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Reports from Committees... Report of the RMC Long Range
Planning Committee Over the course of the summer of 2002, the Long Range Planning Committee interviewed 24 families of RMC members and a representative of the Northern New England Charitable Foundation. The committee consisted of Mary Brown, Doug Mayer, John Eusden and Ben Phinney. The original charter of the committee – to do a feasibility study to raise funds for an endowment – was changed in mid-summer to a more general approach – to ask for advice on a number of issues and to conduct outreach. The committee made the change for several reasons including new information that Bowman Base Camp might be available for acquisition and awareness that some families being interviewed were not current on RMC issues. Therefore focusing on one issue was inappropriate. Key qualifications for choosing respondents included long-time interest or involvement in the club and/or perceived financial ability. Just under half of the families consider Randolph their main residence while the rest are summer residents. That said, endowment was discussed with all the families and Bowman Base Camp was discussed with 11 families. Of the 24 families surveyed, 14 were in favor of an endowment, 4 were against, and 6 were undecided. Of the 11 families surveyed concerning Bowman Base Camp, 7 were very much in favor, 2 were against and 2 were undecided. We sensed strong support for the RMC, confidence in the board, and relief that the club is sticking to its core mission (trails, camps, and Randolph community). Our visits have increased understanding of outside pressures with which the club has to deal, but we have more education/cultivation to do before asking for substantial support. Many respondents expressed very strong appreciation for the volunteer spirit of the RMC and the important role that the club plays in building a sense of community in the town. Some families fear that too much growth might adversely change the essence of the club. Overall, we had the sense that the RMC really matters to most of those interviewed and that, if presented with a convincing case, they will offer financial support for an endowment and/or acquisition of Bowman Base Camp. Recommendations: 2. If the club decides to raise funds for endowment, there should be clearly defined guidelines for both investment and use of the funds. Non- invasion of principal should be sacrosanct. Further exploration of cooperation with The Northern New Hampshire Charitable Foundation should be pursued. Building an endowment should rely heavily on estate planning/planned giving as well as current giving. 3. If the club decides to acquire the Bowman Base Camp, a number of questions will need to be answered before formal fundraising should begin, although lining up informal pledges from a few large donors early on would be desirable. A plan to proceed should address the cost of acquisition, cost of remodeling, and cost of operating the property. We will need to articulate a vision for the property which is grounded in the core mission of the club, show benefits to the club, explain the operating plan, and note sources of sufficient additional operating cash flow. Raising funds to endow the property should also be considered, along with convincing donors that the board has both the vision and the skills to manage the property matters. 4. The club needs to reach out and more effectively educate the membership. The website was praised but is less effective with many long-time members. Better coverage of the issues in articles and membership letters could help. More important than the media, however, is building personal relationships among members who may not know each other well. We sense that the folks who were interviewed really appreciated the outreach and recommend that the process continues in some form. Educating and involving potential major donors will be key. Camps Report
This past year, The Perch received three new tent platforms. The planning and construction of the platforms was all done by volunteers! Special thanks go out to Bill and Barbara Arnold, Ray Cotnoir, Kat DeAnglus, Randy Noring, Jon Martinson, Curtis Moore, Dennis Pednault, Mike Pelchat and Dan Tucker. Also, in July, Crag Camp and Gray Knob received 25 new mattresses. For 2003, we are hoping to convert the currently pit toilet at the Log Cabin into a batch composting system. I would like to thank the caretakers of 2002 for doing such an incredible job maintaining the Club’s camps throughout the year. This would include Cindy Drake, Erik Eisele, Eric Scharnberg, Nick Enke, Roz Stever, and Andy Woods. While calling Gray Knob and Crag Camp their home, they fulfilled their caretaking responsibilities beyond expectations and represented the Club extremely