Submitted by Christine Connors, KNOW Publications Coordinator

We've been very busy getting ready for the upcoming Cincinnati Travel, Sports, and Boat Show.  Julie Moore brought a ton of pictures over for a video we are having made.  While looking through them, we both began to realize all of the fun things we did last year as a group.  I would like to share with you the article I wrote for our sample newsletter and hope that you will be as excited as I was when I understood what a great thing we've got going.

The Kentucky Network of Outdoor Women (KNOW) is here to bring you into the sunshine, rain, and snow to enjoy Kentucky’s great natural resources. We also travel to other states and have members from Indiana, and Ohio—so please don’t feel left out if you don’t live in Kentucky!!!

KNOW was created in 1997 by five ladies who were regular attendees of the Becoming an Outdoors Woman (BOW) workshops hosted by the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources (KDFWR). Our main goal is to provide a resource to enhance outdoor activities, opportunities, and education for women now and in the future.

To accomplish this, we do several things. First, we are a non-profit organization with a board of directors and governed by a set of by-laws. Second, we work very closely with the KDFWR supporting their efforts to host the Becoming an Outdoors Woman program. In turn, they provide us with a wonderful educational resource and support for some of the events we host as a group. Third, we have aligned our network within the nine districts of Kentucky and have a volunteer Area Coordinator who plans at least one event in her area each year. Fourth, we create a monthly newsletter with your stories and articles for entertainment and education. And last, but most important, we rely on our membership to come up with ideas for adventures and work with the Area Coordinators to get the members of KNOW what they want.

2000 was a banner year for the Kentucky Network of Outdoor Women. We backpacked at Mammoth Cave, went duck hunting at Land Between the Lakes, and visited Pine Mountain Settlement shcool in the spring for wildflowers and in the fall for colors. We hunted turkeys and deer at Land Between the Lakes, we put the spring in our step at our second annual Cliff Climbers day hike at Red River Gorge, and paddled lazily down the Licking river. We camped, canoed and fished with our families at Barren River Lake, we hosted Kentucky’s very first Ladies and Couples Charity Classic Shoot in conjunction with the Women’s Shooting Sports Foundation and Elk Creek Sporting Clays, and went on our second annual Elk Outing weekend to view and learn about the elk release near Hazard. Many of our members attended one or more of the BOW workshops and some of them even taught classes. To top off the year, we held our very first Fall Banquet.

We have some exciting events on the schedule for the first quarter of 2001 (see calendar), with much more in the works. Look for a turkey hunt this spring, a backpacking trip to Big South Fork in May, fishing on the Elkhorn creek, our second Fall Banquet and more!

As a member, you will receive a monthly copy of ‘Did You KNOW?’ to keep you in the KNOW, 15% off a Becoming an Outdoors Woman workshop during your first year, a quarterly copy of Kentucky Afield, plus a growing network of lifelong friends—all for only $25 per year!!!

If you are interested in joining, or would like more information, please feel free to contact any of the board members or your Area Coordinator—they will be happy to assist you. We hope to see you in the woods and waters this year!