Green Mountain Club ANNUAL REPORT MAY 1, 2014 – APRIL 30, 2015
hat an incredible fiscal year 2015 was. Two words The club finished the year in the black, and contributions Wcome to mind: accomplishment and change. to the endowment continued. Through generous bequests, we were able to retire the mortgage on the club head- Our major accomplishment was completion of the quarters building enabling us to devote more funding to Winooski River Footbridge, first officially crossed by protecting and maintaining the Long Trail System. project supporter and former Taft Lodge Caretaker Daan Zwick. The smile on Daan’s face as he finally achieved his We owe much of our success to the more than 9,000 voting dream of walking across a bridge connecting the Long members and volunteers who are the club’s backbone, Trail through the Winooski River Valley from Camel’s Hump providing thousands of hours of labor to support trails, to Mount Mansfield was almost worth the 103-year wait. shelters, and organizational functions. This project was made possible by 1,400 generous donors, Next year hikers will enjoy hiking on two miles of new committed partners and an amazing amount of work by the trail winding through the Winooski River Valley south of club’s dedicated volunteers and staff. the Winooski River Footbridge. We will begin renovating We also had significant change at the club, including the Bolton Lodge and Bryant Camp, update and redesign the hiring of several new staff members and the conclusion club’s website, and develop a strategic plan which will of Jean Haigh’s three-year term as president. We are in- lead the club through the next phase of accomplishment. debted to Jean for her wisdom, leadership and hard work. I am proud of our work, and confident we will continue to What I’ve always admired about the club is its ability to grow and strengthen together. I look forward to reporting maintain the Long Trail as a free world-class hiking trail, more progress next year. Thank you for your support of the even with organizational, ecological and economic chal- Green Mountain Club, and for your help keeping the Long lenges. Last year was no different—we helped provide Trail free and open to all. hiking opportunities to more than 200,000 visitors, and congratulated almost 200 long distance hikers for complet- Sincerely, ing the Long Trail.
Mike DeBonis, Executive Director
Daan Zwick
Green Mountain Club 2015 Annual Report 27 Because of your support this year… We Communicated Our Mission:
• The club’s flagship publication, the Long SOLO Wilderness First Aid, and our popu- Trail News, was produced and mailed lar live broadcast end-to-ender panel. quarterly to approximately 6,700 house- • Our group outreach program helped holds. The magazine was also distrib- 38 organizations develop low impact uted in our visitor center and at events itineraries on the trail by using desig- throughout the year. nated group overnight sites, minimizing • Our visitor center staff provided more overcrowding, and encouraging Leave than 4,500 visitors with hiking and rec- No Trace practices. This improved the reational information. They also directed backcountry experiences of nearly 1,300 hikers to the Short Trail on our campus, youth and college-aged hikers. ordered new GMC merchandise, shipped • Our volunteer coordination staff wel- 1,500 orders, managed more than ninety comed nearly 400 eager attendees to the Wheeler Pond Camp reservations, regis- club’s annual Mud Season Egg Hunt and tered participants for outdoor skill edu- Winter Trails Day events, held at club cation workshops, and answered your headquarters. phone calls and emails. • Our communications staff kept our online • More than 200,000 people enjoyed a presence strong. The club’s monthly hike on the Long Trail System. 186 hikers electronic newsletter, eBlaze, reached were awarded End-to-End certificates for an average of 9,900 readers. Social completing the entire Long Trail. media support steadily increased with • Our publications staff and volunteer more than 12,000 followers on Facebook, committee members were busy! They 3,000 on Twitter, and rising numbers on finished text for the seventh edition of 50 Instagram, our newest platform. Hikes in Vermont, and prepared the next • Our stewardship staff worked with editions of the Long Trail End-to-Ender’s the Appalachian Trail Conservancy Guide, Vermont’s Long Trail Map, and the to produce the second edition of the Northeast Kingdom Hiking Trail Map. The The Long Trail embodies the spirit of Vermont ATC-published Backcountry Sanitation Green Mountain Club now publishes 18 Manual. This manual explains best prac- and the people who call the state home – its hiking books and trail maps. tices for treating human waste to safe- beauty, solitude, camaraderie, generosity and • Our education staff held 10 work- guard the backcountry environment and the fact it has been sustained through the shops with 155 participants, including trail users. generations by dedicated, passionate people Introduction to Backpacking for Women, who know its significance.
