From the President

The following comments and observations were presented by Don LeStage, President of the Attleboro Land Trust, at its annual meeting held at the Attleboro Museum on November 30, 2004.

This information will update you on the activities of the past year and we hope will encourage you all to become involved.

At my first meeting as President in April, I recommended to the Board that our focus for the remainder of this year would concentrate on four areas:

1. Develop our new administrative assistant’s position
2. Improve the infrastructure of the Board
3. Establish and strengthen our committees
4. Create an annual budget

To address the first item, Betsy and I are on the phone with each other before 8 o’clock three or four mornings a week. Because it is a new job for her and a new position for the ALT, we are feeling our way as to where her responsibilities should begin and end. By the end of 2005 we should have a more consistent framework for her duties – but then again – given the nature of volunteer organizations, maybe we won’t. One thing is already certain; I could not function in my responsibilities as President without the assistance she has provided

We have 5 committees – Property Management, Land Acquisition, Development, Community Garden and Nominating. With the exception of one they are all carrying out their responsibilities – the Land Acquisition Committee will soon begin the task of identifying properties for our “Wish List”.

With the committee chairmen reporting at each monthly meeting the Board has a much better idea of what is going on outside their own committees.

Our treasurer, Anne Newquist, had been on the job for only 2 months when she prepared our first-ever budget. Our ship now has a rudder. As with most first budgets there was much guess work involved in preparing this one – by the end of 2005 we will have “hard numbers”. The budget, as crafted, is running at a deficit, but I don’t want anyone to go away with the idea that we are necessarily following the example of President Bush! Sometimes a deficit is necessary when there is a lot to do. We do have a plan to work out of it, and in fact, I don’t think we will have a deficit to report at the end of 2005.

I am pleased to say that although there is more work to be done in all of these areas we have imprinted the disciplines for further improvement. We do have a good board and I am looking forward to an even stronger one in 2005.

In making notes for tonight’s report, I was happily surprised at how much we have accomplished during the past year. Allow me to list them for you:

• We hired an administrative assistant to take care of details, and WE GOT A GOOD ONE
• We purchased a computer to keep track of those details and create a reliable and workable database
• We now have our own phone with voice mail capability installed at the Oak Knoll office
• We held a yard sale in June – which turned out to be a monumental effort
• We established a format for Board meetings that helps us cover all necessary subjects and somewhat successfully shortened the Board meetings
• We organized the Board into functioning committees that now meet independently
• We created a first – time – ever budget
• We erected new property signs at the Colman, Vaughan, and Community Garden properties
• With the help of the Boy Scouts, we cleaned up and installed new fencing at the entrance to the Lawrence property
• We initiated the taking of the paper street extension into the Lawrence property at the end of Hope Avenue
• Began to recover an overgrown field on the Nickerson property
• We began an outreach to abutters of our properties to help us monitor activities
• We lobbied the Attleboro City Council and neighbors to vote down the rezoning of the Camp Street area
• We have scheduled an evening fundraiser with Stephen Small, the guru of land preservation on March 30
• We have begun the task of inventorying all Attleboro properties 10 acres and larger for our “Wish List”
• We have begun the planning for our spring treasure hunt
• We have purchased new trail signage for our properties
• And we organized another successful Community Garden

Each of these accomplishments by themselves is not monumental, but together they represent many hours of volunteer effort. Our need for more help in 2005 will increase as our agenda develops.

During the next twelve months the Board should:

• Continue to work on its infrastructure
• Explore new ways to protect our properties from illegal and prohibited use
• Increase public awareness of our mission and enlist the support of a larger number of committed volunteers
• Increase our fundraising efforts by appeals to appropriate foundations, grants and the local business community
• Continue to pursue additional land as it becomes available

These are tall orders for our organization but I believe they are all attainable with the community’s help, and the support of our members.

Don LeStage

President, Attleboro Land Trust