Chair's Corner

The Chair's Corner, 2011-2012

June 2012

By Bruce Tehan

June is here and we will soon be electing new officers for the Genesee Valley Chapter of ADK. As I wrap up my term as chair I would like to thank everyone who volunteered for ADK over this past year. Without such support ADK would not be ADK. It is volunteerism that keeps our club going strong. I could never list all the things people did this year to help the club. I do, however, want mention a few people for actions that might otherwise have gone unnoticed:

  • Past chairs Bill Crowe, Mary Warchocki and Al Bushnell for giving me great advice at the beginning of my term.

  • Rich Sensenbach for noticing and solving a problem at a chapter meeting that I should have been working on but had not even noticed.

  • Bob Krenzer for finishing his term as treasurer in an exemplary manner even though his work schedule changed quite a bit this year. Lucky for us, even though Bob’s term as treasurer is ending, he is already gearing up to lead some more hikes for ADK.

  • Carter Thomas for recruiting an outstanding cadre of new volunteers for ADK.

  • Judy Immesoete for handling the Saturday Hikes hotline even when she was out of town for an extended vacation.

  • Mary Norman not only for her terrific work as trail chair but also for recruiting two top notch people to take over for her as she steps down from this role.

  • Kristine Thompson for serving as publications chair in her first volunteer position with the ADK. Kristine took on a very important job and did it extremely well. To jump right into such a position took a lot of courage and was a huge help to the club. Kristine has just accepted a writing position with the University of Rochester and will soon be stepping down as publications chair but she is already thinking about other ways she can volunteer for the club.

Lastly, I would like to say thank you to everyone in this club. The friendship and camaraderie I have enjoyed with you all is what makes this ADK special to me. It has been an honor to serve you as chair. I hope you all have a good summer!

May 2012

By Bruce Tehan

Spring is here and new hiking and paddling outings keep popping up on our chapter’s schedule. Make sure to take a look at all the things our Younger Members, Trails and Waterways committees are offering. You will be certain to find some fun things to do this Spring and Summer. If you are new to outdoor recreation our chapter has a great way for you to learn about all the ways you can enjoy the great outdoors. Its called Outdoor Expo and it takes place Saturday June 9th from 9:00 - 4:00 on the beach at Mendon Ponds Park. At this event you will have plenty of opportunities to go on a hike, tryout a kayak, participate in workshops or just visit with many different outdoor organizations. You can find out more about Outdoor Expo elsewhere in this issue of the Geneseean or at this webpage: http://www.adk-gvc.org/expo. I hope to see you there!

April 2012

By Bruce Tehan

One of the great things the Adirondack Mountain Club does for society is its trail work. Individual chapters, including the Genesee Valley Chapter, often do trail projects both locally and in the mountains. In addition to the work done by individual chapters, there is an incredible amount of trail work orchestrated by ADK in general. Here is some info about the ADK Volunteer Trails Program 2012:

Since 1986 thousands of volunteers have worked with trained ADK trail crew leaders to complete trail maintenance and reconstruction projects all over the Adirondacks and Catskills. Volunteers are provided with the unique opportunity to “give something back” to the trails that they use. Trail work is demanding so volunteers should expect to be challenged both physically and mentally. Through the course of a trail project, volunteers will share the experience with other participants forming new friendships and memories. Ultimately, a quality trail project is completed by volunteer trail crews that will protect the natural resource for many years. A fun and rewarding experience is guaranteed. ADK provides leadership, group camping gear, tools, transportation from base camp, and food for multi-day projects. ADK’s volunteer base camp serves as the staging area for the four and five day trail projects. It is located at the Adirondak Loj Campground adjacent to Heart Lake. Project information including an equipment list will be sent to all volunteers upon registration.

The paragraph above can be found at http://www.adk.org/trails/Volunteer_Trails_Projects.aspx. If you visit that web page you will find all sorts of exciting and fun projects. Please take a look at them and consider participating. Trail work is a fun way to give something back to your fellow outdoors persons and to mother nature.

March 2012

Chair’s Corner

By Bruce Tehan

I would like to take this time to say “fare thee well” to our outstanding Trails Co-Chair, Jim Luening. Jim and his wife Anne, and their kids Alex and Mia are moving to Massachusetts where I amsure they will have many fun adventures. The Luenings have been one of the most active and enthusiastic families in our chapter and they will be greatly missed. Please join me in thanking theLuening clan for sharing their love of the outdoors with us.

