Following is an excerpt from a letter sent to Philip Pollock, President, Friends of St. Marks Wildlife Refuge from the National Wildlife Refuge Association, received April 7, 2021. Click the image to the right to read the full Press Release.

Congratulations to Friends of St. Marks Wildlife Refuge upon being selected the National Wildlife 
Refuge Association’s 2021 Friends Group of the Year!

This year's award committee carefully 
reviewed all the nominations and was impressed by all the outstanding work being done by Friends 
Groups across the nation - and they were especially impressed by your group's dedication to the National 
Wildlife Refuge System and achievements at St. Marks Wildlife Refuge.

The Molly Krival Refuge Friends Group of the Year Award honors a 
Friends organization that:

• demonstrates innovation and excellence in advancing the mission of the Refuge 
System

• provides a positive community influence

• works as an independent advocate to protect natural 
resources

• strives to influence support for the local refuge and the Refuge System as a whole

This 
award is given in honor of Molly Krival, a pioneer in the Friends movement who mentored new and 
existing Refuge Friends groups all across the country. The materials submitted with the nomination 
clearly conveyed the exceptional achievements of the Friends of St. Marks and we feel your group is 
indeed a worthy recipient of this award.

The Friends of St. Marks Wildlife Refuge is pleased to accept this award. It's a significant honor, especially considering that there are 185 similar Friends groups affiliated with other refuges nationally.

We would like to thank the many volunteer board members who helped to build this Friends Group over time, the Refuge Staff of St. Marks NWR, and most importantly, all of the hundreds of Friends members and donors who love and support St. Marks. Thank You!