Annual Chapter Meeting
Narragansett Chapter, Appalachian
Mountain Club
November 13, 2004
The Chair, Larry Rollins, called the meeting to order at the Cathedral of St. John in Providence, RI at 6:00 PM.
Attending: Larry Rollins, chair; Sue DiSimoni, vice-chair; Tom Eagan, treasurer; Fred Griffith, secretary; Chris Shafer, activities; Maria Early, membership; Linda Pease and Jack Schempp, conservation; Nuala McLaughlin, trails; Steve Morra, communications; Jenn Reed, Technical Climbing; Bev Thomas, Sea Kayaking; Lou Jacobs, Local Hiking; Dan Reardon, Skiing; Andy Shearer, Young Adults; Peter Barlow & Brian Phillips, Technical Climbing; Mike Krabach, Bicycling; Gary Whitney, Webmaster and Ilse Hill, newsletter. About 75 chapter members were present in addition to the Board members listed.
Chair’s Report:
The Minutes of the last Annual Chapter Meeting of November 2003 were approved.
Larry said he had found it a valuable experience becoming a leader for the chapter, both leading trips and taking part in the Executive Board. He encouraged other chapter members to take leadership roles.
Vice-chair’s report:
Sue D. thanked the chapter for having her as Vice-chair and echoed Larry’s sentiments about the personal value of volunteering for the AMC.
Treasurer’s report:
Tom E. explained the October 31st Treasurer’s Report, which was part of the 2004 Annual Report handed out at the meeting to those present. He said there were some grants where we had the income and had not yet spent the money and also some one-time donations to the chapter that explained why we had more money on hand now than a year ago. He anticipates at year’s end we’ll have less than this but more than in December 2003.
Committee reports:
Trails:
Nuala M. talked about some of the major Trails projects done this year, including the Norman Bird Sanctuary, the Ell Pond trail and the Vin Gormley trail. She encouraged chapter members to take part in trails work.
Conservation report:
Linda P. said the Conservation and Trails committees had begun to work with local groups on projects, with our work on the Blackstone Valley Park as an example. She encouraged anyone present who had a local project that needed work to contact her.
New business:
The Nominating Committee had submitted the following names to be the new chapter leadership:
Chair Jerry Bernardini
Vice-chair Gene Mihaly
Secretary Fred Griffith
Treasurer Tom Eagan
Membership Maria Early
Those present voted unanimously for this slate of officers.
Larry Rollins introduced the new Board members. Jerry B. talked about how serving in an organization leads to personal growth. He said the AMC was good for spirit and body, about getting out there, staying healthier. Gene Mihaly introduced himself to the chapter, too.
Chris S. then introduced the new committee leaders who were present:
Local Hikes Lou Jacobs
Ski co-chair Dan Reardon
Technical Climbing co-chair Brian Phillips
Chris mentioned to the group that Trails and Family Outings were looking for new co-chairs.
Larry Rollins introduced to the chapter the committee leaders present:
Conservation Jack Schempp & Linda Pease
Communications Steve Morra
Trails Nuala McLaughlin
Flatwater Linda Pease
Sea Kayaking Bev Thomas
Newsletter Ilse Hill
Webmaster Gary Whitney
Archivist Susan DiSimoni
Committee chairs stepping down were thanked for their service:
Technical Climbing Jen Reed
Local Hikes Fran Scullin
Ski Jack Schempp
A moment of silence was observed in memory of Robert Goddard, a chapter member who passed way this year.
Larry then introduced Faith Salter, the AMC Assistant Director of Volunteer Relations. She talked about the low-cost lodging at the Shapleigh Bunk House next to the Highland Center in Crawford Notch, that can be reserved for groups of up to 16 for $23 pppn including breakfast, with meals cooked outdoors, hot showers, a microwave and bunks. There are other low-cost facilities at Mohican Outdoor Center and at Little Lyford Pond Camps in Maine.
Larry R. recognized Sandy Dunn, who is retiring from leading northern hikes. She led one of Larry’s first trips with the AMC and she is a former chapter Chair and Appie of the Year.
Chris Shafer gave out patches recognizing new leaders for the chapter and also recognized our prolific leaders. Linda P. thanked Conservation committee members who had earned the Stewardship award for contributing over 12 hours on projects. Nuala M. then recognized Trails committee members who earned the same award.
