The Chapter Chair, Gene Mihaly, called the meeting to order at the Cathedral of St. John in Providence, RI at 6:09 PM and introduced himself.

Attending: Gene Mihaly Chapter Chair, Tom Eagan, Vice-Chair; Larry Rollins and Jerry Bernardini, Past-chairs; John Fontaine, Secretary; Chris Shafer, Activities; Linda Pease, Conservation; Susan Jones, Mary Bonaventure, Membership Committee; Mark Dennen, Communications Chair; Mike Krabach, Webmaster; Jack Schempp, Conservation; Debbie Mitchell, Treasurer; Herrick Spencer, Local Hikes; Shannon Kelley, Photographer/Journalist; Peter Barlow, Tech Climbing

An estimated 60 chapter members were present in addition to the leadership & board members listed.

Gene opened the meeting with a moment of silence recognizing chapter members who passed away during the past year.

Gene recognized the exceptional effort by the chapter in the trails bridge built this year.

Debbie Mitchell treasurer presented the Treasurers Report. Debbie pointed out that the chapter is solid financially. The 2008 Treasures report was then approved.

Gene introduced the current Chapter Board and recognized the committee leaders from 2008.

A motion was made to accept the proposed board for 2009. Motion seconded and approved by the chapter membership.

Proposed Executive Board for 2009

Chair: Tom Eagan
Vice Chair: Open
Secretary: John Fontaine
Treasurer: Debbie Mitchell
Membership Chair: Open,
Membership Vice Chair: Mary Bonaventure
Communications Co-Chairs- Mark Dennen, Shannon Kelley
Activities Chair- Chris Shafer
Leadership Chair- Charlie Killam
Conservation Co-chairs- Jack Schempp and Linda Pease
Trail Chair- Elise Del Barone
Past Chair- Gene Mihaly

Gene then recognized our 100 years old a chapter member, Richard Day. Dick was awarded an Honorary Chapter Director, Emeritus status for 2009.

Tom Eagan took over and recognized the, 25 & 50 year members and awarded them pins.

Tom Eagan then recognized the outgoing Chapter Chair Gene Mihaly.

Tom introduced Chris Shafer, the Activities Chair. Chris presented New Leader Patches to the new leaders who were present at the meeting. These leaders are people who had led or co-led at least 3 trips within the past two years. He also recognized the list of prolific leaders.

Chris announced and recognized the trails Stewardship Award recipients.

Gene then awarded the John Clark Award to Mike Krabach and Ilse Hill. For their much appreciated work on the website and newsletter respectively.

Gene then introduced Ed Poyer to award the Appie of the Year award. He spoke very highly of Steve Harrison and all he has brought to the Chapter. Steve accepted the award and spoke briefly in appreciation.

Gene introduced Linda Pease of the Conservation Committee. She recognized stewardship award to those who have contributed more than 12hrs to the conservation effort.

She noted a special recognition to Bob Gunnip a chapter member for his contribution outside of the conservation committee. She also pointed out some of the recent and planned activities the conservation committee is involved with.

Gene then introduced Roger Scholl. AMC Club Director of Volunteer Relations. The business meeting was adjourned at 7:50pm

Dinner was then served.

After Dinner, Roger Scholl presented a very interesting slideshow on his trip climbing North America’s highest peak Denali.

Respectfully submitted
John G. Fontaine, Secretary

Report of the Chapter Chair

The Club has had a fine year, with a full and impressive menu of events and trips. Our contribution to the environment of Rhode Island, especially its trails, has been notable – and noted.

The Chapter remains in very good financial condition, though the value of our reserves has been hit, though not as hard as the markets, by the current financial turmoil. Those reserves continue to be more than adequate to give us the flexibility to run the Chapter even in difficult times.

Membership has remained level in a period of declining readiness to join organizations of virtually all types across the country. This steadiness reflects the efforts both by Club headquarters in Boston and especially our fine Membership team. Harder economic times may put additional pressure on membership. Or – and this is entirely speculative – they may increase interest in participation in community effort and activity.

