Find out what the Friends of CMSP have been up to!
MOUNTAIN MOMENTS Winter/Spring2022 Vol. 6 #1
CONTENTS:
President’s Message Upcoming Events
2022 Friends Board
2021 Highlights
Park Happenings
Timber Tigers
Trail Dogs
In the News Cheyenne Mountain Run
Special Thanks!
Purchases for the Park Membership
Follow us!
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
Dear Members and Friends,
Wow! This year is flying by! It’s hard to believe it’s already the end of April and 2022 is well underway.
Back in January, we held our annual Board Retreat where we looked back on our accomplishments in 2021 and set goals for 2022. We have another big year planned and hope to continue to make your experience as a “Friend” more enjoyable and valuable.
Here’s a quick snapshot of what the Friends of CMSP were able to accomplish last year thanks to your membership and support!
Held a first day hike with 378 people
Installed a new water fountain by the Limekiln Trailhead
Sponsored new sawyers and ongoing fire mitigation work
Supported the park through former Park Manager Mitch Martin’s promotion
Welcomed Jason Hagan as the new Park Manager
Created more fundraising opportunities for the Friends
Held the first ever Cheyenne Mountain State Park Calendar Contest
Participated in Colorado Gives Day for the first time ever
Started fundraising efforts for the new memorial plaza
Held our first ever Christmas tree recycling event
Purchased new archery equipment
Increased social media posts and following
Held wildflower/photography hikes
Supported the volunteer picnic
Showed off the brand-new cabins at a “Friends Only” event
Firmed up our historical documents
Supported more park programs
Funded a Birds of Prey presentation
Added new Friends members
Purchased trail tools for trail mitigation
Supported Ballot Issue 1-A
Held another successful Cheyenne Mountain Run
Continued to fund the Trail Ambassadors program
Purchased awesome prizes for Adventure Day
Supported Kids to Parks Day
Installed boot scrapers by trailheads
Supported the No Child Left Inside event
Raffled off a stay at the new cabins
Improved communication with our membership
Applied for several grant opportunities
We also were named the Friends Group of the Year by the Trails and Open Space Coalition (TOSC). Pretty impressive, right?! But we wouldn’t have been able to do it without you!
As always, we appreciate your membership and financial contributions to the group, as well as your volunteer efforts. We are working to create more opportunities that are just for Friends members so please stay tuned for more information on that.
In the newsletter below you’ll see some upcoming volunteer opportunities as well as a recap of our financial accomplishments last year and plans for the year ahead.
We are looking forward to another busy and successful year and we thank you for your continued support.
Sincerely,
Abbie Burke, President
DON’T MISS THIS! (Upcoming Events)
Kids to Parks Day – May 21
Adventure Day – August 8
The Dam Run at Castlewood Canyon State Park– September 11
Bleating Heart Night at Goat Patch Brewing – September 20
No Child Left Inside – September 24
The Cheyenne Mountain Run – October 8
CHECK CMSP WEBSITE/FACEBOOK FOR DETAILS
2022 FRIENDS’ BOARD
Back Row L to R: Jack Busher (Member-at-Large) Lori Hawkins (Treasurer) Jen Palmes (Grants), Ralph Cadwallader (Membership)
Front Row L to R: Pat Cooper (Vice President) Lori O’Hare (Secretary)
Abbie Burke (President) Bob Falcone (Member-at-Large)
Change is inevitable but this year the Friends Board is largely staying the same! We did welcome a new Treasurer, Lori Hawkins, who will be taking over for David Barcus. We are very excited to welcome Lori to the team and watch her run UP Cheyenne Mountain during The Cheyenne Mountain Run again this year. The rest of the board members have committed to another year of serving in their positions.
As mentioned, our previous Treasurer, David Barcus, has decided to retire. Thank you David for your years of service to the park and the knowledge and expertise you brought to the board. You will be missed!
2021 HIGHLIGHTS
Thank you all for your ongoing support!