Larry R. recognized our 25-year members:
Janet and Norman Hammond
Benjt Karlsson
Robert Lev
Susan McMillan
Jon & Sally Quinn
Steve Morra presented the John Clark award for the unsung hero of the chapter to Gary Whitney in recognition of all his work over the years as our Webmaster. Gary has also led ski trips, chaired the paddling committee. He works behind the scenes and does a great job for the chapter.
Nuala M. and Henry Cruciani presented the Appie of the Year award to Jennie Crooks. Nuala told us about the history of the Sierra cup that is awarded to the Appie of the Year. Jennie has been a tireless trails worker, leading the effort to paint blazes on all the trails when DEM decided the old plastic blazes had to be removed. She communicates with DEM and the governor on trail issues and she can always be counted on to fill the void when help is needed with any aspect of trails work. Jenny thanked the Trails committee for all its hard work and organization.
Jack S. and Faith Salter announced the need for comments to go to the White Mountain National Forest regarding the draft Forest Plan announced this year. The comment period ends in mid-December, and it is important that our voices be heard. Comment cards were passed out at the meeting and about 45 were done on the spot.
The formal business meeting adjourned at 7:22 and dinner was served.
Finally, Larry introduced Charles Gray, who presented an interesting multimedia slide and video show on his climbing expedition to Mt. Aconcagua in Argentina, the highest mountain in the Western Hemisphere.
Respectfully submitted,
Fred Griffith, secretary
2004 Annual Report
Narragansett Chapter
Appalachian Mountain Club
www.amcnarragansett.org
This
Annual Meeting ends my two year term as Chapter Chair. I want to thank the
Executive Board members for making my job easier by providing leadership in
their respective positions and guiding my decision-making. The chapter
committee chairs and co-chairs provide the structure for the stewardship and
activities (conservation, trails, hiking, etc,). Our volunteer leaders are the
face to the membership. Without our leaders, there would no one to maintain our
trails, sponsor conservation workshops, provide leadership training, lead bike
rides, and all our other activities. So it is the many volunteer leaders that
make us a successful AMC chapter.
As
I step away from the Chapter Chair position, I’ll be changing my focus from
administrative matters to that of participating in and leading activities. This
will provide me an opportunity to get out and meet more of the membership. See
you on the trails!
Larry
Rollins, Outgoing Chapter Chair
Minutes of the last Annual Meeting, November 15, 2003
The meeting was called to order at 6:00 pm by Chapter Chair, Larry
Rollins, before a gathering of approximately 85 members. Copies of the
chapter chair's annual report, minutes of last year's annual meeting, the
treasurer's report and the committee reports were distributed to all in
attendance. Larry referred everyone to take a few minutes to review
his written annual report and the minutes of last year's meeting. The
minutes were accepted by the body.
Larry then reviewed and spoke about some of the highlights of the
previous year, for both the club, which included the Capital Campaign and the
Highland Center, and for the chapter, which included the increased number of
members and the large number of events and activities held by all committees.
Then Treasurer Tom Eagan spoke about the financial condition of the club.
Although new to the position, Tom said he reviewed the current and historical
financial records of the chapter and, based upon accepted standards, feels the
chapter is in very good financial condition. He said the cash balance of
the chapter has been steadily increasing during recent years, from
approximately $6,000.00 in 1989, to approximately $8,000.00 in 1999 and to
approximately $11,000.00 in 2003. The treasurer's report was accepted by
the body.
Larry referred everyone to the distributed committee reports for their
review.
Larry then announced the slate of officers for 2004, as follows:
Chair Lawrence
Rollins
Vice Chair Susan
DiSimoni
Secretary Fred
Griffith
Treasurer Thomas
Eagan
Membership Maria
Earley
The 2004 slate of officers was accepted by the body. Larry
indicated that these officers are the ones elected by the body, while all other
officers are appointed. Larry then introduced all the other officers of
the chapter. Larry then called for a Moment of Silence for three,
long-time members of the chapter who passed away in the past year:
Russ Whitney
Marlene Eckerly
Joe Jackson
Larry introduced Trudy Coxe, a member of the AMC board of
directors. Trudy spoke on behalf of the club and highlighted the
opportunities that the club offers, the achievements made in leadership and the
progress made on conservation issues. Larry also introduced Jane Anker,
who is the Leadership Training Institute coordinator at AMC headquarters. She spoke about the various leadership
opportunities and gains made within the club.
Larry introduced the chapter's Activities Chair, Chris Shafer.
