by Grant Fullman, Division Director | Jan 25, 2026 | Division News, National News
I attended the annual face-to-face meeting of the National Board/Division Director/National Program Directors in Denver, January 23 and 24. The Board had a full agenda that included election of the National Chair. After two years of outstanding leadership, Rich Pietrafesa chose not to run for a third term. The Board elected Myron Allen as our new National Chair. Rich was just elected to a second three-year term and will continue to serve on the Board.
When you see Rich, who patrols at Labrador in the Central New York Region, please thank him for helping NSP successfully navigate through some very challenging times. Myron joined NSP in 1995, the same year that I did. He patrols at Medicine Bow Nordic in Wyoming, and he is a Nordic Master #012. I have full confidence that Myron will lead the NSP with our best interests in mind. Congratulations Myron!
I am writing this while preparing to travel from Denver, after leaving the meeting early in an attempt to get home before a massive winter storm hits the East and several others in the meeting are doing the same. Hopefully this storm will bring good news to our ski areas, but first we will need to deal with intense cold, high winds, power outages, and challenging travel!
Please see other announcements that include the YAP Summit (and scholarships), and the Nordic/Backcountry Patroller School at Pike Glades, NH.
Stay warm, have fun, and enjoy every day!
by Chuck Boyd, Nordic/Backcountry Supervisor | Jan 25, 2026 | Division News, Program News
Are you an alpine patroller on skis? or split board? who has skins and have been doing uphill laps for fitness at your mountain? Are you a Nordic/Backcountry Patroller wishing to Improve your ski skills? Or are you any patroller wishing to learn backcountry rescue techniques? If so, then the Backcountry Patroller School at Pike Glades in Haverhill, New Hampshire is the event for you!
In our second year, Pike Glades is an excellent location to practice uphill skiing, backcountry navigation, toboggan handling in the glades, and low angle rescue. With so many out-of-area lost skier events happening in our division, this is a great opportunity to improve your skills and be part of a search and rescue team.
This year, members of the Eastern Division’s OET staff will be teaching our toboggan handling in the trees. We will be doing winter camping ‘lite’. We have access to a mid-mountain cabin to cook in, dry gear, and plan our scenarios. You will pitch your tents around the cabin with stunning views of Mount Moosilauke, and have access to a heated bathroom.
If you need winter camping gear, the Upper Valley Stewardship Center at the base of the mountain will improve your winter camping experience by lending patrollers gear. Also available at the base is the The Innstead Mountain Getaway, a group of luxury cabins for rent by the property landowners.
Backcountry Patroller School is scheduled for the weekend of February 28 through March 1, 2026. Registration is limited and available on patrollerschool.org. For more information contact Chuck Boyd, Nordic/Backcountry Program Supervisor.
by Craig Larson, YAP Supervisor | Jan 25, 2026 | Division News, Program News
🌟 Join the Eastern Division Young Adult Program Staff and fellow young adult patrollers from Maine to West Virginia this March 13–16, 2026, at Smugglers’ Notch Resort in Jeffersonville, VT for an unforgettable weekend.
Never been to an Eastern Division Young Adult Patroller Summit? This is your year to jump in.
Been before? Even better—come back with fresh energy, big enthusiasm, and next-level stoke.
🗓️ Register ASAP — registration closes February 6, 2026.
Spots won’t wait…and neither should you!
🔥 Don’t miss it—be there!
