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Chair's Report
April, 2007
Chair: Tom Ortmeyer
I thought the fall potluck and annual meeting was excellent. First, it was a pleasure for me to present the Laurentian Chapter Distinguished Volunteer Award to Tom Wheeler on behalf of the chapter. See the article on Tom's award elsewhere in this issue.
Second, it was a pleasure to have ADK Executive Director Neil Woodworth and his wife, Holly, attend the meeting. Neil and Holly are new chapter affiliates, and part-time residents of Wanakena. We look forward to their participation in chapter outings. Neil spoke well on the club's advocacy efforts at the meeting. He discussed several recent club accomplishments, and described several upcoming issues that the club will be actively involved in. Details on many of these can be found on the club's advocacy web page. To receive e-mail notification of active issues, you can sign up for either the club's or the chapter's Action Alert email list. I particularly enjoyed Neil's description of the Clean Air Act/New Source Review arguments before the Supreme Court. The recent agreements between American Electric Power, Duke Energy, and others resulting from the Court's decision on this case will have very definite long-term benefits for air, water, and forest quality throughout the Adirondacks.
Finally, I am pleased to report the results of the chapter elections. I thank the members for electing me to a second term as the chapter's Chair. Happily, they also reelected Rose Rivezzi as Vice-Chair for Education, David Trithart as Director, John Barron as Secretary, and Armond Spencer as Alternate Director. I look forward to working with the chapter officers and members in the upcoming year. I would also like to thank Pat Mueller, outgoing Secretary, for her service over the last two years.
We note with sadness the passing of Betty Lou Bailey. Betty Lou was a career engineer who became the club's hydro relicensing expert following her retirement. She worked closely with John Omohundro and other chapter members on the Raquette River relicensing effort, and had a significant impact also on the Black, Beaver, and Sacandaga River settlements.
As the new year approaches, I find myself making several resolutions for 2008. First of all, I resolve to get out on more of the chapter outings that I circle as soon as each new newsletter arrives. Second, I resolve to get to the Outdoor-Indoor meetings this winter. Finally, I resolve to get to more club events, such as the trail work days, seasonal outings, or North Country Round Table. I always enjoy each of these when I do go. I hope you all will join me in making and keeping these resolutions. A good start will be the New Year's Day snowshoe/ski event that will be held on the Clarkson University campus. See the outings schedule for details.