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Stearns Lodge and its Extraordinary Volunteers With thanks from the RMC Board… With Stearns Lodge now completed, it's natural for those of us involved in the project to find ourselves reflecting upon the endeavor, what it says about the RMC, the club's many volunteers and friends, and the act of coming together to accomplish a substantial community goal.
Just because an organization can raise money for a project, however, doesn't mean it will necessarily happen -- even with an array of volunteers to lead the effort. And this leads to the second thought: these projects require some special individuals who will step up when the project is about to stall, and will do their best to get over a looming hurdle. With that in mind, we would like to note those RMC volunteers who have done this for Stearns Lodge, listed in order of the project's chronology: Dan and Edith Tucker: Were it not for RMC's experience with the use of the Tuckers’ Jones Cottage for five years, the club might never have had the opportunity to see the value in bringing all of its employees together under one roof. Esprit de corps is up, coordination is much easier for board members, retention of trail crew and caretakers has risen, and your camps and trails chairs needn't spend the time trying to locate increasingly hard-to-secure housing. In this sense, Dan and Edith enabled RMC to see how it could be a stronger club with a valley home for its trail crew and caretakers.
Ben Phinney: From its earliest moment, Ben intuitively understood the club's need, and he has a natural gift for explaining the issues to a broader audience. As head of the Fundraising Committee, Ben also taught all of us how to make the process a two-way street, listening to what RMC members and friends had to say, and sincerely doing our level best to integrate those comments into the final plan. RMC Board of Directors: Most boards usually find themselves reacting to situations. It's not often that a board can look down the road, spot challenges, and plan ahead. But in the case of Stearns Lodge, that's exactly what the RMC Board did. The Board's willingness to tackle one of the biggest projects in the club's history and the 100% participation of its 15 members in fundraising are tribute to the Board's belief in the project. Money and participation aside, the board also spent dozens of hours over a number of years, carefully thinking through the project and its implications. Special thanks to Michele Cormier for handling contributions to the Stearns Lodge fund.
Mary Brown: As President of the RMC during the first few years of the project, Mary's renowned organizational skills and expert follow-through were absolutely vital to getting the project off the ground. Dan and Edith Tucker – again! Dan and Edith's generous donation of land for Stearns Lodge eliminated the single largest roadblock to the project. With their offer of land, the project went from a theoretical possibility to being within reach. Stearns Foundation: The Stearns Foundation's remarkably generous $100,000 challenge grant is the largest gift in the history of RMC -- and it came at just the right moment for the club's fundraising efforts. Their matching gift inspired members and friends to be as generous as possible and brought our goal within sight. Jamie Maddock: Taking over from Mary Brown as RMC President, Jamie moved the Stearns Lodge project along, successfully resolving a number of issues and ultimately enabling the RMC to build a lodge that was safe, practical and affordable.
RMC Members: Every organization should be so lucky to have such a collection of talented, generous volunteers. In addition, the percentage of the membership that contributed is really amazing. The members of the RMC are the real lynchpins, and future members will thank them for their foresight. To each of our volunteers, and to the hundreds of donors, one thought remains: we couldn't have done it without all of you! Thanks! The Board also extends its thanks
to Ray Cotnoir and Dave Fontaine. As the local builders
of Stearns Lodge, they have used their skills to craft a beautiful
yet practical, affordable and sturdy basecamp that we and generations
of caretakers and trail crews will use and enjoy. While building
the Lodge was a business arrangement for them, the extra care
and attention they have bestowed on “their” lodge is
in the RMC tradition, and we thank them.
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In the inevitable reflection,
two thoughts rise to the surface. First is the remarkable outpouring
of support for the club's ability to maintain its trails and
support its caretakers. To put this in perspective: the most
RMC had ever raised before was $84,400 to rebuild Crag Camp in
1993. For this project, we raised more than four times that amount,
and received four of our five largest gifts in the club's history.
We were equally touched by the many small gifts, some of which
came from donors who, we suspected, really didn't have those
dollars to spare.
Doug
Mayer: As the chair and co-chair
of the Trails Committee for many years, Doug has had the vision
and the expertise to bring RMC trail work into the era of heavy
use and new construction methods. Seeking outside grants for
much of the needed work, Doug was perhaps the first to recognize
that the work and enthusiasm of our larger, modern Trail Crew
can best be supported by practical common housing. Throughout
the planning and construction process, Doug has worked with the
Trail Crew, the Building Committee, and the Board to make the
Lodge a reality for the summer of 2007.
Tim
Sappington: A volunteer very early
in the process, Tim was the first person to put pen to paper
and bring the building to life. His early drawings were instrumental
in our ability to visualize the building and share our ideas
with members.
Paul
Cormier: During the construction
phase of the project, no one has been more committed to Stearns
Lodge than RMC's Construction Coordinator, Paul Cormier. Starting
as the volunteer co-chair of the Building Committee, Paul was
the perfect candidate for the paid role of construction coordinator
-- though he selflessly continued to volunteer a significant
portion of his time. Paul's hard work on a daily basis maximized
the value of every gift made in the name of Stearns Lodge. His
many years of construction experience meant that the project
was diligently supervised and sturdily built, exactly as specified.
From last September through this spring, Paul rarely had Stearns
Lodge off his mind. Paul's quiet, selfless hard work has been
immensely important to the quality of the end result.