by Sue-Ellen Helmacy, Awards Supervisor | Jan 21, 2026 | Division News, National News, Program News
National Outstanding Awards 1st Place
| Alpine Patroller |
Jeffrey Baker |
GV |
| Alumni Patroller |
Roberta Fox |
ENY |
| Bike Host |
Dave Voelxan |
GV |
| Mountain Host |
Mark Voelkl |
GV |
| Nordic Patroller |
Jeff Sargent |
CNY |
| Nordic Patrol |
Allegany State Park Nordic Patrol |
WNY |
| OEC Instructor |
Vicki Whitacre |
WAPP |
| YAP |
Sean Wallace |
EMARI |
Division Outstanding Awards
| Administrative Patroller |
William Welch |
WMA |
| Alpine Patroller |
Jeffrey Baker |
GV |
| Alpine Patrol – Small |
Saw Creek Patrol |
EPA |
| Alpine Patrol – Large |
Ski Liberty |
EPA |
| Alumni Patroller |
Roberta Fox |
ENY |
| Bike Host |
David Voelxan |
GV |
| Instructor |
Louis Marchi, Jr. |
EPA |
| Mountain Host |
Mark Voelkl |
GV |
| Nordic Patroller |
Jeff Sargent |
CNY |
| Nordic Patrol |
Allegany State Park Nordic Patrol |
WNY |
| OEC Instructor |
Debbi Satterlee |
ENY |
| Patrol Representative |
Nick Rasher |
EMARI |
| Paid Patroller |
Thomas M. Wallace |
WAPP |
| YAP |
Sean Wallace |
EMARI |
National Appointment
| Thad Brown |
12361 |
WNY |
| Tim Jackson |
12375 |
WNY |
| James Giffin |
12382 |
NVT |
| Anthony ‘Gregg’ Pulver |
12387 |
ENY |
| Steven Sebastian |
12390 |
SVT |
| Gary Johnson |
12391 |
EPA |
| Dave Martell |
12402 |
CNY |
| Glenn Becker |
12417 |
GV |
| Annie Smith |
12418 |
CNY |
| Bernadette Fowler |
12424 |
CT |
| Kevin Glassman |
12438 |
SVT |
| Laura Harner |
12437 |
WMA |
|
|
|
Leadership Commendation Appointment
| Lee Burns |
8609 |
ENY |
| Debbie Satterlee |
8611 |
ENY |
Distinguished Service Award
| Linda Boyd |
CT |
| Beverly Dillon |
CT |
| Charles Montrie |
EPA |
| Paul Spear |
EPA |
| Robert Starr |
EPA |
| Doug Van Brunt |
EPA |
| Dave Curry |
GV |
| Dan Fuller |
GV |
| Glenn Gebhard |
GV |
| Steve Hellems |
GV |
| Jen Jesske |
GV |
| Betsy Landre |
GV |
| Gary Marks |
GV |
| Kim Terwilliger |
SNY |
| Roger DelGiorno |
SVT |
| Cal Goldsmith |
SVT |
Meritorious Service Award
| Jay Thompson |
EPA |
| Bill Muir |
ME |
| Jonathan Wilson |
SVT |
Donna McGraw Patroller for Patroller Award
William J. Gross Memorial First Aid Trophy
501c3 Division Director’s Award
Jerry Sherman OS Division Patroller Award
| John Shipman |
EMARI Alumni |
Yellow Merit Stars
| Carl Chaplin |
NH |
| Parker Duthaler |
ENY |
| Grant Fullman |
ENY |
| Bob Fidium |
EPA |
| Roeb Gravel |
EPA |
| Kenneth Kelly |
EPA |
| Christine Ludka |
EPA |
| Dina Manoway |
EPA |
| Jeff Welch |
GV |
| Aaron Damon |
ME |
| John Means |
ME |
| Paul Kelly |
NH |
| Jim Sindt |
NJ Alumni |
| Lewis Berman |
SVT |
| Stuart Buhrendorf |
SVT |
| Jason Corsello |
SVT |
| Robert Hildebrand |
SVT |
| Stephen Truskowski |
SVT |
| Brett Beattie |
WMA |
| Emilie Beattie |
WMA |
| Robert Fielding |
WMA |
| Jason Griffin |
WMA |
| Paul Maloney |
WMA |
| Gerry Pollard |
WMA |
| Bill Welch (2) |
WMA |
| Dave Gossell |
WNY |
| Bill McCasey |
WNY |
Purple Merit Star
| Jay Pesci |
CT |
| Greg Caruso |
ME |
| Ben Defroscia |
ME |
| Conor Doherty |
ME |
| Ghazale Jansheed |
ME |
| Cody Morin |
ME |
| Yarrow Farnsworth |
NH |
| Caden Conry |
WMA |
| Paul Dodds |
WMA |
| Danielle Garavito |
