President's Logbook

By Jim Fetig

Don’t let the winter blues get you down. It’s not too early to think about hiking and cabin rental seasons. There is plenty of volunteer work to do.  A cabin stay in the snow can be magical as is winter hiking in soft snow when the ethereal silence soaks up the noise and stress of everyday life.

Unfortunately, this is also the time when thru-hikers and others are torn between their fear of Norovirus and their distaste of soap.  Believe it or not, what should be obvious, for some is a hard choice.

The fact is that most gastroenteritis is not Norovirus. There are plenty of other nasty bugs that generate gastro-intestinal pyrotechnics that simulate a Noro infection.  The key to avoid being double parked in a literal sh*t storm is cleanliness. All of this applies to day hiking and cabin rentals too. You’ve been told.

That was the exciting part of this column.  The rest of this stuff is what engaged members may want to, but don’t need to know.  It’s like eating your vegetables or taking your ßvitamins.

Each year in January, the elected officers have a retreat to discuss various subjects on the horizon.  We met at Bears Den on January 4. This year we talked about retaining and growing membership, promoting volunteerism, strategic planning, fundraising, and preparing for the club’s centennial in 2027.

As this is written, major initiatives are underway led by various club officers. They include the usual suspects including a strategic planning effort, strengthening our financial position, required review and validation of our committees, chapters and special interest sections, finalization of a long-discussed dues increase, updating our administrative procedures, and emphasis on information security.

I told you it was about eating your vegetables.

This is also the time of year when we begin meeting with our agency partners to plan and discuss the year ahead. These partnerships are key to our continuing success, and we pay a lot of attention to maintaining strong relationships.

We have some opportunities for qualified volunteers. 

In the tick-free environment category, the investment committee is looking for one or two members.  This committee manages our $5 million plus quasi endowment fund.  If you are an experienced investment counselor/advisor or manage institutional investments, and/or have deep understanding of financial markets, please contact Charlie Balch, committee chair, at cabalch@aol.com.

We also are in need of a volunteer general counsel. The GC is the club’s legal advisor.  As such, they are an ex-officio member of ExCom and Council. We have both a legal budget and a pro bono law firm, Baker Botts, to assist. Most legal questions involve real estate. However, as with any organization of our size, a range of questions may arise.

In addition, if you are interested in any of our committees or areas of responsibility, your help will be welcome. Contact the person responsible for the area in which you are interested. https://www.patc.net/meet-our-team

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