History of the
Gillette Nature Association
Genevieve Gillette
For more than sixty years, landscape architect Genevieve Gillette focused her conservation efforts on identifying special lands and creating parks, including Hartwick Pines, Ludington, P.J. Hoffmaster, Wilderness and Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Parks. As an unpaid volunteer, she advocated for state park funding. Gillette often researched and collaborated with friend and fellow Michigan State University classmate Percy James Hoffmaster, Michigan’s first Superintendent of State Parks and later the longest acting Director of the Department of Conservation. From early in their friendship, Hoffmaster and Gillette had a shared vision to develop a state park system in Michigan.
Gillette was appointed and served on President Lyndon B. Johnson’s Advisory Committee on Recreation and Natural Beauty. In 1969, she testified at a legislative hearing, arguing that it was the state’s duty to help preserve Michigan’s heritage of natural beauty. In the 1950s, she began proposing a national park that included Lake Michigan sand dunes and the Platte River. Gillette, Senator Phillip Hart and many others fought against strong opposition until Congress created the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in 1970. Their dedication also established Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. Gillette died on May 23, 1986. Her bequest to the state was used to help purchase 5,000 acres along Lake Huron to create Thompson’s Harbor State Park.
Photos courtesy of Michigan State University and Stacy Pokrywka
Gillette Nature Association Is Founded
The Gillette Visitor Center was built in 1976. The Gillette Nature Association was started in 1977 by Park Naturalist Sandy McBeath to create a long-lasting sustainable fund to support interpretive efforts and education at the Visitor Center and P.J. Hoffmaster State Park. He recruited his own friends to provide the initial start to the organization. Original board members included Rob Torreson, Robert Walsh, George Wickstrom, and Carol Bedford. Margaret Drake Elliot served as Member Emeritus. Together, they promoted the Center and its programs through fundraising events and their affiliations with other groups and the community.
This photo was taken in 1990 at the Earth Day anniversary at the Visitor Center and is of Sandy McBeath and Earl Wolf.
Recognized for Community & School Nature Programs
The Center staff which included naturalist/graphic artist Earl Wolf and naturalist Elizabeth Brockwell-Tillman built a reputation for quality nature slide shows, interpretive guides including Discovering Great Lakes Dunes, wildflower walks, and school programs that met state learning standards for each grade level. The GNA and Center staff won many awards in the late 1980s and 1990s, cementing their place in organizations like the Association of Interpretive Naturalists, the Michigan Museum Association, and the National Association of Interpretation.
A Tradition of Volunteer Support
The Gillette Nature Association continued its tradition of financial and volunteer support for the Visitor Center and surrounding park. Its small but mighty team of long-serving leaders is dedicated to making the park and Visitor Center a meaningful experience for visitors. Craig Elston, a naturalist from Hudsonville, was instrumental in re-inventing the annual Trillium Festival, conducting an annual native plant sale, and creating new fundraising initiatives. He held the group together during the transitional years before eventually handing the reins to Mary Holmes-Sorensen in 2002.
Expanded Membership, Volunteers, and Community Partnerships
Expanded Membership, Volunteers, and Community Partnerships
Mary Holmes-Sorensen has been a long-time Muskegon community leader and supporter of the Visitor Center and Park. She followed Sandy McBeath’s wisdom by assembling a group of friends to make some lasting contributions to GNA. This was an exciting period of growth and change for the organization. During her leadership, GNA:
- Expanded membership and volunteers
- Grew the annual native plant sale
- Created new education and recreation programs for the community
- Developed a web page for GNA
- Started using social media to promote special events
- Started new events like the Turkey Trail Run under the direction and hard work of Donielle Routt
- Sponsored No Child Left Inside Day in honor of Earth Day
- Created a fund at the Community Foundation for Muskegon County
Holmes-Sorensen left the Board in 2014. Donielle Routt has served as president on and off since while remaining the Turkey Trail Run Race Director. She greatly expanded the group’s community partnerships and donations. Her inventive, can-do approach to events resulted in some exciting new ventures, such as the outdoor Women’s Beer Dinner with New Holland Brewing Company in 2019. Her energy and commitment has taken the Turkey Trail Run from 150 runners in 2012 to over 350 runners in 2024.
