2009 Annual Meeting

This year’s Maine Chapter AMC Annual Meeting will be held Friday, October 2nd to Sunday, October 4th at Camp Kawanhee in Weld, Maine. Camp Kawanhee is on Webb Lake and is very close to Tumbledown Mountain and Mt. Blue State Park, where many of the weekend activities will take place.

photo by Camp Kawanhee

Accommodations include bunks in well-maintained cabins or a spot for pitching a tent. Meals include hot and cold breakfasts, trail lunch buffet options, and a delectable chicken or vegetarian dinner on Saturday. The full weekend (two nights in a cabin and all meals) is $77 per person. Ala cart options are available, so members can pick and choose from meals and nightly accommodation options.

Weekend Agenda:

Friday:

• Chili cook-off, slideshow by volunteer and traveler Paul Hahn, and member social from 5 to 9 PM

Saturday:

• Daytime outings including hikes, trail work, gold panning, and paddles. (Visit the calendar of events and sign up with the leader directly.)
• Social hour beginning at 5 PM
• Dinner (vegetarian option available) at 6 PM
• Business meeting to elect officers, provide committee updates and recognize volunteers, at 7 PM
  Guest speaker Reinhard Zollitsch presents at 8 PM

Sunday:

• Morning outings and activities, including a map and compass instruction.

The featured Saturday evening speaker is Reinhard Zollitsch of Orono. Reinhard, born in Germany, taught for 42 years at the University of Maine and has a long history of ocean sailing, canoeing and kayaking. He will present his latest solo sea canoe adventures, “On Historic Tides: Looking for John Cabot’s first landfall in the New World on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland.” This presentation combines his 2007 trip around Cape Breton Island, NS and his 2008 solo paddle up the western shore of Newfoundland. After checking out the early explorers Jacques Cartier, Samuel de Champlain and Henry Hudson, Reinhard became intrigued by the two different historic schools which have John Cabot make his first 1497 landfall in the New World either on Cape North on Cape Breton Island or on Cape Bauld/L’Anse aux Meadows on the northern tip of Newfoundland. Aside from paddling these two awesome coastlines, Reinhard wanted to find out firsthand which of the two places is the more likely landfall, comparing available but sparse trip notes, terrain, as well as the early explorers’ way of navigating. Check out his trip reports of his almost 5000-mile circumnavigation.

Please note:

• By sending in the Registration Form, you will be registered for meals and accommodations, but not the daytime trips/outings. Please submit one form per person.
• The scheduled trips/outings require advanced registration with the trip leader. Visit the calendar of events and sign up with the trip leader directly.
• For overnight guests, please bring linens or a sleeping bag, a headlamp, towel, and any other personal items.
• Please do not bring pets or smoke at Camp Kawanhee.
• Need directions to Camp Kawanhee?

For more information, please contact Carrie Walia at [email protected] or 207-928-2277. All AMC members are encouraged to participate in any or all of the weekend’s activities, as well as voice their opinions on the direction of the Maine Chapter.

The Nominating Committee has put together the slate of candidates for the next Executive Committee. These are shown below in addition to the business agenda for the annual business meeting from 7PM-8PM on Saturday October 3 at Camp Kawanhee. Please contact Peter Roderick at [email protected], Chair of the Nominating Committee, for more information. Other members of the 2009 Nominating Committee are Joleen Rice and Peter Broderick.

2009 Committee Reports are available in pdf and paper copies will be available at the annual meeting.

Below is the business agenda for the annual meeting, as well as biographies of new candidates seeking positions on the Executive Committee. The agenda with bios can also be downloaded (pdf) Business agenda 2009.

