The Board Members

Elections are held at the Annual Meeting in the Spring.
The board member's term expires at the Annual Meeting in the year indicated after each name.
To learn more about our Board members and other Friends leaders, see the short bios below the list of names.
Bios will be added as they become available.
We are always looking for members who are interested in serving on the board or other committees.
​If you are interested in helping out, please contact us at friends@friendsofrefuges.org
Officers
President: John McPherson (2020)
President Elect: 0pen (2020)
Immediate Past President: Bill Dummitt (2020)
Treasurer: Linda Kimball (2021)
Secretary: Ed DeHaan (2021)
Libby Cagle (2020)
Joe Hand (2021)
Debbie Jordan (2021)
Boyd Kimball (2020)
Dan Kline (2021)
​Kit Lane (2021)
Bob Lewis (2020)
Roger McDaniels (2021)
Debbie Meeks (2020)
John Thalacker (2021)
Margy Van Landingham (2020)
Committee Leaders and Initiative Champions
Advocacy: Jay Bushnell
iNaturalist Initiative: Russ Hall
Membership and Information Technology: Debbie Meeks
Merchandise: Bill Dummitt
Online Communications: Peg Hall
Print Communications: Debbie Meeks
Refuge Restoration Initiative: Roger McDaniels
River Trail Initiative: John Thalacker
Swallowtail Kite Project: Debbie Jordan
Visitor Contact Initiative: Kit Lane

Short Bios of Board Officers, Directors, and other Leaders

John McPherson, President
About my involvement with Friends and the Refuges -- I have always felt that it was important to save natural areas for their own sake—it’s an added bonus that I love to spend time in them as well. 

About other parts of my life – I am an attorney practicing local government law and providing general management services to the Cedar Key Water and Sewer District.  I enjoy living in Cedar Key—the perfect place for a nature lover.
Bill Dummitt, Immediate Past President
About my involvement with Friends and the Refuges - Almost 20  years ago, I was driving down highway 19, wandering around Florida on vacation.   It was getting late and I needed to find a place to stay.  I saw Cedar Key on the map and decided to take a  detour to see what it was like, since I hadn’t previously heard of it.  I was hooked by the serene coastal environment. abundant wildlife, and laid-back atmosphere.  In 2012 I bought a house here.  A year later I convinced my boss to offer me early retirement, and then left icy Midwestern winters to live here full-time.  Seeking others who shared my feelings about the Florida outdoors, I joined Friends and was invited to join the board shortly afterwards.  My favorite pastimes in my new retired life are travel, paddling, and nature photography.
Ed DeHaan, Secretary
About my involvement with Friends and the Refuges -- After 63 years in the winters of Montana, Minnesota, and Iowa, it is unspeakable joy to spend the winters in gorgeous Cedar Key, Florida hiking in the Lower Suwannee Refuge and kayaking around shorebirds in the tidewaters near the Cedar Key Refuge. My work on this board reflects how much I value what the refuges provide to all of us.

About other parts of my life – My wife, Joyce, and I are contented grandparents who spend summers in St. Paul, Minnesota, often caring for our 3 young grandchildren and otherwise enjoying the culture of a glorious metropolitan area as well as outdoors opportunities.
Linda Kimball, Treasurer
About my involvement with Friends and the  Refuges -- When serendipity brought my husband and me to Cedar Key two winters ago, we talked to a realtor by the end of the week because we had found ­our winter home, a wildlife haven in a land of cedars, cypress, palms and pines.  Exploring the Refuges became part of my life so it naturally followed that I joined the Friends and then began volunteering at the visitor welcome desk.  I am committed to supporting the preservation of the Refuges and finding ways to share these treasures with others who seek to explore nature.

​About other parts of my life -- After teaching English for 42+ years in high school and college, I’m now on a more flexible schedule that allows me to pursue my first major in college – biology.  During the summer I enjoy walking the pine and hardwood forests in New York. When I’m in Florida, I serve as an officer for several community organizations, volunteer as a citizen scientist for the horseshoe crab surveys and observe birds on my daily walks. And, when I’m not in New York or Cedar Key, I’m on the road, in the air, or on a train traveling to another part of the world.
Jay Bushnell, advocacy committee and former president
About my involvement with Friends and the Refuges – As a boy, under the tutelage of my wonderful stepfather, I developed a love of nature and the outdoors.  I love the opportunities the Refuges provide to appreciate and enjoy the wild. I feel a deep responsibility to preserve wildlife and the environment that they depend on the the future.