—Adriane Edwards-Bacon
Green Mountain Club 2015 Annual Report 28 We Protected and Stewarded Land:
• We reclaimed nearly thirty miles • We obtained the 123-acre Thomas Parcel of boundary line on the Vermont in Bolton, a critical piece of upland now Appalachian Trail from Bartlett Brook part of the Long Trail Relocation north of Road in Pomfret to Elm Street in Norwich. the Winooski River. The parcel has been This was accomplished in addition to transferred to Mount Mansfield State regular mowing, cutting brush and sap- Forest with GMC retaining a conservation lings, and burning of debris. easement. • We reclaimed two acres from overgrown • We completed our fifth season of sus- native and non-native woody vegetation tainable timber management on the on Woodward Hill in North Bridgewater Meltzer Tract in Lowell. We acquired and Merrill Hill in West Hartford. GMC forty cords of log-length firewood to manages fifteen open areas along the heat the Visitor Center, the Back Forty Appalachian Trail between Route 12 and field staff housing and cabins, and the the Connecticut River—the largest con- Wheeler Pond Camps in Barton. centration of open areas along the entire 2,168 mile AT.
We Cared for the Trails and Mountains:
• Our summit caretakers guided and edu- • The Long Trail Patrol repaired and cated more than 57,000 hikers on Mount improved the Haystack Mountain Trail on Mansfield, a thirty percent increase over the Green Mountain National Forest in last year, and 21,000 hikers on Camel’s Dover after a bulldozer trespassed and Hump. Our Long Trail/Appalachian Trail damaged the treadway. The LTP com- backcountry caretakers hosted 1,700 pleted additional work along the Vermont hikers at Stratton Pond, Griffith Lake and Appalachian Trail corridor and built a Little Rock Pond. And more than 4,000 solid rock staircase just north of Skylight hikers made their way to the Stratton Pond in the Breadloaf Wilderness. Mountain summit and fire tower. • The Volunteer Long Trail Patrol worked • Caretakers and volunteers composted for eight weeks making structural It’s the perfect way to get off the 2,600 gallons of raw sewage, protecting improvements to the muddy areas on the beaten path; to take the path less the environment and creating sanitary Peru and Styles Peak ridgeline and relo- traveled. Thank you for all you do to and pleasant hiking conditions at high cating the Old Job Trail away from Lake maintain the trails! use areas. Brook in Peru.
—Terry Paquette
Green Mountain Club 2015 Annual Report 29 Thank You… To Our Members
Our members are the foundation of the GMC afternoon outings on Killington Peak, Bald and the reason for our success. This year Mountain, Deer Leap, Kent Pond, and more. we had over 9,000 voting members! GMC’s fourteen sections led hikes and The Killington Section hosted the 104th GMC outings, represented the club at commu- Annual Meeting on June 14 at Mountain nity events, and recruited new members. Meadows Lodge in Killington. President By section the member numbers were: At Jean Haigh presented the Honorary Large, 5,825; Bennington, 136; Brattleboro, Life Membership Award to former GMC 134; Bread Loaf, 253; Burlington, 1,071; President and current Manchester Section Connecticut, 200; Killington, 266; Laraway, President Marge Fish for her commitment 60; Manchester, 162; Montpelier, 574; to the club. Doris Washburn and Bill Lyons Northeast Kingdom, 195; Northern Frontier, received President’s Awards for stead- 67; Ottauquechee, 299; Sterling, 126; fast service. Attendees took advantage of Worcester, 123.
