Dr. Don Rankin of Madison storied career as an Air Force surgeon and later chief of emergency medicine in Bridgeport, but most people in Madison just think of him as a friend—in particular, as the tireless guiding force behind the Friends of Hammonasset. He launched the annual Hammonasset Festival, which celebrates the state park’s Native American and natural history, and was a key player in the recent complete renovation of the Meigs Point Nature Center, which helps teach lessons about the natural world to thousands of visitors yearly.