Our Association=s Debt to its Volunteers is deep. Without the hours and energy invested in caring for its natural environment, its historical records, and its administration, the TMLA would be but a lifeless shell. In reality, since the 1950s, hundreds of thoughtful, far-sighted Ten Milers have provided the leadership, the practical support and the wherewithal to make the TMLA one of the outstanding lake associations in Minnesota. The Board and Committee member list that appears in each issue of the Newsletter offers only a single year=s snapshot of those who have furnished the inspiration and energy to make the TMLA=s vision a reality over the past half-century and more.

Some Volunteers= Names, however, don=t appear on that list, and their contributions thus remain unsung even to the extent of having their names appear regularly in the Newsletter. At the moment I have in mind the names of Jim Miller and Jim Hickman and of the late Dan Pederson.

Here=s Why. Since 1986, when the TMLA acquired its tax exempt status under section 501(c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code, we have been required to file Federal Tax Form 990, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax, in each year our gross receipts were more than $25,000. In our very early years, our receipts were not that high, but in 1987 from the Josten family the Association received a special, major gift which brought our income over the $25,000 mark.  Since then, especially when we have been receiving special gifts designated for the purchase of the Anderson property in Kenfield Bay, and now when we receive other, special contributions over and above regular dues payments (as, for example, memorial contributions, last year=s donation to enable us to purchase a hoist for the sheriff=s safety patrol boat, and this year=s donation for the purchase of solar buoy lights), our total receipts have often exceeded the $25,000 threshold.  Thus for  about the past 16 years we have filed Form 990.

 As are many tax forms, Form 990 is complicated and requires detailed reporting of Association information. Over the years we have been especially fortunate to have accounting professionals who have volunteered to gather, with the aid of our Treasurer, the required data and to file Form 990 in timely fashion. As a corollary task, these volunteers have also filed our annual organization registration with Minnesota=s Secretary of State. 

Some Historical Details are lost in the mists of time. But it may be that in earlier years Dan Pederson, now deceased, a one-time principal in the Walker firm, Pederson, Smith, Roehl & Co, CPA and son of the late Bernie and Rita Pederson, one-time owners of the Ten Mile Lake Inn (now Arthur=s) provided this service for us. But the recent service of north shore member Jim Miller, of the accounting firm of LarsonAllen, and, just this past year, of south shore member Jim Hickman, CPA, is fresh in my memory. On behalf of the Association, my hat is off to these volunteers, whose expertise and heretofore unheralded generosity and dedication in this regard go a long way toward helping us to operate smoothly and effectively as a not-for-profit organization under Federal and State law.