The Chapter has sought to grow its contribution to stewardship of the state’s outdoor environment. Our Conservation and Trails committees have done fine work that should be a matter of pride to members. We shall be doing even more in future. We participated this year in DEM’s program under the national No Child Left Inside program – an initiative to bring children, and their families, into the world of outdoor activity.

This document summarizes the work and decisions of the Executive Committee and presents reports of the Club’s committees. These committees, comprised of many leaders and volunteers, are the heart and sinews of the Chapter. Also, you will find a long list of those leaders. As outgoing chair, I should like to take this opportunity to thank them deeply for their fine work and contributions. It has been a pleasure to work with them and the dedicated members of the Board.

The Vice-Chair, Tom Eagan, called the meeting to order at the Cathedral of St. John in Providence, RI at 5:46 PM and introduced himself.

Attending:
Tom Eagan, acting-Vice-Chair/Treasurer; Larry Rollins, Jerry Bernardini, Past-chair; John Fontaine, Secretary; Chris Shafer, Activities; PJ Bailey, Membership Chair; Linda Pease, Conservation; Susan Jones, Mary Boneventure & Tricia Bailey, Vice Membership Committee; Mark Dennen, Communications Chair; Mike Krabach, Webmaster; Jack Schempp, Conservation; Debbie Mitchell, incoming Treasurer; Herrick Spencer, Local Hikes; Marcie Madsen, Biking; Ilse Hill, Newsletter Editor; Shannon Kelley, Photographer/Journalist.

An estimated 65 chapter members were present in addition to the Board members listed.

Tom opened the meeting with a moment of silence recognizing chapter members who passed away during the past year.

The 2007 Annual Report was distributed to the members present. The minutes of the Chapter Annual Chapter Meeting of November 2006 were approved.

Tom reviewed the report summarizing the many activities which took place in the chapter in 2007.

Treasurers Report was reviewed. The 2007 Treasurer’s report was then approved.

Proposed Executive Board for 2008

Chair: Gene Mihaly
Vice Chair: Tom Eagan
Secretary: John Fontaine
Treasurer: Debbie Mitchell
Membership Chair: PJ Bailey,
Membership Vice Chairs: Tricia
Bailey, Mary Bonaventure and Susan Jones
Communications Chair- Mark Dennen
Activities Chair- Chris Shafer
Leadership Chair- Charlie Killam
Conservation Co-chairs- Jack Schempp
and Linda Pease
Trail Chair- open
Past Chair- Jerry Bernardini

Tom introduced Chris Shafer, the Activities Chair. Chris presented New Leader Patches to the new leaders present at the meeting who had led or co-led at least 3 trips within the past two years. He also recognized the list of prolific leaders.

Their award for the “Unsung-Stewardship” conservation award was given to Herrick Spencer. She also recognized other conservation contributors.

Tom recognized the 25-year chapter members and awarded them pins. Ron Williams was present and received his award.

He discussed the John Clark Award and its attributes as the award for the unsung hero of the chapter. Larry gave a great intro to this significant contributor. This year the award was given to Chris Shafer.

Tom notified the group that the recipient of the Appie of the Year was not present at the meeting; therefore it would be awarded in the future to the recipient.

After dinner Tom introduced Sabrina Parra Garcia, the Joy St. representative for the AMC. She spoke a bit on the AMCs activities.

Topics:

Trails challenge.
100 year anniversary of the White Mountain Guide now being offered on-line.
The north woods initiative.
She also spoke of the organizations renewable energy activities.
They are also working on reducing the carbon footprint of the AMC headquarters and major buildings.

Tom introduced the REI Outreach Specialist, Katie Ulvin. She introduced Charles Gray and his presentation on Tibet and Cho Oyo. We thanked REI for their generosity in sponsoring the presentation.

In addition to routine matters like approving the Minutes and Budget, the Board passed the following motions:

The attached Treasurer's report represents a summary of operating revenues and expenses through the end of October 2008. The total cash and investments of $34,300 includes both funds in the chapter's checking account along with the pooled investment account held by Joy Street. In addition, there is approximately $3,200 of advances and grants that are expected to be received by year end along with the last chapter allocation of $3,000 for a total of $6,200.

