MINUTES OF THE ADIRONDACK FORTY-SIXERS
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 2016WINTER MEETING
Saturday, April 2, 2016
Crowne Plaza Hotel, Lake Placid, New York
The meeting, the first Winter executive committee meeting ever, was called to order by President Brian Hoody at 1:00 PM. Those in attendance introduced themselves.
In attendance:
Brian Hoody, President
Phil Corell, Treasurer
Sally Hoy, Immediate Past President
Chris Sekellick, Director
Fran Shumway, Director
Dan Stec, Director
Mark Simpson, Correspondence Process Committtee
Ted Sonneborn, Director and Outdoor Skills Workshop
Laurie Rankin, Director
Dean Giuliano, Director (and son Cameron)
Lee Nesbitt, Office of the Historian
Siobhan Carney-Nesbitt, Vice President and Office of the Historian (and daughter Maebh)
John Barron, Recording Secretary
Guests
Jim Giglinto, Ranger, DEC
ACTIVITY SINCE LAST MEETING
The following events and internet votes took place since the last meeting:
October 10, 2015: Keene Valley Fire Department Rescue Supplies
It was moved by Dan Stec, seconded by Siobhan Carney-Nesbitt, to approve up to $700 to purchase rescue supplies. Brian Hoody's vote record of October 10, attached to E-Mail message of October 16, gives details. In favor 8. Opposed nil. No vote 1. Carried.
November 9, 2015: Audit Proposal
It was moved by Dan Stec, seconded by Fran Shumway, to approve expenses up to $1,700 to have Martindale, Keysor and Company look at our current accounting procedures and make recommendations as to what the best procedures should be. In favor 7. Opposed nil. No vote 2. Carried.
November 29, 2015: Audit Committee Created
Brian Hoody created the Audit Committee made up of Joe Bogardus (chair), Brian Hoody, Tom Fine, Steve Shumway, and Dan Stec. Brian's message of this date refers.
December 4, 2015: New Computer for Treasurer
It was moved by Sally Hoy, seconded by Ted Sonneborn, to approve up to $2,000 to purchase a new computer for the Treasurer. In favor 8. Opposed nil. No vote 1. Carried.
February 15, 2016: Approval of Minutes of Fall 2015 Exec. Committee Meeting
It was moved by Dan Stec, seconded by Ted Sonneborn, to approve Version 3 draft of the minutes. In favor 9. Opposed nil. Carried.
TREASURER (Phil Corell)
Phil handed out a one-page summary of the financial status.
$211,000 in the account at TD Bank.
Receipts $42,600, about the same as last year.
Contributions are a bit down. It takes a while to condition new 46ers to the culture of contributing voluntarily.
Merchandise sales are somewhat down. We are doing well at selling inventory - all fleeces and sweatshirts have been sold. Will sell long-sleeved and short-sleeved polypro shirts.
$1,904 of approved funding available for the use of Lean2Rescue.
The Conservation Trust owes us about $200.
On May 7 the Audit Committee plans to meet and review Phil's financial processes.
Seven people have expressed interest in volunteering.
The Adirondack Pennysaver is now in service as the order fulfillment house.
An unpaid volunteer is developing reports (about four or five of them) out of the new single data base.
Phil is evaluating functions he does himself that he could consider off-loading. One is his personal role in the merchandise sales. Currently Phil himself verifies the membership status of all people placing merchandise orders. Another is the accounting function of recording every payment received to the credit of an individual member.
Bill Hester, who was an active member and sometimes attended meetings, has passed away. He has bequeathed some money to the 46ers in his will.
OFFICE OF THE HISTORIAN (Lee Nesbitt and Siobhan Carney-Nesbitt)
62 Winter finishers this year.
As of the end of 2015, there were 194 climbers in the old active climbers data base for correspondents, which have been handed off to Mark Simpson.
606 new finishers this year.
The Historian's Office could use some volunteer help. Brian Hoody is considering putting out a request for volunteers. Someone living near Queensbury would be best.
We are going to modify the tradition of assigning climbing numbers. Instead of assigning them all at the end of the climbing season we are going to come up with a way to asign them throughout the year.This way we can cut out a lot of the work involved with doing them all at the end.We will also be able to spread out the tasks to some people who want to volunteer to help the Historian's Office. Instead of running the certificates through twice (once for the name and once for the number) we can do them at the same time. We will also save a lot of time not having to keep two large binders for which we had to make copies. Eliminating the two binders means we won't have to put the new finishers' paperwork in chronological order within large binders of hundreds of other finishers saving a lot of time. The Historian's Office will also be able to include the finisher's assigned 46R number in the letter of congratulations. This alone will cut down on a lot of E-Mails at the end of the year.
OUTDOOR SKILLS WORKSHOP (Ted Sonneborn)
We are on target for a normal attendance this year. 18 participants are now signed up which is about average. The outline for the course is the same as in the past. Two new group leaders are needed. Sharp Swan, who has retired, is willing to provide backup support if required.