2021 was a huge bounce back from 2020 and income for the Friends of CMSP more than quadrupled! This is largely due to the fact that we were able to hold the Cheyenne Mountain Run again. In 2020, during the height of the pandemic, our budget was carried by our membership, but in 2021 our fundraising efforts rebounded, along with generous donations from our friends!
Because of your incredible support, the Friends of CMSP were able to donate more than $11,000 to the park to cover park programs and supplies. This included covering speaker fees, purchasing archery parts and showing our amazing volunteers some appreciation.
You may notice that the Friends built up quite a large cash fund this year but we have big plans to make a big investment into the patio project outside the Visitors Center in 2022.
Here is a snapshot of what YOUR donations and contributions were used for last year. Please let us know if you have any questions!
Breaking Down the Numbers
Income for 2021 Fundraisers – $29,912.73
Memberships – $2,450.00
Donations – $12,934.00
Total: $45,378.43
Expenses for 2021 Fundraising – $7,922.73
Park Programs- $11,461.73
Office Expenses – $1,341.86
Total: $20,726.32
Net Income: $24,652.11
PARK HAPPENINGS
Here are some snapshots of park programs, events and other happenings at Cheyenne Mountain State Park over the last few months.
Friends Members were given the first opportunity to take a peek inside the brand new cabins at Cheyenne Mountain State Park during a special “Friends Only” event.
The Friends once again sponsored the annual volunteer banquet. This year it was held at Patty Jewett and the theme was “Ugly Christmas Sweaters.”
Pictured here are board members L-R Ralph Cadwallader, Pat Cooper, Jack Busher, Abbie Burke and Bob Falcone. Missing Lori O’Hare, David Barcus and Jennifer Palmes.
Here are the Ugly sweater Contest Winners – L-R Travis Black, Pru Crawford and Sam Koury
The Friends also sponsored the annual Holiday Open House at the park and even Santa came out to play!
Friends Board Member Jack Busher manning the Friends table at the open house and collecting donations for the first ever Colorado State Park Calendar!
It was once again a snowy start to the new year but that didn’t stop hundreds from coming out for a First Day Hike at the park! Thank you volunteers for braving the cold and helping people start off the new year on the “right foot.”
First Day Hikers warming themselves by the fire.
The Friends also held their first ever Tree Cycle Event at the park. This was headed by Board Member Ralph Cadwallader. Trees were collected for a $5 donation and in total 84 trees were collected over two weekends. The fundraiser raised $532!
TIMBER TIGERS
The Timber Tigers performing mitigation on top of Cheyenne Mountain
TIMBER TIGERS The Timber Tigers are composed of volunteers with two different classifications: SWAMPERS – clear away the downed brush and assist the sawyers anyway they can. SAWYERS- are trained chainsaw operators that do the cutting and felling of the trees and brush. It takes a team of swampers and sawyers for a successful season of mitigation. If you are interested in volunteering with the mitigation crew, please complete the Volunteer Application on CPW’s website and select fire mitigation within the interests listing. For help with that please contact Monique Mullis at monique.mullis@state.co.us, or Ralph Cadwallder at rcadwallad@aol.com
2021 FIRE MITIGATION WORK SCHEDULE
Please note mitigation days are dependent on weather and subject to change
May:
Sat. May 7, 8:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Fri. May 13, 8:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Wed. May 18, 8:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Tue. May 24, 8:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Thu. May 26, 8:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
June:
Tue. June 7, 8:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Sat. June 11, 8:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Wed. June 22, 8:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Tue. June 28, 8:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Thu. June 30, 8:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
July:
Sat. July 9, 7:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Fri. July 15, 7:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Wed. July 20, 7:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Tue. July 26, 7:30 a.m. -1:30 p.m.
August:
Tue: Aug 2, 7:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Tue. Aug 16, 7:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Sat. Aug. 20, 7:30 – 1:30 p.m.
