Dear Friends,
Our team has been busy cleaning and opening up the facilities of the Feathered Pipe Ranch, as well as making many improvements in preparation for opening. As much as the late May snow tries to restrain us (springtime in Montana), we are ready to officially kick off our 2024 retreat season!
We’d like to thank everyone who contributed in honor of Mike Wells towards our much needed kitchen renovations which we have implemented this spring including a new commercial range and double door fridge. It feels strange to start a season without him after over 35 years and we keep thinking he’s just around the corner ready to pop out to make some soup. We hold him in our hearts as we lovingly prepare the food at the Ranch kitchen.
It seems like a miracle that we’ve been able to maintain and improve the facilities so much at the Ranch as well as have such fully booked programs these last few years. While it is amazing, it has largely come from the synergistic efforts of our incredibly dedicated and talented team, who works both on the Ranch and remotely. Thank you to all who have worked so hard and well as a team to help this “miracle” to manifest.
Part of our mission as an educational foundation is to support people in finding their direction as they find meaning and open up to their own potential. During our 2023 season, one of our guests Sudhanshu Kar (“Sudz”) met Marissa Ward who was working her first season at the Ranch. Through their connection Sudz was inspired to help the Feathered Pipe Foundation launch the FPF Marissa-Kanduri Helping Hands Initiative (“FPF Helping Hands”) to support the personal growth of our phenomenal seasonal staff. And Marissa through her experiences at the Ranch decided to change her major to focus on nonprofit work. This year she’s been working with the Foundation as an intern and she wrote about her Dandelion Effect Reflection – Composting the Past for a Stronger Future. We hope you enjoy her article. It’s a joy and an honor to be a part of deep positive personal change.
We look forward to seeing you this summer!
With gratitude,
Crystal Water
Executive Director, Feathered Pipe Foundation
*Featured image credits: Anne Jablonski