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Friends volunteer wins 2024 Jerry and Mary Phillips Volunteerism Award
Bob Durfey, Friends volunteer
“If you don’t do, you can’t b#@*h!” was Bob Durfey’s tongue-in-cheek advice recently as he received the 2024 Jerry and Mary Phillips Award for Volunteerism during a ceremony held at the Bayfield Heritage Association on November 20th. And, Bob is a doer, a true fixture in the nonprofit volunteer world in Bayfield and the Apostle Islands.
“Whether it is helping to raise the tent every year at the Big Top Chautauqua, redesigning the Brownstone Trail on the Bayfield shoreline or tending the gardens at the historic Michigan Island lighthouse, Bob is the go-to volunteer in our region,” said Jeff Rennicke, Executive Director of Friends of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore.
“Every organization – from Landmark Conservancy to Friends of the Apostle Islands, is better because of people like Bob,” Rennicke said.
Service to the park is one of the pillars of Friends of the Apostle Islands, a part of our mission to “promote an appreciation for and preservation of the natural environment and cultural heritage of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore.” Each year, Friends volunteers donate hundreds of hours of their time to such projects as beach and trail cleanup, invasive species removal, tending gardens, and more. Bob Durfey is often at the heart of these efforts.
Bob tends a Michigan Island garden
Recently, Durfey played a large role in the planning, construction, and display of the Don A, a hand-built replica of a 16-foot lighthouse tender built at the Bayfield Maritime Museum with partial funding from Friends of the Apostle Islands. “Durfey was involved in every stage of the Don A project,” Rennicke says, “including being a part of the team that rowed it out to the Raspberry Island Lighthouse where it is on display today.”
Bob rows the Don A lighthouse tender
Bob Durfey embodies the spirit of volunteerism in action and Friends of the Apostle Islands congratulates him on this recognition that is so well deserved.
If you would like to join the volunteer efforts of Friends of the Apostle Islands, please go to the Our Work page to learn about our pillars and projects. You can also sign up to volunteer at this link and we’ll be in touch about future opportunities.
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