AMC Maine Chapter 2009 Annual Meeting

October 3, 2009 Business Meeting Agenda

Camp Kawanhee- Weld, Maine

7:00 – 7:15 Business Meeting Intro Laura Flight, Chair

7:15 – 7:30 Announcements
– electronic Wilderness Matters- Laura Flight, Chair
– AMC’s “Member Center”-  Laura Flight, Chair
– Maine Woods Initiative update- Gary Dethlefsen, AMC staff

7:30 – 7:35 Election of Executive Committee- Laura Flight, Chair

7:35- 7:50 Leader recognition-   Peter Roderick, Outings Chair

7:50 – 8:00 Chapter recognition-   Laura Flight, Chair/Awards Committee

8:00 Q&A with membership-  Laura Flight, Chair

Persons Seeking Re-Election to the Maine Chapter Executive Committee
Position – Person

Newsletter Co- Chair Bob Cummings
Newsletter Co- Chair Brenda Cummings
Public Relations-   Jeanne Christie
Secretary-   Diane Edwards
Trail Maintenance- Co-Chair Peter Roderick
Trail Maintenance- Co-Chair Keith Chapman
Treasurer-   Denise Courtemanche
Webmaster-   Tim Flight

Persons Seeking Election to the Maine Chapter Executive Committee (Bios are below)
Position –   Person

At Large-   Paul Hahn
At Large-   Scott Dyer
Chair-    Carrie Walia
Conservation-   Bob Goldman
Meetings and Education- John Mullens
Membership-   Mara Kruze
Outings-   Jeff Aceto
Vice Chair-   Larry Dyer

Paul Hahn– seeking one of two Member at Large positions
I returned to Maine from Wisconsin in the Fall of 2007, although I spent time in Maine almost every summer. I previously lived in South Portland and I am a graduate of the University of Maine. I joined AMC in 2008 and have attended several Executive Committee meetings of the Maine Chapter. I have participated in developing a new trail on Burnt Meadow Mountain and trail maintenance on the Ledges Trail on Pleasant Mountain. I have since become a volunteer to maintain that trail for Loon Echo Trust. I enjoy and participate in several outdoor activities including mountain climbing, hiking, biking, canoeing, fishing and hunting. My wife, grandson and I attended AMC’s Family Adventure Camp this summer at Little Lyford Pond. My interest in being considered for the Executive Committee is to develop the Maine Chapter and give back to the AMC. I am an attorney now retired. I live with my wife Jane in Gorham.

Scott Dyer– seeking one of two Member at Large positions
I am an active outdoor enthusiast and am interested in becoming more involved with AMC. I believe in the well being of Mother Nature and promoting its healthy benefits through education and respect for all it has to offer. The great outdoors has provided me with common respect and appreciation for waterways, wildlife, mountains, plants, and trees.

My background includes a life long adventure of hiking, backpacking, biking, kayaking, swimming, and snowshoeing. The formal training I’ve been blessed with includes Wilderness First Aid at the Solo School in NH; Winter Mountaineering with Marc Chauvin of Chauvin Guides at Joe Dodge Lodge; and most recently the Chapter Youth Program with AMC. I am also a member of the Velo Bike Club in the Mount Washington Valley.

Living in Stow, Maine my backyard is a living dream. My backyard consists of Evans Notch and the Mount Washington Valley. The purity and essence of the great outdoors fuels my everyday and I would like to share this energy. The AMC has been and will continue to be a great vehicle in which to drive this energy.

Carrie Walia– seeking Chair position
I moved from Wisconsin to Maine six years ago and soon after became involved in the AMC through the trail maintenance efforts on Pleasant Mountain. I have served as the vice-chair of the chapter since 2007 and have worked to revive the Young Member program. Currently I serve as the executive director of Loon Echo Land Trust, and previously served as the land stewardship coordinator, where I learned about trail maintenance from AMC volunteers and staff. I am a volunteer for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Oxford County, and spend my free time camping, cross country skiing, paddling and day hiking with my husband Kelly and dog Jigger around our home in Stoneham. I look forward to serving as the next chapter chair, working closely with our chapter’s volunteers and members, and learning more about the great state of Maine.

