Greetings from Jan Anderson, Lake Association President

Hello, everyone, I hope you are all having a good “off season” so far. With the winter weather nearly behind us, I hope you all had a chance to get outside and enjoy some of our winter activities like snowshoeing, skiing, snowmobiling and ice fishing! AQUATIC INVADERS SUMMIT

On February 28 and March 1, Minnesota Lakes & Rivers Advocates hosted the Aquatic Invaders Summit. Lake Association volunteer Brian Knox and Board member Roger Berggren attended the summit to gather information and learn how we can become better-equipped to identify and fight AIS in and around the Lake. LEADERSHIP CHANGES

There will be a changing of the guard on the LFARCC Board beginning in June 2018. I will continue on the Board as an Area Rep for Wildwood Terrace, but will step down as President due to growing work commitments. We are very fortunate that Craig Panning, who represents Pirates Cove, has volunteered to be our next President, pending his re-election to the Board and the outcome of the officer election in June. Craig brings with him many new ideas and an enthusiastic perspective which will be very valuable to us as we move forward.

LFARCC Vice President John Ruth will continue as area representative for Melody Lane, but does not plan to continue in his Vice President role in 2018-19. Thank you to John for serving as our VP the past two years!

Officers are elected (or re-elected) from among the seated Board members for that year. The Board will elect officers immediately following the Annual Meeting in June. AREA REP & VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

I cannot express how important it is to have membership involvement in the LFARCC—either as volunteers, Area Rep/Board members or Board officers. All members are welcome to submit a nomination to the Board. We’re specifically looking for members to represent the following:

- Pirates Cove

- Rustic Ridge

- Outlots

Other opportunities to volunteer include:

- AIS & Water Quality monitors

- Golf Outing committee members

- Email/website/social media writers and editors* *In addition to adult volunteers, high school and college students with writing, web or graphic design experience are welcome to volunteer in an effort to build their portfolios. Email lakefrancisnews@gmail.com for more information.

We can use all the community help and support you can give us! Plus, it’s really FUN to meet more lake neighbors and work on social events and the causes important to us all! THANK YOU!

Thank you for your membership, time and support. I feel the LFARCC is incredibly valuable to Lake Francis residents and offers many benefits to our Lake and the surrounding communities. Our advocacy and commitment to keeping the lake clean and AIS free is a benefit I believe many of us take for granted. Just image how devastated we would all feel if our lake is ever found to have AIS. We need all hands on deck to help keep the lake clean.

Here’s to an amazing 2018 and a wonderful summer at the lake. Reach out to us at lakefrancisnews@gmail.com for more information or with any comments or ideas you may have!