Setbacks and Successes - Hurricane Michael
and ‘the Shutdown’ Hit Hard

In the past year, two events affected Friends’ finances:  : Hurricane Michael and the government shutdown.

In retrospect, as severe as the Hurricane was, the physical damage to buildings and roadways was not as pronounced as we thought it might be. Yes, there was damage, but it could have been far worse. Probably of greater significance was the environmental impact of habitat loss and diminished animal populations. The latter environmental concerns are hard to measure, but given the strength of the storm, we know there had to be a negative impact.

The government shutdown in January, was not a weather event, but a political/governmental one, and it did pose a significant challenge for the Friends and for the Refuge. To understand this, we only need to look at the closure of the Nature Store during the shutdown, because the store is the Friends’ major source of income throughout the year. During the approximate month of closure, the loss of income from the Nature Store was nearly $15,000 that would typically be used to support Refuge projects. In addition, the closure interfered with Refuge and Friends’ event and activity programs that often result in added income due to gate fees and attracting new members. For example, the February Wildlife Heritage and Outdoor Festival had to be canceled. That’s an event where Friends expect to see lots of community awareness and a time for attracting new members.

Fortunately, the anticipated financial hit was eased by rebounding sales in the Spring of 2019 and lower than expected expenses. The one-two punch of Michael and the shutdown showed the Friends’ board the necessity of adequate financial reserves to meet unexpected circumstances

Both the hurricane and the shutdown did have a rosier side, however. Where the hurricane was concerned, the physical damage was restricted, in part, to the accessibility ramp leading to the lighthouse. The ramp had just recently been built to assist the disability communities. And, though the roadways were more significantly impacted, the damage to buildings and the lighthouse could have been far worse.

The amazing aspect of the shutdown was the way our volunteers reacted to the closure and the resulting Nature Store closure. The store was still able to follow-up on the sale (through electronic communications) of the Area-X t-shirts, and that generated the only income for the store and the Friends during the shutdown. We are fortunate to have dedicated volunteers who made that happen.