It’s likely that more REP members have talked personally with Ken Whiton than with any other individual in our organization. That’s because Ken has served as our Outreach Coordinator, using skills he developed over years as a teacher to reach out to members and encourage them to get involved on one issue or another. Long-time REPs will remember that he called our entire membership in the spring of 2001 as part of our successful efforts to stop Congressional action to (guess what?) drill for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Response to Ken’s calls is always positive, and members often volunteer a comment about how much they’ve enjoyed chatting with him.

That same summer of 2001, Ken and his wife, Betty, took President Bush up on his suggestion that people go to the Refuge to see what a “wasteland” it is. Ken, Betty and their dog, Emmett, drove from Albuquerque to Alaska, spent three days camping in the Refuge and came back with a vivid impression of the place—and quite a different description from Mr. Bush’s! Since then, they have used their beautiful photographs to enlighten those of us who haven’t yet been fortunate enough to go there.

Ken moved into a different role with REP in the summer of 2002, when he was elected President of our New Mexico Chapter. In a short time, he turned it into one of our most engaged chapters, which now boasts an unprecedented eleven enthusiastic Executive Committee members. Last December, the chapter hosted our Wilderness for Conservatives Conference in Albuquerque. Their chapter meetings are well attended... because Ken recruits great speakers!

When we asked Ken what he liked most about REP, he replied:

“The people! My first experience with REP members was when I was given the somewhat daunting task of contacting every member by phone. My message was to encourage members to write or call their congresspeople to protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from oil drilling. I had done this type of work before with other groups. Never have I had the overwhelmingly positive response that I received from REP America members. Every one with whom I was able to speak directly agreed to make the contact. This had a very positive effect on me. Here was an organization whose members were unique in their dedication to its vision and mission. Since that time, every contact I’ve had with REP members has reinforced my first, very positive, impression.

“I’m proud to be a member of REP, as I know each of us is. I look for opportunities to talk to people about our organization and its goals and also to ask them to join us. It’s obvious that our strength and effectiveness lies in our numbers. It’s also obvious that if each member would recruit just one person, REP would double in size very soon. If you are already doing this, I thank you and encourage you to continue. If you haven’t yet tried to talk to someone about joining us in our important work, I encourage you to give it a try.”