Chris awarded Leader Patches to 12 members who qualified for the first time by
leading or co-leading several activities during the year. Chris also
announced and recognized 51 Prolific Leaders from 2003. These are the
members who either led or administered a significant number of activities
during the previous year. Chris also
recognized all other leaders for 2003.
Larry introduced Nuala McLaughlin and Jack Schempp, who presented
Stewardship Awards to 39 members for their work on trail maintenance and the
Conservation Committee throughout the year.
Larry then awarded the 25 year and 50 year membership awards to those
members who achieved these milestones during 2003. The 25 year members are:
Muriel and Roger Pepper
Linda Cooper and Dick Yeaw
James Sanford
Then Steve Morra, Communications Chair, was introduced to make a
special award presentation. Steve recognized the retiring Gansett
Gazette newsletter editor, Mark Dennen, for outstanding service to the
chapter over the past six years and presented Mark with an award of
appreciation on behalf of the executive board and all the members.
Nuala McLaughlin was then introduced to make the presentation of the John
Clark Service Award. The award was presented to Marge Gaunt, who is a
long-time member, as an unsung hero of the chapter, for many years of dedicated
service with both organizing and performing trail work. Marge addressed
the body and expressed her appreciation both for the award and for the
opportunities the AMC has provided for her.
Larry then announced that the next award to be presented was the Appie
of theYear, which is the highest award presented by the chapter. But,
since the intended recipient was not present due to a airline flight delay, it
was decided that the presentation will be made at the Spring Potluck gathering
in March 2004.
After dinner, Vice Chair, Sue DiSimoni introduced the guest speaker,
Frank Shea. Mr. Shea is a noted
individual in the field of conservation and he presented a very interesting and
enlightening slide show and talk on the "Old Growth Forest" of
Wachusett Mountain, which covered what constitutes an old growth forest, the
history of the area and the variety of species located there. The
presentation was well received by the body.
Larry closed the meeting at 9:00 pm.
Actions of the Executive
Board, 2004:
In addition to
routine matters like approving the Minutes and Budget, the Board passed the
following motions:
Establish the boundaries as
o
The western
boundary is the CT River.
o
The northern
boundary is the Mass Pike (I 90) from the CT river to Route 495, then along
Route 495 to Route 95, then the NH state line.
o
Everything from
Rhode Island to the south and east of the boundary is local hikes.
For Local Hikes, this includes all of RI and its islands. This includes eastern CT. This includes all south and eastern MA
including the Cape and Islands, and the greater Boston Area including the Blue
Hills and Minute Man Historical Park in Concord & Lexington.
Conversely, all backpacking, and all hiking outside of the designated
local hikes area (including Mt. Wachusett, the Holyoke area, Delaware, NYC
environs, Catskills, etc.) would be administered by BNH, except as reserved by
the AMC under the jurisdiction of the Major Excursions Committee.
The following 2004
Annual Reports were submitted by the Chapter’s Committees:
This past year our chapter saw a slight decrease of 46 members for a
total of 3330 as of the end of September. We still lose many members in the
first year after they join, but this problem is club wide. Some of these losses are for personal
reasons, and others are for lack of participation and involvement within the
chapter.
Our “New Member” hikes have continued with good participation and seem
to be well received. These hikes will continue in the future. I should be able
to resume my hiking by the end of the year. We also have seen good
participation of new members helping out with our trail work projects. This
outreach is done as a follow up of our survey’s returns.
The potluck in spring and fall were well attended, and we will continue
to alternate locations between the two ends of the state to better accommodate
our members/perspective members and leaders. I was happy to see many new
members attending the fall potluck social.
The Membership in a Bottle (MIB) is now advertised on our web site. The
sale of the MIBs has been strong this year with 53 memberships sold between
January 1st, and September 30th; this creates additional
revenue to the chapter.
Maria A. Earley, Membership Chair
During 2004 our Committee continued to
support the activities committees’ leader development. We worked with other committee chairs and
sub-chairs, and are substantially helped by the general membership.
In November 2003, the one day leadership
training event was held for chapter leaders, co-leaders, and potential leaders,
at Camp Hoffman, coordinated by Charlie Killam, with assistance from Ed Poyer,
Peter Broderick, Chris Shafer, Fran Scullin, and Marcie Madsen.
Due to bad weather, the December 2003 Wilderness First Aid Workshop was
postponed to March 2004. It was held at
Camp Hoffman, and was attending by 47 students. This course was coordinated by committee member Charlie Killam,
with steadfast help from registrar Linda Pease.
