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By the time you receive this issue of the Gazette, the days will have gotten a little longer, the weather a bit warmer and we’ll all be thinking about spending more time outdoors. I mention “thinking” about more time outdoors, because it’s still March and as New Englanders we all know another Nor’easter is still just a heartbeat away. But stop for a moment and think about those warm summer days when we can once again take a quiet walk in the woods or enjoy the cool shade from a large oak tree. If you’d like to share that experience with others I invite you to join us for a chapter-wide conservation event at City Park in the Buttonwoods section of Warwick on May 8th. The RI Tree Council has made plans to plant 100 trees on Saturday, May 8th in celebration of Arbor Day and they could use our help planting, watering and mulching.

The first Arbor Day took place in Nebraska in 1872 and is now celebrated in all 50 states and in many countries around the world as a day to plant and care for trees. Trees provide us with shade, they give off vital oxygen through photosynthesis, they absorb harmful pollutants and small particles from the air, and they provide protection from the wind and reduce noise pollution. Trees also provide a home and food for wildlife, stabilize the soil and help prevent erosion, they return nutrients back to the solid, they are exciting for children to climb and they make those quiet walks in the woods possible. So please join other AMC members on Saturday, May 8th from 9am to 12pm to plant, water and mulch an awful lot of young trees. Free workshops on plant pruning and pest control will be offered by the RI Tree Council and Arpin International, an event sponsor, will provide E-Waste and shredding recycling services as well. Visit www.ritrees.org for more information and pictures from last year’s event. I hope to see you there!

Tom Eagan
Chapter Chair

Although the Club has a number of paid employees that work in the administrative offices on Joy Street, at Pinkham Notch and the Highland Center, local Chapters are totally reliant upon volunteers to lead trips and coordinate activities. These people are members just like you, who have developed the necessary skills and experience to lead other members on winter ascents of high peaks, relaxing paddles on quite ponds or explorations to new and interesting places in our area. Trips must often be planned many months in advance so they can be posted in the Gazette and on our website. Out-of-state and overnight trips require even more planning and coordination (some facility reservations need to be made up to a year in advance), and come with the anxiety that their efforts will result in a full trip. But once the trip/activity is planned, the leaders must also field questions from potential participants, coordinate rides or meeting locations, plan to have the necessary gear on hand for the trip and pray that the weather cooperates. The volunteer then meets you at the trail head or the launch and makes sure you have a safe and enjoyable trip. Their reward for this hard work is the joy of meeting new people and sharing some time outdoors, whether that be a quite relaxing walk on a trail in Arcadia or at the top of a multi-pitch climb in the Gunks. They share your joy in trying something new, discovering a special place or looking back at a bridge or water bar that you just spent hours building. Most of all they appreciate a hand shake or a hug at the end of a trip and a heartfelt “thank you” for allowing us to share the experience

But sometimes the role of leader also has its frustrations. Members signing up late for trips that may have been planned months in advance, or sometimes not showing up at a planned event, leaving the leader and other participants waiting at the trail head. Participants calling leaders at home before or after the hours posted in the Gazette (some volunteers work 2nd or 3rd shifts) or coming to trips late or unprepared for the activity. And our best volunteers are often the ones who lead the most trips and activities, which can become quite taxing over time. Our volunteers are just like you and I. They have jobs, families and other responsibilities outside of their role as AMC leaders and being considerate of their time and effort makes being a leader a little easier and much more enjoyable. Helping out by offering to co-lead a trip or becoming a leader also helps to make our Chapter more active and more vibrant. Our Club is only as good as the leaders who step forward to share their time, outdoor skills and experience.

Overall our trip and activity leaders really enjoy their volunteer role in the Chapter, the people they met, and the activities they share. They especially enjoy helping others to appreciate the outdoors be that a local hike, trail work, a bike ride or a conservation project. So as you review this issue of the Gazette, we welcome and encourage you to join us on the many trips and activities that have been planned for the next few months and when you do run into one of our volunteer leaders, just say thank you and I can assure you - you’ll get a warm smile in return...  

