Election day greetings
to all! Having dispatched my civic duty in the historic Town House of
Center Tuftonboro today, it dawned on me that it was high time to take
stock of a remarkable month for our camping family while awaiting the
results.
Today’s excitement,
however, does not surround the returns of this political season. Rather,
the news has been the upsurge in off-season activity, visitors and the
many new additions to camp.
Our first Columbus Day
Work Weekend brought with it much better weather than expected and made
for an enjoyable time storing canoes and clearing out the basement of
the barn. We are grateful to Andy Sherman, Jerry Weene, Loretta Goodwin,
Stacey Cutliff and Rose O’Neill for their willingness to come up and
lend a hand!
For those of you
looking for something different to do over Veteran’s Day Weekend, feel
free to come up and help out during our continual closing of camp.
Jamie Hodder was kind
enough to give us a wonderful tour of Ohio State University during our
Midwest swing. While back in NH, in between the camp tours on the
weekends, Peter Dodge, Larry Heller, Evan Johnson and Keith McCarthy
were just some of the alumni from different eras who dropped in for
visits.
Please mark the evening
of Saturday, December 9th on your calendars, as our next
social gathering will be for the much anticipated theater event of the
season. A performance of the Wizard of Oz that Keith will direct at the
Rockport Middle School will be the perfect way to head into the holiday
season!
Our last Board Meeting
marked some giant strides forward for the branch. The leadership dilemma
created by the sudden departure of Geoff Ball has been solved from
within, with the announcement that George Pacheco and Jill Gary have
taken on the role of executive director and associate executive
respectively.
The budget has been
submitted with a host of planned improvements to camp for the year 2001.
Thanks to Charles Sorenson for his willingness to represent us on the
General Board and Andy Doyle for volunteering to join the Finance
Committee.
The North Woods alumni
association will be having a working meeting on Sunday, November 19th
at 2pm in the Camping Offices at 316 Huntington Ave. in Boston. Topics
will include off-season events, alumni search and the alumni web page
(thanks so much to the many who have already sent their updates in) and
much more. All are invited to participate!!
As for other recent
additions, thanks to the unflagging efforts of Fran Rogers, the
Massachusetts College of Pharmacy has provided more furniture upgrades
to Fireside. Our flotilla of sailing craft just became more diverse this
week due to the generosity of Barbara Anderson with a donation of a
Hobie Holder 14’ in pristine condition. Saving the best for last - our
heartiest congratulations go out to the Dorsey’s!! Taylor Grace Dorsey
was born this morning @ about 9:30am. She is 8lbs 11 oz and 21 inches.
As I rode across a rare
calm Broads for the first time during a crisp and clear fall morning on
my way to do some work on Pine Island, I was stunned to see something
looming in the distance. There on the horizon was the snow-capped peak
of Mount Washington. It struck me that it was symbolic of life as a camp
director. Though the challenge may always be right there before you,
often times it is obscured, with many hills yet to climb. Yet, from time
to time, it is worth pausing and enjoying the view before embarking on
the next leg of the journey.
David B. Goodwin
North Woods Director
"Trail 4 is packing for Pine..."
