Notes from the Chapter Chair:

July 2007

Happy summer to all!

I am able at long last share my BIG personal news—by the time you read this
I will be officially retired (early), so I am able to play full time.
This will give me more time to get out and meet members while doing more activities.
I am also going to be leading AMC Major Excursionsówhere would you like to go with me???
My first Major Excursion co-lead will be a hiking trip to Death Valley and the western
Nevada mountains in April of 2008—watch for it in Outdoors and on
www.outdoors.org.

Speaking of activities—we held our second annual Chapter Activity Day on May 5th,
with about 60 participants. As promised, the weather was far better than last year—how
could it not have been? Thanks to all the organizers and leaders who provided the activities.
Our Spring Workshop at Cardigan in April had a record number of participants and a good
time was had by all, despite some rain and a little mud. Talking to some of the attendees,
I found that some were surprised—when they saw my photo in the April issue—to find I am a female, despite my nickname. Glad to clear up that point!

On May 2nd I met with the AMC Board of Directors and made the most of the opportunity to brag
about our chapter, its ~10,000 members and our many hundreds of active volunteers and leaders.
I did point out, however, we need to attract new members, including younger people, but even more importantly, we need to retain new members by getting them involved in Chapter events as soon as possible after they join. All data suggests that the primary reason first year members do not renew is that they did not participate in any activities. So please encourage your friends to
join you on the trails, rivers, at workshops, etc. Folks can sample our fun without being members
if you tell them about our events—once they see how enjoyable getting out with like-minded
companions is, perhaps they will join.

In addition to the outdoor activities that we offer, we also have evening dinner programs
and are considering other types of social events, workshops and presentations.
Would you like to tell me or our Programs co-chairs what types of events would attract you?
My contact info and that of Ron Janowitz and Louise Provan may be found in the Who's Who
section of every newsletter issue. Unfortunately we had to cancel two of our programs so
far this year because the number of folks signed up was too low. Our next dinner program
is slated for September 15th, followed by our annual meeting and program on October 6th.
Those will be my last two programs as Chapter Chair, so please consider joining us for both
and bringing friends along.

Have a wonderful summer—get out and get active!

2007 Archive: