Notes from the Chair – September/October 2007 

As I write this message I am contemplating stepping down as Chair in October and turning over the reins to the able hands of Paul Berry, current Vice Chair. Recently retired from my career as a chemist, I have mixed emotions about reaching the end of my term as Chair. I have been on the Executive Committee for about five years and will remain on as Past Chair for a couple more. Who knows what will happen then? I expect and plan to remain active with AMC for a very long time. I am now a member of the August Camp Committee and am going to be leading Major Excursions, starting with a hiking adventure to Death Valley and the mountains of western Nevada in April of 2008 (see trip prospectus at http://snebulos.mit.edu/majorexcursions/trips/0813.pdf).  

Our annual meeting is coming up on October 6^th and I hope many of you will attend.  The slate of candidates is published in this issue and is also available on our web site (www.amc-nh.org).  Information about our speaker is found in this issue. 

On Sunday afternoon, October 7th, we will have a short ceremony at Cardigan Lodge to dedicate the granite bench placed by the pond in memory of our late Hospitality Chair, Bernice Johnson, who passed away last year. As those of you who knew Bernice are aware, she felt a special attachment to Cardigan, so we felt placing the bench there was most fitting. Purchase of the bench and bronze plaque was made possible by the generosity of members who donated to the chapter in Bernice’s memory. If you would like to attend, please e-mail or call me, so I can send you the exact time (and directions if you need them.). John Jenkins, our Paddling Chair, made an indestructible “time capsule” that we will place beneath the bench with mementos of Bernice’s life inside. In the capsule will be the 2006 NH Chapter annual report dedicated to her and the issue of Mountain Passages that paid tribute to her dedicated service to AMC and other organizations. Needless to say, one of Bernice’s ExComm name badges will be included, as well as photos of her beloved Sheltie dogs. If you have a small item, story or picture you would like to add, please contact me. 

I hope that many of you are joining us at AMC’s Fall Gathering, which our chapter is hosting at the Highland Center in Crawford Notch. See info at http://www.outdoors.org/chapters/fall-gathering.cfm or on the NH Chapter web site. In addition to the usual Club-wide committee meetings, there will be hikes, a gear consignment shop, workshops and a wonderful Saturday evening program, Sha Riordan doing her in-character performance of “Up to the Mountains,” set in the very area in which the Gathering is taking place. 

Happy trails and thanks for a wonderful two years as Chair.  Please come outside and play! 

Sam Jamke