Notes from the Chair – January/February 2008
I ended my last ‘Note from the Chair’ with:
One of my goals as your Chapter Chair is not to have you say “Why did I wait so
long to start doing things with the NH AMC?”
I would like to start addressing that goal.
The chapter has changed the bylaws to allow the formation of ‘Temporary Activity
Committees.’ I believe this gives us the opportunity to get more members involved
in leading activities and will provide more offerings for our members. Temporary
Activity Committees that gain interest and a following can become permanent
committees.
In November, the Executive Committee
(ExComm) received a request to form a Temporary Committee for Skiing. Ski trips
have been offered by the Excursions Committee and the Mountaineering Committee
in the past. Leaders from those groups felt that a new committee could increase
the focus on skiing. The ExComm agreed and the Temporary Committee has been formed.
Ski trips are being offered for Backcountry Skiing and Cross Country Skiing.
In December, I made a request to start planning
for a Temporary Committee for “Walks and Short Hikes.” The ExComm agreed and I will
provide details at the February ExComm Meeting. I hope to have leaders in place and
trips available this spring.
Anyone who is interested, please contact me
at PaulBerryAMCNH@aol.com or 423-1192.
In addition to these new committees, Excursions,
Mountaineering, Trails, Conservation, Hospitality, Membership, Programs, Education, Young
Members and Paddling all have things being offered or being planned.
To find out what is going on you need to
look at several different places. The AMC’s Outdoors Magazine lists a lot of the NH
Chapter Trips as well as those from other Chapters and other Club sponsored activities.
The Club Website www.outdoors.org also has lists of activities. The Club Website also
has an activity database page http://trips.outdoors.org/
that allows you to enter your options and it will provide a list of activities. As I
write this, there are 881 activities currently available in the database. The NH
Chapter Website has lots of information and also has links to other activity specific
NH Chapter Websites (
www.amcnh-mountaineering.org &
www.nhamcpaddlers.org). Some of our Committees also have email lists that you can
register for on our Websites.
The logical question is why do I have to look in so
many places? Part of the reason is that all of the Chapter Activities are lead by
volunteers. Some of those volunteers prefer one method of announcement over another.
We try to accommodate the wishes of our volunteers.
In addition to the activities, there are many
other ways that you can support our Club’s mission. In future ‘Notes’ I will cover
some of them. But I am sure that many of you have innovative ideas would be helpful
as well. Your ExComm would welcome this input from the membership. Please share your
thoughts with us. Contact me or any of the leadership listed in the newsletter or
on the Websites.
Paul Berry
Previous Notes from the Chair:
November/December 2007 Paul Berry
September/October 2007 Sam Jamke
