Board of Directors

Members of the Board of Directors

President Letters

2023 President’s Letter

November 10, 2023

Dear Donors, Community Partners, Members, Volunteers and Friends,

Thank you all for your donations, time, and support.  2023 was an exceptional year for all of us at Friends of Staunton State Park.  Your kindness helped us achieve impactful improvements to the park, making visitors experience even more enjoyable.

Our year began with placing a protective floor coating over the concrete floor in the track chair garage as well as upgrading the interior providing a welcoming environment for our Track Chair participants and their family and friends.  

We continued to finalize the restoration of the Historic Staunton Homestead Cabin by funding and acquiring artifacts to be placed in the cabin.  The highlight being the Victor 3 phonograph, the same model as the one originally used by Frances, a period pump organ, display cases, fabric and rods for curtains, an LED fireplace and many miscellaneous period pieces that are on display.  A special thank you to all the folks that donated medical equipment, jars, tools, photos, frames and too many other items to mention that present the cabin to its fullest potential.  Special thank you to the volunteers who spent hours collecting and placing the artifacts. The cabin now has a group of volunteers and staff that lead tours of the cabin during the peak season of the park. Visitors now have the unique opportunity to visualize and imagine what life was like in the early 1900’s and learn about the Staunton’s.

We have also begun the exterior restoration of the Staunton shower house.  Lumber for the siding is being provided by the volunteer milling team utilizing logs from the park.  Volunteers are placing the siding onto the shower house.  The roof replacement is complete, funded by Friends of Staunton State Park.  Park staff and volunteer hours have contributed to bring the shower house exterior back to its glory.  There is still more work to do but we are getting close.

FOSSP helped to fund the Park’s first year of candle light hikes and it is a huge success with an estimated 1100 visitors participating in these hikes.  FOSSP helped to fund this unique event.  If you have not had a chance to take one of these hikes, please put it on your to do list for next year.  They are amazing and fun.

As always, we continue to support the park with the purchase of tools for volunteers, updated signage and supporting park events.

We thank you for your continued support of Friends of Staunton and your commitment to enhancing our beautiful Staunton State Park.

With gratitude, appreciation, and best wishes,

Jeff Kresl

President, Friends of Staunton State Park

2022 President’s Letter

November 16, 2022

Dear Donors, Community Partners, Members, Volunteers and Friends,

Thank you all for helping us to achieve an amazing 2022, a lot of wonderful things happened which I am very excited to share with you.

Your donations of time and money helped us achieve significant and impactful improvements to our Staunton State Park.

The beginning of the year started off in a big way as we took delivery of the 2 new suspension track chairs.  These new chairs provide the participants with a much smoother ride which is so important for those with challenges.  They and their families smile more when the ride is comfortable.  Our fleet now stands at 5 suspension track chairs.  In total Friends, through generous donations, have purchased 8 Action Track Chairs. One was sent to Barr Lake State Park and one to Ridgway State Park so that they could start their Track Chair Programs.  The 3^rd was sold to a private individual.  The track chair program is growing across Colorado and the nation thanks to all of you.

The track chair garage interior was redone with sheetrock purchased by Staunton and installed with volunteers from Denver.  Staunton volunteers and staff painted the interior with paint purchased with funds from Friends.

The Mark Madsen Accessibility fund celebration was held once again on August 14^th after a 2 year hiatus due to COVID-19.  Thank you all who attended and support the program.

We also purchased and installed a new Tuff Shed that is 16 foot by 20 foot adjacent to the track chair garage to store all of Annie Thran’s interpretative materials.  The foundation was placed with volunteers and park staff.  She now has her own beautiful organized space.

BIG NEWS FOR THE STAUNTON CABIN. Volunteers removed all the windows and new glazing and glass was installed by a local glazier.  Windows were then painted and reinstalled and the outside plywood covers were removed.  Working with Zach Taylor, the park manager, we then began on the interior.  The doors where rebuilt, inside woodwork repaired and the cabin got an extreme deep clean.  The marmots weren’t very happy but they have moved on to new digs. The wood bin covers were remade, and the bins themselves cleaned out.  Volunteers hauled out 16 large construction bags of debris.  A new chimney cap was installed to keep the weather and critters out.  Most importantly, electricity was installed in the cabin provided by solar panels in the field behind the cabin for lights and security lights with the goal of opening the cabin to volunteer-guided tours.  Volunteers spent nearly 2,400 hours to make this all happen.

