About Us

The Shaver Lake Civic League is a 501(C)(3) nonprofit entity in Fresno County, California. We are contracted by the county to provide necessary services to our community, including management of county owned facilities, providing public safety services including fire protection and emergency response, and of course, providing access to recreational facilities.

The Shaver Lake Civic League is governed by a Board of Directors. Our by-laws provide for twelve voting board members. Meetings are held quarterly at our Community Center building, and meetings are open to the public. All interested parties are welcome to attend.

History

The Shaver Lake Civic League was founded as a non-profit corporation in June of 1961. Its stated purposes were to provide fire protection and ambulance services for the greater Shaver Lake area. All services provided by the Civic League were funded by contributions and use fees from the community.

By 1978 the Civic League’s community services had grown. Assets owned included the Community Center Building, a two-story structure with a commercial kitchen. The Civic League also held title to the fire department’s firehouse, three fire trucks, one bulldozer, and all necessary equipment to supply the fire department for emergencies. The Civic League also owned an ambulance garage and three fully equipped ambulances.

In August of 1978 property owners in the Shaver Lake community requested that a County Service Area be formed to provide needed services, some of which were currently provided by the Civic League. In November of the same year the voters approved the formation of County Service Area 31, and in 1979 the assets owned by the Civic League were transferred to Fresno County. Under the new County Service Area 31, the Shaver Lake Civic League entered into a contract with the County which partially funded the operations of the Community Center, the fire department, and ambulance services.

Eventually the ambulance services were contracted out by the county, and the new role of the Shaver Lake Civic League was to operate and maintain the Community Center as an event center for Shaver Lake, and to provide recreational facilities for our community. Additionally, the Civic League is contracted to provide structural and wildland fire response, and emergency rescue services including emergency medical response and motor vehicle accident response through the formation of Company 60, the Shaver Lake Volunteer Fire Department.

Leadership

OFFICERS

PRESIDENT: Mark Driscoll
VICE-PRESIDENT: Brad Craven
SECRETARY: David Goss
TREASURER: Marsha Waller
BUILDING MANAGER: June Murray

BOARD MEMBERS

Debby Dixon
Jerry Isaak
Doug Koerper
Tori Lysdahl-Goss
Brian Murray
Steve McQuillan
Janet Sandstrom
Marie Edwards (At Large)

Our Leaders

Kyle Lee

Board President of the Greater Shaver Lake Visitors Bureau and Chair of Rebuild Our Sierra

Kyle has worked side by side with Dylan leading this effort towards evolving SLVB. Like Dylan, Kyle and his family of five were evacuated. Kyle is a carpenter by trade and works on 65 acres of land in Shaver Lake. His home was spared but his shop and all his tools were reduced to ash. Kyle has three kids under 5 years old including two 6-month twins. Kyle has been spending the last several weeks trying to get his home ready for this family, but the smoke damage is requiring new flooring, sheetrock and paint work, new appliances and so much work to make the home habitable

Michele Meisch

Marketing Committee Chair of the Greater Shaver Lake Visitors Bureau and Rebuild Our Sierra

Michele Meisch grew up in our foothills near Tollhouse, where she attended Sierra Elementary and Sierra High School. She volunteered with the High Sierra Trail Crew, working in the high country for several years before starting a family. Michele spent all her time with family and friends in the mountains. For the last 13 years she’s been camping at Huntington Lake with her family at least twice a season. On September 4, 2020, she was camping with friends at Huntington Lake when CalFire drove through their camp, alerting everyone over megaphones about a mandatory evacuation due to a rapidly spreading wildfire.

Distraught by the fire and the destruction, Michele felt a calling to start a non-profit – a way to help residents long after crews have put out the fire. Days after she had this idea, Shaver Lake Visitors Bureau coincidently reached out to her workplace (JP Marketing – a local marketing agency) to request help with their donation outreach campaign. It was at that point when Rebuild Our Sierra became a reality. Michele told Dylan and Kyle of her vision for creating a branded, long-term fundraising effort. And off we went.

