Newsletter June 2025

June, 2025

Dear Members and Former Members,
I have to admit upfront that it has been a very difficult last few months being the philanthropic partner of Stones River National Battlefield. There were many changes that we just haven’t seen before. I commend the park’s management team for handling the changes with professionalism and a continuing effort to get the job done. As a partner, we too have had almost daily new procedures and rules to maintain our relationship with the park. We appreciate the transparency that new Superintendent Benjamin Hayes has conducted with us.
In the midst of the changes, the Friends took up the challenge of creating a new strategic plan, vision and challenges for the next three to five years. We came very close to cancelling the effort but decided that we needed to chart a course despite the uncertainty of the roads ahead. Our efforts resulted in a tight and very ambitious plan for our future. You can read it at https://www.friendsofstonesriver.org/strategic-plan.html The effort also led us to add three new board members Susan Meyers-Shirk, Peggy Nelson and Jane Powell who have taken up the task of steering us in carrying our action plan and milestones.
We are also working with the battlefield on finalizing our annual work plan that details items that the park would like the Friends to fund in the next fiscal year. Usually, our plan has items totaling less than five thousand dollars. This year, they have a wish list totaling almost five hundred thousand dollars. I’ll let that number sink in. Their immediate needs are 100 times more than previous years. It is an ambitious number. We both admit that it is difficult and is subject to change but it is a goal that is in many ways as ambitious as our strategic plan.
We know that some items are very important to the park and need immediate funding.

• The park needs funding to help coordinate activities with schools throughout Middle Tennessee. For some inner-city school children, field trips are their first opportunity to walk in the woods and experience nature. For other children, it is understanding the importance of learning about a war that occurred in their own back yard.
• The park wants to restore native habitat to reduce weekly maintenance costs and make sure the facilities meet the standards expected by our visitors, runners, walkers and other users.
• Historical weapon demonstrations are vitally important for visitors and volunteers in teaching the history of the battle during the summer months. They need funding for black powder to fire the guns and cannons.

Besides the park needs, the Friends is also committed to growing the Friends of Stones River Endowment Fund at the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee so we can continue to commit funds to the battlefield. https://cfmt.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/create/fund?funit_id=1297
So how do we try to meet the challenges for this year?

• Our action plan includes actively applying for grants. For this, we need your support. If you can assist in identifying grants, writing applications and monitoring the monies, please contact me at [email protected]
• We also want to expand our partnership with local universities for assistance, class assignments and internships. We have many needs besides just public history programs. From natural resources, graphic design, technology and social media content to anything else you can imagine, we can discuss the possibilities.
• We are also starting a campaign to reach out to local corporations and businesses for contributions and in-kind donations. If you have a business that we can contact, please let me know at [email protected]
• And we need to expand our memberships in the organization. Support Us

We need our members to continue their commitment to the Friends and the battlefield. Please renew your membership. It will help us keep the lights on. Our efforts this year will increase our operating costs in some areas. We are tightening our belts but if you can increase your membership level, it will help. If you are a past member, please consider rejoining the Friends. Remember your membership saves you 15% in the bookstore plus we are planning special activities open to members only. Please share this letter to family members and friends to help grow our membership. Support Us
Finally, if you are a member, we are doing something new with our annual election. To save postage for us and you, our ballot is now on-line at 2025 Friends of Stones River Ballot . Please click on the link to complete your ballot to show your support for the people contributing their time and effort to make the Friends a vibrant and successful organization. If you do not complete on-line, we will send you a paper ballot in the next week. To renew your membership or make an additional donation, continue your support at https://www.friendsofstonesriver.org/support-us.html
Sincerely

Tom Zei
President, Friends of Stones River National Battlefield