Mesa Verde Foundation is pleased to announce the appointment of Margie Deane Gray as its new executive director. She succeeds H. Benjamin Duke III, who will retire at the end of 2014. Margie will take over management of the foundation on January 1, 2015.

"Margie Deane Gray brings outstanding qualifications and passion for Mesa Verde National Park to her new position as executive director, and we are delighted and proud that she will be helping us grow and expand our support of this national treasure," said Judy Grant, the foundation's chairman.

Wild Plums by William Acheff

Mesa Verde Foundation's second annual Rims to Ruins art exhibition and sale will feature works of art from 31 nationally recognized Western artists. In May, these artists gathered at Mesa Verde National Park for three days of painting throughout the park and within the ruins. The exhibition and sale will be at The Wildlife Experience Museum (on Lincoln Avenue, just off of I-25 south of Denver) on Wednesday, November 5, 2014, beginning at 6 p.m. Tickets to the opening reception and sale are $75. For reservations please visit www.shop.mesaverdefoundation.org or call 303-321-3120. The exhibition runs through January 4, 2015.

Participating Rims to Ruins artists for 2014 are: William Acheff, Joe Anna Arnett, James Asher, Gerald Balciar, Greg Beecham, Joe Bohler, John Burton, Lorenzo Chavez, Jerry Cohoe, Doug Dawson, John DeMott, Mike Desatnick, David Drummond, Barry Eisenach, Gerald Fritzler, Veryl Goodnight, George Hallmark, Hyrum Joe, Oreland Joe, Buffalo Kaplinski, Jay Moore, Gary Niblett, Ralph Oberg, Andrew Peters, Robert Peters, John Poon, Jim Rey, Laura Robb, Rosie Sandifer, and Jim Wilcox.

Here is a closer look at three artists and works included in this year's exhibit and sale:

Jay Moore - "Looking Back at Longhouse" - Oil, 9 x 12 in.

Jay Moore grew up in Evergreen, Colorado, spending nearly every waking moment outdoors. He attended the Colorado Art Institute and the Art Students League of Denver, eventually melding his love of art and the outdoors in the plein air art form.

"As an artist, a painting is like a conversation: I hear what the terrain says to me and respond on canvas," says Jay. "When I create paintings, my clients join in the dialogue too, sharing their thoughts and feelings about the landscape they want portrayed."

The skills Jay has developed in both observing and painting have landed his works in magazines, exhibitions, and collections across the country. His paintings are in the collections of the Denver Art Museum and the Pioneer Museum in Colorado Springs as well as many corporate and private collections.

Veryl Goodnight - "High Country Summer" - Bronze, 44 x 38 x 12 in.

Veryl Goodnight and her husband, Roger Brooks, live in the mountains of Southwest Colorado, between Durango and Mesa Verde National Park. The dramatic landscape, abundant wildlife, and the ranching community provide endless inspiration for both sculpture and painting. "I was born loving animals and the American West; this has been the focus of my art for over three decades."

Veryl has monumental sculpture across the United States and in Europe and Japan. The most notable is "The Day The Wall Came Down," a seven-ton bronze sculpture consisting of five larger than life size horses jumping over the fallen Berlin Wall. The United States Air Force flew this monument to Berlin, Germany in 1998 on the 50th anniversary of the Berlin Airlift, where it was installed in the Allied Museum. A sister casting is installed at the George H. W. Bush Presidential Library in Texas.

Veryl has taught at the Fechin Institute in Taos, New Mexico and the Scottsdale Artist's School in Arizona. She shows in the "Masters of the American West" at The Autry Museum in Los Angeles and the "Quest for the West" at The Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Greg Beecham - "Anasazi Rhythms" - Oil, 48 x 36 in.

Greg Beecham has been painting full time for thirty-two years, specializing in wildlife art. Greg's vision is to "sculpt with paint" - that is to paint in such a way that there is not only the illusion of dimension, but genuine depth to the paint itself. He believes that if he can speak with paint more than detail, that the net result will be a life expressing realism.

Greg lives high in the Rockies in Dubois, Wyoming, with his wife, Lu. They enjoy riding their horses, hunting, cowboying, and watching the wildlife. Greg's works can be found at the Gilcrease Museum, Tulsa, OK; the National Museum of Wildlife Art, Jackson, WY, and at the Montana State Historical Museum, Helena, MT. He is an inductee into the Gilcrease Museum's Rendezvous Hall of Fame, the Artist Choice and People's Choice - Western Visions - National Museum of Wildlife Art, the Wildlife Award (3 times) and People's Choice - Prix de West - National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, and the Legacy Purchase Award - Western Rendezvous of Art - Montana State Historical Society.

The 2014 Four Corners Lecture Series concludes this Saturday, October 25, at 2:00 p.m., at Edge of the Cedars State Park Museum in Blanding, UT. Don Simonis will speak on the topic, "The Can Can: Tell Precisely How Old Historical Sites Are Over the Last 150 Years." We hope you'll attend this intriguing program! On behalf of all the partners, thank you to everyone who came to a lecture series program this year. We commend your drive to learn more about this remarkable region and its history.