I would also like to take this time to say thank you to the Nordic Ski Patrol for the recent workshop they did for GVC-ADK. The dedicated volunteers of Nordic Ski Patrol offer an in-depth wintersports first aid course every August-October with hands-on small group training. The Nordic Patrol uses these skills while they patrol the trails at Mendon Ponds, Harriet Hollister Spencer StatePark and Cumming Nature Center on weekends in January and February. If you like to learn more about these fine folks call Tom Adler at 585-787-1441, or email Tom at tomadler@gvnsp.org, orvisit www.gvnsp.org.

February 2012

Chair’s Corner

By Bruce Tehan

Looking out my window this late January morning I see a light covering of snow in my neighborhood. This has me looking forward to more snow so that I can break out my snowshoes. Here are a few other things that I am looking forward to in February that are being put on by our chapter of ADK:

  • Going on some local Saturday and Sunday hikes. This is a great way to learn about local parks and to meet some members of our chapter.

  • Attending the February 8 Chapter Meeting which will include a presentation by Stewart Weave entitled Fallen Giants: A History of Himalayan Mountaineering from the Age of Empire to the Age of Extremes.

    • Going on an evening snowshoe at Mendon Ponds Park on February 15 which will be led by Barb Brenner. Whether there is snow or not, Barb’s hikes are always fun.

You can find out more about these and other February events in this issue of the Geneseean or by visiting our website at www.gvc-adk.org. I hope everyone is having a good winter and I hope to see you in the woods.

January 2012

January, 2012 Chair Corner

Bruce Tehan, Chapter Chair

It is late November as I write this January 2012 article. This article is kind of tricky for me to write because I am typing with crossed fingers. The reason my fingers are crossed is that I am hoping that the December and January issues will be delivered on time. As most of our members already know, the United States Post Office took an unusually long time to deliver the November, 2011 issue. All of us volunteers at GVC- ADK who write for, edit, and prepare the Geneseean for mailing, along with the volunteers who plan and put on the wonderful programs and outings described in the newsletter, of course, want the Geneseean to reach our members in a timely manner.

I would like to take this opportunity to remind everyone that we have various ways of communicating to our members. The neat thing about having multiple ways of communicating is that if one way is inaccessible, for whatever reason, you can still find out what we are doing. Here are some of the ways we try to communicate with our members:

    • The Geneseean: This my favorite way of doing in-depth reading about our chapter. I love to sit down with a cup of coffee and read our well-crafted newsletter and find out what is going on with the chapter.

    • www.gvc-adk.org: Our chapter website has a host of very up-to-date, well-presented information on our chapter. Electronic versions of our newsletter are also found on this website.

    • The Adirondack magazine: This fine magazine is my favorite way of doing in-depth reading about what is going on with ADK at large.

    • www.adk.org: This website is a great place to find very up to-date information on is going on with ADK at large.

    • 585-987-1717: Most the information you will find at this hotline number is of a very general nature but it is also one of the best ways to find out about our chapter’s upcoming local hikes.

    • The Younger Members Facebook Page: This is a great way to connect with the younger members of our club.

    • Emailing Lists: The Waterways, Trails, Younger Members committees have very useful emailing lists. The electronic addresses for reading or signing up for these lists these are:

    • http://groups.google.com/group/adk-gvc-ww

    • http://groups.google.com/group/adk-gvc-ym

    • http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ADK_GVC_Trails

Please check out some of these many means of communications and join us at some of our events and outings. I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and is having a Happy New Year!

December 2011

December, 2011

Bruce Tehan, Chapter Chair

Merry Christmas, I hope everyone is getting ready for a fun holiday season. With all the great holidays this time of year (Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanzaa and New Year’s Day) our lives can get crazy busy. A good way to de-stress is to get outdoors. If you are looking for something to do outside please visit gvc-adk.org and take a look at the outings our chapter is offering. If you do not see the right trip for you at our website you might want to visit some of ADK’s other chapter websites and see what they have planned. You can find links to the other chapters at adk.org/chapters/index.aspx. Better still, you might want to think about leading a trip for our chapter. One of the neat things about volunteering to lead a trip is picking and planning the trip you want to do.

Speaking of volunteering, I want to take this time to welcome our new Publicity Chairperson, Kristine Thomson. Kristine has some great ideas for the Geneseean and will be a great addition to our executive committee. You can find out more about Kristine in her article in this issue of the Geneseean. Please join me in thanking Kristine for volunteering this important position.

Holidays Holidays everyone!