In September 2004, the Committee produced another Chapter Get-Away
Weekend. This years’ event is took
place at Carter Notch Hut, which was filled with 40 members. Four hikes of varying difficulty were led to
and from the hut. This year's event was
coordinated by Peter Broderick with help from other Committee members, and
leaders from Backpacking & Northern Hikes.
In October and November 2004, the committee is producing a Wilderness
First Responder course, an advanced course by several leaders. This course is offered with support of a
Supplemental Dues Allocation grant from Joy St.
In April 2005, the committee will be producing another SOLO Wilderness
First Aid Workshop, to be held at Camp Hoffman in So. Kingston. We plan to offer basic WFA every year, with
advanced courses subject to funding and interest level.
Our next major leadership training event is tentatively scheduled for
November 2005.
I’d like to thank Charlie Killam and Peter
Broderick for their substantial efforts in coordinating our two major events
this year.
Ed
Poyer, Chair, Leadership Development Committee
Conservation Committee
In 2004, the Conservation Committee extended its range of activity and
placed greater emphasis on community conservation oriented projects. A total of nineteen conservation events were
offered. Attendance averaged 12 – 23 per event. We worked hard to develop new programs and new locations to
stimulate broader interest in Conservation.
The Naturalist Training program was initiated in 2002. It was developed
to help Leaders improve their ability to discuss common trees, flowers, plants,
wildlife as well as marsh, swamps, and wetlands; all prevalent in RI and most
of New England. This training is open to all members. Five programs were
offered: Whales, RI Fisheries, Trees, Marsh - Swamp & Wetlands, and Dragon
Flies. Each program included a presentation by a professional Naturalist
followed by a short hike to reinforce the presentation.
The hikes bring participants to specific locations to view nature,
wildlife and habitat, with comment by a knowledgeable person. The pathway
encourages questions and informal discussion as the hikes progress. Hikes
included Salt ponds, Blackstone Park (conservation)/Riverside Cemetery (trees),
Norman Bird Sanctuary (wild flowers), Garden in the Woods (wildflowers),
Sprague Farm (restoration of historical fields & wetlands), Long Pond
(preservation), Blue Hills & Trailside Museum (wildlife), Aquidneck Island
Land trust (old growth forest), New Bedford Whaling Museum (whales) and
Napatree Point (Shore walk, hawks).
Projects provide opportunities for “hands on “conservation activity.
This year we used our skills and power to help Blackstone Park (Providence)
volunteers set water bars to control drainage and prevent erosion. On the same
day, a second group removed trash & debris from Lawton Canyon (Portsmouth)
in cooperation with Sierra Club. We also assisted in a restoration project at
Urban Edge Community Farm –a long-term project to convert an old dairy farm
into many community farm plots and a number of conservation and educational
projects.
Conservation Week, Roger Williams Zoo The Conservation Committee joined
the Environment Council of RI and the National Wildlife Federation in providing
“Backyard Habitat” information to many to the 6000 who visited the Zoo during a
Conservation day prior to Earth day Weekend.
Jack Schempp & Linda Pease, Co-Chairs, Conservation Committee
We’ve enjoyed another excellent year of hiking and backpacking. During the last year our group sponsored 54
activities run by 23 leaders and co-leaders.
Our leaders provided activities ranging from the popular day hikes to
Mt. Monadnock and the Holyoke range to winter backpack trips. Hikes were offered in Massachusetts, New
Hampshire, Vermont and Maine.
Overnighters to AMC huts such as Galehead, Zealand, Mizpah, Lonesome,
Madison and Lakes of the Clouds were extremely popular. Trips to ‘drive up’ AMC facilities such as
Pinkham Notch Visitor Center were well attended & thoroughly enjoyed, as
were trips to private facilities and camp grounds.
Backpack trips were run in New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine, and ranged
from beginner level summer trips to winter backpacks to the Bonds.
Three of our leaders continue as instructors at MLS. Some of our leaders offer inter-chapter
trips, and some of our leaders lead or co-lead Major Excursions. Our leaders also serve as resources to the
Leadership Development Committee for workshops and trips.
In terms of skills advancement, we again offered workshops in map &
compass and winter mountain safety, which were well attended and very well
received. Our Step by Step hiking
series, which gradually exposes local hikers to mountain hiking skills and
conditions, continued to attract much interest.
Thank you to our northern hikes leaders and co-leaders, who gave us so
many fine activities this year.
