Executive Committee Meeting – Wednesday July 10 2019
Executive Committee Meeting
Wednesday July 10 2019
Present: Andrew Nuquist, President; Ken Hertz, Vice President; Steve Bailey, Treasurer;
Kevin Ryan, Publicity Coordinator; John Buddington, Webmaster; Alan Paschell, Trails and
Shelters Coordinator; Nancy Jordan, Trail Talk Editor; Phyllis Rubenstein, Secretary; Fred
Brabant, Montpelier member; and Ann and James Bates, out-of-state visitors whose son
works for the GMC on Mt. Mansfield .
Absent: Linda Trono, Membership Coordinator; George Longenecker, GMC Director.
Andrew called the meeting to order at 7 p.m. at the home of Ken Hertz.
Old Business
Steve moved that we accept the minutes from the meeting of April 3, 2019, as posted on
the website. In a departure from Robert’s Rules of Order, Andrew said we don’t need
motions in small group meetings. We accepted the minutes..
Annual Meeting Debriefing – suggestions for the future
The annual meeting committee and volunteers did a great job in planning and supporting
the annual meeting at Windridge Camp. The meeting next year will be co-hosted by
Laraway, Sterling and Northern Frontier sections. In terms of suggestions: better parking
facilities would be helpful; the dispersed camping was nice except there were some safety
and noise concerns, including a tree coming down near a campsite on Saturday night after
the thunderstorm, and two campers playing a boombox loudly in the amphitheater until late
at night. It would have been helpful to have quiet hours posted to avoid late night music.
The auction items sold well. A few items that were not bid on were donated to the club.
The season’s pass to Lost Nation Theater remained and we gave them to Fred Brabant.
Kristin gave Steve Long Trail calendars and handkerchiefs to give to volunteers.
President’s Report
Andrew reported that he is still adjusting to Reidun’s death and his recent move. He will
continue in the role of president if we continue to assist him.
August 3, 2019, is Long Trail Day. People and groups are invited to hike segments of the
Long Trail on that day so that the entire trail is hiked by someone. You can go online to
register, which costs $25 for an individual, or to make a donation. Steve talked to Jen
Roberts, co-owner of Onion River Outdoor. The store wants to have a week-end when
GMC members get a discount and can sign up for Long Trail Day. Once the discount
week-end is confirmed, Steve will send Kevin publicity information.
The section plans to provide trail magic on Saturday August 3rd as the main club is
encouraging us to do so. Steve will buy food for trail magic. Ken will set up a table and
do a shift. Andrew will also do a shift, which will be at the Bamforth Ridge parking lot.
Hours will be 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. or later, depending on whether other people volunteer.
Steve will send Kevin a message to go out to the list serve.
Vice President’s Report
Ken reported that he just returned from a cross country train trip.
Trail and Shelter Coordinator’s Report
Alan reported that there were two decent work hikes with nine people each day. In Stowe
there was a lot of debris on the trail and the crew did not complete the work. He and
Morgan returned to clean out the ladders on Bamforth Ridge. They also hiked to Sterling
Pond and met the caretaker, who is being kept busy by the crowds of people hiking to
Sterling Pond and her duties cleaning the privy at Whiteface Shelter.
A crew helped deconstruct a house on River Road at the request of the main club. Five
members went to deconstruct tent platforms at Bamforth Ridge Shelter. It took 10 person
hours to remove one platform. There is more deconstruction to be done. The Vermont Air
National Guard carried up lumber for the new platforms, which the crew will build. The
shelter itself is in good shape. There are new members on the crew, some of whom were
recruited by Morgan when she met them at the club headquarters.
Andrew reported that the one mile of trail on River Road needs to be mowed by the state.
Alan said it had been mowed after a complaint was posted by hikers on the Long
Trail Facebook. Andrew would like to know the date it was mowed.
Alan purchased chaps, a helmet, and a backpack to carry his chain saw. The next two
work days will be October 19 and 12.
Director’s Report – none as George was absent.
Publicity Coordinator’s Report
Kevin reviewed his publicity efforts, which are detailed in past minutes. Steve suggested
restarting to post the tri-fold display of our events at Onion River Outdoors.
Webmaster’s Report
John reported that there is a new process for reporting trips. Phyllis is having difficulties
with the new program. Alan said that it has taken him a long time to load the report. Other
people haven’t had any problems.
John explained that there is not a separate list for bicyclists.
He provided information about people accessing our website in a given week. There were
forty eight requests for an image, thirty nine requests for our website, 17 requests for
events, 16 requests for a tour of the trails we maintain, etc.
Treasurer’s Report – Steve reported that Morgan created the report. The total balance in
our 2 accounts is $4,391. We have just over 150% of our operating budget. Steve and
Ken will become signatories on the account.
Trail Talk Editor’s Report
Nancy said the next deadline is about July 15, 2019. She will ask George Longenecker
if he will write an article about Scott Skinner. Andrew will write a President’s Message.
Steve said George Plumb wants to publicize bike trips a few days in advance. Ken said
not that many people have been signing up for his (George’s) bike trips.
Membership Coordinator’s Report
Steve reported on behalf of Linda that in the last three months 14 members joined, 147
renewed, 7 rejoined , and 8 dropped.
New Business:
Alternate Director Position – Steve volunteered. In the absence of any objection,
Andrew appointed Steve as interim alternate GMC Director. Andrew is willing to be a back
up alternate GMC director if neither George nor Steve is able to attend a meeting.
Reimbursement of Annual meeting costs to volunteer – Ken said that a number of
members volunteered at the meeting and proposed that we should reimburse any member
who requests for their lodging and other costs. After some discussion, we dropped the
proposal.
Trip Leading Workshop – Phyllis reported that at the annual meeting she attended
a workshop about “Best Practices for Trip Leaders.” She would like to facilitate a workshop
for members of our section, including former trip leaders, current trip leaders, new trip
leaders, and wannabe trip leaders. Steve and Andrew were interested in participating.
She will email them a few early evening dates in September or October. Phyllis will invite
other former trip leaders to participate. She suggested the Kellogg Hubbard Library as a
meeting place, but they only reserve rooms 6 weeks in advance. She will write an article
for Trail Talk about this workshop.
Walkers Guide to Vermont
Steve had emailed the Executive Committee members an email, requesting assistance in
updating this GMC publication. One can sign up to provide updated trail information via
a link in his email. The deadline to provide updated information is September 30.
Next meeting: The next section meeting will be on Thursday, October 10, 2019, at 7 p.m.
at the new home of Steve and Heather Bailey.
The meeting was adjourned at about 8:30 p.m. at which time we socialized with our visitors
and each other.
Respectfully submitted on July 11, 2019,
Phyllis Rubenstein, Secretary