Board of Directors - February 2010

Executive Committee
President: Willem Van Kempen
Vice President: Tom Purdon
Secretary: Eileen Buckel
Treasurer: Carol Lambert

Board of Directors' and Responsibilities
If you have a question about any one of these activities, please write us an email directed to the person in charge at this address: info@friendsofmaderacanyon.org

Accessible Trail Tours – Rozanne Roman
Adult Education Programs – Charlotte Hagerty
Annual Audit – Tom Purdon
Annual Meeting of the Friends – Rozanne Roman
Archives – Dita Hagen
Bat House Research Program – Jerry Popham
Chamber of Commerce Coordination – Eileen Buckel
Comment Cards – Dita Hagen
Education – Charlotte Hagerty
Event Calendar – Louise Gibbeson & Eileen Buckel
Forest Service Liaison – Willem Van Kempen
Fundraising – Judy Thoreson
Historian – Dita Hagen
Liaison with other Environmental Organizations – Tom Purdon
Literature Printing – Pat Thoresen
Mailing – Jerry Popham
Marketing – Pat Thoresen
Membership Materials, Recruiting, & Orientation – Ellen West
Memorials – Carol Lambert
Miles and Hours Compilation – Rozanne Roman
Newspaper Column – Louise Gibbeson
Nominations of new Board Members – Dita Hagen
Planned Giving – Judy Thoreson
Preservation – Dita Hagen
Publicity – Louise Gibbeson
Speakers’ Bureau – Eileen Buckel
Special Events – Louise Gibbeson
Special Projects – Carol Lambert
Storage & Inventory – Pat Thoresen
Visitor Information Station – Wally Lamb
Volunteer Coordination & Recognition – Willem Van Kempen
Volunteer of the Year – Willem Van Kempen
Web Site – Jerry Popham

Other Functions performed by non-board members
Car Counter - Phil Gantt
Literature Distribution - Phil Gantt
Editor, Canyon Chatter - George West
Education Director -Doug Moore
Grant Writing - Carolyn Fowler
Preservation & Clean-up -Mike Staples
Scholarship - Sondra Dexter
Web Master -George West

Board Member Profiles

Eileen Buckel
Eileen moved to Green Valley in 2005 upon retirement from a community college in California. She became a birder while in California and having Madera Canyon close by was a lure to moving here. She volunteers in the Visitor Information Station and has enjoyed meeting the wonderful people who make up the Friends.

Louise Gibbeson
Louise moved to Green Valley in 2000 from Seattle, where she owned a travel agency.  Her father was a great fisherman, so most of her family's vacations were camping in the mountains and forests of the Northwest.  "I naturally gravitated to Madera Canyon on moving to Green Valley because it reminded me of the beauty and green of my childhood."

Dita-Erika Hagen
Dita moved to Green Valley permanently a year ago, after retiring from teaching. She has lived in Washington state, Oregon, California, and Germany, her place of birth. The Madera Canyon was one reason for choosing Green Valley as a "forever home." "The beauty of the canyon continues to inspire, energize, and comfort me." She hopes to continue acting as archivist for the Friends.

Charlotte Hagerty

Wally Lamb
Wally and his wife came to Green Valley 4 years ago from Indiana.  Madera Canyon is one of the places that attracted them to the area because of the tranquility and the opportunity it provides to get close to nature.

Carol Lambert
Carol and her husband Clarke moved to Arizona in 1998 from Boulder, Colorado. She is a birder and Master Gardener and loves Madera Canyon because the six different habitat zones you travel through to get to the top of the canyon provide a huge diversity of flora and fauna. "I enjoy volunteering because we have over 100 active volunteers, you get to meet great people, and I take great satisfaction in giving back to nature."

Jerry Popham
Jerry and Cookie Popham moved to Green Valley from California because of the beauty, openness, and natural wonders of southeast Arizona. Both are avid birders and enjoy Madera Canyon and its wonderful trail system. Jerry is interested in preserving the unique wonders of Madera Canyon through difficult times of population growth in the area.

Tom Purdon
Tom and his wife Kathryn have always loved being outdoors and engaging in activities that allows appreciation of nature. Tom has been active on the Defenders of Madera Canyon committee and is also on the board of Save the Scenic Santa Ritas. The Purdons grew up in Iowa and have lived in Colorado, Tucson, and Green Valley for the past seven years.

Rozanne Roman
Rozanne moved here in 1993 from the California Bay Area.  Her nursing position is very stressful, and she find peace and serenity in Madera Canyon.  Studies show that patients recover faster when they can see the green of Mother Nature.  Rozanne is also a docent at the Desert Museum and feels that it is very important to reach out to children. 

Patricia Thoresen
Pat moved to Green Valley from Ohio in 2006 with her husband after retirement from teaching art for many years in public schools. We chose this area because we spent a year at Ft. Huachuca with the Army 38 years ago and fell in love with the mountains and desert. The contrasts of Sky Islands and desert were so memorable. I still wanted to work with children in some educational capacity and was motivated to learn about the wide variety of new and unusual flora and fauna and the mysteries of the contrasting geography in this area. So I became a docent for the fourth grade tours to pass on the love of Madera Canyon to young people while continuing to learn about this area myself. I am involved in a local hiking group, photography club, and the Civic Orchestra of Tucson. All of my interests are incorporated in my service as a member of the board.

Judy Thoreson
Judy has been a Docent with the Friends of Madera education program since 1994.  She spends six months of the year "back at the lake" in Iowa, where her children and grandchildren visit, and where she serves on the board of the Iowa Lakeside Laboratory -- a biological field station of Iowa's state universities.

Willem Van Kempen
Madera Canyon and its surroundings were a big draw to our moving to this area of the country.  Willem and his wife became members of the Friends because “its mission to educate and preserve the canyon has been foremost on my mind and drives my actions while in the canyon.”

Ellen West
Ellen grew up in Fairbanks, Alaska, where she met her husband Dr. George West. Ellen & George moved to Arizona 16 years ago.  They are avid birders and hikers and love the mild climate, the access to many other habitats within a few days drive, and the small tight-knit community of Green Valley. "The Friends organization has the health of Madera Canyon at its heart; they educate young school children in the Canyon, and work tirelessly in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service to protect and maintain Canyon amenities."

Board of Directors: Left to right: Lambert, Purdon, Buckel, Thoresen, Van Kempen, Hagerty, Hagen
Gibbeson, West, Roman, Lamb, Popham, Thoreson.