About other parts of my life – I married my high school sweet heart 50+ years ago. We have two sons and six grandchildren.  We are both retired educators with over 60 years of combined experience.  I love to read (mostly nonfiction) and I have recently acquired an interest in geology especially creating cabochons. 
Libby Cagle, Director
About my involvement with Friends and the Refuges -- As a native Floridian and life long resident it pains me to see that so much of this state has been destroyed by the encroachment of humans. These Refuges provide me a respite. I enjoy coming out for leisurely strolls looking for birds, snakes, gators, fungi, and insects and noticing the changes throughout the year. I don’t hike, I stroll, and the benches on the trails allow me to sit mindfully and absorb the sounds, sights, and smells. I participate in an effort to share this beauty and peacefulness.

About other parts of my life -- I retired from the Federal Government after 31 years and concentrated on creating art that represented my attachment to nature and quest to interact with locals from other walks of life. Now much of my time is spent with my husband traveling the country and world visiting parks, historic sites, forests, and refuges in search of wildlife and birds and serenity.
Peg Hall, editor of News Brief
About my involvement with Friends and the Refuges -- An admirer of the contributions that the refuges make to the quality of life and economic well-being of the region, I enjoy being involved in building support for them.

About other parts of my life – My other interests include hiking and writing. I am co-author of Second Wind: A Novel on the Way of St. James (2013) and The Summer of a Thousand Cheeses (2010). I am a retired university administrator and professor in the field of public relations. I have walked sections of the Camino de Santiago 8 times during the past 10 years.
Russ Hall, champion of the iNaturalist initiative
About my involvement with Friends and the Refuges -- A biological scientist by avocation, training, and experience, I have found much to entice and engage in the unique and alluring ecosystems of the refuges. I hope my involvement with the Friends will help to support refuge managers in their effective management and protection of refuges to benefit the American people.

About other parts of my life – Since retiring from my position as a biologist and science manager with the US Geological Service in 2006, I have written 8 books and hiked more than 1200 miles on the Camino de Santiago.
Joe Hand, Director
About my involvement with Friends and the Refuges  -- I moved from the Chesapeake Bay area to Central Florida 60 years ago and spent most days of my childhood fishing and boating the local lakes and springs. I now fish and boat our beautiful Gulf waters around Cedar Key and hope to help preserve these wild refuge areas that I discovered in my youth.

About other parts of my life -- After working 35 years for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection assessing Florida’s surface water quality and trends, I retired to Cedar Key with my wife, Bunny. We restored an 80 year old log cabin on the island and enjoy the island’s ambience and wonderful, quirky people.
Debbie Jordan, Director
About my involvement with Friends and the Refuges --  I was hooked on my first trip to Shired Island, towing an old pop-up camper.  Back then, CR 357 was more potholes than road!  But we found paradise at the end.  Since then, my husband and I have experienced many fantastic natural encounters with abundant fiddler and horseshoe crabs, white pelicans, red and black drum, dolphins hunting, sea turtles, speckled trout, sharks and tarpon.  It prompted our moving here from the Melrose, FL area.  I really want to do what I can to help protect our Refuges’ amazing wildlife.
 
About other parts of my life -- Combining my teenage travel aboard my family’s 36-foot sailboat and my 25-year career at Gainesville’s Holbrook Travel, I’ve been to 40 countries so far. My passion for birding and nature travel has led me to develop group expeditions that directly support habitat conservation for resident and migrant birds in Central and South America.  When not traveling for work or pleasure, I am appreciating our eighth year of living in Suwannee.
Boyd Kimball, Director
About my involvement with Friends and the  Refuges -- Not knowing what to expect, my wife and I began volunteering at the Refuges welcome desk one year ago. It soon became apparent that this would be a quality experience interacting with visitors, getting to know other dedicated volunteers and meeting the welcoming, communicative Refuges staff. It has been positive enough that I look forward to volunteer stints and am eager to do more for the Refuges.