To Our Donors
We are continually amazed at the generos- • 56 Long Trail Legacy Society members ity of our donors, who are committed to who pledged gifts to the club, either by protecting Vermont’s celebrated trails and including us in their estate plans or by mountains. This year we had: naming us as a beneficiary of a chari- table gift annuity or life insurance policy • 90 Ridgeline Society members who donated $1,000 or more to support our • More than 5,000 individual donors who general operating budget recognized the value of their hiking experiences with financial contribu- • 25 donors who supported GMC on a tions (for a complete list, please visit monthly basis ww.greenmountainclub.org). To Our Volunteers
Dedicated and talented volunteers gave GMC staff planned the annual Volunteer countless hours to keep the Long Trail Appreciation Picnic in September to System and the Green Mountain Club thriv- celebrate and recognize our force of ing! They spent their weekends clearing unwavering volunteers. Killington Section waterbars and drainage ditches, carrying members Barbara and Barry Griffith were shavings and bark mulch to backcountry named Volunteers of the Year for their privies, serving on committees, participating service to the club as trail maintainers, in fundraising phone-a-thons, and keeping section officers, fundraisers, meeting I know it takes a lot of support and our office running smoothly on Thursday organizers and hike leaders. Dot Meyer hard work to maintain the Long Trail Volunteer Days. received the Special Recognition Award in for all of us to enjoy. As a former honor of nearly fifty years as a Burlington caretaker, I am so thankful to current Section hike leader. trail crews and caretakers for their work, and I want to see the GMC thrive into the future. —Ryan Morra, 2011 Caretaker
Green Mountain Club 2015 Annual Report 30 Fiscal Year 2015 Financial Report
The Green Mountain Club fiscal year ended Trails, education and member services. GMC Officers April 30, 2015, with an operational surplus. Fundraising, facilities and administration Jean Haigh, President Total net assets increased by 5 percent to account for the rest. Due to the receipt of John Page, Vice President $11.2 million. The value of our endowment a major bequest we were able to retire our Stephen Klein, Treasurer decreased from $4.5 million to $4.4 million, outstanding loan on the headquarters build- Tom Candon, Secretary a loss of just under 0.5 percent, as a result ing and, coupled with additional contribu- of market withdrawals exceeding market tions, we expect to complete Winooski GMC Directors performance and contributions. Valley Long Trail Relocation funding in fiscal Ted Albers, Burlington Total assets consist of land and ease- year 2016. Lee Allen, General Michael Chernick, Northeast Kingdom ments, $2.82 million (24 percent); endowment In conclusion, the club finished fiscal year Marge Fish, Manchester funds, $4.4 million (38 percent); headquar- 2015 on a sound financial footing. Fiscal Chris Hale, Laraway ters, field housing, Lamoille River bridge, and year 2016 will be our first post-Winooski George Hall, General Winooski River bridge construction in prog- Footbridge fundraising year, which means Allison Henry, Killington ress, $3.48 million (30 percent); with pledges we will need to rely on other activities to Paul Houchens, General receivable, cash, accounts receivable, support field operations. Contributions by Lynda Hutchins, General Wayne Krevetski, General prepaid expenses and inventory accounting our members and organizational grants will Sheri Larsen, General for the remainder (8 percent). Total assets be important sources of revenue. Ron Lucier, Sterling were $11.59 million, offset by liabilities of Thank you again to the many members Doug McKain, Bread Loaf $381,509. and other supporters who have contributed James Mitchell, General Total revenue and support as compared to to the Green Mountain Club and its mission Millie Mugica, General John Oliva, Worcester total expenses showed a surplus of $527,470. in so many ways! We count on this con- Walter Pomroy, Northern Frontier Total contributions and program in- tinued support for annual revenue and to Dick Ruben, Ottauquechee come increased by 5.7 percent, while total build the endowment which will, over time, Lexi Shear, General expenses increased by 6 percent. In fiscal contribute even more to our financial stabil- Laurene Sorensen, Connecticut year 2015, 77 percent of the club’s operat- ity than it does today. Martha Stitelman, Bennington ing expenditures were in direct support of —Stephen Klein, Treasurer Mike Wetherell, Montpelier the Long Trail System, Northeast Kingdom Richard Windish, Brattleboro GMC Staff Operating Revenues & Support 1Michael DeBonis, Executive Director Membership & Support 32% Pete Antos-Ketcham, Director of Land and Facilities Management Trail Management 44% 1Jason Buss, Business Manager Long Trail Protection/Stewardship 4% 1Alicia DiCocco, Director of Development Publications & Sales 8% Jennifer Donley, Visitor Center Manager Education Program 2% Jill Haas, Database Manager Facilities 2% Dave Hardy, Director of Trail Programs Kevin Hudnell, Field Supervisor Endowment Distributions 9% 1Jennifer Montagne, Membership and Volunteer Coordinator Operating Expenses Jocelyn Hebert, Long Trail News Editor and Communications Assistant Membership & Support 17% 2Maisie Howard, Director of Development Trail Management 35% Matt Krebs, Publications Coordinator Long Trail Protection/Stewardship 7% and Stewardship Assistant 2 Publications & Sales 9% Thorin Markison, Group Outreach Specialist 1Caitlin Miller, Group Outreach Specialist Education Program 3% 2Joe Sikowitz, Member and Volunteer Coordinator Fundraising 9% Facilities 10% 1 Started in FY 2015 2 Departed in FY2015
Administration 10% Publication Credits: Editor: Jocelyn Hebert / Copy editor: Dick Andrews Design: Brian P. Graphics Arts Green Mountain Club 2015 Annual Report 31