Stretching for Outdoor Activities

The Stretch program, conducted by Wellness Resolutions (formerly NutriFit), was designed to show members the appropriate ways to warm-up and stretch before hiking, biking, and kayaking. The program was open to all AMC members for a small co-payment.

New Member WELCOME at Spring Fling

The Membership Committee welcomed both new and old members at the Spring Fling at the South Kingstown Land Trust Barn. Members were greeted and provided with updated information on AMC offerings and Narragansett Chapter Activities. The Membership Committee raffled off some twelve prizes. Several individuals joined AMC as a result of this event.

During 2008, the Narragansett Chapter invested in a desperately needed marketing tool, a stand-up AMC banner that can be used for various programs and events to help get the word out about the AMC. Special thanks to Jack Schempp for his assistance in making this wish come true!

Annual Potluck Dinner & Member Orientation

The Annual Potluck Dinner and New Member Orientation to the Club was held in September 2008 at St. John’s Church in Providence. This event gives all members a chance to meet, eat and learn about all the AMC Narragansett Chapter has to offer its members. This year, we would like to thank Herrick Spencer, Narragansett’s Local Hikes Chair for his assistance in actively marketing this special event to our new/prospective members.

Membership Committee Annual Report

In addition to the aforementioned activities, the Committee conducted eight (7) new member walks at various locations in RI, including Lincoln Woods, Colt State Park, and Goddard Memorial Park. Going forward, the membership committee is contemplating merging New Member Walks with local hikes with the intention of providing greater access to existing membership.

The Committee welcomes comments and suggestions on our programs, please contact any one of the Membership representatives to voice your thoughts.

Thank you for your continued support of the Narragansett Chapter. We look forward to seeing you all in 2009.

Technical Climbing Committee

The Technical Climbing Committee had another active and successful year. We have maintained our usual size of about thirty active members, which spans long time group members to new members from this year’s classes. The climbing courses have been dwindling in numbers in recent years and this year continued the trend with the smallest classes we have ever had at 13 students in the Beginner course and 11 in the Intermediate course. We are getting competition from EMS, REI, and the RI Rock Gym teaching classes that probably contributed to the decline in students. This was a very dedicated group as most all the Beginner students went on to the Intermediate course and the majority of Intermediate students went on to climb with the group during the trips. The June trip to the Gunks in New York was one of the largest ever with 31 participants.

We held social events, classes, or trips in every month except December and March. This year’s climbing trips were very well attended with lots of fun and no injuries. Thanks to the ongoing support and efforts of this year’s trip leaders and co-leaders.

During 2008, the Leadership Development 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.

Wilderness First Aid Workshop was held in April 2008. It was held at Camp Hoffman, and was attending by 21 participants – 3 chapter leaders, 13 chapter members and 5 non-members. This course was coordinated by committee member Charlie Killam, with help from registrar Linda Pease.

In May 2008, the committee conducted a Map & Compass Workshop. The workshop, which was taught by Ed Poyer and others, was attended by 15 participants. It followed the format of prior years, with one night of classroom and one day of field practice at Arcadia.

In addition to the instructions offered, the Leadership Development Committee was proud to present scholarships to support advanced leadership training for two new Northern Hikes leaders, Tom Grasso and Sue Warthman, who both attended MLS this summer.

In April 2009, the committee will again be producing a 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.

In May 2009, the committee will be conducting a Map & Compass Workshop. The workshop will follow the format of prior years, with one night of classroom and one day of field practice at Arcadia.

Trails Committee

On behalf of the AMC I want to thank a total of 100 volunteers who contributed a total of 1250 hours of trail work, and 150 hours on administrative duties. Once again, we had the help and support of REI and NEMBA. There were 17 volunteers who contributed in excess of 12 hours each.

In addition to these we built 2 bridges – one on the Breakheart trail, and another on Tri Ponds trail. We installed boardwalks, water bars and steps on the Vin Gormley trail. Significant time was spent with brushing, clearing, blazing, and general maintenance of our other trails.

We maintain about 50 miles of trails and we are always looking for volunteers. Trail maintenance is not only necessary but is rewarding and is good for the body and the soul.