​​About other parts of my life -- Retired after 32 years of teaching and another 13 years as a non-profit administrator, my wife and I found a sanctuary from New York State winters in Cedar Key. Travel, reading, other volunteer opportunities, and exploring the area’s natural world occupy much of my time.
Dan Kline, Director
About my involvement with Friends and the  Refuges -- I have always had an interest in wetlands ecology and have been given the privilege to conduct research in the Lower Suwannee Refuge for the past few decades. 

About other parts of my life -- I have been interested in science nearly my whole life.  I am a trained medical & veterinary entomologist who specializes in conducting research on the biology, behavior, ecology and population management of mosquitoes and other biting flies.
Kit Lane, Director
About my involvement with Friends and the Refuges -- I knew as soon as I got to Cedar Key that being involved with nature and the environment would be important to me.  I joined the Friends and was delighted when I was asked to join the Board.  Volunteer groups such as the Friends are so vital to supporting the work being done to save the environment and the wildlife it supports.  I love hiking and kayaking in the Refuges and I want to help insure that they will be there for future generations to enjoy.

About other parts of my life -- I am a retired RN, Massage Therapist, Yoga teacher.  I love the GPS guided treasure hunt called geocaching as it takes me to wonderful places I might otherwise not find; especially those places with great hiking.  I spend a few months of the year in VT to be with my family and do some mountain hiking.
Bob Lewis, Director
About my involvement with Friends and the Refuges - Trained as a park naturalist, Bob has worked in Wisconsin, Kentucky, and Florida. He helped open the Sanderling Nature Center at Sheboygan, Wisconsin's Koehler / Andrae State Park back in the day. Interested in programs presented at the refuge, and after cruising the lower Suwannee, he joined Friends in 2017. He staffs the Visitor Desk as needed.

About other parts of my life - Bob is a Coast Guard licensed captain with a 25 ton "ticket". When not out and about, he can be found reading, listening to music, or photographing wildlife around the Nature Coast. Bob is involved in championing additional hike and program themes and using Meetup.com to attract new members.
Roger McDaniels, Director
About my involvement with Friends and the Refuges – I believe the refuges are essential to our way of life in America and need to be protected. I focus much of my “refuge” work time on invasive species containment and “play” time on hiking and birding.

About other parts of my life –I am a Master Gardener with the Levy County Extension Office, a retired space systems engineer and college professor.
Debbie Meeks, Director
About my involvement with Friends and the Refuges – As a kid in Texas I spent most of my time outdoors. I go to the refuges to bike, hike, photograph and kayak. My time spent exploring our amazing refuges feels like an adventure. 

About other parts of my life – I owned a small custom woodworking business in NYC for 12 years. Then one impossibly snowy winter I packed my car and headed south with nothing but a $2000 nest egg and hope. I landed a construction job in Gainesville but shortly afterward, emboldened by the southern weather and hospitality, I leapt from construction to computer programming. A decade later I met my husband, David. We currently enjoy a busy retirement- I feel like I can do more good work now than I ever could employed.
John Thalacker, Director
About my involvement with Friends and the Refuges – I knew almost nothing about the birds or fauna of the Refuge until 10 years ago when I retired. The  River Trail development (tree and plant identification and pathway and signage) has become my focus since virtually nothing was there before to help visitors know what they are looking at in that beautiful area.

About other parts of my life – I am a retired warden emeritus from Iowa.
Margy VanLandingham, Director
About my involvement with the Friends and the Refuges - As a child, I would beg my mother to let me take my nap in the big oak tree behind our house, my three sisters chiming in with their approval and support.  We thought that was as close to heaven as we could get.  Well, that and picking berries in the wild woods near us.  My lifetime love of nature found its forever home in Cedar Key, with the nearby Refuges acting to maintain the sanity of a largely nutty world.  I do what I can to help out the Friends' group.

About the other parts of my life -  I am a retired college professor and administrator.