Fannie Gibbs of Macedonia Community Foundation invited WWALS to their Juneteenth celebration at Reed Bingham State Park Lake. So we took boats and volunteers and got people in boats on the lake.

Including Fannie, in a boat, with a paddle, in the rain!

Juneteenth at Reed Bingham State Park Lake with Macedonia Community Foundation and Suwannee Riverkeeper

Thanks especially to Fannie Gibbs for inviting WWALS. We will keep writing joint grant proposals until we get some funded for boating and swimming lessons, historical research, and paddle outings designed around African-American waterway history. Meanwhile, we will keep doing things like this anyway.

Two in a kayak

Many of the boaters had never been in a boat before.

Next

Putting on a PFD

Vessel

Suwannee Riverkeeper canoe

Still

Small boater

Rain

Banners

Pavilion

Tom H. Johnson Jr., Fannie Gibbs, Gretchen Quarterman, children, grandchildren

We recently finished the Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail (WLRWT), by planting at-water information signs like this, along with road signs, z-fold brochures, and online web pages and interactive maps, mostly funded by a generous grant from the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.

WLRWT signs, WWALS Trails Committee Chair Dan Phillips, WWALS president Tom H. Johnson Jr. in Suwannee Riverkeeper vessel, Reed Bingham State Park Lake

Thanks to Wayne Fuller, Manager of Reed Bingham State Park, and Assistant Manager Mikayla Spencer, for boat rental.

Reed Bingham State Park Bridge

And thanks to all the WWALS volunteers, including Gretchen Quarterman, Bobby McKenzie (who never heard of Juneteenth before this), Russell Allen McBride, Josh Duncan, Angela Duncan, Lindsey Williams, Mary Carolyn Pindar, WWALS Trails Committee Chair Dan Phillips, Debbie Smith, WWALS Senior Vice President Dr. Tom Potter, WWALS President Tom H. Johnson Jr., and WWALS Executive Director Gretchen Quarterman.

Special thanks to Sue Raffaele for the recent donation of the additional canoe.

 -jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

You can join this fun and work by becoming a WWALS member today!

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