A CENTER FOR 21ST CENTURY LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT:
Where the wisdom of the past, present, and future of leadership comes together for the dignity and benefit of all.
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Your Donations are Tax Deductible.
March 2025
First Nature Notes: Springing Into Action
Dear Friends of First Nature Foundation,
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It’s continued to be quite a chilly winter and early spring, and we are still blanketing Dakota. In my 20 winters here in Central Florida, I don’t recall as cold and as long a winter as we’ve had in 2024-25. It was 44 degrees here this morning! But it’s forecast to get up to 84 later today, so we’re not complaining! We’ve had a few rains here and there, enough to help the grass, and especially the weeds grow, which is good for our pastures and our horses.
We are so excited for our Wine Down With Us Wine Tasting Fundraiser tomorrow at the ranch! There are just 6 seats left! If you're available come join us for this taste-good and feel-good event! Saturday, March 29, from 6:30 – 9pm. The event features the opportunity to take a selfie with our horses, 6 (and probably more!) exclusive wines to try, several appetizers to snack on, a welcome mocktail, and education from our favorite knowledgeable PRP Wine rep. There are also a variety of items up for auction. All applicable proceeds from this fundraiser will support our Horse Sense for Teens program.
Volunteer Spotlight:
We’re tickled to introduce you to our Volunteer Of The Month: Jennifer Pallazola. Jennifer has been volunteering since October 2024, and we are so privileged to have her as a volunteer, helping us with horse and facility care and with our programs. Like a number of our adult volunteers, she manages a (more than!) full time job, a household, and volunteering at the ranch! Here’s what Jennifer has to say about volunteering with us:
“I’m originally from New England but moved to this beautiful Sunshine State with my family 7 years ago. I absolutely love it here and enjoy being a part of this amazing community. I consider myself very blessed to of heard about First Nature Ranch. A place that offers many types of personal and professional development programs mixing nature and horses. After learning more about the ranch and the incredible work they do, I just knew I had to find a way to be a part of it and give back as much as possible. I decided to be a volunteer, and in a few short weeks I have had the opportunity to see how magical this place really is. All of the staff and volunteers are so friendly and fun to be with, they just add to the enjoyment of the beautiful pastures and barn. You will find the wildlife that just appear to brighten your day. Then of course there are the horses that are kind and gentle with so much personality. My original goal was to volunteer and give back, but I have since found a place that is also giving to me in return. I am remembering sweet lost childhood memories and now creating beautiful new ones. I find that I needed this place more than I knew and blessed to be a part of something so very special. The ranch is healing and peaceful for the soul. Leave the stress or worry at the gate and welcome the sunshine, nature, wildlife, horses, and all the friendly faces. It’s a great time at any part of your day!!!”
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We are so pleased to introduce you to our newest board member, Dr. Johnola Morales, who is local to us. Dr. Johnola Morales, DSW, MSW, LMSW, is a devoted social worker who assists distressed individuals and families regain life balance. Her proficiency encompasses family restoration, marital therapy, and personal growth. She has assisted children and families encountering difficulties for over thirty-five years. Johnola obtained a bachelor's degree in liberal arts from Mount Ida College, a master's degree in social work from Fordham University, and a doctorate in social work from Simmons University. She holds the position of Chief of Staff for the Osceola Council on Aging. She is the CEO of her empowerment coaching enterprise, Inner Hope for Transformative Healing, LLC. Welcome to the board, Dr. Morales!
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Our first Wild Harmony: A Mother-Daughter Retreat…With Horses sold out in less than a week, was a huge hit, and so we’ve scheduled another date, for Saturday May 17. We’ve just released tickets for this in demand event. The last one was sold out within a week so it’d be wise to get your tickets as soon as possible! If you can’t make that date but want to come for a visit and hang out with the horses on your own you might want to book a Serenity Session, a sweet, supervised hour with the horse of your choice. Booking one early allows you to pick your ideal date and time!
This past Saturday we graduated the first 2025 cohort of veterans in our Horse Wisdom for Heroes program. We’re thrilled to be welcoming a new veteran organization, Florida Veterans Coalition, in early April for a pilot program for their veterans. We’ve got several dates set up for April with Edgewood Ranch, and Steps, Inc., to bring teens for our Horse Sense for Teens program, and will be welcoming the Help Now of Osceola County team for a staff retreat at the ranch in April, too.
A huge thanks to those who have donated toward our Lighting Capital Campaign! Thanks to our donors we are now more than 75% to our goal! Please give if you haven’t yet. We need your support to get to the next level by adding lighting inside and outside our covered arena so we can run evening programs. Donate here!
This campaign is critical to extend our availability and meet our community’s needs.
More visibility for our little nonprofit means that we are getting more requests for additional programming, but many potential participants either have work or school during the weekdays, and our weekends are already filling up. We need your support to get to the next level by adding lighting inside and outside our covered arena so we can run evening programs.
Just last week we hosted the Saint Cloud Chamber of Commerce Coffee Co-op, which was quite well attended. We even offered the opportunity for attendees to pet the horses and get a selfie with one of them. We offer space for events and retreats if there’s any alignment with our mission. It’s a first-class facility and is also beautiful and serene. We offer affordable competitive rates, with discounted prices for nonprofits and governmental organizations, as well as for individuals. If you are looking for a venue for an event you may want to check us out and see if there’s a possibility to use our beautiful, serene, first class facility for your event: contact me at kerul@firstnaturefoundation.org if you’re interested.
A note from Allyn, our Assistant Executive Director: One of the ways First Nature aims to change the leadership culture and landscape is by offering a program for leaders and leadership teams with businesses and organizations. Horseplay for Leaders is a 3-module program that is a mix of premium classroom time with two expert trainers, Dr. Kerul Kassel and Debbie Zmorenski, and plenty of time working with the horses to practice these important leadership soft skills. Had school districts implemented unique professional development like what we offer at the ranch, I would have both enjoyed and remembered what was taught, as well as implemented it in my classroom. If you are in need of something memorable and powerful for your leaders and teams, take a look at our Horseplay for Leaders program and schedule a consultation with Kerul today!
From Our Hearts to Yours,
Kerul and Crew
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First Nature Ranch / First Nature Foundation
“Where the past, present, and future of leadership come together for the dignity and benefit of all.”
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