WMA |
| Robert Garriepy |
WMA |
| Finley Hewitt |
WMA |
| Jennifer Lesperance |
WMA |
| Bridget Maloney |
WMA |
| Paul Maloney |
WMA |
| Mark Manton |
WMA |
| Albert Mason |
WMA |
| Melissa Maye |
WMA |
|
|
Blue Merit Star
| Jay Boorjian |
CT |
| Joseph Bolton |
NH |
| Drew Burt |
NH |
| Samantha Kernen |
NH |
| Eric Martens |
NH |
| Jeffrey Randall |
NH |
| Mark Fisher |
SVT |
| Michael Gayda |
SVT |
| Phillip Ruppel |
SVT |
| Eric Scarborough |
SVT |
| Christian Schilling |
SVT |
| Matthew Scott |
SVT |
| Ryan Siemers |
SVT |
| Frank Spinella |
SVT |
| Rick Thomas |
SVT |
| Hailee Belden |
WMA |
| Jack Brinegar |
WMA |
| Harold Green |
WMA |
| Jeff Green |
WMA |
| Jason Griffin |
WMA |
| Robert Ouellette |
WMA |
| Christian Wermuth |
WMA |
Patroller Cross
| Theresa Diamond |
EPA |
| Scott Jackson |
NH |
| Edward Perry |
NH |
| Forrest Abild |
WMA |
Host Cross
| Cianna Ferraro |
CT |
| Nile Pullin |
CT |
Patriot Star
| Matt Carniglia |
ENY |
| Brian Sangster |
ENY |
| Ryan Tiano |
ENY |
| Mark Bartram |
NH |
| Clarence Boutin |
NH |
| Clayton Caddy |
NH |
| Jonathan Demers |
NH |
| Ruslan Denysyk |
NH |
| Raelyn Viti |
NH |
| Jared Thompson |
NVT |
| Lance Johnson |
SVT |
| Becca Drake |
WAPP |
| Christopher Lindburg |
WAPP |
| Lillian Baker |
WMA |
| Andrew DeFabio |
WMA |
| Gina DeFabio |
WMA |
| Keith Hernandez |
WMA |
| William Knowlton |
WMA |
| Mathew Knutson |
WMA |
| William Koch |
WMA |
| Sam Kreitzman |
WMA |
| Liam McCarthy |
WMA |
| Rick McClave |
WMA |
| Everett Newbry |
WMA |
| Alex Stefurak |
WMA |
| Etena Tagie |
WMA |
| Ian Yu |
WMA |
Patroller Achievement Award
| William Boyens |
CT |
| Heidi Downs |
CT |
| Michael Gajdosik |
CT |
| Thomas Kim |
CT |
| Frances MacDonald |
CT |
| David Rodney |
CT |
| Anthony Hayden |
ENY |
| Mackenzie Osypian |
GV |
| Jeremie Sterns |
GV |
Angel Pin
| Carla Buiso |
GV |
| Lisa Flick |
GV |
| Gayle Gebhard |
GV |
| Heidi King |
GV |
| Mike Lincoln |
GV |
| Jill Olsen |
GV |
National Certificate of Appreciation
| Katherine Lynn Fox |
SVT |
| Stratton Mtn Corp & Ski Patrol |
SVT |
| Zach Sheppard |
WMA |
| Phil Stein |
WMA |
| Austin Kloc |
WNY |
| Cynthia Taylor Nagle |
WNY |
Division Certificate of Recognition
| Olivia Dinis |
WMA |
| Brian Rodden |
WMA |
| Josh Ruphrecht |
WMA |
50 Year National Lifetime Service Award
| Marshall Berger |
CT |
| Michael Bonaiuto |
EMARI |
| William Lawton |
EMARI |
| David Galpin |
ENY |
| Sheila Hoover |
ENY |
| Joe Bruno |
EPA |
| Edmund Conaway |
EPA |
| G. Gravel |
EPA |
| Alex Johns |
EPA |
| Mary Joyce Kemper |
EPA |
| Lewis Martin |
EPA |
| Ed Stawski |
EPA |
| Greg Bernhard |
GV |
| Marsha Wait |
GV |
| Thomas Griffin |
ME |
| Paul Higgins |
ME |
| Gregory Schneider |
ME |
| Jeff Friedrichs |
NH |
| Andrew Johnson |
NH |
| Robert Ricker |
NH |
| Sandra Scull |
NJ |
| Patricia Blenk |
SNY |
| Adrienne Dalton |
SNY |
| Rosina Montana |
SNY |
| John Ingham |
SVT |
| Anne Lian |
SVT |
| Bernand Lombardi |
SVT |
| Marit Sorensen |
SVT |
| John Brower |
WMA |
| Sue Delisle |
WMA |
| Steven Draisey |
WMA |
| Jane Nugent |
WMA |
| John Sober |
WMA |
| Laura Tucker |
WMA |
| William Cline |
WAPP |
| Ann Rahn |
WAPP |
| Harry Sweeny |
WAPP |
| Alan Billings |
WNY |
