A Personal Note from JBS Director John DeFillipo

Goodbye and Reflections from Outgoing JBS Director John DeFillipo

Dear Friends,

My tenure as director of the John Bunker Sands Wetland Center has come to an end.

Thank you for the opportunity to champion conservation and environmental education in North Texas. It has been the highlight of my career to build the education legacy of JBS with our team, board, volunteers and partners. Most important, we were able to share and inspire stewardship of our Earth with so many students and adults. I am grateful to you all for your passion and commitment.

The JBS board of directors has begun the process of hiring a new director. In the meantime, I am confident that our education team, with the support of the board, will carry on JBS’s mission with the same excellence and enthusiasm they show every day.

As bittersweet as it is to leave JBS behind, I am very honored and committed to my next journey as the executive director of the Texas Conservation Alliance. My passion and voice for conservation will serve to amplify protection of the bottomland hardwood forests of East Texas, raise awareness of natural waterways and wild habitats from the Plains to the Gulf Coast, and continue engagement with students and adults to make a profound change for the environment.

Now I pass the cattail to you ... carry it proudly, nurture the soil, cultivate the seed and in the spring witness the natural succession of the John Bunker Sands Wetland Center.

Happy holidays and all the best in the new year.

The JBS Team. From right: John DeFillipo, Avery Craddock, Carol Garrison, Nicole Ujita, Linda Dunn (recently retired) and Nancy Escobar.

John Bunker Sands Wetland Center

655 Martin Lane

Combine TX 75159

972-474-9100

wetlandcenter.com