LETTER TO MEMBERS & SUPPORTERS
Dear Friends:
Friends of Acadias 15th year saw robust advancement of our mission, which is to protect and
preserve Acadia National Park and the surrounding communities.
Some highlights:
- Friends granted $631,000 to the park and projects such as the propane-powered buses.
- The bus fleet carried a record 240,000 riders, eliminating 65,000 automobile trips on
Mount Desert Island.
- Our acclaimed Acadia Trails Forever partnership with the park resulted in drainage improvements
along 82 miles of footpaths. Major work continued on the Jordan Pond Trail. Park crews
made part of the Ship Harbor Trail wheelchair-accessible.
- With Maine Coast Heritage Trust and others, Friends opened the new half-mile Western Mountain Connector in Southwest Harbor and completed the Great Meadow Loop in Bar Harbor.
- Helped by Maine's congressional delegation, Friends defeated a proposed 25-acre state
inholding in the park's Schoodic section.
- We extend appreciation to Superintendent Paul Haertel, his deputy Len Bobinchock, and
their outstanding national park staff. All are great friends of Acadia.
- Although a brutal market reduced Friends' investments slightly over two years, we outperformed
many other nonprofits and stayed above the objective benchmarks by which we
measure performance.
- Friends ran a budget surplus once again. Our five-year fundraising cost, 4.5 cents per dollar of revenue, is among the best in the nation.
For all of that and more, we thank you, our faithful supporters. Despite the country's
profound charitable needs after September 11, you kept this nonprofit in your heart as well and
made possible another bountiful year.
By your generosity, Acadia and its environs remain a compellingly beautiful place. We will
work hard to keep it that way.
Thank you.
H. Lee Judd, Chairman of the Board
W. Kent Olson, President
Nathaniel Fenton, Treasurer
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