Wed. Aug. 24, 7:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Fri. Aug. 26, 7:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Wed. Aug. 31, 7:30 a.m. – 1: 30 p.m.
** Additional days may be scheduled based on priorities and needs **
The Friends of CMSP purchased these snazzy shirts for any Timber Tiger who completes five days of work with the crew. Earn yours!
TRAIL DOGS
TRAIL DOGS
The Trail Dogs are composed of some tough volunteers who work on keeping the trails beautiful at Cheyenne Mountain State Park through corridor maintenance (removing foliage that is trying to takeover passage along the route) and tread improvement, especially in the area of erosion control. If you are interested in volunteering with the trail crew, please complete the Volunteer Application on CPW’s website and select trail building and maintenance within the interests listing. For help with that please contact Monique Mullis at monique.mullis@state.co.us.
2022 TRAIL CREW SCHEDULE
Please note trail days are dependent on weather and subject to change
The Trail Dogs are Cheyenne Mountain State Park’s dedicated trail crew. They keep the trails maintained and also build new trails as needed. To be connected with the Cheyenne Mountain State Park Trail Dogs, please select “Trail Building & Maintenance” in the interests listing.
May
Mon. May 2, 8:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Wed. May 4, 8:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Mon. May 9, 8:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Wed. May 11, 8:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Mon. May 16, 8:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Fri. May 20, 8:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Fri. May 28, 8:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
June
Wed. June 1, 8:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Fri June 3, 8:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Thu. June 9, 8:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Mon. June 13, 8:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Wed. June 15, 8:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Tue. June 21, 8:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Fri. June 24, 8:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
July
Sat. July 2, 7:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Thu. July 7, 7:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Mon. July 11, 7:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Wed. July 13, 7:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Mon. July 18, 7:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Fri. July 22, 7:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Sat. July 30, 7:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
August
Thu. Aug. 4, 7:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Wed. Aug. 10, 7:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Fri. Aug. 12, 7:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Thu. Aug. 18, 7:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Mon. Aug. 22, 7:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Mon. Aug 29, 7:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
** Additional days may be scheduled depending on priorities and needs **
Volunteers with the Trail Dogs can also earn a cool t-shirt. Inquire for more info.
IN THE NEWS
Cheyenne Mountain State Park appeared in the news in March with an exciting announcement. Governor Polis was also on hand for the unveiling of two new Electric Vehicle (EV) chargers at the park. The installation is park of a plan to install EV charging sites throughout the entire state, starting in the southeast region. Learn more here.
And they’re off! Runners in The 2021 Cheyenne Mountain Run competed in a 5K, 10K or 25K (to the top of the mountain!)
Save the date! This year’s Cheyenne Mountain Run will be:
Oct. 8, 2022 – 25K, 10K and 5K Registration now open!
The 25K is a qualifier for the 2023 Pikes Peak Ascent
Prizes for Top 3 Overall Finishers Men/Women for 5K, 10K & & 25K
Recognition of Top “1” Age Groups Winners for Men/Women
The 25K will be limited to 400 registrations, so register early!
*All funds will go to support Friends of CMSP and Cheyenne Mountain State Park*
Last year’s race was a huge success and raised more than $19,000 for the park! We are so thankful to all our runners, sponsors and volunteers!
A GRACIOUS THANK YOU TO DINO-DICK, LORRIE AND DAVE!
We also want to give a special thanks to our Race Director Dick Standaert and our Registration Lead Lorrie Werner! They have been with us from the start, remember the Dinosaur Beach Party in 2014? These two have been a huge part of building this race to what it has become! Thank you both for your years of dedication and tremendous knowledge that has built The Cheyenne Mountain Run into a successful community event. As they have decided to retire, we wanted to publicly thank them for all their hard work and wish them all the best as they enjoy their much earned break!
Dave Sorenson has also retired from many of his race volunteering obligations this year. He is the silent one who operates with the upmost efficiency and detail to his tasks of keeping the race web-site current, dealing with race-day timing and on-line registration with flawless precision. Dave we wish you the best and thank you for your years of dedicated service in helping make The Cheyenne Mountain Run a success!
