AMC Volunteers in Their Own Words

By Matt Morris

Originally posted here

Jeanine Libby  

Role: Outings Chair  

How did you begin volunteering with AMC? 

Gosh, where do I start. I’ve been volunteering for the AMC since 2013, with my first volunteer stint doing trail maintenance at Gorman Chairback  with Peter Roderick and his faithful crew of trail trimmers and bridge builders. I along with a couple other ladies have volunteered to adopt the 3rd Mountain trail that begins at Gorman Chairback up to the Appalachian Trail. 

Do you have a favorite memory from your time with AMC? 

I can still remember my very first AMC trip, as it’s my favorite one, too. It was a Lodge-to-Lodge ski trip going into Gorman for two nights, then over to Little Lyford for another two nights. It was truly a magical trip: The trails were excellent, food was wonderful, and the group of friends I made on that trip built long-lasting relationships. Everyone was so warm and welcoming, and it felt like I had known them my whole life. We get together as much as we can throughout the year.  

It’s such a joy seeing smiles on the trip participants’ faces and experiencing the glowing happiness that the group shares with everyone—this is what’s truly rewarding for me in being a volunteer trip leader. 

Phil Coyne 

Role: Trails Chair 

How did you begin volunteering with AMC? 

My wife and I signed up for a Little Lyford trail work trip and had a great time. It was a really fun, beautiful area, with nice, kind people, and [we] really felt welcomed by the beautiful community.  

We had talked about wanting to adopt a trailand ended up seeing an open Trails Chair position at the Maine Chapter’s annual meeting. I used to organize triathlons and road races in Maine and thought “How hard can it be to be a trails chair?” When I signed up, there were only two trail leaders, and now we’re up to nine. It’s a mixture of men and women of all ages, and I just love it!  

Do you have a favorite memory from your time with AMC? 

A couple of years ago, August Camp was at Little Lyford, when we were just starting to come out of COVID. We were putting in new bog bridges, and it was great seeing a lot of these older folks hauling logs around. These ladies with normal fitness levels had logs over their shoulders hauling them down the trail. It was great seeing that: Everyone was smiling, and it was just great to rip up the old bog bridge and put in a new one. Everyone had a fun time.  

What would you say to prospective volunteers? How can they get involved? 

It’s very rewarding. You hear so much negativity in the news about life, and we’re all just people at the end of the day.  

It’s great to have a lot of connection. One of the things I really like about trail work is the connectivity that we all have by hearing each other’s stories and hearing where people are coming from. It’s feeling connected to all people, it’s just beautiful.

Other volunteer spotlights can found here