November 2011

November, 2011

Bruce Tehan, Chapter Chair

Fall is a fantastic time of the year to be outside. I love the brisk air and the beautiful autumn colors. Hiking, camping, and paddling are a few of my favorite fall activities. Some of the things I try to do each fall are paddling up Black Creek from Churchville Park, spending a day at Letchworth State Park, and biking the Keuka Lake Outlet Trail.

Winter, which is right around the corner, is also a terrific time to be outside. A few of my favorite things to do in the winter are snowshoeing at Bay Park East, cross country skiing at the Genesee County Park and Forest, and hand feeding black capped chickadees on the Birdsong Trail at Mendon Ponds Park.

I first learned about the Birdsong Trail by going on a Younger Members hike. The leader of that hike is now my lovely wife Sheri. I first learned about Bay Park East by going on a Sunday hike led by Dick Spade. In addition to being a fine outdoorsman, Dick is also a good friend.

I hope everyone is having a nice fall and is looking forward to many outdoor adventures this winter. Make sure to check out the outings sponsored by our club. It is a great way to discover some very cool places and to meet some very nice people.

October 2011

October 2011

Bruce Tehan, Chapter Chair

I have been thinking about volunteerism a lot lately. There are five reasons that this subject has been on my mind. The first reason is that in September we inducted two terrific people, Deni Charpentier and Karen Topfer, into our Chapter’s High Summit Honor Society (HSHS). This society is kind of like our chapter’s very own Hall of Fame. The members of this society have volunteered for our chapter in ways that have gone above and beyond what is typically expected of a volunteer.

The second reason I have been thinking about volunteerism is that our outstanding past chair, Dave Harrison, has just picked an exceptional person to be this year’s Volunteer of the Year. Dave will be making this announcement at the October Chapter Meeting.

The third reason I have been thinking about volunteerism is that as chairperson I get to pick the volunteer of the month. This is a very easy job because we have some outstanding volunteers. The only tricky part is picking just one per month.

The fourth reason I have been thinking about volunteerism is that I could not do my job as chapter chair if it were not for all the help I have been receiving from so many people who are doing so many great things for our club. Volunteerism is what keeps our club going strong.

The fifth reason I have been thinking about volunteerism is that three of our chapter’s volunteers have had to recently step down from their committee chair positions. These three volunteers, Grace Fuller, Joanne Mitchell and Nancy Donny have done outstanding work in their roles as Publications Chair, Saturday Hikes Coordinator and Education Chair. When you see these three wonderful ladies please be sure to thank them for their fine efforts.

As chapter chair, it is my job to try to find volunteers to fill these and other positions with the club. This is a tough thing for me to do. I am good at writing announcements but I am a bit shy when it comes to asking individuals to volunteer for the club. Unfortunately, our chapter’s volunteers tend to agree to serve in various capacities when they are asked directly. I would really like to see this trend change. I implore any member of the club who might be interested in volunteering to please contact me rather than wait to be asked. There are many opportunities to help keep our club thriving and volunteers tend to find their service to be both challenging and fun. Please remember ADK is a member driven organization that depends on the participation of its constituents. So, please give me a ring or send me an email and help keep our club healthy!

September 2011

September 2011

Bruce Tehan, Chapter Chair

September is here and it is a great month to be in the Adirondacks. The weather tends to be nice and the bugs have long since stopped bugging people. One of my all-time favorite September trips to the Adirondacks was a backpack into the Five Ponds Wilderness put on by our chapter of ADK. The trip was well organized by its skilled, enthusiastic, and knowledgeable leaders: Bill Crowe and Mary Warchocki. The weather was gorgeous, the scenery was spectacular, and swimming in Cranberry Lake and in the Oswegatchie River was very refreshing.

I could go on and on about how much I like the Five Ponds Wilderness. It is a very remote area with charming campsites, giant trees, and some very impressive engineering done by Beaver Inc. A few of my favorite spots in this area are Janack’s Landing, Cat Mountain, and High Falls. What was best about this particular trip, however, was the friendship and camaraderie I enjoyed with the other participants. Bill, Mary, and the rest of the group, Dave Harrison, Karin Topfer, Deni Charpenteir, Donna Dinse, and Polly Mayne were (and are) wonderful people to hang around with.

That trip is a good example of what I love most about the Adirondack Mountain Club: The people I have met and the friendships I have made through this club. ADK has given me much joy, good friends, and many rewarding experiences. I am happy and honored to be starting my role as chairperson of the Genesee Valley Chapter of ADK. With the help of ADK’s many fine volunteers I hope that I can encourage more and more people to become active members of ADK. If you are interested in becoming more active in the club, please contact me or any of our other volunteers so that we can share our love of the outdoors and outdoor recreation with you.