Ed Poyer, Sub Chair, Backpacking & Northern Hiking Sub Committee
Paddling Committee
The joint sea kayak and flat water paddling
committee enjoyed another successful paddling season. We added a tour of Wickford Harbor and a Halloween costumed
paddle to the mix this year. Many
regular and many new comers joined us on the various paddles.
Again this year, we encouraged our members to
participate in the annual Source to Sea paddles, introducing people to the
Wood/Pawcatuck Watershed. We have members who sign up as participants and
members who sign up to help lead and keep the paddlers safe. Many of our members return year after
year. We are proud to help support the
Wood/Pawcatuck Watershed by advertising these trips in our newsletter and offering
the opportunity to our members.
As in past years, we have again encouraged
our members to participate in the Blackstone Paddlers program which offers the
opportunity to rent a kayak on Tuesday nights from May through August to
explore a different section of the Blackstone River watershed every week. This program offers lessons as well. Many of our members have participated. The program has grown to a two day program
with Tuesdays for people who don’t have their own boats and Wednesdays for
people who do. You are guaranteed to
find out that the watershed is huge, discover wonderful new places to paddle on
the river as well as its outlying tributaries, ponds and lakes and get to know
a few good National Park Service rangers as well.
For the second year, rescue classes were held
on Wednesday evenings in June at the URI Bay Campus where leaders and a small
group of participants learned and practiced self rescue and group rescue
techniques. These classes will be held
annually.
Linda Pease, Paddling Co-Chair
Biking Committee
This was my second year as co-chair of the Narragansett AMC biking
committee.
This year we scheduled over 40 week end and mid week rides!! Jack
Schempp’s Maine weekend trip continues to draw full participation including
several members from others chapters. Our Spring Fling rides saw many new
members who liked what they saw and participated in many rides throughout the
summer.
Our Tuesday and Thursday evening rides were frequently well attended.
During June, July and August we offered 17 evening rides of between 10 and 25
miles. It is hoped these rides will remain as popular in the coming years.
Dick Schaffner and Sid Wax continue to be our chapter heroes, our
workhorses if you will, as far as leading bike rides. They lead or co-lead over
18 rides combined. Their love of cycling and their enthusiasm is to be applauded.
A new leader, Carol Richards, not only lead 3 rides she also co-lead 3. Even though Steve Morra “tried” to ease off
his leading, he still managed a respectable 3 leads this summer. I am happy to
say this summer brought forward at least 5 new ride leaders to our
chapter. While a few of them only got
their feet wet with a co-lead or two, they are none the less getting
involved….which is what it’s all about!
I look forward to working with our many bike leaders again and
hopefully inspire new leaders for the 2005 riding season.
Marcie Madsen, Co-Chair Biking Committee
The snow was fine in the middle of the winter up north, but an early
spring warm-up limited the length of the season. Lack of any significant local snow throughout the winter
prevented us from holding our usual Rhode Island-based events.
Four weekend trips were scheduled, all were successful. These trips
were focused primarily on X-C skiing:
In late January, we did southern Vermont for the first time in many
years, staying at the pleasant Blue Gentian ski lodge in the Londonderry area,
& skiing at Mountain Meadows and at another local touring center. The skiing was good (and frosty) and our
co-leaders, Dan Reardon and Diane Cass reported it as a very enjoyable weekend,
worthy to go back to.
In early February, we held our approximately tenth annual
beginner/intermediate X-C instructional weekend at Boston University Sargent
Center in southern NH. It was a success
with about 15 participants receiving a full scope of instruction from our
dedicated leaders, Greg Mannesto and Dan Kutcher, on very good snow conditions
on a variety of Center trails.
In late February, we stayed at Pembrook lodge and skied at the
Franconia Inn touring center near Cannon Mtn. and co-leaders Larry Rollins and
Sue DiSimoni reported experiencing some old-style traditional x-c skiing on
single-track wooded trails. We finished
off the weekend skiing at one of our old favorites, the Waterville Valley
touring center.
In early March our leader, Jack Schempp, took us on a repeat trip to
the famous Inn at Craftsbury Commons in northern Vt., after a successful first
event there in 2003. The x-c ski trails
thread through picturesque farms and the village.
Two Saturday day trips were carried out, by our experienced leaders,
Sue McMillan and Larry Rollins. The Wind Blown x-c Ski Area in Southern NH was
the destination of choice, as it’s only two hours from Providence, yet has ski
terrain and ski conditions that nearly match Northern New England areas.