well. Web Site Site use continues to grow – with over 13,400 hits this past year! Our “Weather Conditions at Gray Knob”, with weekly updates from November 1st to June 1st, is still the most popular page within the site. Our photo gallery of 175 photos has recently been archived for easier web browsing. A “Frequently Asked Questions” section has also been recently added. A new Trail Sign Auction will begin on March 1, 2003, this time hosted by eBay – be sure to check it out! If you have any suggestions or ideas for the site, please feel free to e-mail me. Trails Report The 2002 RMC trails efforts were notable for their duration and the wide array of projects tackled by volunteers and paid crews. The trail work season kicked off with National Trails Day, on June 1st and concluded with the last day of work for our fall crew, amid the first snows of the year, on November 1. Two remarkable trail crews worked consistently and smoothly all summer, first patrolling all of RMC's paths for blowdowns, cleaning drainages, then moving on to a variety of skilled projects, including work on Lowes Path, Kelton Trail, Ice Gulch Path, a new relocation of Carlton Notch Trail, recairning of sections of trails above treeline, replacement of a major ladder on the Israel Ridge Path -- not to mention the requisite miles of brushing. In the last days of August, when the season normally wraps up, a four member paid crew got back to work. Consisting of Matt Cittadini, Laura Conchelos, Aaron Parcak and Dan Rubchinuk from our summer crew, the foursome spent all of September and October building two new Pond of Safety trails. (See related articles in this issue.) Our fall crew was funded by a generous grant from the Fields Pond Foundation and a special grant from the Randolph Foundation. All told, $9,600 was spent to construct the new trails. The two new Paths are now fully cut, brushed, raked and blazed. The crew even managed to find time to complete some "sidehilling" on the steeper sections, and install 24 cedar and tamarack bog bridges. Next June, the RMC trail crews will tidy up some loose ends, and add trail signs. A formal dedication is expected in early summer.
Annual donations above and beyond dues continued to play a critical role in RMC's abilities to accomplish all of its trails goals. Along with regular dues, grants and a contract from the US Forest Service's parking pass program, the club was finally able to add a fifth senior crew member, a long sought goal. This year, RMC will once again be looking for three members for its first year trail crew. If you know someone who is interested, have him or her visit the "Mountain Jobs" section of the RMC web site. Crew members must be at least 18 years of age. Anyone between the ages of 16 and 18 is welcome to volunteer with the RMC trail crew for a few days, to see what trail crew life is like. Volunteers played an increasingly
important role in the RMC's trails efforts this past year. Thanks
to everyone who turned out to help brush trails, and to John
Eusden, Mary Krueger, Jon Martinson, Sally Micucci and Eric Scharnberg
for leading work trips. Dennis Pednault deserves special thanks
for his many hours of work, getting bog bridge materials delivered
to near the Ice Gulch Path. Jon Hall is single handedly rebuilding
the RMC map in time for republication in 2003. Larry Jenkins
is our pack frame specialist, and is building two new frames
for RMC and repairing four others. John DeLeo and Lyndon State
College have prepared new GPS data on the Owl's Head relocation,
and Larry Garland and AMC provided GPS data for the new Pond
of Safety paths and Carlton Notch relocation. This past fall,
volunteers cleaned all of RMC's waterbars and ditches, so that
the fall crew could concentrate on building the new Pond of Safety
paths. Thanks go to Brian Donoghue, Mary Krueger, Doug Mayer,
Jay Meyer, Dave Salisbury, Jim Snyder-Grant and Matt Schomburg.
If you would like to be added to the e-mail list of trails volunteers,
to be kept informed of upcoming projects, please e-mail Trails
Chair Doug Mayer through the RMC web site.
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Another
great year has gone by up at the RMC Camps! Currently, Will Kemeza
is braving the winter as Gray Knob’s caretaker – and
is doing a terrific job. Will has joined us with a great deal
of winter caretaking experience, ranging from the AMC’s
Carter Notch Hut to the GMC’s Taft Lodge.
Looking
ahead to 2003, RMC's Senior Crew will be focusing on a contract
with the US Forest Service on Kelton Trail, while our first year
SCA crew will be finishing up a two year State of New Hampshire,
Recreational Trails Program grant on the Cook Path and Ice Gulch
Path. Portions of Watson Path and Castle Ravine Trail will have
their cairns rebuilt, and more bog bridges will be added to the
Owl's Head trail.