Below is a list of those trail committee volunteers who have performed at least 12 hours of trail work and/or planning/administering trail activities and therefore qualify for trail stewardship recognition at our annual meeting.

Paddle Summary

2008 was another block buster year with 16 sea kayak outings and 14 flat water outings. Two Flat water outings were cancelled due to too much wind and rain. Sometimes when a leader becomes a leader, they blow the rest of us away. Anne Fusco who is a new sea kayak leader led 6 outings this year. On the flat water side Antoinette Breed and Gregg O’Brien met their requirements as flat water leaders. Janet Huntley, who hadn’t paddled much over the past few seasons came back with a new offering. Her new back yard is on the Queen’s river. On July 5^th, she led a holiday paddle from her back yard up river through the Eppley Audubon property and beyond. On the return, we paddled past her house to the next dam and back for pot luck on her back deck. It was a much enjoyed paddle and the food was great. We hope to make it an annual event. We even attracted members from other chapters.

Bill Rush’s paddle/camping trip to Moon Island on Squam Lake the weekend of Sept. 20/21 probably enjoyed the very best weather of the season. This is an annual offering that shouldn’t be missed. Despite the threat of hurricane Ike, the land lubber Squam Lake weekend on Sept. 27/28 at Deerwood Camp in Holderness, NH proved to be a fabulous weekend. The hurricane headed toward Maine and out to sea. We had rain at night, a few sprinkles each day and no wind. We were serenaded by a chorus of loons on Sunday which many declared was a highlight of the weekend.

We conducted many sea kayak practices and one leader training that was opened to participants. We’ll do a regular participant training next year and we hope you’ll join us. Keep in mind that we have several recreational kayaks for rent, so not having a kayak is not a reason not to paddle with us. There is the possibility that we will have full sea kayaks available for rent next year to qualified paddlers. We do on the job training as well.

The sea kayaker group and flat water group are integrated since many of us cross over and participate in and lead both types of paddles. The distinction lies in the level of qualifications/training and equipment /accessories, as well as the 14+ foot kayak length required for sea kayaking, whereas a flat water/recreational kayak can be 12 feet. We don’t recommend anything smaller.

All in all, we had another terrific season and we hope you’ll join us next year. We have rental boats for flat water trips, so not having a boat is no excuse.

Neither sea nor flat water – it’s both

Mike Krabach

Biking Committee

This year we scheduled over 40 weekend and mid week rides. The Spring Fling rides saw many new members who liked what they saw and participated in many rides throughout the summer.

The Tuesday and Thursday evening rides were well attended. May, June, July and August we offered 15 evening rides of between 10 and 25 miles. It has become apparent these rides are well liked and well received and we hope these rides will remain as popular in the coming years. The traditional rides, Clam Cake, Pasta Challenge, Watch Hill, various Bike Paths, remain very popular and many participants comment they look forward to them.

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 16 rides combined. Their love of cycling and their enthusiasm is to be applauded. Nancy Baker leads her rides through new and scenic areas most people haven’t seen before. She’s an experienced well-liked consistent leader. Even though Steve Morra “tried” to ease off his leading, he still managed a respectable 2 leads this spring and fall. Carol Richards is our mainstay of mid week rides and hopefully will continue in the years to come as they are a welcome respite from the long work day. I am happy to say this summer also brought forward 2 new ride co-leaders to our chapter. While they 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 commend EVERY bike leader and co-leader for their commitment to our chapter.

I look forward to working with our many bike leaders again and hopefully inspire new leaders for the 2009 riding season.

Marcie Madsen, Biking Chair

Conservation Committee Activities, 2008

This year a total of 20 Conservation Events were held. An estimated 250 members and friends attended these events.

Hands-On Activities

The activities included three “hands on events”; two were trail renovation projects with the Trails Committee at Blackstone Park, Providence. This is the fifth year that we have worked at Blackstone. Results; the trail conditions are showing remarkable improvement. Our fourth annual Earth Day Clean Up was held at Colt Park. The shore is now much cleaner. Four students from the local High School helped us. We could use more AMC members to assist us in cleaning up the larger interior portion of the park next year.

