As Recreation Northwest gets more involved in the stewardship of our open spaces, we are connecting with professionals and outlining our future. Our Vice President, Kurt Baumgarten, and I took the opportunity to sit down with Don Hunger to share what our plans are- to ensure we’re headed in a reasonable direction and receive any wisdom to help us down the right path.*
Don Hunger is the Vice President for Government Affairs with the Student Conservation Association. Don lives in Bellingham and travels a lot for work, yet he claims that while he may be a national staffer, his heart is here. After an engaging discussion and confirmation that we’re on the right track, Don shared these nice words with us. We’d like to share his perspective of Recreation Northwest with you:
“I thoroughly enjoyed our discussion about the vision and future for Recreation Northwest. You have a solid foundation and good business model for the future. Your combination of recreation and stewardship has the potential to mobilize and engage the next generation.
I like grounding your work in Bellingham and growing in concentric circles to the county and the state. Take your best practices, whether in race planning, community building, event coordination or cooperative agreements and become a leader. Do something that differentiates Recreation Northwest from other organizations.
It’s a great time to combine the elements of being outdoors and caring for the places we love. – Best Regards, Don Hunger.”
We’d like to thank Mr. Hunger for his time, input and kind words. Input like his is invaluable in helping us create a solid foundation for our business and the programs we create in and for our communities.
– Todd Elsworth, Executive Director
Todd Elsworth is one of the many “Mossy-haired lunatics roaming the dripping peninsulas”, described in “I’m Here for the Weather” by Tom Robbins. As executive director, he works to fulfill our mission to teach the health benefits of nature, promote outdoor recreation, and steward the places where we play.