| Kurt Buranich |
WNY |
| Robert Frazier |
WNY |
| Thomas Maroney |
WNY |
| Larry Schottke |
WNY |
by Allan Miller, Alumni Supervisor | Jan 21, 2026 | Division News, Program News
The Region Alumni Advisors of the Eastern Division are inviting you to a scheduled Zoom Forum.
This will be the first-ever Alumni Forum. We are creating an opportunity for Alumni to share stories, have their questions answered, and help us understand how we can support them in staying connected with their patrol and patrolling friends and getting the most out of their Alumni membership.
We will discuss the third Alumni and Patroller Celebration at Stratton in March. This is a great week with special low-cost lodging and lift tickets, plus opportunities to socialize and gain insights into the resort that the general public rarely gets to experience.
Topic: Eastern Division Alumni – Forum
Time: Feb 5, 2026, 07:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88178534064?pwd=oVbXMheoKtkEqXhNL7maZn9yjabmDj.1
Meeting ID: 881 7853 4064
Passcode: 288574
One tap mobilehttps://trailsweep.org/?p=4912&preview=true
+13017158592,,88178534064#,,,,*288574# US (Washington DC)
+13052241968,,88178534064#,,,,*288574# US
Join instructions
https://us02web.zoom.us/meetings/88178534064/invitations?signature=b0Azcs-2ZiB2QenEKm14YLZmgxxrud1A-2nivAmqeig
by Matt Nebzydoski, OET Supervisor | Jan 21, 2026 | Division News, Program News
Here’s a great opportunity for some skill building before Senior tests kick off.
Eastern Division is offering two exciting Patroller School opportunities close to home—join us at Gore Mountain in the Adirondacks or Belleayre Mountain in the Catskills!
These events are a great opportunity to build and refine your skiing/riding and toboggan handling skills while learning alongside fellow patrollers.
What to Expect
Patroller School is a two-day OET event focused on skill development and progression:
- One full day with a Level III PSIA instructor focused on skiing or riding
- One full day with Division OET Staff focused on toboggan handling and applied skills
These events are engaging, supportive, and designed to promote meaningful growth—while having a lot of fun on snow.
📍 Gore Mountain
- Gore Women’s Toboggan Clinic – Friday, Feb 27
- Gore Patroller School – Saturday–Sunday, Feb 28–March 1
The Gore Women’s Clinic may be taken as a stand-alone, one-day event, or added to Patroller School for a three-day experience.
📍 Belleayre Mountain
- Belleayre Patroller School – Saturday–Sunday, Feb 28–March 1
👉 Register now: PatrollerSchool.org
We hope you’ll join us for an outstanding weekend of learning, skill-building, and connection.
Think snow,
by Allan Miller, Alumni Supervisor | Jan 21, 2026 | Division News, Program News
YES, IT WILL HAPPEN AND WE’RE GOING BACK TO STRATTON!
Join us again for the 3rd Patroller and Alumni event. It will be a week of skiing, information, camaraderie and Après Ski. We will again celebrate our shared passion for skiing and patrolling! Be there for as long it is fun for you. We hope you can stay the whole time, but your stay is up to you. No charge for notable alumni and patroller events. All costs for lodging, lift tickets, and meals are on you.