This lecture series is generously sponsored by Mesa Verde Foundation, Mesa Verde Museum Association, and Mesa Verde National Park, as well as the Anasazi Heritage Center, ARAMARK Parks and Destinations, Bureau of Land Management, Cortez Cultural Center, Crow Canyon Archaeological Center, Edge of the Cedars State Park Museum, Fort Lewis College Office of the President, Department of Anthropology, and Center of Southwest Studies, Hisatsinom Chapter of the Colorado Archaeological Society, and KSJD Dryland Community Radio.

Dianne Bywaters "Gourds"

Applications for Mesa Verde National Park's 2015 Artist-in-Residence (AIR) program are being accepted through December 31, 2014. Writers, composers, visual and performing artists are offered the opportunity to pursue their particular art form while being surrounded by the inspiring ancient architecture of the Ancestral Pueblo people and the sweeping natural landscape of the park. The works completed under this program contribute to the public understanding and appreciation of our national parks, create a legacy preserved for future generations, and offer park visitors and the public an opportunity to see our heritage through the eyes and ears of the contributing artists.

The park provides a fully furnished historic residence to selected artists for five, two-week periods: April 27 through May 10; May 11 through May 24; August 31 through September 13; September 14 through September 27; and September 28 through October 11, 2015. Participating artists are to present a public program on the second Thursday of their residency and are to donate to the park a professional digital image of an original piece of work from their residency. Participants provide their own food as well as transportation to and in the park. No stipend is provided.

Full application instructions and program details are available at   www.nps.gov/meve/supportyourpark/artists_in_residence.htm.

Submit all application materials and the $30 application fee, postmarked by December 31, 2014, to Jan Wright, AIR Coordinator, Mesa Verde Museum Association, P.O. Box 38, Mesa Verde National Park, CO 81330. For more information, please contact Jan Wright at 970-529-4445 or AIRCoordinator@mesaverde.org.

The AIR program is managed by the Mesa Verde Museum Association. Proceeds from this and all association programs support Mesa Verde National Park.

The National Park Service has selected incumbent ARAMARK Sports and Entertainment, LLC to provide a variety of visitor services in Mesa Verde National Park for the next 10 years. The new park concessions contract is anticipated to begin January 2015 and includes lodging, campground, food and beverage, retail, tour, kennel, fuel, and other visitor services within the park.

Mesa Verde National Park Superintendent Cliff Spencer said, "ARAMARK has successfully operated the concession in the park for the last 33 years, and we look forward to continuing this successful working relationship in the future."

The new contract includes a minimum franchise fee of 6.5 percent that will be returned to the government each year based on annual gross receipts. The contract also includes a repair and maintenance reserve of 3.4 percent. The annual gross receipts are expected to be approximately $7,000,000.

The competitive process for the concessions contract was initiated December 9, 2013, with the release of a prospectus. All offers had to be submitted to the agency by April 2, 2014. An evaluation panel of National Park Service and technical experts outside Mesa Verde National Park performed a comprehensive analysis of the proposals and selected the best responsive proposal based on factors identified in the prospectus.

There are nine more reasons to enjoy Mesa Verde National National Park! The park will offer free admission on nine days in 2015.

The 2015 entrance fee-free days are:

• January 19: Martin Luther King Jr. Day
• February 14-16: Presidents Day weekend
• April 18-19: National Park Week's opening weekend
• August 25: National Park Service's 99th birthday
• September 26: National Public Lands Day
• November 11: Veterans Day

"Fee-free days offer a wonderful time for new visitors to become familiar with the park and for return visitors to reacquaint themselves," said Superintendent Cliff Spencer. "I urge everyone to take advantage of this opportunity."

The entrance fee waiver does not cover camping or tours.

Other Federal land management agencies that will offer their own fee-free days in 2015 are: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the Bureau of Reclamation, and the U.S. Forest Service. Please contact each agency for dates and details.

The National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation and the U.S. Forest Service also participate in the America the Beautiful National Parks Pass and Federal Recreational Lands Pass programs. These passes provide access to more than 2,000 national parks, forests, wildlife refuges, grasslands, and other federal lands. Four passes are available:

• free annual pass to current military members and their dependents;
• free lifetime pass to U.S. citizens with permanent disabilities;
• $10 lifetime senior pass for U.S. citizens aged 62 and over;
• $80 annual pass for the general public.

Learn more about these passes at  http://www.nps.gov/meve/planyourvisit/passprogram.htm  

The change of the seasons always has us reaching for a hot beverage to ward off the early morning chill. You can do so in style with our Rambler mug, hand thrown in Wisconsin and featuring the park logo! Microwaveable and dishwasher safe, this 16 ounce stoneware mug measures 4.5 inches tall by 5.25 inches wide (including handle). The two-tone finish of the deep blue mug brings to mind the star-studded night sky of Mesa Verde and the Southwest.

Priced at $21.99, or just $18.69 for Mesa Verde Association members; click here to purchase your mug today. As always, proceeds from your purchases support Mesa Verde National Park.