President's Message

Gay works as an educator and advocate for Alzheimers Resource of Alaska, and is very active in the Kenny Lake Community, bringing her superpowers of building consensus and inspiring laughter and positive action.
 

Welcome Friends of WISE,
   
​This year WISE chose the theme of We are All teachers. One of the major goals of WISE is to help all of us develop and strengthen our abilities and talents, to become better able to understand and contribute to our world. One of those abilities is the fact that no matter who we are or how young or “old” we are, how educated we are, we have the ability to teach others.
 
Most of us have heard the phrase “It takes a village to raise a child.” Another way to say the same thing is that there are those people who throughout our lives provide us with the directions and encouragement, allowing us to develop the talents we all have. We find those people, those mentors sometimes in amazing places. They can be found anywhere, the family unit, the schools, the spiritual/religious and other community groups, books we read, movies we see, anything that provides opportunities and encourages us to explore, practice, make mistakes, be of service, learn new things. Children can be wonderful teachers for those of us who may have forgotten the value of and joy of experiencing new discoveries. It is our goal at WISE to help those who participate in our programs to understand just how to be those teachers for others in their lives.
  
This year of 2024 has seen a resurgence of all our programs following the challenging years of COVID as well as the addition of some new and exciting offerings. The Copper Country Discovery Tours had the best year ever with over 550 visitors to our valley who had the chance to experience our corner of Alaska with the help of our excellent Naturalist. When you read through this newsletter you will see just how successful WISE continues to be with our Executive Director Robin Mayo at the helm. With the help of her leadership abilities and in cooperation and support from our multiple partners throughout the watershed, and of all the many volunteers of all ages, you will see how WISE has continued to provide new ways to help us all become better teachers and mentors.
 
I invite you to spend some time thinking about who in your past has provided you with the needed encouragement or inspiration to become the best you can be.
 
Gay Wellman
Chair, WISE Board of Directors