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Chair’s Report
July, 2011
Chair John Barron
Our chapter is planning a new membership vehicle that was pioneered by the Niagara Frontier Chapter, under the aegis of ADK Vice President John Gilewicz. The concept, named the Educational Affiliate Program, aims to recruit a new class of student members into the ADK. What happens is a faculty advisor at a college organizes a group of students to take out a group membership. The college collects the dues from the students and remits the cost of the memberships to the ADK, which simplifies collection from the club’s point of view. At $25 per student per year, such memberships are an amazing bargain. Each Educational Affiliate must be sponsored by a chapter, which provides programming and guidance to the students. The type of service the chapter provides can be tailored to the chapter’s size and resources. We hope that the idea will appeal to local students and that they may develop a love of the outdoors that will last a long time.
It has been a year of near-record flooding in the North Country, and a lot of trail damage has occurred that will need repairs. Despite this we are still hoping to expand the trail network. For example, a potential route for a new mountain bike trail is being surveyed in Stone Valley. As we go to press the chapter is joining with other outdoor groups to consider how to comment on a draft environmental impact statement on multiuse trails in St. Lawrence County. We have been following the evolution of these trails for a long time, and we would like the planners to remember that self-propelled uses are an important class of users of these trails and keep their requirements and preferences in mind.
ADK held A Black Fly Affair, its annual fund-raising auction and ball, in Queensbury on May 21. A highlight was the auction of chapter baskets – collections of small items contributed by chapters and following a theme of each chapter’s choosing. Our basket was one of the most highly sought after of the evening, and raised a good price which will be used to advance the ADK’s objectives. Thanks are due to a number of members including Marianne Hebert, Rose Rivezzi and David Trithart, and Blair and Marg Madore for contributing items.
“Climate is what you expect; weather is what you get,” goes the old adage. This spring has been one of the colder and wetter ones, and a number of our spring outings had to be postponed or cancelled for reason of weather. It’s gratifying, though, to see very few outings being cancelled for lack of participants, and to see a number of new types of outings emerging. It’s a good sign of vibrancy in the program.