HERE ARE THE DETAILS SO FAR!
DATES
We are awaiting Stratton’s announcement of the dates. The event will coincide with their “Friends and Family Week,” mid-March, around St Patrick’s Day. Stay tuned for the details.
LODGING
The price needs to be confirmed, but it appears Stratton is again providing rooms for $99 per night, plus tax and VT fees, at Black Bear Lodge for the week of the event. This rate is for one or two people per room. We will post a reservation link once the final dates are announced.
LIFT TICKETS
The price has not yet been confirmed, but it appears Stratton is again offering us a great “Friends and Family” rate of $35.00 per day, plus tax valid for the week of the event. Just go to the outside ticket window on the uphill side of the Base Lodge, identify yourself as a participant in the National Ski Patrol Alumni group, and buy the appropriate number of one-day tickets.
OTHER EVENTS
Several after-dinner events are being planned. Last year’s events were well worth the time and a BIG BONUS to the week. Details and schedule of these events will be forthcoming.
Mark your calendars and join us for this unforgettable event. More details will be sent periodically. Come for a day, come for the whole week…JUST COME! We look forward to seeing you there. Stay tuned for more info and updates!
VERY IMPORTANT: Please let us know if you are coming or planning to come. Register on the PatrollerSchool.org website. We will send you information about the event as it unfolds.
by Grant Fullman, Division Director | Dec 22, 2025 | Division News
Winter arrived early this year – unlike last year! Lots of good snowmaking weather and some help from Mother Nature, so most of us have already been out on snow. OEC courses and refreshers were successfully delivered throughout the Division, and feedback on this year’s refresher content was overwhelmingly positive. Certified Boot Camp at Ski Roundtop (EPA), Advanced Patroller School at Swain (GV), AMN Instructor Refresher at Pike Glades (NH), multiple MTR courses, “Snowbound 2025” (Boston Ski Show), and the Division OET Staff Conference at Killington (SVT) were delivered and well received. Many thanks to everyone who made these possible!
National Board election turnout was up from last year’s, and all four candidates recommended by the Division won seats. Congratulations to Shelley Urben, Sharon Friedel, Rich Pietrafesa and Bill Cline! It’s never too early to look ahead to next year’s election, which will have five National Board seats to fill. If you’re interested, I recommend attending National Board meetings by Zoom on a regular basis; most are open to any member, and you can find the schedule and login information on the National website.
As we start a new season on snow, let’s pause to reflect on how we interact with our teammates, area management, and resort guests. Treating everyone with kindness, dignity, and respect wins the day every time—especially when that might seem undeserved or the heat of the moment might send us in a different direction. We can make a positive difference every day, even when we’re not providing first aid or transportation.
Have a happy, joyous, and safe holiday season! Hope to see you somewhere on snow soon!
by Craig Larson, YAP Supervisor | Dec 22, 2025 | Division News
Young Adult Patrollers (YAPs) from Maine to West Virginia will once again gather at Smugglers’ Notch Resort, Jeffersonville, Vermont, March 13-16, 2026 for the Eastern Division Young Adult Program Summit. Smugglers’ Notch Resort has over 1000 acres of terrain including long turn cruisers, steeps, trees, terrain parks, and the only TRIPLE BLACK DIAMOND in the east, Black Hole. Smugglers’ has been a gracious host to this event in the past and looks to do the same this year.Attendees will receive the following;
• Three nights of lodging (Friday, Saturday, Sunday)
• Breakfast on Saturday and Sunday
• Dinner on Friday, Saturday and Sunday
• Lift Ticket for Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday
• Hands on skills training
• Patroller Skills competition
• Mystery events
• FREE swag
Registration opens on January 1. There will be a late fee for anyone registering after January 31. Eligible patrollers are those age 15 through high school graduation. Scholarships are available to Young Adult Patrollers with financial needs to attend the Eastern Division Seminar. The deadline for scholarship applications is January 27.
Information and registration can be found on the patrollerschool.org
