The new head of Ohio’s Department of Natural Resources (ODNR), Director Mary Mertz will share her perspective on the importance of her role in the Gov. Mike DeWine administration and her love of Lake Erie while speaking at the Lake Erie Shores & Islands’ 4th annual State of Tourism at The Catawba Island Club on Thursday, April 4.

President Larry Fletcher of LES&I will discuss the tourism agency’s accomplishments in 2018 and its plans for the new year.  Registration at Catawba Island Club begins at 4:30 p.m. and presentations at 5 p.m., including Fletcher presenting the Partner of the Year Award and the Superior Hospitality Recognition Award. There will be a reception at 6 p.m.

Make reservations before April 1 by contacting shoresandislands.com/AM/

Mertz has long been involved in outdoors-related government, was assistant attorney general under DeWine and chief of staff while he was Lieutenant Governor. After her appointment as director of the ODNR, Mertz said she had Lake Erie’s issues at the top of her list of concerns.

Mertz and her husband, Rob, often cruise Lake Erie in their 23-foot sailboat. She learned to sail and to fish with her father while growing up near Dayton, and her father and brothers were avid hunters.

Mertz has appointed Kendra Wecker as the Chief of the Ohio Division of Wildlife, the first woman to hold the post.