THAT GOAL WAS ACHIEVED during Living History Days held on September 10^th and 11^th, with tours led by volunteers.  We had many happy and enthusiastic visitors who all agreed the cabin looks great.  This milestone started when the park first opened in 2013 – what a tremendous journey and accomplishment!   Thanks again to all those who made this possible.

And as always, we continue to support the park with the purchase of tools for volunteers, updated brochures and supporting park events.

We thank you for your continued support of Friends of Staunton and commitment to enhancing our beautiful Staunton State Park.

Jeff Kresl

President, Friends of Staunton State Park

2021 President’s Letter

November 14, 2021

Dear Donors, Community Partners, Members, Volunteers and Friends,

First, thank you on behalf of the Board and myself! I am continuously amazed by the support and commitment of all of you to be stewards of our beautiful and unique Staunton State Park.  

Again, we faced challenges and worked through them by collaborating, working diligently and of course most importantly, by having fun. All of us together have once again reached milestones and continued to accomplish our goals of Preserve, Promote and Protect.

We made our 1,000-track chair hike this year in September!  Just imagine what a positive experience we provided to those people and their families.  Congratulations to all of the Track Chair Volunteer team.  We have purchased and have received a new suspension track chair which will replace Mark 2, which is a rigid frame chair.  An anonymous donor has pledged up to $10,000 in matching funds for yet another suspension track chair.  As of today, we have raised $9,305 towards that goal! Comfort cushions, tools and maintenance equipment were purchased this year enabling our volunteers to more effectively maintain the fleet and provide more comfortable rides for our participants.

Friends of Staunton State Park in conjunction with CPW, HistoriCorps, Alan Ford Architects, History Colorado State Historical Fund and volunteers have completed phase 1 of the Staunton Cabin Restoration.  A new shake roof with supporting structure, front porch, steps and gutters as well as a thorough cleaning of the cabin were accomplished. Seventy volunteers (including 5 board members) with over 2400 volunteer hours and $115,000 in donations and grants were needed to accomplish this task. This is a significant Milestone.  We are looking forward to the next phase which will be restoring the doors, windows and foundation. Friends and CPW are working with our stakeholders so that Staunton State Park Volunteers may accomplish most of this work.

We continue to assist the park with the educational programs, displays, brochure printings and general park needs.  

As a charter member of the Friends of Staunton State Park, Susan Festag has decided to retire from the board.  In her 10-year tenure, Susan has served as treasurer and secretary.  Her dedication to the Board of Staunton State Park has been truly outstanding!

To wind up this year’s letter, I want to thank my fellow board members for all they do.  This is the first time in the history of Friends, ALL of us are active volunteers at the park. I thank them for their unwavering support of Staunton State Park.  We are part of all of you and those who visit.

With gratitude, appreciation and best wishes,

Jeff Kresl

President, Friends of Staunton State Park

2020 President’s Letter

November 6, 2020

Dear Members, Community Partners, Donors, and Friends,

On behalf of the Friends of Staunton State Park Board of Directors, I wish to express my deep appreciation for your continued support of our mission to Preserve, Promote, and Protect Staunton State Park. Despite a challenging year, we have some incredible accomplishments to share and look forward to an exciting year ahead!

Our successful partnership with The Becker Team for their annual Climb For The Kids fundraiser raised funds to allow us to purchase a 5th Action Track Chair with the new suspension capability, and all of the accessories to go with the Track Chair. This season, although starting late due to COVID-19, is wrapping up this month and when complete, over 200 hikes with our visitors with disabilities will have occurred. We continue to fund all maintenance for the Track-Chair Program, including new batteries for Mark 1 and Mark 4.

