SOUTH FORK— The Friends of South Fork (FOSF) hosted their third quarter meeting in August at the Rio Grande Club and Resort.
The FOSF is a non-profit association formed for the purpose of raising funds to be used for events and projects in South Fork. “As of the third quarter meeting, we are 66 Friends strong and counting, with a goal of 200 plus members. Thanks to the generous donations from Friends, we have a budget of $8,800 to invest in further decorations and preparations for the Second Annual South Fork Yuletide Celebration, scheduled for the day after Thanksgiving,” stated FOSF member Kris Steffens.
Each quarter the monies raised are earmarked for various events and projects that benefit the South Fork community. Over the summer, the FOSF gave $1,000 for equipment and supplies to sponsor softball play at the Graeser Ball Field at the South Fork Community Center and fielded two teams for play on Sunday evenings. The softball games will resume next spring with hopes to have a grass ball field.
The funds donated throughout the year were also used to beautify the community center with flower boxes and to sponsor the Second Annual Second Saturdays in South Fork community yard sale, which FOSF will continue to sponsor and help to grow bigger and better each year. The Friends also had electric conduits placed underground at the visitor center to facilitate the Yuletide lighting which was a huge success for the town in 2017.
Last year 300-350 people attended the First Annual Yuletide Celebration at the Visitor Center, which included bonfires, food, fun and a spectacular tree lighting ceremony to welcome Santa for the children.  The Friends will sponsor an even better celebration this November to include snow, bonfires, good food, friends, Santa Claus, music and caroling, great fun, and of course turning on the tree lights! Plus, this year look for an extra special Christmas decoration near the historic water tower along Highway 160 coming into town.
The fourth quarterly meeting will be held in mid-November and will be used to finalize plans for the Yuletide celebration. All donations made to the FOSF are used for community-based projects that will help to benefit the town and local organizations.
“Our purpose is to make the community aware of how many things are happening at any given time in South Fork and how many groups are behind these different events. We hope to have a picture presentation that allows us to see what 2019 events are occuring and where we might be able to add some things. We want to at least support each event and organization and not compete with each other’s events, if it’s possible. The other goal is to hopefully encourage these groups to work together with our human and financial resources to plan other potential events or projects in South Fork starting next year,” said Steffens.