Volunteer Profile

Terry Moede is the president of the Navarino Nature Center board of directors. He was born in Shiocton and graduated from Shiocton High School. He worked locally for a while, then went to school for law enforcement. For 33 years he worked for the Shawano County Sheriff’s Department. He started as a deputy sheriff, became a detective and retired as a detective sergeant. Moede and his wife, Pam, have been married for 17 years. Between them, they have four children. They live in the town of Wescott, where he works part time as the zoning administrator for the towns of Wescott and Lessor. He is also a member of Ducks Unlimited. He has helped with Toys for Kids for 12 years and now is a site coordinator. He also helps auctioneer Clayton McHugh at auctions. Q When did you become president of the Navarino Nature Center board of directors? A “Almost two years ago.” Q What do you do? A “I run the board meetings. All the members here have multiple other tasks and are on committees. We meet once a month on the second Tuesday. I’m on the finance committee. We meet quarterly and look over our endowment fund that we’re growing now. Through fundraising we’ve grown it every year to perpetuate NNC and continue to grow. We’re always fundraising. Right now a big priority is a physically challenged walking trail. The biggest expense is a boardwalk across Glen’s Pond to access it. As time goes on, we hope to expand it to the woods. We’ve been writing grants to assist with fundraising.” Q Why is NNC important? A “A multitude of things. First and foremost is we have children coming out there to do pond study and go in the woods. They get to be active and do things. When I was young, I could walk out my door and catch frogs and play in the water. I don’t think the youth currently get that. It’s amazing watching them. There are all kinds of programs for adults, too. Photography, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing. We have taxidermy and a honey bee hive. In 2008, the nature center added a green building. There is a great room for weddings and meetings. It gives more awareness of what we are.” Q Why do you volunteer? A “I’ve always felt that our youth need to be more diversified in their activities.”