Bob Goldman– seeking Conservation Chair position
Maine has been my home for almost ten years. I moved here from the North Shore of Massachusetts, my native state. My professional life began as an environmental planner with the State of Mass, working on a four person acid rain study team. I am a lifelong environmentalist and have contributed to a number of environmental organizations and causes for many years, for example, I… canvassed hundreds of homes and raised both awareness and funds for Greenpeace, have written numerous letters on behalf of land conservation and wildlife protection and have recently begun to network and lobby with groups such as Maine Audubon, Sierra Club and Restore the North Woods to push for the restoration of the Eastern Wolf to Maine and other states in the Northeast. I first joined the AMC over twenty years ago and finally rejoined about five years back. Hiking with fellow club members in the Maine mountains and the nearby Whites has been one of my regular pleasures. As the potential new AMC Maine conservation chair, I’d like to see our chapter develop a more holistic view on ensuring the health and vitality of the land and ecosystems we have successfully preserved and those we now seek to preserve. The AMC mission is and will remain responsible land conservation with a recreational focus, but there is room for AMC Maine to be a part of ensuring that the land we love is both healthy and whole.

John Mullens– seeking Meetings and Education Chair position
New to Maine but not New England, my wife and I have lived in Cape Neddick for four years, after being exiled to downtown Washington, DC for 13 years. Maine is much more to our liking and we joined the Maine chapter of the AMC immediately. Since retiring, I’ve been able to move outdoor activities to the top of my to-do list. I like road biking, cross country skiing, hiking, backpacking, sea kayak camping, and canoe camping. In the interest of safety I’m beginning to transition to doing these activities with small groups, and going on AMC group hikes and paddles helps facilitate that. I regularly volunteer to help clear trails and mark boundaries at AMC properties and enjoy meeting other volunteers in the process. As a former teacher and education researcher, I relish digging deeply into topics that interest me and hope to continue that as Meetings and Education Chair.

Jeff Aceto– seeking Outings Chair position
Jeff Aceto has been a resident of Maine for over 20 years and a member of the Maine Chapter for three years. He has recently served on the Executive Committee as the Meetings and Education Chair for three years, organizing an annual series of monthly potluck presentations on educational and entertaining topics. He is also a Maine Chapter trip leader for hiking and backpacking in all seasons and sea kayaking. Professionally, Jeff is a licensed civil engineer and is a co-owner of a consulting firm in Brunswick. An avid skier, he has recently stepped down from serving on the WinterKids Board of Directors since 2003. Jeff views the opportunity to be the Outings Chair as an increase in responsibility from his present ExCom position and welcomes the challenge to continue the great trip leading traditions of the Maine Chapter.

Mara Kruze– seeking Membership Chair position
Most of my life I’ve spent escaping to more natural settings. Summers were spent in the Catskill Mountains or the shores of Cape Cod. I have found the best of both and now reside in Georgetown, Maine. Professionally, I am a teacher at the elementary level, but am myself a student learning and experiencing something new along the way everyday. My family is a bit over indulgent in the outdoors. We love to travel, hike, bike, kayak, sail, ski, etc. I look forward to meeting more AMC enthusiasts and experiencing natures’ abundant beauty and resources with you.

Larry Dyer– seeking Vice Chair position
I am a candidate for the vice chair of the Ex Com. I would like to share a little about me, so you have some idea of why I would like to serve in this capacity with the Maine Chapter of the AMC.
I have been involved in some from of recreation all of my life. I enjoy being outdoors any time of the year and have, most recently, come to enjoy being out in the woods on a mountain even more so in the winter.
I have served as a recreation director for three different towns over the years as well as having coached in several states. I got my own children (no longer kids) involved in hiking and outdoor activities and am please that they both continue to be active in their pursuit of a healthy life style.
I also bike on a regular basis with the Merrymeeting Bikers Club in Brunswick and kayak whenever possible. I truly believe in an active, outdoor lifestyle to promote physical mental fitness.

I have served as an “at large” member this past year with the MCAMC. I have also chaired the start up of our Youth Chapter Program. There were nine of us who took the training in the spring and we hope to have some hikes planned for the fall and winter and start getting the kids involved. I completed the advanced first aid course last May and hope to soon become a certified trip leader. My wife and I took the leadership training a year ago at Sugarloaf which we found to be very valuable.

I am currently a principal in the Bath School, so I am used to being involved at the administrative level. I would work with the AMC to support programs that would benefit all of us as we all work together to secure “wilderness” land for future generations to enjoy.

If elected, I will do everything possible to help Carrie (chair) as well as the other committee members make the Maine Chapter a strong part of the AMC.