Martin, thanks very much for the kind words and the excellent account of the "Fabulous Fishes" program at Clinton Community Nature Center (CCNC). But I cannot accept all that credit. A lot of people contributed generously of their time and resources. To give proper credit where it is due...

Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Aquarium Pharmaceuticals, and the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks contributed prizes, materials, activities, and audio-visual materials. And, 37 volunteers cheerfully helped to set up and run the program.

NANFA personnel and their roles included:

Dena Dickerson (my wife) masterminded the event and kept everything on schedule (I do not have the necessary planning skills). She started working on "Fabulous Fishes" more than two months ago, and during the three weeks prior to the big day, spent most of her free time working on organization, communications, logistics, and educational materials (most of which were original). She also created and manufactured the four fish games played by the visitors. On the big day itself, Dena did double duty as MC and photographer. She lived "Fabulous Fishes" for weeks before it happened.

Andy Borgia contributed mermaids' purses and bones of marine fishes including the jaw of a barracuda. His specimens were used at multiple stations.

Neil Douglas hosted "Name That Fish" using freshwater and marine specimens from the Museum of Zoology, University of Louisiana at Monroe. His wife, Shirley, hosted the Fish Bingo game. They were the "Dynamic Duo" of fish taxonomy.

Steven George dissected a shark, paddlefish, sturgeon, and some sort of teleost (I forget which species). He did this outdoors, in the rain, for three hours without a break, tirelessly. His table, set up next to the porch of the visitors' center, allowed the onlookers to stay dry (even though he was drenched). It is a tribute to Steven's contagious enthusiasm for comparative anatomy that the visitors would watch in fascination as he deconstructed these "living fossils" without once saying "eeww," "yuch," or "gross." Also, during the two weeks prior to "Fabulous Fishes," Steven was a veritable one-man biological supply company, churning out dried fish, bleached sucker skulls, and mummified fish heads.

Jack Killgore, while on a field trip to the Ouachita River, collected specimens needed for our fish diet study. These specimens allowed kids to identify fish food based on their experiences at our previous Nature Center program, "Bugs Alive."

William Lancaster prepared and contributed fishes and fish parts for our various anatomical explorations. Because of him we were able to show visitors firsthand the wonders of internal organs, otoliths, pharyngeal teeth, gill arches, and skeletal structure.

Bradley Lewis demonstrated angling and sampling techniques. He showed kids how to fish, played a fish matching game with them, and passed out jelly lures and pocket identification guides. Some of these kids have never caught a fish themselves, and now they know how.

Martin Moore underestimates the success of his station. Many visitors that day and afterwards have commented on his How to Set Up an Aquarium exhibit. His Notropis welaka and Pteronotropis signipinnis are thriving in the lobby of the visitor's center. People coming to the Nature Center, who had previously ignored the sparsely populated aquarium (a few darters and a couple of topminnows) are now asking questions about the abundant beautiful shiners now inhabiting it.

Catherine Murphy brought the dead back to life. She took "simple" skulls, skeletons, and disarticulated bones and showed visitors how they represented the diversity and complexity of local fish communities. Future forensic ichthyologists were fascinated.

Charlie Nunziata transformed my disjointed photographs and text files into a cohesive and eye-catching poster. This part of the exhibit will get extended use at the Nature Center.

Chris Scharpf accelerated production of the Spring American Currents so we would have extra issues to give away as premiums for new members. An internal "failure to communicate" kept me from receiving these in time for Fabulous Fishes, but the end result, an attractive and taxonomically diverse issue, will be an invaluable marketing tool for attracting new members.

One measure of success for an outreach program is the enthusiasm people will show for it after it is all over. Based on that criterion, "Fabulous Fishes" was a success. Visitors and volunteers alike have expressed interest in doing this all over again. Dena tells me that its being put on the 2002-2003 agenda for CCNC.

One last note - We have left the NANFA display set up at the Clinton Community Nature Center. It consists of the poster (a three-sheeter on poster board), reprints of AC articles, display copies of AC, brochures on NANFA and on the NANFA grants. It sits on a colorful, sunfish-pattern tablecloth (made by Dena's mom, Faye Dickerson). It is very eye-catching, and I am confident that it will generate interest in native fishes and in NANFA.