DAVE gRIFFIN

Board of Directors, 2002 to 2012; President, 2008 to 2012 

David Griffin served on the Board of Directors for over a decade, including his time as the board President from 2008–2012. When Dave moved to a house in Maynard in 1987, the Assabet River became an everyday sight, flowing through his backyard. In 2000, Dave and his partner, Betsy, purchased kayaks to traverse the waterways. “[We] started exploring the Assabet for the first time and fell in love with the river, and [we] began to learn about the hard work that had been done to make it a place to enjoy and the path to long-term health that lay ahead.” Shortly after, they became OARS members.

At the time, one of the primary volunteer roles was to help with the annual river cleanup events in the watershed. With a high sensitivity to poison ivy, Dave was unable to traverse the shoreline during these events, so he sought another way to get involved with the organization. “In 2001 there was a call for new volunteers for the O.A.R. Public Outreach Committee.  I had experience with websites (fairly new at the time) and had been doing nature and landscape photography for some time. [The role] seemed like a good fit.” The committee met that April, for which Dave cited attendees including Betsy Stokey, Barbara Volkle, Julia Blatt, Julia Khorana, Vicky Thurston, and Aliza Edwards. He tells us, “Over the next few years I helped with the website, wrote articles for the newsletter, and provided photos for the newsletter, various brochures, presentations, reports, and—in a mad frenzy each year—attempted to document the cleanup at the many sites along the river (and eventually rivers).”

Dave was asked to join the Board of Directors in 2002, and “for reasons unknown,” as he says, agreed. “I was drafted into multiple committees and, in 2008, took on the role of board President. I did that for a few years. During that time, we transitioned from O.A.R. to OARS.”

While working with OARS, one of Dave’s favorite memories was the second River Solstice which took place in 2002. He says, “With over 70 boats on the water, many with lanterns, paired with the sound of Native American drumming wafting through the air, it was an amazing evening where we connected community to the rivers with traditions new and ancient alike.” Dave also made a lasting impression on the organization with his keen eye for photography, as many of his photos still decorate the walls of the OARS office today. He told us, “I have literally twenty-five thousand photos of OARS events and the rivers of the watershed in my archive.  Every one of them stirs a memory when I look at them.”

Dave and Betsy now live in Fitchburg, after moving from Maynard in 2017, where they can be closer to their grandchildren. He says, “We built a relatively small, super-efficient home in a great little neighborhood. No river, but we have some beautiful waterfalls a short walk away.”

In OARS’ next forty years, Dave hopes the organization “continues to advocate for the rivers, because they can’t vote.” He concludes with a powerful message: “As Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes famously said:  ‘A river is more than an amenity, it is a treasure. It offers a necessity of life that must be rationed among those who have power over it.’”