SPECIAL THANKS!
The Friends Board wants to show our appreciation with a special thanks to our donors! These are generous supporters who have donated $100 or more in cash or in-kind donations to the Friends of CMSP (in addition to their Friends memberships) in 2021.
Thank you!
– PJ Anderson
– Lucille Bell
– Dudley Blauwet
– David Capp
– Barry & Pat Cooper
– Lori Hawkins
– Dorothy & Brian Kern Family
-Rafael Jimenez
– David Koslowsky
– Rudy Melena
– Grant Miller
-Lynn Otto
– Lori O’Hare
– Dick Standaert & Lorrie Werner
– Michael & Valorie Scott
– E. Henry Stevens
– Roderick Stevens
– Cat Toft
– Jeff Weston, Diversus Health Rocks Events
– Jim Voige, Cheyenne Propagation Company – Susan Yeh
– First Bank
-Mountain Chalet
-National Industrial Scale Association
– Rocky Mountain Field Institute (RMFI)
-The Colorado Running Company
-Trails End Taproom
– Trails & Open Space Coalition (TOSC)
In Kind Donors – Michael Pharis, LYMEvents
– Rocky Rahjah, Flex Tech
– Ron Ilgen, Pikes Peak Marathon
PURCHASES FOR THE PARK
The Friends supported many programs in the park last year, but one purchase we are perhaps most excited about is the water bottle refill station located by the Limekiln Trailhead. However, we have heard that some people think it doesn’t work! We want to you to know it isn’t broken, you just need to push the button. 🙂
This version is a more economically friendly option than those that are automatic, and we are hoping to add several more of these around the park in 2022, so stay tuned!
MEMBERSHIP
Let’s make 2022 our best year for Membership yet!
Membership options range & start as low as $30!
(Below is a list of new/renewing members since our last newsletter)
Thank you for your support!
Welcome to our new members!
– Dennis Crossan
– Rafael Jimenez
– Rob & Barbara Rasmussen
– Steven Stadler
– Jim & Marjorie VanHoy
Thank you to our life members who are recognized by a plaque located in the Visitor Center!
Thank you to our renewed Friends!
– David & Lourdes Barcus
– Peter & Kristen Baril
– John Boyle
– Abbie Burke
– Jack & Kathy Busher
– Victor & Roberta Bradford
– Christy & Daniel Cherry – Scott & Jen Dorff – Bob & Joanne Falcone
– Renae Gannon
– Ann Gerber
– Donna & Mike Guthrie
– Pat & Lynda Grove
– Lynne Hall
– Amy Hunter
– Andrew & Jeanette Lara
– Molly Mazel
– Bob McConnell
– Warren & Joan Pierce
– Art Porter
– Meghan Rubenstein
– Ray & Linda Sherrier
– Jeff & Sandy Warner
– Barry & Catherine White
SOCIAL MEDIA
FOLLOW US!
Are you following us on social media? You should!
Stay up to date on what we are doing for the park & see how you can get involved.
Search “Friends of Cheyenne Mountain State Park” and be sure to LIKE our page.
(P.S. We have Instagram and Twitter too!)
Please follow our events on any of the following sites!
Do you shop Amazon? Amazon donates .05% of your purchases to the Friends if you select us when you make your purchases. Thank you.
**CONSIDER JOINING THE FRIENDS**
If you are not a Member of the Friends Group, please consider membership. You will be supporting our Mission “To Support and Advocate for CMSP” while making CMSP a premier Park in our community!
_______________________________________________
Three simple ways to Join:
Stop in the Visitor Center and pick-up a Membership Brochure
Go to our Website: http://friendsofcmsp.org Send us an email: Friendsofcmsp@gmail.com?subject=Membership%2520” style=”color:#656565;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:underline;” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Friendsofcmsp@gmail.com
ParkPrograms.pdf