November 15, 2002

Prepared by John H. Munger, President

In closing my report last year, I told of an effort by Tex Cathey to establish a visible memorial to Jimmy Morgan by having the bridges spanning the Dragon Run on Route 17 below Saluda named in his behalf. On September 7 this became a reality with a dedication ceremony at the bridges conducted by FODR. Speakers for the occasion included the Honorable W. Tayloe Murphy, Virginia Secretary of Natural Resources and Delegates Harvey Morgan and Robert Bloxom, the latter of whom had sponsored the bill naming the bridges. Jimmy’s widow, Violet, his children and other family members participated in the unveiling of the James Vincent Morgan nameplate.

Secretary Murphy told the crowd of over 100 that he had first met Jimmy when the two were students at Hampden-Sydney College over a half-century ago. Jimmy had been a senior, his brother Harvey, a sophomore and Murphy, a freshman. He said that even then Jimmy had been a recognized leader; he urged the crowd to keep Jimmy’s vision alive, and, ever the politician, suggested that one way to do so would be to support the parks and recreational facilities bond issue in the upcoming November elections.

Del. Morgan, reminiscing about life with his older brother, agreed that Jimmy had been not only a leader but a driver as well, which made keeping up sometimes a difficult task. Del. Bloxom, said that sponsoring the bill had been an easy task, but that living up to the example set by Jimmy in his efforts to protect the environment could be much more difficult. He told the story of a canoe trip on the Dragon Run with Jimmy and Harvey several years before Jimmy’s death, but after his health had begun to decline, recalling that he had found Jimmy’s passion for the Dragon Run truly infectious.

We are indebted to Tex Cathey for his persistence in pursuing this project and to Davis Rhodes, as master of ceremonies, for an excellent program. Also, we thank James Pitt and the Pitt Lumber Company for the use of their land and parking facilities and VDOT for providing traffic control at the site.

I am pleased to report that our membership roles are up once again with approximately 35 new members, bringing the total to 414 at last count. Publication of a quality, quarterly newspaper, the Dragon’s Tale, helps spur membership, as does maintenance of our web site, www.dragonrun.org. Both of these projects are in the capable hands of our publications editor, Kathryn Gregory. 

Quarterly General Membership meetings supplement our efforts to provide information about our own activities and other topics of interest to members and the general public. Marv Hohenberger has handled arrangements for these programs. Speakers were:Annual Meeting, November: Scott Bruce, Geologist and Environmental Program Planner for the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, Ground Water withdrawal Program discussed the discovery and exploration of the Chesapeake Bay Impact Crater, including a discussion of current efforts in Mathews County.

January: Andrew Lacatell, Director, the Chesapeake Rivers Program, The Nature Conservancy discussed the Nature Conservancy’s mission to protect and preserve landscapes through land purchases and conservation easements. He emphasized the need for quick action to protect the Dragon Run’s "remarkably unspoiled" condition.

March: Teta Kain, Dragon Run’s own Past Chair, Paddle Master and Naturalist presented a slide show of the flora and fauna of the region in all seasons, day and night, from the air and on land and water, including pictures of seldom seen parts of the Dragon Run.

October: Lawrence Carpenter, a retired British fire fighter and current PhD candidate at VIMS spoke of his transition from fire fighter to marine scientist and of his current interest in deep-sea hydrothermal vent systems. He described the submersible vehicles used to reach the 3000 to 4000 foot depths where the vents occur.

In a special program requested by the King and Queen Historical Society,Teta Kain presented a slide show in the Old King & Queen County Court House, featuring the Dragon Run.

In March a FODR group participated in a Nature Conservancy survey of the 16 beaver dams on the Dragon Run on the section between Routes 602 and 603. Armed with calipers, yard sticks, cameras and drawing pads, the group measured height, depth, and width of the dams, and made a thorough analysis of the materials used in each dam’s construction. In addition, the group photographed and drew rough maps of the dams to show their position in the stream. Using this raw data, biologists at Virginia Commonwealth University will analyze the extent to which the dams present a barrier to spawning herring and other fish.

Although concerns about low water levels persisted throughout the season, our trips schedule on the Dragon Run ran much as expected. Teta Kain reports that, as in past years, we carried approximately 200 persons on the stream, including a family of Americans living in Hong Kong who had discovered us via our web site. Notable among this year’s trips is the April 18 outing led by the Anderbergs and Teta Kain. The group spent 9 hours and 20 minutes on the water traveling from 603 (Mascot) to US 17 (Saluda) encountering many obstacles including beaver dams, downed trees and dead heads. Mike suggested that only experienced boaters should attempt this stretch and advised that, because of the obstacles, kayaks seemed a better choice than canoes. As always, we urge those unfamiliar with the stream not to travel on it without an experienced guide.

Despite threatening weather approximately 55 persons attended the annual picnic in October. They were treated to a great meal, clearing weather and good company. Our thanks go to David Clements who oversaw the entire operation, but many others contributed to the success of this event. (Please see the November edition of our newsletter for a complete story on the picnic.)

This year we participated in both the Daffodil and Oyster Festivals. Although we had realized some profit from a kayak raffle at the Daffodil Festival, we elected to cancel the raffle at the Oyster Festival on the grounds that profits would not justify the effort.

Thus, at this year’s Oyster Festival, Lorna Wass became our featured attraction as she distributed packets of "science materials" she herself had gathered together. Her audience included school children, grandmothers, mothers and others drawn to the FODR booth by Lorna’s enthusiastic calls, "Are you interested in science? Do you have grandchildren? What can I give you to take home to your kids?"

This year, in addition to our usual schedule of activities, the Board embarked on a self-evaluation, a process begun with an all-day retreat last February. Under the leadership of Adrienne Frank and Pat Tyrrell, skilled and able facilitators, and later in the process, Jennifer Adkins, from the Land Trust Alliance, we have met on a near monthly basis: first to explore and write Vision and Mission statements and, finally, to establish five year goals, objectives and strategies.

I am pleased to report that on November 7 the Board approved such a plan, but we have not yet reached our journey’s end. Our next step will be to develop an annual plan around the five-year goals, objectives and strategies, using a new committee structure yet to be established. This may well turn out to be our most difficult task of all – identifying and structuring committees in such a way that will conform to: 1) our current calendar, 2) board members’ interests and skills and 3) the goals and objectives of the five-year plan. The Plan is an ambitious one that goes well beyond the scope of our current efforts. Board members will be asked to step-up their participation, and to accomplish our goals we will need to call upon our membership, you in the audience, for support as working members of Board committees.

We have spent much time and energy in arriving at this point in the evaluation process and have had to schedule several special meetings to handle regular business and to stay on course. I wish to thank Board members for their willingness to devote extra time to the process and also for their trust and patience.

With elections this evening I will be stepping-down to a less active role on the Board. Lest I not have the opportunity later, let me say now how pleased I am to have been asked to serve as president of FODR? I have attempted to serve well and have enjoyed the opportunity to work with all the Friends of Dragon Run. John Munger