Lianna Grider

Secretary

Born and raised in Clovis, Lianna has grown up camping and spending time in the Shaver Lake area. In 2018, her family bought a small cabin, The Little Red Hen, in Alder Springs. After losing that cabin to the Creek Fire, the family has since found a new cabin in Meadow Lakes which they enjoy as a family and rent on Airbnb. Lianna attended UC Irvine for business school and has worked in marketing in Fresno since her graduation in 2019. After starting a new position that encouraged her to volunteer her skills, she was on the hunt for a way to support her community through marketing. Lianna reached out to the Rebuild Our Sierra team asking to provide support in July of 2021, and since then has supported the marketing committee.

Linda Hildebrand Ballentine

Treasurer

Born and raised in Sanger, Linda was the 4th generation of her family to enjoy the Huntington Lake family cabin, which her grandfather built in 1954. It was the love of the mountains and nature that led her to obtain her BS degree in Conservation – Wildlife Management from UC Berkeley and a MS degree in Agribusiness Finance from Fresno State. Linda has diverse experience in finance and accounting, ranging from agricultural lending to controller services to nonprofit accounting, including tax preparation. She has worked for banks, farming operations, manufacturing companies, accounting firms to resource conservation districts. Linda is currently the Controller at Atkins Sheep Ranch Inc., in Fremont, Ca.

Linda has served on the Huckleberry Water and Development Association since 2016 (currently President), is on the Huntington Lake Association Board, and has served on the Board of National Forest Homeowners since 2017 (is currently Treasurer).

After losing the family cabin in the Creek Fire, Linda feels the need to help to support the mountain community to rebuild not only homes and cabins, but also a stronger, more unified community.

After attending the November GSLVB fundraising event and participating in the online silent auction, Linda realized that the GSLVB is the kind of organization that she wants to contribute to.

Breanna Sanchez

Board Member

Breanna was born and raised at the base of the foothills, in Clovis, Ca, where her family still owns and operates a horse boarding facility today. Growing up, she spent many of her weekends traveling through the Sierras and the Shaver area on horseback. Now, Breanna is a Central Valley event and wedding coordinator, is married to her high school sweetheart and together they have three little girls. Her husband, Gabriel, has been tied to the Shaver Lake community for many years as well, working his was through the mountains we so love. In September 2020, they received the news of, what we now know to be, the Creek Fire, and immediately felt a calling to aid in any way possible. Gabriel assisted in intense livestock evacuations, and helped sphere head one of the largest livestock evacuation sites in the area, while Breanna immediately began using hers and the family ranches platforms to collect and distribute mass amounts of donations to those in need. Shortly following the Creek Fire, Gabriel felt called to accept a full time position in the greater Shaver Lake area and not long after that, they relocated their family to Auberry. Breanna quickly jumped into the community and began her involvement by implementing her event knowledge into the events committees for Rebuild our Sierras and The Greater Shaver Lake Visitors Bureau (GSLVB). After heavily participating in two major events this year, she felt it was time to fully involve herself in the board and all its efforts. Breanna is eager to be involved and give back to the community through the many events and opportunities to come.

Rachel Swigert

Board Member

Rachel grew up in the Oakhurst mountain area, hiking and camping throughout, as well as frequently visiting her cousins who own a cabin in Shaver Lake. She began traveling overseas at 17, volunteering with multiple non-profits such as Habitat for Humanity, Project Life Subic and many more. She is a mother to two lovely little girls, Emery and Apiana, who’s father has been heavily involved in the Shaver/Huntington Lake communities through his profession, acting as a first responder during the Creek Fire. Both her sister and cousins were evacuated during the tragic fire. Thankfully there was no structural loss.

As a third generation woodworker following her dad and grandfather’s passion, her business Wood Chipped focuses on creating heirloom pieces from sustainably sourced, hand milled wood from the Sierra Nevadas. One core business value of hers was to give back to wildfire surviving communities, leading her to partner alongside us a few years ago through Rebuild Our Sierra. Since then, she immediately became an active volunteer and asset through her fundraising and participation in multiple events for both Rebuild Our Sierra and GSLVB. Amidst being our lead fundraising coordinator, Rachel also manages our social media page.

When she’s not volunteering, covered in sawdust, spending time with her girls, or pursuing her education in Integrative Medicine, Rachel loves to write, spend time in nature, and advocate for Indigenous Forest Management through her social platform. She is also a practicing herbalist and assists her father with his business The Woodworks. Her and her girls currently live in the Oakhurst/Bass Lake area.