by Kay Mitchell
The 2022 Great Fish Community Challenge came to a close on September 16. Flathead Audubon was an active player this year. For the first year since we have been involved, it was finally possible to hold all of the Great Fish events live and in person. Seventy nonprofit organizations participated in the Challenge this year.
The Great Fish Community Challenge has been a game changer for Flathead Valley nonprofits, many of whom rely on funds raised in the Challenge to cover a significant portion of their annual operating budget. These funds help nonprofits deliver important services to citizens of the Flathead Valley.
Some of our members represented us at the pop-up stations in Kalispell, Whitefish, Bigfork, Lakeside and Columbia Falls. Our members also attended the two mandatory (rules!) meetings and the Launch Party. We had a crew of 6 operating our FAS booth at the Community Celebration and Fun Run and helping out with additional jobs during the Celebration. Behind the scenes, two of our members performed as our Fund Advisors and wrote thank you notes to everyone who donated, several prepared and emailed the fly-bys that you saw in your Inbox, prepared and arranged publicity for our chapter and crunched the numbers as we tallied donations.
Our efforts paid off, as people from all over the Flathead Valley showed us with their donations that they believe in FAS and what we do. To everyone involved, THANK YOU, GOOD JOB, and we hope to include you next year!