Expert Commentary Stimulates Interest--- Boosts Attendance

Nine of our events included commentary by acknowledged experts. Two of the best attended events were held out of state and in conjunction with recreation activity: one at Cape Cod --- a field trip with Audubon-Wellfleet staff members, the other at Squam Lake: a fascinating presentation by the Director of the Squam Lakes Association. Three others, closer to home: the Portsmouth Abby wind turbine, a more technical presentation on wind turbines and a presentation on developing backyard habitats.

Advocacy

The Conservation Committee also participates in advocacy on the local, state, regional and national levels relating to open space, forest and wildlife issues. This year Climate Changes and Energy Conservation/Renewable energy is a major issue. Unfortunately, the Bush Administration did not support strong new initiatives. However the miles per gallon were increased modestly and subsidies for windmills and solar energy were approved.

We plan to provide a much stronger climate Change Programs for AMC members in 2009.

Appreciation

Many thanks to Committee members for their ideas, enthusiasm, leadership, and diligence: Patty D’Ambra, , Roseann Evans, Yvonne Federowicz, Barbara Flagg, Ilse Hill, John Stevens, Robert Sumner-Mack, John Feather and Gail Trapp as well as the Chapter Officers and members who supported Conservation.

Jack Schempp and Linda Pease,
Co-Chairs Conservation Committee

Here is the Conservation List for those who planned/led/co-led/attended meetings, etc. to equal or exceed 12 hours.

Rosanne Evans
Jack Schempp
Patty D'Ambra
Yvonne Federowics
Linda Pease
Bob Sumner-Mack
John Feather

Local Hikes Committee Report:

57 local hikes of 5 or more miles were planned and led by the local hiking leaders for this time period. 52 Wednesday evening walks of approximately 3 miles were planned by Bob Cilette and led by the Wednesday hike leaders with weather limitations.

Another ten or so walks of 3 miles or less not of Wednesday origins where also led. These do not include new member hikes led by Susan Jones for new members.

I want to thank all of our local hike leaders for organizing, taking calls and advising participants and leading these hikes. By November 2008, three new leaders have qualified to become hike leaders for local hikes. Their help is much appreciated. We need a greater number of leaders to do local hikes for club members, rather than a small number of leaders each doing a greater number of hikes. I am grateful for those leaders who are leading so many more of those hikes. Turn out for the hikes appear to have been very good this year.

The new features on the web, offer savings for participants who carpool and the list- sever for up to the date hike additions and changes for chapter hikes. The challenge is to get leaders to use these features. The list sever is one feature that holds great potential for use in other ways other than just a notice of unlisted gazette and web hikes. We need to encourage listing start times in the write-ups as often as possible. This could help members with weekend time management.

More local hikers need to sign up for the list-server. Presently we have 23 people who have done so. The frequency in communicating to new members is one area that I think is inadequate. A better system or plan I believe is needed.

Herrick Spencer, Chair Local Hikes Committee

Backpacking & Northern Hikes

We’ve enjoyed another excellent year of hiking and backpacking. During the last year our group sponsored 37 activities run by 18 leaders and co-leaders. Our leaders provided activities ranging from the popular day hikes in the Pack-Monadnock and the Holyoke range to winter backpack trips in the White Mountains. Hikes were offered in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine. Overnighters to AMC huts such as Galehead remained popular. Trips to ‘drive up’ AMC facilities such as the Pinkham Notch Visitor Center were well attended & thoroughly enjoyed, as were trips to private facilities.

Backpack trips were run in New Hampshire and included beginner summer trips and winter backpacks.

Four of our leaders are instructors at AMC’s Mountain Leadership School. We had two leaders attend Mountain Leadership School. Some of our leaders offered inter-chapter trips, and one of our leaders led and co-led at “August Camp” again this year. 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. A special thanks goes to Steve Harrison, who lead 8 trips and co-lead 5 trips this year, many of which were ‘Step by Step’ trips.

