Distinguished Service Award Lennie Steinmetz is a long-term member of the Delaware Valley Chapter and has volunteered for the club at multiple levels and for many years. A dedicated peak bagger and winter hiker, Lennie initially started volunteering as a trip leader for her chapter. She also has devoted extensive time to advancing the club’s recreational opportunities as a member of her chapter’s Leadership Development Committee, Winter Outings leader to the Catskills, and at the club level as Chapter Chair and Vice Chair.
Lennie served six years on AMC’s Board of Directors as Regional Director for the Southern Region, served as the Board liaison to the Outdoor Leadership and Development Committee, and since then has continued her efforts to mentor outdoor leaders in her area. Her most recent accomplishments stem from her role as Chair of the Mohican Committee at Camp Mohican in the Delaware Water Gap. Her helpful input to staff and strong oversight of the committee have helped bring needed facility improvements to that destination, which has contributed to the significant increase in the many new members and families who have discovered the outdoors through their experiences at Mohican. As with the musical groups she conducts in her professional life, Lennie skillfully and artfully brings out the best in everyone – in both the staff and volunteer communities – with whom she interacts.
Al and Barrie Zesiger have been active members and generous supporters of the AMC for over 30 years. Al Zesiger served on AMC’s Board of Directors in the early 90’s. Al and Barrie were among the first members of the Board of Advisors, joining in 1996. Prior to their service on the Board of Advisors, they served on AMC’s Advisory Committee. Al played a pivotal role in transforming the Investment Committee into the highly professional operation that it is today. The two were leaders in AMC’s 125th Capital Campaign. In 2006 Barrie helped to coordinate a very successful program between MIT’s Physical Education (PE) classes and the AMC that brings MIT students to the Highland Center, where they participate in outdoor adventures and fulfill their PE graduation requirements.
Volunteer Leadership Award Bernie Hickey is a senior leader with the Forty Plus Committee of the Boston Chapter, and has been an active AMC member since 1974. He is currently coordinator of the SNAP (Short Notice Asynchronous Perambulatory) program for the Boston Chapter Forty Plus Committee, where he has organized and led over 40 mid-week walks each year and now has a following of over 300 participants. He holds a certificate of leader qualification from the Forty Plus Committee, the Boston Chapter Leadership Training and Major Excursions. For the last, Bernie has organized and led trips to Scotland, Hawaii, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Bernie’s most noteworthy contribution to the AMC is his devotion and passion in recruiting members to participate in leadership training. He was instrumental in bringing 50% of the participants to the last Forty Plus Leadership Training in 2008. He is an active mentor to co-leaders on his SNAP and canoeing trips. Cold River Camp is another AMC love of Bernie’s. He serves on the Camp’s board and volunteers every year on the trail crew. He has also served as assistant manager.
As an active leader, Bernie is at his best leading canoe trips for older members. These folks have come to count on his annual Columbus Day weekend canoe/camping trip on the Connecticut River where they paddle and camp from Vermont to Massachusetts. His trips are always fun and real learning experiences and are conducted, always, with the safety of the group foremost. Bernie has completed several safety and first aid courses: CPR, EMT, and, most recently, Wilderness First Aid Training with SOLO, among others.
Bernie began leading outdoor trips 57 years ago as hike master with the Boy Scouts of America, and one year, he spent 51 weekends leading trips. His energy is limitless as he serves as a role model for younger leaders in the AMC.
Leo Kelly, a long-time member of AMC's Connecticut Chapter, has contributed to the Club in a diversified capacity, holding a number of volunteer leadership roles. Having most recently completed a year as the CT Chapter Chair, Leo encouraged and led the Chapter to match up to $5,000 in a fundraising effort by the CT Chapter Conservation Committee for the Maine Woods Initiative resulting in a total pledge of $10,000 from the CT Chapter.
Having previously served the CT Chapter as Vice Chair in 2007, Leo also served as Education Chair from 2002-2005 and remains a member of that committee as a leadership training instructor. A Master Educator of Leave No Trace, Leo has participated in Chapter LNT Train the Trainer trainings, Trails Day LNT activities and conducted presentations to various Boy Scout organizations.
Also a CT Chapter hike leader, Leo led the first Chapter hut weekend in recent memory to Lonesome Lake Hut in September 2008 as well as several other chapter trips. At a Club-wide level, Leo served as the Director of Mountain Leadership School from 2005-2006. Leo successfully planned and chaired a committee to celebrate the 50th anniversary of AMC's Mountain Leadership School at Pinkham Notch, NH, on October 4, 2008, which was attended by 53 former directors, instructors and alumni, including the very first director in 1958. Leo has been an MLS instructor for over seven years and continues to be a staff member. A past member of the Club-wide Outdoor Leadership Development Committee, Leo has also presented workshops at the former Leadership Training Institute Conference at the Highland Center, Pinkham Notch Visitor Center, the Club-wide Annual Meeting and the CT Chapter Annual Gathering. Leo's leadership efforts have made a lasting impression on hundreds of people who have learned best practices for leadership and protection of our natual resources.
Tim Kennedy has been a long term member of the NH chapter. He has served in multiple positions on the chapter’s Executive Committee, guiding the chapter and helping to improve its finances as Treasurer for 5 years. He was especially instrumental in that post with respect to balancing the Chapter’s annual budget. Tim has been a long standing member of the chapter’s leadership training team, instructor for the Spring and Winter Workshops for over 4 decades, mentor for new trip leaders, and leader by example. Tim is also the organizer of the AMC’s annual Presidential Range Hike, which is entering its 49th year. Tim helped the club during the re-permitting process, and has engaged hundreds of members in Club activities in a very positive way, especially new and upcoming trip leaders. Tim has also made it a priority to engage new members in new activities, motivate current leaders to stay active, and share the mountain world with members and non-members alike.
