While the Mexican chapter was building bridges on the peninsula, the U.S. chapter was engaged in raising funds, getting the wetlands mapped and spreading the word about pro esteros in the U.S. Our board was outstanding, starting mostly with Silvia’s and my colleagues and broadening gradually. I cannot find much written about the composition of the board in the early days, although by the mid 1990s the names were listed in the newsletter. The first group of officers and members was Silvia and myself as Co-Chairs, Gary Gorman-Vice Chair, Eric Massey-Secretary, Lynn Gorman-Treasurer and Mary Rosczyk- Editor. Board members were Pat Flanagan, Charles Collins, Phyllis Faber, and Ernesto Maurer. Over the next decade we added Carol Baird, Mike Evans, Bernard Halliwell, Alan Harper, Daniel Loya Salinas, Chuck Mitchell, Charlie Moore and Keith Smeltzer. We also created an advisory board whose first members were Joy Zedler, Sergio Dedina and Emily Young. Later, and at various intervals more were added – Paul Dayton, Robb Hamilton, Kathy Mitchell, Bruce Monroe, Glen Olson, Eduardo Palacios, Philip Pryde, and Robert Streeter.
In 1995 I resigned as Co-Chair and Pat Flanagan stepped in, and 3 years later Alan Harper took over. In all, there were 3 Co-Chairs in the U.S. and two in the Mexican chapter. And that’s all I can verify from newsletters, board minutes and my long-term memory. If any early participants have additions or corrections, please let me know. I don’t want to miss anyone.
I found this entertaining account of a 1994 board meeting in the October 1994 newsletter.
“Pro esteros board meetings have always been informal, but the September meeting was a real happening. It was to convene at 10 AM on a Saturday in Imperial Beach rather than Long Beach, so that Laura and Patricia Martinez could attend more easily from Ensenada. But a phone call at 10 AM from Tijuana changed all plans. Patricia’s passport had expired (one of those little details that slip by so easily) and she was not allowed to cross the border. So we piled into two cars and met at Denny’s in Tijuana. (No passport required for U.S. citizens, a driver’s license was sufficient.) Not an ideal site for a meeting but we were all adaptable. We casually seated ourselves at Denny’s and conducted the meeting with voices raised above the clamor. Charlie Moore, a board member who has a fantastic assortment of fruit trees in his garden, has been bringing the ingredients for a fruit compote to recent meetings. Unperturbed by the change in plans, and knowing he could not take the fruit back across the border, he cut and served fruit bowls off the back of his van. We all stood around after the meeting, gabbing informally and eating our fruit compotes in Denny’s parking lot. Guavas, cactus fruits, and other exotica with a passion fruit sauce. Bemusing, fun, and another example of the unexpected that characterizes pro esteros.”