early and stayed after the program to grab handouts, take a run or two at the impressive cheese tray and discuss their interests. Several left with interest in conservation program enrollment. The event was successful due to the collaboration of all our conservation partners that made this happen and many of whom attended in support.

A huge thanks to our speakers, Martin Franke, Dave Arrington, Matt Meersman, RD Wolheter (landowner) and Jerry Gray (landowner), who kept it very interesting and informative for our attendees. A special thank you to Martin Franke and Kayleen Hart, representing the Lagrange and Steuben Soil and Water Conservation Districts, respectively, Brian Musser who works for NRCS in their Lagrange office who collectively helped to plan and put the program for the evening together. Thanks to Matt Meersman, who booked the venue, spoke and worked behind the scenes in the sound booth to keep everything running. We thank the Howe School who allowed us to use their Bouton Auditorium, a great venue. Additional special recognition to Marcy Colclough who drove all the way to Howe from Benton Harbor (MI) to help set up for the event and take pictures.