Trish Niece has been a long term member of the AMC with the Connecticut Chapter. In the past twenty years she has served on the Executive Committee of the CT Chapter and served two years as chapter chair in the mid-eighties. Since then, Trish has led many safe and successful hikes as a major excursion and chapter hike leader. Trish has also served as a hike leader at AMC’s August Camp and most recently, as registrar. What further distinguishes Trish is her more recent and able assistance within the August Camp and Major Excursion communities to help revise the screening process for participants, improve the medical form, and ably assist in helping to upgrade the risk management standards for each group. Her ability to work with staff and volunteer peers alike enables our participants to have a safe and enjoyable experience on the trails.
Ed Poyer is a long time trip leader and outdoor skills and leadership instructor for the AMC and a certified Wilderness First Responder. He has focused on leading trips, and on improving leadership skills in the Narragansett chapter and the AMC. Since 1993, Ed has led well over a hundred trips for the Narragansett chapter. Nearly all of these were weekend or longer trips in northern New England and the Adirondacks. Ed has led AMC hikes to all the four thousand footers in New Hampshire, and has led to nearly all of these peaks in winter. Ed teaches winter skills for the chapter, and used to teach at the Winter Mountain Skills workshops run out of Pinkham Notch when it was a volunteer program. Ed also led and co-led Major Excursions to Yosemite and the Colorado Rockies, and has led numerous trips at the Inter-Chapter level.
Ed has sub-chaired the Narragansett Chapter’s Backpacking and Northern Hikes subcommittee for twelve of the last fourteen years. During this time he developed a committee and a cadre of well trained and prolific leaders, formalized leadership qualification guidelines, developed policies and procedures for the committee and expanded leadership training within the chapter. Ed has been active with the AMC’s Mountain Leadership School since he was a student in 1993. He has been an instructor at the school 10 times, and has trained several of the instructors on staff at this time. Ed has also worked on parts of the student and instructor’s manuals, and helped to develop routes and protocols for the school. As an instructor he regularly presents one of the topics during the Wednesday workshops.
Ed served as chair of the Narragansett Chapter’ Leadership Development Committee from 2001 though 2005, and is still a member of that committee. During his tenure as chair, Ed instituted the practice of running an annual Wilderness First Aid course in Rhode Island for chapter members and leaders. As chair, he also produced a series of leadership training workshops, which are still offered to the chapter. Ed instituted the practice of offering scholarships to chapter leaders to encourage them to develop and maintain their wilderness first aid skills. During his tenure, Ed produced a Wilderness First Responder course in RI, taught by SOLO. Ed has also developed, and continues to instruct, a map and compass course, which he has run each spring since 1994.
Finally, Ed was the Chapter’s 1999 Appie of the Year and still to this day is one of the Chapter’s most prolific leaders. Whether it be leading trips to the White Mountains, developing chapter leaders, teaching map/compass skills to outdoor novices or coordinating the Chapter’s annual Wilderness First Aid Program, Ed’s contributions have been truly impressive
Rick Tjader served as the Three Mile Island Committee Chair, with his term ending in 2007. During his period of service, he lead TMI through a period of facility improvements, enhanced collaboration with staff and other Volunteer Managed Facilities…always in good style. As he began his tenure as chair, he faced a number of challenging issues in personnel, infrastructure, occupancy and volunteerism. He was central in upholding the best traditions of TMI, while not being shy to make improvements as needed for the betterment and continuity of the Camp. His leadership has resulted in an increase in occupancy by retaining historic users while welcoming new campers and devoting increased attention to effective targeted marketing. He has managed his Committee very well, supporting their best efforts, bringing up new members, tapping the skills of his membership and working in positive collaboration w. AMC staff. Always a voice of reason and calm, he has been a highly effective volunteer leader including ensuring a strong replacement was in place before his term ended. He effectively encouraged an increase in mission-based programming and local community outreach. TMI’s position is a strong as it ever has been as a provider of wonderful family outdoor experiences for over a hundred years.
Joe Dodge Award Frank Kelliher has a long and distinguished history with the Appalachian Mountain Club. Frank is a longtime member of the AMC, a former “hut dad” for Mizpah Spring Hut, a past president of the club (1987-88), a member of the steering committee of the Old Hutman’s Association, and devoted information volunteer.
Stories of Joe Dodge helping would-be hikers learn the ways of the woods abound. In like fashion, Frank has helped thousands of visitors have a safe, enjoyable experience in the White Mountains since he began serving as an Information Volunteer in 1992. In this capacity Frank has been an invaluable resource, sharing his expertise about local trails and recreation opportunities, weather, backcountry safety, and AMC history. Over the years, Frank has been one of our most devoted information volunteers, often serving an average of one weekend per month year-round. In recent years, Frank has been particularly active at the Highland Center, offering numerous novice hikers sound advice and encouragement.
However, Frank’s circle of influence is much greater than just those people he has directly advised. Many an Information Volunteer can claim Frank as their mentor, the person who showed them the ropes when they were just getting started as a volunteer. Each of the volunteers that Frank has mentored has, in turn, helped hundreds of additional hikers. Frank Kelliher has set himself apart from the average AMC member and volunteer and is worthy of receiving the Joe Dodge Award.
