Bugs and heat still dominate here in North Creek, New York, but winter is never far away, and we’ve been busy! On May 5, at the Division Spring Officers’ Meeting, Cal Goldsmith stepped down after four years of dedicated work and the Region Directors elected me as the next Division Director. The election was competitive; I appreciate the respect shown by the other candidates and repeat my pledge to equally serve all fifteen regions. The DD works for everyone in the division.
I feel honored to serve and very grateful that Cal’s tireless efforts left the division in good shape. My first act as DD was to appoint Carl Chaplin, the New Hampshire RD, as our Assistant DD, and obtain Division Board approval. I have known Carl for a long time; his resume far exceeds mine, and I trust his judgment and wise counsel.
Cal maintained very high standards while navigating multiple challenges – including the COVID pandemic and bringing a new treasurer on board. Cal worked closely with his peers and the National Board to support NSP while representing the Eastern Division’s interests. For me, multiple Zoom meetings with the other DDs and the National Board began the day after being elected to work on the National budget. Everyone is rightfully concerned about rising costs and I am grateful that the National Board listened to us and made adjustments before approving their budget.
Since then, the Division Finance Committee, led by John Tuttle and Doug Adams, worked diligently to finalize the Division budget, which was approved on June 27. This year we will meet our needs without raising our current $17 dues.
For those who don’t know me I have patrolling for 30 years, spending my first four at Scotch Valley, a humble and long-defunct ski area in the Catskills. I moved on to Gore Mountain, the largest ski area in New York. My first 20 years at Gore were as a volunteer, patrolling over 40 days a year. Since retiring in 2018, I’ve been a seasonal, full-time pro at Gore, typically patrolling over 100 days a year.
Money was always tight at Scotch Valley; we learned how to do a lot with very little, but the training was truly outstanding! Gore has more resources but is far larger and more complex. Along the way, I became an OEC instructor and IT, OET instructor and IT, OET Senior Trainer/Evaluator, Eastern NY Region OET Advisor for 11 years, Section Chief for two years, and Region Director for five years. Credit for any success as a Region Director belongs to the awesome ENY Region leadership team. My role was mostly to recruit, encourage, coach, and then get out of their way!
I am excited to begin work as Division Director with such an amazing team of Region Directors, Section Chiefs/ARDs, Program Supervisors and Staff, and Division Officers and Advisors. As I said before, the Division Director works for everyone – so please let me know when there’s a problem that I can help with. Good news is always welcome too!
