(Photo submitted) Joe McGovern, President of the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, will be the keynote speaker at the August 8 Clean Water Concert.
By Steve Weisman
Ready for an afternoon and evening of fun revolving around family and learning more about clean water and our Iowa Great Lakes?
Then mark Saturday, August 8th on your calendar. That’s the date of the annual Okoboji Protective Association’s “Clean Water Concert” at the Arnold Park green space.
OPA president, Barry Sackett invites everybody to come enjoy the festivities. “This event is meant for everyone. No matter your age, I think you will find something memorable about this event.”
Oh, and it is FREE! That’s right. There is no cost! Just come and enjoy the camaraderie as the OPA membership celebrates efforts to protect and improve water quality on the Iowa Great Lakes. It promises to be an event filled with interactive family activities and information sessions from 4-7 p.m.
The annual OPA meeting will run from 5-6 p.m. The public is invited to attend the meeting and hear guest speaker Joe McGovern, President of the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation.
Sackett notes, “We encourage everyone to come and hear Joe McGovern’s speech. Joe is a great conservationist, who graduated in 1994 from Iowa State University with a B.S. in Fisheries and Wildlife Biology. He began working at the Story County Conservation Board as a Deputy Biologist with Vegetation Management. After five years there, Joe joined the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation staff in 1999 as Land Stewardship Director, which gave him the opportunity to restore and protect Iowa’s natural areas across the state. He became president of INHF in 2013. “
Highlight of the day will be the performance by Big Blue Sky Band from 7 – 9 p.m.
OPA memberships will be available throughout the event. The OPA is non-profit organization governed by a board of directors and is comprised of dues paying members dedicated to preserving the lakes for future generations. Since its founding in 1905, the OPA has worked to preserve and enhance the ecological health not only West Lake Okoboji but of the entire Iowa Great Lakes watershed. For more information about the concert, go to the OPA Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/OkobojiProtectiveAssociation) or email Paige Ellensohn at pcellensohn@gmail.com.