The ski committee thanks Jack Schempp for his several years of
exemplary service as ski chairman and welcomes Dan Reardon as incoming ski
chair for 2005.
Chris Shafer, Ski Co-Chair
Technical Climbing
Committee
2003 -2004 was a very active year with many
accomplishments! Leadership changes took place, with Jen Reed now Co-Chairing,
where Tom and Karen Longest had left off in Oct 2003 after many years of dedicated
leadership.
In the spring of 2004 Tech. Climbing website
was born with the help of webmaster Brian Phillips, to help organize activities
and flow of info. Wilderness First aid class was attended in March and
successfully passed by 12 climbers
Once again with the help of many dedicated
Climbing Instructors/Assistants the Spring Rock Climbing Course was a complete
success. 23 newbie’s learned the ropes at the Beginner Course with building on
the foundation of knowledge that was laid out. 8 newbie’s are now hooked on the
art of rock climbing.
Co - Leaders such as Bill Baxter/ Peter
Berard and others learned the art of
trip organization and continue to build
there leadership skills with each experience. This years Multi-Pitch trips were
fantastic!….Thanks to the ongoing support and efforts of our experienced
Leaders. Joe Goodreau, Peter Barlow, Brian Phillips, Dave Curry, John Fontaine,
Jen and Dave Reed.
John Fontaine and Jen Reed researched and
successfully submitted 3 -SDA
applications. 2 of the request were granted. Thanks to the coaching of Larry
Rollins and his on going support. The money was allocated for an educational
program Top Rope Site Management and equipment. The funds were allocated as of
Sept 2004. The AMGA Top Rope site Management program was attended by Jen
Reed. This is a train the trainer
program intended to help educate all the instructors and assistants on the
latest rock climbing safety practices. She has successfully passed this program
now just awaits a practical test for AMGA certification.
This year’s planning meeting was also a
success. Calendars were tweaked as new trips were born from both old and new
leaders alike. Not to forget that many a story was told over the campfire or
discussed on the internet….. Issues such as guidelines and changes in the OLDC
became hot topics as well as stories of cut ropes in rock fall to Peter
Barlow’s ongoing acts of kindness. Our committee continues to evolve anxiously
awaiting to see what 2005 will bring.
Jen Reed, Co-chair
Trails Committee
The AMC Narragansett Chapter Trails Committee
had many dedicated volunteers working in a variety of areas for the October
2003 thru October 2004 season. Trails
Committee volunteers logged a total of 822.5 hours planning and doing trail
work. Of this total 242 hours were
spent on administrative type work and 566.5 hours were spent getting their
hands dirty and muscles sore on the trails of Rhode Island.
We had two disappointments in November
2003. The first was when a blazing crew
led by Jennie Crooks discovered that blazes had been spray painted over with
black paint on the east side of Breakheart Pond. The crew immediately
went to work reblazing. The blazing crew also found that the Breakheart Trail
sign had been pulled up and laid behind a log. The second
disappointment was discovered a week later, when a hiker found that blazes had
been scraped off to about 200 yards of the trail beyond the Russ Whitney
bridge, including blazes indicating the turn to the left. The vandalism was reported to the Arcadia
Management Headquarters. This type of
extensive and premeditated vandalism to Rhode Island hiking trails is a
first.
In spite of the misfortune of this vandalism,
we did experience much success through the season. The Trails Committee completed its project at the Norman Bird
Sanctuary in Portsmouth and received an award (Volunteer of the Year)
sanctuary. This was due in large part
to the perseverance of volunteers led by Roy Benoit, Henry Cruciani, and Jack
Schempp.
A total of 242 hours were spent by volunteers
attending and preparing for monthly meetings (i.e., the Trails Committee and
Trails Advisory Committee), and on lobbying on behalf of RI trails. Our monthly
meetings attendance averaged 8 persons.
A total of 27 hours was spent on trail
inventory of work needed. Trails
identified to be in need and then studied included the Breakheart Trail, the
Ell Pond trail, and the Shelter trail.
A total of 59 hours
was spent blazing which in most cases required removing plastic blazes and
reblazing with paint as requested by DEM's Jay Aaron in 2002. Blazing was done
on the Brushy Brook trail, the Dye Hill Trail and the Tippecansett Trail. This work was lead by Jennie Crooks. We are
going to monitor the endurance of these new blazes over the next years as
compared with plastic blazes on the Vin Gormley Trail.
