Friends of Palmetto Park help keep state park open

This is a written yearly report by Shannon Neveaux, who is the president of Friends of Palmetto State Park.

Palmetto Island State Park, located south of Abbeville off of La. 82, continues to be one of the most visited parks in the state, and the Friends of Palmetto Island State Park would like to thank the residents of Vermilion Parish and the surrounding areas for visiting the Park and our events.
The Friends group and Palmetto Island State Park would not be the success that it is today without everyone’s support!
“As volunteers, we spend the majority of our time conducting programs for patrons and fundraising.
“We have logged in over 4,972 hours in support of the Park. Two very dedicated volunteers continued the task of mowing all the grass in the park.”
In 2017, Friends of the Park group were able to contribute in-kind donations directly to Palmetto Island State Park that valued over $10,670.
In-kind donations included: staff uniform t-shirts, camp host and volunteer t-shirts, updated and printed the Abbeville Red Iris brochure
• added 20 Abbeville Red Iris to the existing exhibit
• provided the material necessary for OSP staff to install water lines to all four pavilions
• 6 new BBQ pits for the cabins
• 10 new bicycle racks to be placed throughout the park
• 2 new oscillating fans for pavilion #2
• a new washing machine for staff to clean cabin linens,
• a new pump for the splash pad, matts for the playground
• lag screws and bolts to repair the foot bridge to the primitive campsites
• parts to repair lawn mowers
• a new pipe fence to replace the broken wooden fence at park entrance
Since the group’s founding in 2011, Friends have volunteered over 37,443 hours; hosted 54 programs; spent over $169,132 on promotion and special events and provided over $125,378 worth of ‘in-kind’ donations directly to the Park.
One of the goals of the Friends Group is to hold events that attract patrons to the Park and to fill the campground.
Some of the events hosted in 2017 include the 4th Annual Cracklin’ Cooking Demonstration & Tasting, with more than 1,000 attendees and 15 locals demonstrating their personal techniques on cooking. Also, the 7th Annual Halloween Celebration which had over 2,000 people 'trick-or-treating' in the campground.
Friends organized three onsite fundraisers: our annual plate lunch sale, the 7th Annual Stir the Pot Seafood and Wild Game Cook-off and Festival and a 'Painting at the Park' class.
Throughout the year, the group works closely with
• the Louisiana Dutch Oven Society's Latanier Cookers.
• Friends partnered with this group in November by providing the main meal for their 5th Annual 'Cochon de Liat' Dutch Oven Gathering.
• Friends recruited cooks to prepare six pigs in Cajun microwaves for over 450 visitors. In 2017, Latanier Cookers attracted over 1,368 guests to the monthly Dutch Oven gatherings held at the Park.
• Many gatherings contributed to a ‘sold out’ campground. During the 11 'Dutch Oven Gatherings', 238 cooks volunteered over 1,932 hours conducting these programs and prepared over 308 pots of food in Dutch ovens for patrons to sample. Latanier Cooker’s also traveled to Lake d’Arbonne State Park in May and participated in the LA Dutch Oven Society’ State Gathering with over 35 cooks, guests and volunteers.
To keep people informed about the Park and events taking place, Friends regularly post on our website and on Facebook to our 2,542 plus followers and our monthly newsletter, "Palmetto Pals," is sent to over 959 subscribers. “We continue to maintain the book sharing program in the campground for campers.”
The Friends of Palmetto Island State Park, Inc. is a 501c3 organization dedicated to the support of Palmetto Island State Park and its staff, through volunteerism, sponsorships and fundraising events, and activities. More information on the group can be found at www.FriendsofPalmetto.org or follow the group on Facebook. For more information about Palmetto Island State Park, visit LaStateParks.com or follow the park on Facebook.