NEW BUSINESS
INFLUX OF PEOPLE CLIMBING THE 46 - HOW TO EDUCATE (Jim Giglinto and all)
Brian Hoody circulated a hand-out ("Climbing the Adirondack 46") that was in use throughout his long tenure as a correspondent. There is also a Leave No Trace handout available (used on the AT), and there is the "Hiker Responsibility Code" that Laurie Rankin distributed.
Siobhan gets a lot of requests for route recommendations, and she dodges them.
Phil asked Julia Goren if we can post some ADK information pamphlets. There is reluctance because they may not be up to date.
There was general discussion of problems. For example, the HPIC parking lot sometimes fills to capacity, and a few 46ers are demonstrating an attitude of entitlement (complaining, expecting special privileges for being 46ers, ignoring or sometimes paying fines but disregarding the parking rules in either case). All kinds of trash gets strewn on the trails.
There has been opposition from the Governor's office over efforts at education, because some people feel they are being scolded.
It is very common to see obviously ill-equipped and unprepared hikers headed into the High Peaks. Some of the lucky ones get talked out of it, to their own benefit.
One powerful communication resource available to the 46ers is the Correspondence program. There are now 32 correspondents for 192 hikers, and it is believed that more correspondents could be recruited.
Jim Giglinto suggested that "46ers" branding a guideline card or document would give it credibility and may help.
The DEC has produced a You Tube video about High Peaks hiking, and plans to do two more on bear canister use and human waste disposal.
The 46ers have an official Facebook page that could be used as a communication channel. It is considered inadvisable to post behavior guidelines there because it would imply Board endorsement. However, links to authoritative sources like the DEC could be posted.
Social media may be a good channel of communication. Even better may be volunteer trailhead stewards, Trash collection bags could be handed out as a gentle reminder. This may be a worthwhile role for some volunteers we have available. One concern is to find a way to ensure this advice be taken seriously.
An annual trash collection day, along the lines of the former "Trash Patrol", were proposed. DEC may be more than willing to help publicize such events.
Clothing and equipment advice should also be disseminated. Phil thought thousands of packages a year could be handed out at the trailheads. DEC advice is to start small.
There was discussion about the lean-tos, both as a possible location where guidelines could be distributed and as another source of ongoing trouble. Some hikers seem inclined to "leave something" at a lean-to for emotional reasons, but the item left becomes more trash.
Crowding in the parking lots is an increasing problem. The Jay Range lot and the Armospheric Research Station take-off point for Esther and Whiteface have overtaken the Cascade lots in this regard.
People are trying to do difficult routes like the Range traverse with no experience or equipment. Enticing articles in Backpacker magazine, coupled with inexperience, may be among the reasons.
It was suggested to watch for the next issue of Peeks, which will feature an interview with retired Ranger Peter Fish about this topic.
A consensus was reached that an Educational Stewardship Committee should be formed, to develop these ideas and to be a point of liaison with Julia Goren. Fran, Laurie, Dean, and Mark expressed interest in serving on such a committee. Brian Hoody will appoint the committee.
CONSERVATION TRUST UPDATE (Brian Hoody)
Last year we received $13,000 from the Conservation Trust.
We are accepting grant applications. Received so far are applications from
- Grace Hudowalski Essay Contest
- Essex County Historical Society
- Friends of Poke-O-Moonshine.
We expect the same amount or a bit less from the Trust this year. A meeting is slated for mid May.
SPRING MEETING (Brian Hoody)
We are running out of room.
Could move to the Convention Center, which would mean increased costs.
Could cap attendance. 640 is the capacity,
Last year's class was the biggest ever, but attendance at the banquet was down slightly.
We may have to cap it and close registration.
Last year we were chided over the crowding. This year we will set up the merchandise table in a side hallway which should help. We will use color coded menu cards this year.
REQUESTS FOR VOLUNTEER HELP
We receive many offers from people volunteering to help. Some are specific (e.g. work on the web site or design T-Shirts); others are general offers without any specific service in mind.
Phil would like to offload his participation in the web site committee if possible. His current roles regarding the site are monitoring it and being the point of contact for proposed changes to it. Dave Kimmel handles all the implementation details but needs specific instructions, which now come from Phil.
Brian Hoody mayput out a request for volunteer assistance to take on Phil's web site roles. Mark Simpson indicated he may have one or two possibilities to suggest, including Joe Ryan.
SUMMIT STEWARD PROGRAM REQUEST
We have received a request from the Summit Steward Program for a $21,000 grant to fill funding gaps. It was moved by Laurie Rankin, seconded by Dan Stec, to provide $21,000 of funding to the Summit Steward Program. In favor all. Opposed nil Carried.
LEAN2RESCUE REQUEST
Lean2Rescue has an opportunity to replenish cedar logs needed for lean-to repairs. Meeting Notes (attached) explains. They have requested $2,700 of funding to pay for the logs and transportation. It was moved by Sally Hoy, seconded by Siobhan Carney-Nesbitt to provide $2,700 of funding to Lean2Rescue for the logs and transportation. In favor all Opposed nil Carried.