Tom

Since the start of the New Year, the Executive Board had met several times to discuss a number of long term issues facing the Chapter. From these discussions we have developed three goals. The first, to better recognize leaders; second, to offer more activities to families; and third, to increase membership.

We are very fortunate in the Narragansett Chapter that we have a wonderful group of dedicated leaders who volunteer their time to organize and conduct trips, activities and events. We as an Executive Board need to do more to say thank you for the many hours these people have volunteered to the Chapter and the Club. Many people may not know this, but aside from the leaders recognized at our Annual meeting, a number of local members were recently recognized at the Club's Annual Meeting. Ed Poyer received the Distinguished Volunteer Award for his many local contributions over the past 15 years and his work with the AMC's Mountain Leadership School. Marcie Madsen received the Warren Hart Stewardship Award for her work on the AMC's Volunteer Steering Committee, work at the AMC's huts and the Family Adventure Camps. Other local leaders who received Stewardship Awards include: Chris Shafer, Mary Cloos, Maria Earley, Roy Benoit and Henry Cruciani. Related to this goal of recognizing our leaders is the need to expand the group of leaders we now have so we can offer even more activities and events and take some of the burden off the core group of leaders who now give a significant amount of their time to the Chapter.

Our next goal is to offer more programs and events for families. Our Family Outing Committee had been in active for a number of years and was recently re-established. We now have our first offering of family activities in years. At the spring fling alone, we have 3 different activities. Embracing and offering more programs to families and children not only increases member participation, it will help to ensure the next generation of outdoor enthusiasts and conservationists start off on the right foot.

And finally, our last goal is to increase membership. Club-wide membership is either flat or declining depending upon what chapter you consider. There is much more competition for our member's free time and we need to continue to offer an exciting and interesting program of events and activities to ensure our long tradition continues. The more we engage our members and get them to become more active in our chapter, the more vibrant and exciting a Chapter we'll all have and enjoy.

As you can see, the Executive Board has a number of challenging goals before it. I'll keep you updated on our progress from time-to-time and I invite you to join us for a local hike, a bike ride or a paddle. For those who are more adventurous, we regularly conduct outings in the White Mountains and our technical climbing group is always looking for new participants. And for those who are more conservation minded, we have a very active trails committee and conservation committee as you will see in this issue of the Gazette and by visiting our website at www.amcnarragansett.org.

I challenge you to try something new this spring and summer: co-lead a trip, volunteer on a trails project - to get involved and enjoy your membership.

Take care,

Tom

Changes in store for AMC Outdoors and member e-communications - In an effort to reduce expenses and AMC's carbon footprint, AMC Outdoors will be published six times per year, beginning with the September issue. The magazine will also begin running abbreviated activity listings beginning with the May issue. At the same time, AMC is stepping up its efforts in member e-communications and social networking.

Full listings will continue to be available online at trips.outdoors.org, and well as through a new e-mail based activity alert available through the AMC Member Center (www.outdoors.org/membercenter) at the end of January 2009. Members can also sign up for e-delivery of chapter newsletters, when available, on the Member Center.

Trip leaders will see new word count limits for magazine listings on the Online Trip Listing system submission forms starting February 15 for trips submitted for the May issue. A complete Q&A for trip leaders will be distributed through chapter chairs, published in the March AMC Outdoors, and posted to www.outdoors.org/volunteers/forms/

Join AMC on Facebook! - AMC launched its official Facebook page this fall, featuring regular feeds of staff-led blogs, events, and press releases, as well as our AMC Outdoors photo contest on Flickr and recent videos. The goal is to use this growing communications channel to reach a new audience of potential members, including ways for chapters to leverage social networking sites in promoting local activities. AMC is interested in your feedback! Send your thoughts to Valerie Bianchi at vbianchi@outdoors.org

Mountain Leadership School 2009 now accepting registrations - The 2009 Mountain Leadership School schedule is now available online at www.outdoors.org/leadership. Now in its 51st year, MLS is a five-day wilderness leadership training program designed to help you lead groups with minimal impact in the backcountry. It's perfect for new or experienced trip leaders looking to improve their skills. Participants will discover and develop their own leadership style and learn new techniques such as Trip Planning, Map and Compass, Time Management, Group Dynamics, Leave No Trace, and Accident Scene Management. Scholarships are available for chapter trip leaders--check with your chapter chair for more information.

