WSP05005

• File Number: 8021
• Description: Section D General Studies - Western States Water Council
• State: CO
• Basin: Statewide
• Date: 9/1/1990
• Author: Land Institute
• Title: The Land Report - The Land Report - Fall 1990
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Publication

the number of supporters called Friends of The Land.
Sharon keeps track of the 6400 Friends of The Land
and prospective Friends. Since she started work we
have switched to a different computer program and
she now enters much more information with each
name.
Keeping track ofthe mailing list is an impor-
tant part of her work, but Sharon is glad that she has
other things to do. She likes the variety that comes
with working at The Land Institute.
"Sharon, where do we keep the yellow pads?
Sharon, wpere can I find some large envelopes?"
Staff members and interns count on Sharon to know
what office supplies we have and where to find them.
They also count on the infonnation about Land
Institute activities that Sharon helps keeps up-to-
date on the large calendar in the office.
Sharon and her husband John live on a grain-
livestock fann just a few miles away. On hot summer
days, Sharon's first task when she goes home in the
middle of the day has been to sprinkle water on the
hogs to cool them down. Like other Kansas fann
women with jobs away from home, Sharon takes her
summer "vacation" during wheat harvest so she can
drive truckloads of wheat to the grain elevator.
Pictures of her little granddaughter are always
close at hand on Sharon's desk, alongside her box of
cheese crackers and the Fall 1990 issue of Country
Victorian, which featured photographs of beautiful
rooms in her house decorated in Victorian style.
Sharon works from 8:00 until 1:00 P.M. each
day. In talking about the
positive energy she radiates in
the office, one ofthe interns
said, "I wish she were here in
the afternoon too!"

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be teased, and she can tease. But they know that
when she turns around and gets to work, the humor
takes a back seat to competency and The Land's
affairs are in good order.

On Halloween, Sharon Thelander phoned the
classroom building to invite staff and interns to
partake of sweet rolls and candy she had brought to
the Krehbiel House kitchen. Dressed as Pippi Long-
stocking, she brought smiles to the faces of all who
responded to her invitation. This wannth and sense
offun isn't just holiday behavior for Sharon, however.
She livens up the daily routine at The Land Institute
every day.
Sharon Thelander came to work as a part time
secretary/receptionist for The Land Institute on Janu-
ary 8, 1986. She took over the responsibility for our
mailing list, answered the telephone, and paid the
bills-jobs she still has. She also balances the bank
statements, makes bank deposits, opens and distrib-
utes the mail, sends out packets to those requesting
information, and does the payroll.
Sharon says that the most notable aspect of
The Land Institute during the five years of her
employment has been its growth. That started, she
thinks, with the story about The Land on the front
page of the Wall Street Journal in February 1986,
and since then we've had a continuous string of
publicity. Being in the public eye has increased
requests for information and contributed to growth in

Sharon Thelander, Secretary/Receptionist

11

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Research Fellow Chosen

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1990 intern Doug Romig
will stay at The Land Institute
as Research Fellow in 1991.
Doug hails from Santa Fe, New
Mexico. He has earned bache-
lors degrees in soil science and
range management, graduat-
ing with honors from New
Mexico State University. For
the past ten months he's been
working with Jean-Luc Jan-
nink on our Illinois bundle-
flower breeding program. As
Research Fellow next year,
Doug will be working closely
with the interns and research
staff on our many experiments.

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