OLD BUSINESS
CORRESPONDENT PROCESS (Mark Simpson)
Mark explained that his role and his sonNeil's role on the Correspondent Process web site can be compared to the roles of Phil Corell and Dave Kimmel on the 46ers' main web site (i.e. manager and technical implementer respectively). Mark circulated a log of changes to the site for information.
31 correspondents and 194 hikers are being supported by the system. Google Analytics is being used to help manage the site.
There was a meeting involving 2/3 of the correspondents. It generated a lot of work for Mark and Neil, but they've almost reached the end of it and think they can now support more hikers.
Mark would appreciate input on how to train correspondents.
Question from Phil: should we roll the Correspondence Process site out now or wait for it to stabilize?
Answer: The system won't crash. Putting the brakes on some of the chatter on the site is something that should be done. The site seems robust, and insensitive to volume.
Decision: will re-evaluate at the Spring 2016 meeting.
Brian asked the group for impressions of the new site. Several thought it is terrific.
CORRESPONDENT WAIVER FORM (Mark Simpson)
Brian Hoody and Siobhan Carney-Nesbitt created a waiver to be acknowledged by any hiker before logging on to the Correspondent web site and had requested confirmation that it is being used. Mark indicated that it has been in effect since October 2015.
CLARK/MARSHALL 2018 GATHERING (Brian Hoody)
Joe Ryan posts frequently. Suggestions are welcome. It's bubbling along.
AUDIT COMMITTEE
The committee will review Phil's processes on May 7. We don't in general have our processes codified; it is ad hoc. We should rectify this.
LOGO AND NAME USE ISSUES
Brian Hoody has made contact with a copyrighter, but recently and no progress has been made yet. The logo is presently copyrighted but nothing else. Some merchandise has been seen in stores featuring "46er" text without our authorization.
IMPRESSIONS OF THE WINTER MEETING
It was felt that the smaller the meeting the better, so as not to overwhelm the directors. The Spring meeting has been very stressful in the past.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Peggy MacKellar has requested assistance with Winter DInner logistics.
Tate Connor of the DEC observed that the work on Colden has been very successful. Upcoming projects will be the alpine bog on Panther and the Couchsacraga bog that needs a boardwalk. Brian has photos. The DEC supports these. A bridge on the way to Bradley Pond is dangerous and people fall off it regularly. How to implement these will be discussed at the Spring 2016 meeting.
NEXT MEETING
The next meeting is the Spring meeting, on May 29 at the Crowne Plaza in Lake Placid.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned by consensus.
Respectfully submitted,
John Barron
Recording Secretary
Attachment 1
Minutes Winter Meeting 2016
Executive Committee, 46ers
Adirondack 46er Executive Committee 2016 Winter Meeting Notes
- 46er Conservation Trust Updates
Notes on this project: 1. Grace Hudowalski Essay Contest. The coordinators are again requesting $2,500 for the awards for the winning essays. They are recommending a few changes to the rules to prevent the same kids from winning the awards every year -- a good idea. The MinervaSchool District wants to participate this year. Wayne and Laura Dewey, who coordinate the current essay contest, have agreed to help Minerva get started. We've talked about adding $1,000 to the grant amount to support the Minerva effort for a total award of $3,500.
2. EssexCounty Historical Society/Adirondack History Museum. They requested $15,000 (obviously more than we have to give away) to support the creation of a new permanent exhibit at the museum that explores the history of hiking in the Adirondacks, with an emphasis on the 46ers (using a lot of the memorabilia from Grace that L John donated to them)and the ADK. I spoke with the museum's director, Aurora McCaffrey, about the application and if they could complete the project if we couldn't give them what they asked for. She said they went "pie in the sky" with their application and could cut costs and do some of the fabricating of the exhibit themselves to reduce the budget even further. So, they can use whatever we can give them. They will continue their fund-raising and extend their timeline for completion. The TAC talked about giving them $5,000 this year. We also discussed the possibility of awarding them an additional $5,000 next year, depending on what our distribution amount turns out to be and what their situation is. But we won't make any promises beyond the $5,000 for this year.
3. Friends of Poke-O-Moonshine. They have requested $10,000 to support their ongoing effort to rehabilitate the historic Ranger Trail on the mountain that the DEC was going to close because of severe erosion. They have been raising funds for the project since 2013 and are completing the rehab work in annual increments as they have the funds to do so. They hire the ADK trail crew and Tahawus Trails crews to do the work. They have raised about $173,000 so far and have complete about half of the trail. So we would like to grant them $5,000, which should help them complete another small section of the trail.
- Lean-to Rescue ($2,700 in funding) – purchase and delivery of cedar logs to the Lean-toHospital in Keene for various HighPeaks lean-to projects
Notes on this project: Lean2Rescue has several projects underway, including the completion of a new Lean2 at the Lean2Hospital. Building this new Lean2 has exhausted the supply of logs that was provided by the NYSDEC two years ago. Because we continue to plan restoration of Lean2’s, in and out of the high peaks region, we need our stock of logs replenished. In the past, and most recently, we have purchased logs from a local source that charges $80 to $120 per log. This is obviously very expensive when buying a truck load.