July 23, 1997

Dear Friend of the Little Bighorn,

Thank you for your support of Friends. I wanted to update those of you that have so generously sent in your dues before we are fully ramped up. I hope you will see how much impact your early support has made.

--The Board of Directors and the Advisory Board (roster attached) are now in place and the Board gathered for the first time on June 27th at Gerard Baker's home at the Monument. It was great to be back in a place where ideas flow freely and all of us share in a common goal.

--The Friends hosted an Open House in the Stone House during anniversary week at the Monument. We had several hundred visitors stop by, many of whom were frequent visitors to the Battlefield but had never been inside. We served refreshments and displayed the plans for converting the Stone House into a research library. Tim McCleary also provided us with some historic photographs of the house and the national cemetery. The Library is the primary project that your dollars will be helping with in the near future.

--We have a logo that was donated to us by Mr. John Potter, a Lakota graphic artist now working for the Billings Gazette. I have attached a copy of it. I am now working to incorporate the design on letterhead. This also opens the door to get membership cards designed as well as getting our membership drive under way.

--Monday, July 21st was a big day as Superintendent Baker allowed some Friends in the area to run the interpretive programs for the day as he took the interpretive staff off site for a team building exercise. I was joined by fellow Director Joe Marshall and member Valerie Zeeb. We had a great line up of speakers including: Rod King giving his presentation as General Phil Sheridan, Arlene Reynolds as Libby Custer on Life in the 7th Cavalry, Compelling Stories of the Crow Nation by Lawrence Flatlip, Jason Pitsch on the Valley Fight, and Joe did a fantastic presentation on Plains Indian lifestyles. It was a real eye opener for us, as we saw first hand the challenges the staff faces every day. I think it wil also help us identify those things that the Friends can do to help the NPS staff interpret the Battle for the traveling public.

--We are still waiting for our non-profit status from the IRS and are working on the MAO, our contract with the Park Service. Both are expected to be done by September, making it all official.

--Next up, we are working with Gerard and his staff to consider re-opening Deep Ravine. Right now the plan is to address all of the reasons that it had to be closed originally i.e. erosion, handicap access, and safety. I am putting together a proposal to allow us to run some tours in the Deep Ravine area next month to get a feel for the lay of the land, ideas for interpretation, and of course a little PR for the Friends!

Again, I would like to thank you for your support and patience. We will be going full speed this fall with membership cards, a newsletter, and many wonderful projects on the table. Please feel free to contact me with any ideas or suggestions you may have concerning any or all of the above.

/s/Rick

Rick Meyer
Board President

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8 December 1999, lrb/dd