Ed Poyer, Chair Backpacking & Northern Hiking Sub-Committee

NARRAGANSETT LEADER SUMMARIES

Year 2008 Qualifiers for Narragansett Chapter Leader Patch
Those new leaders that have led or co-led at least three trips cumulatively over the past two years.

Antoinette Breed (Flatwater Paddling)
Gregg O’Brien (FlatwaterPaddling/Local Hiking)
Tom Grasso (Northern Hiking)
Pam Hill (Local Hiking)
Dorothy Hitt (Local/Northern Hiking)
Bob Richardson (Local Hiking)

Prolific Leaders- Led/Co-Led/Administered Several 2007 and 2008 Activities
Those leaders that have led or co-led at least three trips in each of 2007 and 2008 or who have led or co-led at least six trips cumulatively during these two years.

Nancy Baker (Bicycling)
Peter Barlow (Technical Climbing)
Sandi Barber (Flatwater Paddling and Sea Kayaking)
Roy Benoit (Trails)
Sean Buckley (Northern Hiking)
Bob Cilette (Wednesday Night Events)
Jennie Crooks (Trails)
Henry Cruciani (Trails)
Patty D’Ambra (Conservation)
Aram Deradoorian (Local Hiking)
Jim Dowling (Trails)
Jim Dunn (Northern Hiking)
Sandy Dunn (Local Hiking)
Maria Earley (Local Hiking & Trails)
Roseann Evans (Conservation & Local Hikes)
John Feather (Local Hiking and Conservation)
Barbara Flagg (Bicycling & Flatwater Paddling)
Anne Fusco (Sea Kayaking & Flatwater Paddling)
Fred Griffith (Northern Hiking)
Janet Harris (Local Hiking)
Steve Harrison (Northern Hiking & Local Hiking)
Maryanne Heywood (Local Hiking)
Bob Holcombe (Trails and Sea Kayaking)
Gwen Jones (Northern Hiking)
Charlie Killam (Northern Hiking & Leadership Training Events)
Mike Krabach (Sea Kayaking, Bicycling, & Conservation))
Marcie Madsen (Bicycling)
Katherine Mears (Local Hiking)
Steve Morra (Bicycling & Flatwater Paddling)
Linda Pease (Conservation, Flatwater Paddling, Bicycling, & Local Hiking)
Brian Phillips (Technical Climbing)
Joe Piotti (Northern Hiking)
Denise Poyer (Northern Hiking & Flatwater Paddling)
Ed Poyer (Northern Hiking & Leadership Training Events)
Carol Richards (Bicycling)
John Ross (Local Hiking)
Bill Rush (Sea Kayaking, Flatwater Paddling and Bicycling)
Richard Schaffner (Bicycling)
Jack Schempp (Conservation, Trails, Skiing, Bicycling, & Hiking)
Chris Shafer (Trails, Skiing, Local Hiking)
Herrick Spencer (Local Hiking, Bicycling, & Flatwater Paddling)
Karen Stein (Local Hiking)
Dick Sullivan (Local Hiking)
Bev Thomas (Sea Kayaking)
Sue Warthman (Northern Hiking)
Sid Wax (Bicycling & Local Hiking)
Gary Whitney (Flatwater Paddling)

Thanks to Other Year 2008 Outdoor Leaders, Also!

Bicycling- Sue McMillan, Larry Rollins, Sue Rollins, Tom Shackleford, and Jane Viera

Conservation - Tom Eagan, Yvonne Federowicz, Dennis McCarthy, Robert Sumner-Mack, Gail Trapp
Local Hiking - Barbara Beckerman, Roberta Jacobs, Susan Jones, John Stevens
Northern Hiking- Peter Broderick, Paula Guarino, Bob Janus, Dale Stefano, Beth Sutton
Paddling - Roger Cole, Janet Huntley
Skiing - Dan Kutcher, Greg Mannesto
Technical Climbing - Bill Baxter, Peter Berard, Dave Curry, John Fontaine, Joe Goudreau, Marilyn Grant, Jeannine Peterson, Linda Phelan, Jennifer Reed
Trails- Martha Cruciani, Chris Ferri, Marjorie Gaunt, Barbara Kilcup, Anne LeClerc, Mike Parker