See www.outdoors.org/leadership for details or call 603-466-2727 to reserve your space at MLS.

Family Adventure Camps are back! More Hut overnights and teen options - AMC Family Adventure Camps are the perfect way to spend quality time with your family this summer. Visit the White Mountains, the Lakes Region, or the Maine Woods for a week of mountain hospitality and terrific activities tailored for each location and created especially for families with kids ages 5 and up. AMC's expert staff will lead a full range of programs including hiking, paddling, fly fishing, hands-on nature studies, and much more. Camps are all-inclusive, offering families the best value while making planning easy. New for 2009 - kids ages 5 and up are welcome at all camps, plus more hut overnight and special teen options.

Learn more at www.outdoors.org/summerguide.

In an effort to reduce expenses and AMC’s carbon footprint, AMC Outdoors will be published six times per year, beginning with the September issue. The magazine will also begin running abbreviated activity listings beginning with the May issue. At the same time, AMC is stepping up its efforts in member e-communications and social networking. This change in policy is being made after discussions with and input from staff, regional directors, and chapter leadership.

Full listings will continue to be available online at trips.outdoors.org, as well as through a new e-mail based activity alert available through the AMC Member Center (www.outdoors.org/membercenter) at the end of January. AMC will also be updating its monthly AMC Insider e-newsletter to highlight local chapter activities, based on member profile.

Trip leaders will see new word count limits for magazine listings on the Online Trip Listing system submission forms starting February 15. Trip leaders will need to specify the type of trip they are entering, and will then see new magazine trip description word count limits in each form.

New Word Count Limits Effective for Trip Listings Submitted Starting February 15.

The following magazine activity description word limits will be effective in the Online Trip Listing (OLTL) system effective February 15, for submissions for the May issue or later. There will be no changes in limits for title, difficulty, contact information, or for web descriptions. There also will be no changes for listings already entered in the system prior to February 15.

New Submission Deadlines for AMC Outdoors Effective July 15.

AMC Outdoors will transition to a six issue per year schedule starting with the September 2009 issue. Beginning in September, all issues will be double issues covering two calendar months.

The new submission calendar for 2009 will be:

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: I’ve already submitted trips for the May issue on the OLTL system – will they be shortened? Do I need to resubmit them?

A: We will run shortened listings only for trips submitted through OLTL after February 15. Trips submitted earlier will run in the magazine as is.

Q: How will the OLTL system change?

A: During the submission process, you will need to specify whether your trip is advanced deposit, show and go (no registration), instructional, or no deposit/registration required. Based on the type of trip specified, the form in the OLTL will indicate the description word count limit. We will update our user guide to make sure trip leaders are aware of these changes.

Q: How were the new word limits determined?

A: We considered the need of show and go, advanced notice, and instructional trips to provide more information in their listings. We also looked at the mix of trip types usually submitted each issue, and average actual word count length. We reached a compromise which we reviewed with regional directors and chapter leadership.

Q: What else is AMC doing to save pages and paper in AMC Outdoors?

A: Along with reducing the number of issues, we will also reduce the length of listings for staff-managed activities, reduce the number of pages of house ads, and combine some other areas of the magazine.

Q: How will these changes impact members with limited or no Internet access?

A: Members who do not have online access, and want to review “long” listings, can still consult their chapter newsletters, half of which run full listings, or contact AMC Member Services at 800-372-1758 for a hardcopy listing. Chapters can also download these “long” listings and print them out for events or mail them to members on request.

Q: How will AMC increase online promotion of chapter activities?

A: While we make changes in print listings, we plan to increase our investment in online promotion of AMC programs, including: continued promotion of online trip listings at trips.outdoors.org (already one of the top five most visited areas on AMC’s website) highlighting of chapter activities, personalized by member chapter, in monthly AMC Insider e-newsletter and after login to the AMC Member Center (www.outdoors.org/membercenter) ability to subscribe to personalized email digest of upcoming chapter activities, based on activity and regional interest (starting at end of January 2009) development of best practices for promotion through social networking sites.