Greetings from Lake Association President Craig Panning

Hello to all Lake Francis Home and Cabin Owners!

As we all look forward to the change of seasons from Minnesota Winter to Minnesota Spring, the Lake Association brings you this newsletter in an attempt to keep all lake area residents informed of news and activities from around the lake. As you drove around the lake this past year, you might have noticed a number of For Sale signs in your neighborhood. As a result, we have 12 new cabin/home owners to welcome to our little piece of paradise. Be sure you say hello and welcome your new neighbors. If you are one of the new lake residents, we invite you to consider becoming a member of the Lake Francis Area Recreation & Conservation Club.

2018-2019 LFARCC Officers: President Craig Panning (Pirates Cove), Treasurer Mike Oesterreich (Hidden Forest), Vice President Mike Furst (Ranta Lane), and Lisa Christoffersen (East Shore).

Changes in Volunteer Leadership Team

This past year brought changes to the Lake Association’s volunteer Leadership Team made up of Area Representatives from 10 neighborhoods around the lake who serve as our Board of Directors. The Board officers are selected by the Area Reps.

Long-time Board member and now Past President Jan Anderson from Wildwood Terrace and past Vice-President John Ruth from Melody Lane vacated their officer positions in 2018 but will continue as Area Reps. A big thank you to both for their leadership.

I’m an Area Rep from Pirates Cove and have been selected to be President. Mike Furst (Ranta Lane) is Vice-President. Officers continuing in their positions are Secretary Lisa Christofferson (East Shore) and Treasurer Mike Oesterreich (Hidden Forrest). A big thank you to Area Reps who left the Board this past year, including: Stacy Devitt (Sunset Terrace), Holly Edwards (Melody Lane), Don Haupert (Melody Lane), Bob Fleming (Holiday Beach) and Chuck Tacl (Rustic Ridge).

A warm welcome to new Area Reps Jeff Fish (Sunset Terrace), Jim Kirchhofer (Holiday Beach) and Mark Wollschlager (Rustic Ridge). We encourage all lake residents to get to know your Area Reps and bring any questions and ideas to them. You can find a complete list of all Area Reps in this newsletter and online.

Aquatic Invasive Species

One of the most important responsibilities of the Lake Association is to monitor for infestation of aquatic invasive species (AIS) in our lake. A portion of all Lake Association memberships dues goes to a fund set aside to address the problem should Eurasian milfoil, zebra mussels, starry stonewart or others be discovered in our lake. Over the years, the balance in this fund has grown to $65,828. As you are probably aware, all of these aquatic invasive species have been discovered in neighboring lakes. Brian Knox (Hidden Forest) coordinates a team of lake residents who regularly monitor our lake for AIS. He reports that no AIS was discovered through this past summer. Thank you to all who participate in this very important volunteer opportunity.

To help us against this fight, the main Lake Francis boat launch has been monitored by trained AIS inspectors from Anchor Dock & Lift from May through mid-September the past three years. The number of boat inspections over the three years are: 2016=823, 2017=980 and 2018=954. As of this writing, we are waiting for approval of funds for the 2019 launch inspection program. If you see what you think might be AIS on our lake, please contact your Area Rep so a further assessment can be made.

2019 Calendar of Events

All lake area residents are encouraged to check out the list of 2019 Calendar of Lake Events and Area Happenings found in this newsletter. This calendar provides a list of area happenings and highlights LFARCC hosted events. Mark your calendars now as these activities will give you the opportunity to meet and get to know more of your lake neighbors. If you have accumulated too many things over the years, the Saturday, June 1, Lake Francis Area Garage Sale will be your opportunity to unclutter. The Lake Association's Annual Meeting will be held Saturday, June 29, at the Kingston Community Center. This is your opportunity to learn more about the Lake Association. It will also give you a chance to ask questions and share your ideas about the organization.

Membership Increasing

In closing, I would like to thank everyone who has supported the LFARCC though membership and volunteerism in the past. Last year we had 139 members (12 more than 2017) and 16 business members. Let's work together to increase this number and make our Lake Association even stronger going forward. I would also encourage you to consider volunteering. It's a great way to meet new neighbors and learning about lake happenings.

Additional Area Reps are needed for Melody Lane, Holiday Beach, Rustic Ridge and Outlots. Another current volunteer opportunity is in the area of communications and newsletters. We could really use the talents of someone who has writing, design and or web site expertise. If you have an interest in any volunteer opportunity, contact your Area Rep or e-mail lakefrancisnews@gmail.com. Remember, volunteer organizations only succeed if members are interested in getting involved.

Hope you have a great spring and summer.

See you on the lake!

Craig Panning, LFARCC President