Friends Annual Meeting Highlights A Day of Stewardship, Service, and Celebration

The weather was perfect, the views were stunning, and attendance was strong at this year’s Friends Annual Meeting—held at a new venue, the beautiful Emmitt’s River Retreat in Fowlers Bluff. This year’s gathering was especially meaningful, as it was held in conjunction with the Manager of the Year ceremony honoring our own Andrew Gude.

Ron Kamzelski addresses Friends members

The event began with official Friends business. President Ron Kamzelski welcomed members and guests and provided an update on the organization’s status, highlighting many accomplishments from the past year. Ethan Bittner followed with a brief overview of the group’s fiscal health. Ron then presented the slate of new board officers; after a vote, the new leadership was confirmed.

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​Ron introduced incoming President Tara Barney, who spoke about the organization’s current initiatives and future goals. She emphasized the importance of member participation, offering simple but powerful advice: don’t try to do everything—“Do one thing.” By focusing on a single area of passion and contributing there, members can collectively make a meaningful impact. With the wide range of talent and experience within the group, the future looks bright.

John Stark, Interim Refuge Manager, provided a positive update on the status of the refuges. He noted that important work continues despite reduced staffing. While not at the same scale as in previous years, the staff are getting results. He stressed the need for creativity, flexibility, and collaboration—highlighting the critical role of Friends volunteers, partnerships, and outside support in meeting ongoing challenges.

​A special moment followed as Debbie Meeks, a longtime Friends member and past president, was recognized for her extraordinary contributions. Debbie has been a driving force behind numerous initiatives, including the Vista Project, Junior Rangers, hunter engagement, website development, the News Brief, membership growth, and more. Her impact on both the Friends group and the refuges has been profound.

With that, the Annual Meeting concluded, and attendees—board members, guests, and dignitaries—gathered to enjoy a hearty lunch featuring barbecue catered by Kenny McCain, along with sides provided by the Treasure Camp.

Lunch was followed by the ceremony recognizing Andrew Gude as Manager of the Year. It is not hard to see that Andrew is an exceptional refuge manager. Recognizing that, our Friends group submitted the nomination of Andrew for Manager of the Year. This nomination was accepted by the National Wildlife Refuge Association and he was selected for the award.. 

​The event brought in dignitaries and key leaders in the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service including Cynthia Martinez, Chief of the National Wildlife Refuge System, Holly Gaboriault, FWS Southeast Region, Desirée Sorenson-Groves, President of the National Wildlife Refuge Association. Jeannie Rickman, Economic Development Coordinator for Representative Kat Cammack (R-Florida's 3rd District) and others.

​The fact that these people did not have to be here but decided to visit our Refuge personally to recognize the good work of Andrew Gude, to speak at our event, and to tour our Refuges with Refuge staff and Friends board members, speaks volumes about the Lower Suwannee & Cedar Keys National Wildlife Refuge and our Friends group. 

This was a fabulous opportunity to speak to individuals who operate at a national level, not only for them to hear our concerns but for us to hear theirs. This was reflected in the words of Desirée Sorenson-Groves speaking at Andrew’s event. To paraphrase;

“As acting refuge manager, John Stark was right to say that the Refuge is doing great things.

But honestly, as president of the National Wildlife Refuge Association, I have to say that despite all the hard work and success of the refuge staff, things are not All Okay with the refuges! Staff is down. Funding is down. Threats are all around all the time.

We, the public, are concerned about the ability of the Refuge System to meet it mission to conserve fish, wildlife, plants, and their habitats for the benefit of present and future generations of Americans. And so, while we celebrate Andrew as Refuge Manager of the Year, we also emphasize the value and importance of the refuges to all of us.”

​These conversations also allow us to learn and understand the future direction of the refuge system, to find where we fit in the larger whole, find where our support is needed and know what support we can expect. We also introduced our visitors to city officials, aquaculture staff, UF scientists and community members  who emphasized the importance of the refuge and how its many natural ecosystems are vital to and inextricably meshed with the regional economy and our very way of life. All feedback indicates that they were impressed and that Friends, the Refuge and the community presented very well. 

Back to the meeting and award ceremony... several took the microphone to relate their experiences and tell anecdotes about Andrew, to talk about the the significance of the award being presented and importantly to  simply congratulate Andrew.

​Holly Gaboriault said it well in her comments.

"Andrew Gude:  An incredible conservation leader, person, and friend.
In 2011 Andrew stepped into one of the most complex Florida landscapes to manage the 53,000 acre Lower Suwanee NRW Complex surrounded by 250 miles of coastline, a 240 mile unimpeded river, a 1 million acre seagrass preserve, and nearly 2 million acres of undeveloped coastal habitat under mixed ownership.  When he arrived, everyone quickly knew something was different, but they had no idea.
  
Andrew’s partnership work is extraordinary . . . (his) ability to approach challenges from angles that would surprise an ordinary person . . .His steady presence, and a smile that opens doors even before a conversation begins . . . are embraced by his staff, his partners, and reflect how he genuinely cares for people and the mission of the Service.”

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​Accepting the award, Andrew spoke. His talk was humble, thoughtful and engaging. Andrew stated he was “just doing his job” and that the award speaks to all of us. He related about his early years and how he gravitated to environmentalism and conservation through an “Earth Day every day” attitude learned from his father. He gave us three rules;

1. Blame the innocent and shoot the messenger.
2. Credit is infinitely divisible – give credit where credit is not due. 
3. Volunteer others to do the things that you can’t or won’t do yourself. 

There were more anecdotes spun by Andrew, one involving Skunk Apes and the official hunting guidelines regarding them. His closing comments regarding his service "I am grateful and proud to have been a US civil servant." told us a lot about the man. 

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