We formed a Historic Preservation Committee with the goal of beginning in earnest a new cornerstone project: the restoration of Staunton’s historic structures, starting with the Staunton Homestead Cabin. Our first priority was to purchase and cover the roof with custom tarps in order to prevent further damage to the interior of the cabin. Thanks to an incredibly generous anonymous donor kick-starting the effort with a $50,000 donation, and in collaboration with CPW, HistoriCorps, and Alan Ford Architects, our team applied for, and received, a matching $50,000 grant from the State Historical Fund to replace the tarps with a new permanent roof. Plans are underway for that project to begin next year. We also designed and printed brochures and mini cards to educate visitors about our historic park legacy and promote further fundraising, and nominated the Staunton Cabin as an Endangered Place to Colorado Preservation, Inc.

Following months of effort, we created a brand new website to showcase what we do, our beautiful state park, and encourage visitors to donate and support our efforts to Preserve, Promote, and Protect the natural beauty, wildlife, amenities, and historic legacy of Staunton State Park. Please explore our new website at www.friendsofstauntonstatepark.org to see what else we’ve accomplished, what’s happening at the park, and what’s next.

 After nearly 8 years on our Board of Directors, most of them served as our President, our esteemed colleague, Wayne Parkinson, stepped down from serving on our Board. We are forever indebted to him for his vision, leadership, passion, and commitment to grow Friends of Staunton State Park and improve the amenities at Staunton State Park for visitors, staff, and volunteers alike. Thank you for being a valued member of our Team Wayne, you will be greatly missed. We were joined by Elk Creek Fire Chief Jacob Ware to fill that void on our Board, and welcome him to our Team.

In conclusion, I would like to thank my fellow board members for their dedication and hard work, for without your time, energy, and effort, our continued success would not have been possible. To our members of Friends of Staunton State Park, our generous individual donors and corporate partners, and fellow Staunton volunteers, words cannot express how grateful we are for your support. To the Staunton staff, our sincere appreciation for our strengthening relationship; together we can accomplish much more.

With deepest gratitude,

Sharon Trilk

President, Friends of Staunton State Park

2019 President’s Letter

November 9, 2019

Dear Donors, Community Partners, Members, and Friends,

As President of your Friends of Staunton State Park, it is my privilege to offer my appreciation to those who supported our Friends TEAM. Through your continued generosity we have contributed to the growth and success of our beloved Staunton State Park.

It is my honor to announce our many accomplishments over the past 12 months. 2019 has been an especially successful year for our Friends TEAM. Our financial support for the Staunton Track-Chair Program made the program’s 3rd year our most successful yet. Over 200 of our visitors with disabilities, who otherwise would not have the opportunity or ability, were able to ‘hike’ and enjoy our beautiful trails. We raised funds and purchased our 4th track chair, a newly introduced suspension model allowing for improved comfort for our participants. We have recently partnered with the Climb for the Kids organization, with hopes of raising funds to purchase additional suspension model track chairs. We purchased, thanks to a grant from the Conifer Rotary Club, two adaptive car seats to modify our existing track chairs for our kids and smaller framed participants. We continued to fund the entire maintenance project for the Track-Chair Program. We purchased an 8′ x 10′ Tuff Shed w/solar charging station for the storage of fishing equipment/carts including battery-operated adaptive fishing equipment for our visitors with disabilities.

These are just a small sampling of the contributions that your Friends TEAM was able to make to Staunton State Park. For a more detailed list please visit our website at www.friendsofstauntonstatepark.org.

With deep appreciation for his many contributions, I announce that our long-term board member, Steve Sparer, has decided not to run for another term on the board. Steve has been a valued member of our TEAM for 6 years and served as one of our Vice Presidents. Steve’s contributions over the years have helped make Friends the success we are today. Thank you Steve for being a valued member of our TEAM!

In conclusion, I want to thank my fellow board members for their dedication and hard work. Without your efforts, our continued over the years have helped make Friends the success we are today. Thank you, Steve, for being a valued member of our TEAM!

In conclusion, I want to thank my fellow board members for their dedication and hard work. Without your efforts, our continued success would not have been possible.

With my continued appreciation,

Wayne T Parkinson
President, Friends of Staunton State Park