2013-14 Executive Director’s Report

This was one of the most challenging and rewarding years in my tenure at Unirondack. We began the year with the

understanding that completing the showerhouse renovation was going to stretch our meager resources to their limit and

that the building needed to be completed prior to the start of the summer. And we ended it with the building complete and

Unirondack still thriving. What a ride!

Our success in 2013-14 was no accident. For many years now we have been working together to build a strong core of

people who are committed to the long term health of the camp. Our leadership group of Kris Fiore, our Camp Director,

Loraine Machlin, our Registrar and Administrator, Elizabeth Bashur, our Spring-Fall Manager and Artshop Director, and

our wonderful Board of Directors all made major contributions in 2013-14.

Of course, the most notable achievement was the completion of the renovated showerhouse, to be named “Evelyn” after

our beloved cook from Unirondack’s early years. Needless to say, we all owe thanks beyond measure to Pete Howlett, our

dedicated facilities manager who made this dream a reality. Pete and his crew brought incredible skill and dedication to

creating the beautiful space that is now Evelyn. Eveyln is more than just a well-built structure. It is filled with little

touches that demonstrate the fine craftsmanship of the builders, from custom cabinets in the bathroom, to hand crafted

sunburst screen doors, to the beautiful stalls in the shower rooms.

Special thanks are also due again to the UU Congregation at Shelter Rock’s Large Grants Program. Their $100,000 grant

provided the funds we desperately needed to get the showerhouse renovation off the ground after the Health Department

told us in 2012 that they could no longer approve the building for use without major work.

Registration for our summer sessions was again high, and we drew campers from all over the country, continuing the

recent trend. One particularly exciting change was that over 100 new campers joined our welcoming community. This

may have been the result of increased outreach to congregational newsletters or just word of mouth.

The summer staff was one of the best ever and the program was so engaging and creative that campers could not wait to

return. We heard rave reviews from campers and parents throughout the summer and in the first week after registration

opened on October 1 for 2015 we had more than 125 registrations.

Financially this was a very challenging year for camp. In our initial budget calculations, we anticipated being very close to

the edge in our cash flow by years end. However, through meticulous budget management we were able to limit our losses

and we will enter 2014-15 with sufficient resources to meet all our financial obligations.

Winter Address: Unirondack, P.O. Box 795, Nyack, NY 10960 Phone: 845-675-9001 Tax ID: 16-0917160

Summer Address: Unirondack, 8722 Unirondack Road, Lowville, NY 13367 Website: Unirondack.org

Program weekends continued to thrive, particularly the Family and Friend’s Weekend, which once again was filled to

overflowing. We would love to see more folks at our Men’s Gathering, which has a solid core of men who have been

attending for many years but really wants to grow their community.

Congregations continue to love the opportunity for fellowship that a retreat at Unirondack offers. They were particularly

pleased with the improvements at camp, especially the opportunity to house more people in a heated building with the

completion of the showerhouse. And Elizabeth Bashur continues to create a welcoming space for all.

Our members continue to provide strong support in many different ways: attending the annual meeting, participating in

committees during the year, spreading the word about Unirondack, and advocating in the congregations for more financial

support for camp.

We are continuing to try and widen the circle of supporters of our mission at Unirondack. Communities that meet the

needs of young people and families are precious resources, and Unirondack is one of only a few communities where

Unitarian Universalist values are integrated into all aspects of our lives together.

Among the new initiatives that Unirondack is undertaking, this fall we attended the second gathering of UU Camp and

Conference Center Executives from around the country. Continuing the work that began last fall at Unirondack, we all

committed to the formation of the Unitarian Universalist Alliance of Camps and Conference Centers (UUACCC). We

plan to work together to insure that opportunities for fellowship beyond the walls of the congregation continue to be

available for UU’s far into the future.

With the successful completion of the showerhouse renovation, we will now be returning our attention to insuring

Unirondack’s future. We have raised about $250,000 of the one million dollar goal set for the Foundation Campaign that

is so essential to our future security. This summer we had a film crew come to Uniorondack to help us create a film to be

used in reaching out to groups who might not know about Unirondack but would want to support our mission if they did.

We hope when the film is completed you can help us to share the film and speak with groups and people you know who

would find Unirondack a worthy cause to support.

We enjoyed continuing support from so many people connected to Unirondack over this past year. Over $100,000 was

donated to help us finish the showerhouse, move the Foundation Campaign forward, continue the ongoing boathouse

renovation, provide camperships, and keep our program strong. In addition we received a grant for the second straight

year from the Pratt Northam Foundation Workership Program to employ a college attendee who lives locally. This helps

us in our goal of strengthening our connections in the local community.

We are also contemplating expanding our program offerings for adults in the spring and fall. Some ideas include artists

retreats, poetry workshops, health and wellness retreats, a contra dance week, and a women’s week. We’d love to hear

what you would be interested in attending. We are also again considering programmed week for adults at the end of the

summer of 2015.

One really exciting event coming up in 2015 is our Staff Reunion. For the first time ever, our schedule allows us to have

the reunion during a summer weekend. It will take place from Friday August 28 to Monday August 31. We are hoping to

draw staff from every decade of the camp’s existence. Please help us spread the word.

Together we will continue to flourish.

Respectfully Submitted 10/11/2014 by Dan Gottfried