By Bill Bridwell

I was lucky to fall into this job right after hurricane Bob blew over the Island in late 1991. At that time SMF was a two person operation, that being Dick Johnson and Abbe Burt. Dick was a little overwhelmed by the amount of cleanup needed after the storm so he asked if I would be willing to help out. Eventually he hired me as a part time employee. And so began my career at SMF.

Through the years I have helped to build and maintain the ever growing network of trails on the properties as SMF’s land holdings have increased. It is such a treat to be able to work at these beautiful places and help to make them accessible to the public.

It boggles my mind to see how much SMF has grown. I have had the pleasure of working with many wonderful people through the years, both staff and board members and also getting to know our supporters. I have also been lucky to have spent my summers working with lots of incredible young people that have interned with us. A couple of them even decided to work with us after they finished their schooling, Kristen Fauteux Geagan and Jennifer Jones Smyth.

It is these fine memories that I am taking with me as I walk away from this job and the organization that I love. I believe that many great things lay ahead for Sheriff’s Meadow. The staff is a great group of people. Adam, Kristen, Nevenka, Susan, Liz, Joe, Nancy, Kate and Ann, I will miss working with you all.

Best wishes to everyone,
Bill Bridwell

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After almost thirty years at Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation, property manager Bill Bridwell will retire at the end of December. We are extremely grateful for his dedication, friendship, depth of knowledge, humor, and hard work.

Early last summer we decided to ask a few people to reflect on their time working with Bill for a short video tribute that we were putting together for the virtual summer benefit, but when word got out that we were doing this, everyone we mentioned it to wanted to talk about their time working with Bill. Instead of two or three people, our video included tributes from nine of Bill Bridwell’s fans.

Below is a small sampling of what they shared:

Adam Moore (SMF Executive Director): With his friendly smile, his warm and welcoming demeanor, and great sense of humor, Bill has been the greatest ambassador for Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation we could ever have.

Joe Rogers (SMF Land Steward): Bill pays extreme attention to detail, and takes care of everything so nicely.

Kristen Gaegan (SMF Director of Stewardship): I’ve been working with Bill since I was an intern. I have learned a lot from him and will miss him and his corny jokes terribly.

Emily Bramhall (former SMF Board President):
When you come across him on a walk, he was always willing to stop and to explain what he was doing, what he was seeing, what plants he was managing, who the neighbors were, what the history of the property was…

Adam Looney (former SMF Intern): I think I was impressed by two things, one is there’s no one faster than you to name a song on the radio after just a few notes, and second, you had absolutely no fear of poison ivy, which I totally embraced and which did not pay off for me.