A total of 82.5 hours was spent exclusively
on brushing and trimming by our trail committee volunteers. Brushing was done
on the Arcadia Trail, the Breakheart Trail, the Dye Hill Trail, the Ell Pond
Trail, and the John B. Hudson trail, and the Mt. Tom trail.
A total of 71.5 hours was spent on general trail maintenance.
This maintenance may consist of any combination of the following (with
minimal planning): blazing, brushing,
putting in stone steps or water bars, removing down trees, cleaning out
waterbars, and repairing or putting in small constructions. This work was done on the Ben Utter trail,
Brushy Brook, the Escoheag trail, the Tippecansett trail, and the Vin Gormley
trail.
A total of 240.5 hours was spent on 3 big
projects. These projects took place at
the Norman Bird Sanctuary (Portsmouth, RI), on the Ell Pond trail for National
Trails Day in early June, and on the Vin Gormley trail for our annual Vin
Gormley Weekend in September.
Volunteers spent 22 hours completing the project started in 2002 putting
in handicap accessible trails at the Norman Bird Sanctuary; 59 hours working on
the National Trails Day project blazing, erecting the new sign, brushing,
removing blowdowns, and placing
stepstones in some wet areas; and 150.5 hours were spent by volunteers working
in Burlingame on the Vin Gormley trail installing bog bridges and brushing.
A total of 86 hours was spent on cooperative
projects. These projects took place in the Big River Management Area
(West Greenwich), in the Blackstone
Park (Providence, RI), and in the Black
Farm Management Area (Hopkinton, RI).
A total of 27 new members showed an interest
in becoming involved with trail work. Of these a total of 2 new volunteers
actually came out to work on trails at least once and, of these 2 new recruits,
0 have come out a second or more time.
This is an issue the Trails Committee continues to address. We are very grateful to all our volunteers,
however often you can manage to come out and work with us, and we look forward
to working with you again soon. Thank
you.
Nuala McLaughlin, Co-Chair Trails Committee
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Narragansett Chapter -
AMC |
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Treasurers Report |
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October 31, 2004 |
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Beginning
cash balance (1/1/04) |
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$12,976.09 |
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Revenues |
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Chapter allocation |
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9,331.00 |
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Returned advances |
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984.00 |
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Membership in a bottle |
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2,700.00 |
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|
Grant - AMC (SDA) |
|
|
7,029.00 |
|
|
|
Grant - State of RI |
|
|
1,200.00 |
|
|
|
Donations |
|
|
|
1,712.36 |
|
|
Annual meeting |
|
|
0.00 |
|
|
|
Spring fling |
|
|
|
775.00 |
|
|
Workshops, activity fees |
|
|
1,132.01 |
|
|
|
Rental of equipment |
|
|
0.00 |
|
|
|
Misc |
|
|
|
398.22 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
25,261.59 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Expenses |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Advances |
|
|
|
0.00 |
|
|
Canoe/Kayaking |
|
|
0.00 |
|
|
|
Trails |
|
|
|
1,375.72 |
|
|
Conservation |
|
|
180.92 |
|
|
|
Activities |
|
|
|
60.11 |
|
|
Local Hiking |
|
|
0.00 |
|
|
|
Northern Hiking |
|
|
215.50 |
|
|
|
Leadership |
|
|
|
508.02 |
|
|
Communications |
|
|
7,940.63 |
|
|
|
Membership/social |
|
|
1,647.83 |
|
|
|
Executive/Spring Fling |
|
|
1,617.00 |
|
|
|
Diversity |
|
|
|
0.00 |
|
|
Skiing |
|
|
|
0.00 |
