Winter 2010 - The Alpine Club of Canada

National Office news
by Toby Harper
As I write this in early October, the
National Office in Canmore is
wrapping up the Alpine Club of
Canada’s fiscal year, moving the majority
of our Library from the Whyte Museum
into temporary storage, preparing for the
fall Board of Directors meeting and the
Mountain Guides Ball, and welcoming
two new staff members.
We’re very pleased Sylvain Vanier has
joined our Facilities Maintenance team.
He is a journeyman carpenter, an active
outdoor enthusiast and strong ACC
supporter. Sylvain has good knowledge of
our hut system and has lived in Canmore
for 18 years, now with his wife, Ann, and
their two young daughters.
Nominate a volunteer
Every year, the members of
the Alpine Club of Canada’s
Awards Committee volunteer
their time to sift through numerous
nominations to determine the recipients
of the Club’s Volunteer Awards.
Earlier this year, dedicated and prolific
volunteer Paul Geddes stepped down
as Chair of the Awards Committee,
and handed the reins to St. Boniface
Section Representative André Mahé.
On behalf of all ACC members, a big
thank you to Paul for his service, and to
André for taking on the important role
of Awards Committee Chair!
Nominations are now open for
outstanding Alpine Club of Canada
volunteers of 2010. The following
awards recognize and celebrate ACC
volunteers for their contributions to the
Club and its members:
l A.O. Wheeler Legacy Award
l Honorary Membership
l President’s Award
l Silver Rope for Leadership Award
l Distinguished Service Award
l Don Forest Service Award
l Eric Brooks Leader Award
For details on how to nominate a
volunteer and nomination forms, visit
www.alpineclubofcanada.ca/awards
or call the ACC National Office at
(403) 678-3200 ext. 108 to receive the
information by mail.
Deadline for nominations is
December 31, 2010.
30 Alpine Club of Canada Gazette Winter 2010
As the ACC’s new Programs Director,
I recently moved to Canmore with my
wife, Ciara, and our eight-month-old
daughter Ida. I’m a bilingual Montrealer
(aux francophones, je fera de mon
mieux pour que le club soit de plus en
plus “national”), and have worked in
the mountains of western and northern
North America and as a program
manager for non-profit organizations
internationally. I was a participant on
the ACC’s The North Face Summer
Leadership Training Course in 1999,
served as Thunder Bay Section Chair,
worked at the National Office front desk
and have volunteered as hut custodian.
I believe the ACC should be true to
its name—our national organization for
all things mountain-related. It should
really reach the three shining seas, should
be member-focused, and “alpine” in the
sense of being a leader in a broad range
of mountain pursuits and environments
(bouldering as well as reading about
bouldering; the House of Commons as
well as glaciers).
The Programs Director’s fundamental
role is to provide leadership for the
distinct and common needs of our 20
regional sections and their members,
plus supervising the ACC’s Mountain
Adventures, Publications and Marketing,
and Access and Environment programs.
Expanding our membership by 50 per
cent, in keeping with our mission and
the objectives identified by our current
Strategic Action Plan, means focusing
on Canada’s major urban centres, and the
east and north.
I’m most invested in supporting the
sections, recognizing that our members’
direct Club experience is often through
local activities. We also recognize that
to grow the Club’s membership we must
address the diversity of Canadians who
could be served by the ACC, whether
young urban gym climbers, families
looking to access local wild spaces, or
people interested in national scale Club
opportunities and resources.
I am interested in your feedback,
so please contact me directly at
tharper@alpineclubofcanada.ca I also
encourage you to join the ACC Facebook
group, and follow @alpineclubcan on
Twitter.
Toby Harper explores the Matanuska Glacier in
the Chugach, Alaska. Submitted photo.
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NOTICES
Upcoming Meetings
Executive Committee meeting:
●●
April 16 & 17, 2011 in Canmore
Board of Directors meeting:
●●
May 14 & 15, 2011 in Canmore
Annual General Meeting:
●●
May 14, 2011 in Canmore
CAJ Article Submissions
Deadline for submitting articles for
the upcoming CAJ is February 1, 2011.
For more information, visit:
www.alpineclubofcanada.ca/caj/
guidelines.html
Classified Ad Rates:
$20 plus $1 per word + GST
E-mail your ad to:
ads@alpineclubofcanada.ca
or mail to the address on page 3.