Executive Committee Meeting April 13, 2026
GREEN MOUNTAIN CLUB, MONTPELIER
Minutes of the Executive Committee
April 13, 2026
The meeting was held at Scott Richardson’s house and was called to order by Steve Bailey at 6:03.
Present were: Steve Bailey, Heidi Kunkel, Scott Richardson, Rob Penney, Phyllis Rubenstein, Ken Hertz and Missy Ethridge.
Approval of January 13, 2026 minutes – a motion by Scott to approve the minutes was seconded by Phyllis and approved by all.
Annual Meeting Report (Steve Bailey)
Steve does have on hand the DVD for the Presentation. It is 51 minutes long. Three of us who are on the Annual Meeting Committee met via Zoom and are all set on what needs to be done or brought for it. We do need a proposed budget for the Annual Meeting so Scott will send it out and we can approve virtually. We also need everyone to submit their reports for the meeting. They can be sent to Rob but he must have them by April 23. Phyllis can again print them off but she will need them by April 24. We should all show up at 5:00 at the Grange to set up. We will need name tags and a sign up sheet (Missy to create one asking for their email and if they are a member). The social hour will be at 5:30 and dinner will start at 6:00. The Annual Meeting will start at 7:00 and the presentation will be at 7:30.
Membership Report (Heather Bailey)
We presently have 221 memberships and 308 members. This is a slight drop from the January report. 219 memberships and 322 members. I plan to follow up on the 9 memberships which have lapsed in the last 5 months. It was asked if we still send out a free map if they join.
Trails and Shelters Report (Heidi Kunkel)
The work dates for this year will be on May 2 and May 23. There is a group from the Williamstown Middle School that may like to volunteer. The Stowe Public School system may also help out. She wants to set up a saw company but they need our tax ID information. We will need funds for chain saw certification but don’t need to buy a storage shed for tools as no one has asked her about the tools she currently stores.
Director’s Report (Phyllis Rubenstein)
The GMC Board last met in March. Last year was an excellent year for the club in terms of finances, effective staff operation, and no catastrophes. Membership is down statewide. Federal funding is in place for trail management projects and seasonal crews are being hired. A new data base and website are being developed.
There is a need for housing of crew members in Southern Vermont as the current rental location is no longer available. The Board approved using $432,000 of bequest funds to purchase a house in southern Vermont.
The Kingdom Heritage Trail is going to be managed by the Northwoods Stewardship Center, with volunteer help from the NEK Section of the GMC.
The Governance subcommittee made the following proposals, adopted by the Board:
1 Eliminate the position of alternate director;
2 Require all sections to update their bylaws based on a template that the Board will provide. Note: They will send the template to us.
3 Reduce the number of directors on the board; however, there is an ongoing discussion about how to allocate the slots between at-large members and section members. Phyllis feels that at-large members should join a section.
New Volunteer Opportunities:
The Volunteer Trail Steward Program at Mt. Mansfield Visitor Center is continuing this year. In addition, there will be a Steward at the Lincoln Gap Trailhead this upcoming season. In the future there will be volunteers on Camels Hump. To volunteer, contact Sarah Bailey at sbailey@greenmountainclub.org.
The Trails Committee is working on new signage for overnight sites. In addition, they are developing GIS modeling to help determine whether eroded trails should be relocated or replaced.
The Land Conservation Committee is continuing to work with landowners to conserve more property adjacent to the LT.
Phyllis and Marge Fish will be hosting a GMC booth at the Appalachian Trail Days (25,000 people typically attend) in Damascus, VA (which has a regular population of under 900 people), May 15-17. We will have exhibits, freebies from the GMC and some Trail services, as well as raffle items. Whoo Hoo!
The GMC Main Club Annual Meeting will be Saturday, June 13 at the Headquarters in Waterbury Center. It is a fun meeting, a great opportunity to meet members from other sections, has good breakfast and lunch, and various hikes will be offered in the afternoon. Do come!
Treasurer’s Report (Scott Richardson)
Beginning Checking Balance ……………………………………………… $11,939.92
Expenses ………Trails and Shelter, Events, Others………………… – $3,463.15
Income………….Section Dues from GMC……Dividends………………$1,242.26
Current Savings Balance…………with $2.00 interest……………… …$1,686.92
Current Checking Balance………………………………………………… $9,719.03
TOTAL CASH ASSETS………………………………………………………… $11,405.95
150% of projected operating budget is $7,950
Scott will submit the budget for next year.
Editor’s Report – No one has yet expressed interest in taking over the job. Heidi will check with a friend to see if she might be interested. The report can be done in Word and maybe there is a free design app that could be used.
Website Update Report (Steve Bailey)
A few more items have been imported into the new website. Maybe we should just import 1-2 years worth and have the old website available but it should be password protected. Steve tried to upload a report but it didn’t work. Should our calendar be password protected? And should reports and the minutes be protected as well?
We discussed that fewer people are joining and the trip group size seems to be getting smaller. The problem is that there are many activity groups out there like Meet Up that schedule hikes. Many of our more popular hikes tend to be the easier ones. Should we have family friendly hikes?
Other Business
Lorne Currier contacted us about the PH International Group that GMC has worked with.
International students are brought in from East Asia and the Pacific Islands and also sub Saharan Africa and they need families to host them for either 1, 2, or 3 weeks. He would like it if we can put something in our next Trail Talk to get the word out. The students are aged 15-18.
Next Meeting – the next meeting is scheduled for July 28th at Steve’s house at 6:00.
A Motion to adjourn at 7:31 was made by Heidi and seconded by Scott.