|
|
Technical climbing |
|
|
335.31 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
13,881.04 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ending
cash balance (10/31/04) |
|
|
$24,356.64 |
||
NARRAGANSETT LEADER SUMMARIES
Year 2004 Qualifiers for Narragansett Chapter Leader
Patch:
Nancy Baker (Bicycling)
Jerry Bernardini (Northern
Hiking)
Sean Buckley (Northern Hiking)
Maureen Daly (Flatwater Paddling)
Barbara Flagg (Bicycling & Conservation)
Joe Goudreau (Technical Climbing)
Tim Grover (Conservation)
Steve Harrison (Local Hiking & Northern
Hiking)
Robert Holcomb (Local Hiking)
Katherine Mears (Local Hiking)
Joe Piotti (Northern Hiking)
Dave Reed (Technical Climbing)
Jen Reed (Technical Climbing)
Carol Richards (Bicycling)
Prolific Leaders- Led/Administered Several 2003 and
2004 Activities:
Peter Barlow (Technical
Climbing)
Roy Benoit (Trails
& Local Hiking)
Peter Broderick (Local/Northern
Hiking, Bicycling, & Leadership Training Events)
Jim Burns (Local
Hiking)
Bob Cilette (Wednesday
Night Events & Local Hiking)
Jennie Crooks (Trails)
Henry Cruciani (Trails)
Fred Dallinger (Local Hiking)
Mary Ellen Deveau (Local
Hiking)
Sue DiSimoni (Bicycling, Skiing, Northern
Hiking, & Special Chapter Events)
Jim Dunn (Northern Hiking)
Sandy Dunn (Local/Northern Hiking)
Maria Earley (Trails & Local Hiking)
Janet Harris (Local Hiking)
Adele Holcomb (Local Hiking)
Lou Jacobs (Local
Hiking)
Bob Janus (Local/Northern Hiking)
Gwen Jones (Local/Northern Hiking)
Charlie Killam (Northern Hiking & Leadership
Training Events)
Mike Krabach (Bicycling
& Paddling)
Dave Madsen (Local
Hiking)
Diane Madsen (Local
Hiking)
Marcie Madsen (Bicycling & Leadership
Training Events)
Nuala McLaughlin (Trails)
Sue McMillan (Bicycling & Skiing)
Steve Morra (Bicycling, Local Hiking,
& Photography)
Linda Pease (Conservation, Flatwater
Paddling, Bicycling, & Local Hiking)
Prolific Leaders (continued):
Steve Pierce (Local Hiking)
Terri Pinto (Conservation & Northern
Hiking)
Denise Poyer (Northern
Hiking, Flatwater Paddling, & Conservation)
Ed Poyer (Northern Hiking &
Leadership Training Events)
Larry Rollins (Bicycling, Skiing, &
Special Chapter Events)
John Ross (Local Hiking)
Bill Rush (Flatwater Paddling &
Sea Kayaking)
Richard Schaffner (Bicycling)
Jack Schempp (Conservation, Skiing, Bicycling,
& Northern Hiking)
Fran Scullin (Local Hiking &
Leadership Training Events)
Chris Shafer (Trails, Skiing, Flatwater
Paddling, & Leadership Training Events)
Dick Sullivan (Local Hiking)
Bev Thomas (Sea Kayaking)
Gail Trapp (Local Hiking)
Sid Wax (Bicycling)
Also, Thanks to Other Year 2004 Outdoor Leaders:
Bicycling- Lillian Jacquard, Liz
Kroll, Don MacQuattie
Conservation- Linda
Cooper, Patty D’Ambra, Roseann Evans, Yvonne Fedorowicz, Ilse Hill, Marcy
Snapp, John Stevens, Robert Sumner-Mack
Family Outings Terry
& Craig Gaspard
Local Hiking- Sue
Boland, Peter Church, Barbara Dallinger, Patty D’Ambra, Brian Franklin, Barbara
Gilfillan, Bill Kilcup, Cathy Manchester, Sybil Pierce, Mary Alice Smith, Karen
Stein, John Stevens
Northern Hiking - Mary
Cloos, Henry Donaldson, Fred Griffith, Cynthia Hosley, Roy Loiselle, Gail
Ruggieri
Paddling- Al
Alba, Andrew Shearer, Al Stetbacher, Ruth Strach, Gary Whitney
Skiing- Diane
Cass, Dan Kutcher, Greg Mannesto, Dan Reardon
Technical Climbing- Bill
Baxter, Peter Berard, Dave Curry, John Fontaine, Marilyn Grant, Tom Longest,
Jeannine Peterson, Brian Phillips
Trails- Martha
Cruciani, Jim Dowling, Marjorie Gaunt
Stewardship Award Winners (Conservation Committee)
Terry Pinto John Stevens Roseann Evans Ilse Hill Bob Sumner Mack Patty D’AmbraLinda Pease Marcy Snapp Linda CooperDick Yeaw Jack Schempp Tim GroverYvonne Federowicz Stewardship Award Winners (Trails Committee)Roy Benoit Martha Cruciani Jodi ImmsBill Burke Jim Dowling Barbara KilcupBruce Crooks Maria Earley Nuala All PointeJennie Crooks Marjorie Gaunt Chris ShaferHenry Cruciani Ilse Hill Robin Theodoroff