New York-North Jersey Chapter Handbook for Officers & Committee Chairs

        The committees in this section are represented on the Executive Committee by the Executive for Service and Facilities.

Editor's Note: Committee descriptions marked '!' are out of date and may need updating. It is the responsibility of the current committee chairs to update their committee description ASAP.

ADVISORY

PURPOSE:

        The purpose of this Committee is: 1) to provide a sounding board for ideas; 2) to solicit nominees for the Appie of the Year Award and to choose a recipient; and 3) to deal with issues which the Executive Committee feels the members of this Committee's collective wisdom can best address, for example, a revision to the Chapter By-Laws.

TERMS OF OFFICE/SUCCESSION:

        The Chair is appointed by the Executive Committee for an indefinite term.

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:

        All former Chapter Chairs automatically become a member of the Committee.

MEETINGS:

        Meetings are held as deemed necessary by the Chair.

K. Whitney-Bukofzer 7/2000

ARCHIVES

PURPOSE:

        The purpose of this Committee is to collect and identify vintage materials from long-time Chapter members and transport and keep this material in a place accessible for reference. It works with a professional archivist who assists in the organization and cataloging of these materials.

TERMS OF OFFICE/SUCCESSION:

        The Chair is appointed by the Executive Committee for an indefinite term.

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:

        The Chair and others who are interested in the activity.

ACTIVITIES:

1. Chapter Committees are encouraged to move their archival materials to the Chapter "safe-house".

2. Catalog slides, photographs, films.

3. Maintain Chapter library.

FUNDING:

        Funding for the Archives Committee is included in the Chapter Budget.

MEETINGS:

        The Committee holds periodic meetings to sort archival material, identify photos, and catalogue books.

GENERAL INTEREST:

        In the past, the Archives Committee has been the driving force in the celebration of Chapter milestones, for example, the 50th and the 75th anniversaries.

J. Reilly 5/2000

FIRE ISLAND

PURPOSE:

        The purpose of the Fire Island Committee is to operate and maintain the AMC facility, located in the community of Atlantique on Fire Island, New York, as a volunteer managed facility, for the use of all AMC members.

TERM OF OFFICE/SUCCESSION:

1. The outgoing Chair recommends the next Chair to the Chapter Executive Committee.

2. The Chair(s) of the Committee is (are) confirmed by the Executive Committee of the Chapter and usually serve for two years. The job is sometimes shared by two Co-Chairs.

3. The Chair appoints the members of the Committee including other Officers of the Committee, i.e. the Treasurer and Secretary.

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:

1. The committee has approximately 15 members, all of whom have voting rights.

2. Each member of the Committee assumes substantial responsibility for some aspect of operating the Fire Island Cabin.

FUNDING:

1. AMC members and guests are charged fees for using the Fire Island Cabin. The Cabin is entirely supported by user fees.

2. The Committee maintains bank accounts for current income and expenses and reserve funds for major expenses. Funds are allocated as needed for the operation and maintenance of the Cabin.

3. Required fiscal reports are submitted to the Chapter and the Club.

MEETINGS:

        Committee meetings are held monthly from September through May. Additional Committee and sub-committee meetings are held as needed.

FACILITY DESCRIPTION:

        The Fire Island Cabin is approximately one hour from New York City and can be reached by public transportation. The facility fronts on the Great South Bay, on 1.4 wooded acres of land. The Cabin has two 12-bed bunkrooms, a large well-equipped kitchen, a dining area with trestle tables and benches and a reading room. Bathrooms are outside, adjacent to the bunkrooms. There are two hot outdoor showers. Decks at the front and back of the building provide space for outdoor gatherings, classes and relaxation. Canoes, sunfish, kayaks, beach chairs, umbrellas, beach blankets are available for use by Cabin guests.

SCHEDULE/ACTIVITIES:

1. All activities at the Cabin are listed in the Chapter Schedule.

2. The Cabin is usually open from May through October.

3. Reservations are made via telephone for overnight guests; day guests are welcome without reservations.

4. Workshops are scheduled for most weekends and during some midweeks.

FACILITY OPERATION:

1. The Cabin is run entirely by volunteers. The Committee has primary responsibility for overall maintenance and operation; all guests share in maintenance and operation tasks during their stay.

2. Weekends are managed by volunteer "hosts", who take responsibility for planning meals, shopping, assigning chores, collecting money, record keeping and guest relations. Most meals are included in the weekend fee and are jointly prepared by Cabin guests.

3. Midweeks are managed by volunteer "managers", who take responsibility for midweek reservations, assigning chores, collecting money, overseeing various cabin maintenance tasks and guest relations. Midweek guests provide their own food.

4. Guests bring their own sheets or sleeping bags and pillowcases; mattresses, blankets and pillows are provided.

TRAINING:

1. New volunteer managers get "one on one" orientation by an experienced manager at the Cabin. They also attend a group orientation session prior to the season during which our Midweek Manager's Guide is thoroughly reviewed.

2. New volunteer hosts get "on the job" training with an experienced host during their first weekend. They also attend a group orientation session prior to the season during which our Guide to Host A Weekend is thoroughly reviewed.

A. Barberis & L. Schlossberg, 12/2000

HOSPITALITY

PURPOSE:

        To find a site for the Annual Dinner and Leadership meeting, to accept the registrations and supervise all the on-site arrangements.

TERM OF OFFICE/SUCCESSION:

        The Chair is appointed by the Executive Committee for a two year term.

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:

        The Chair solicits help from the membership for specific jobs.

FUNDING:

        Funds for deposits for the Annual Dinner come from the Chapter Treasurer and receipts are turned over to the Treasurer.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS FOR THE ANNUAL DINNER

1. As soon as the dinner date is firm, advise the Club of the date and location.

2. By March 1st selection should be made for site, caterer, car parking facilities and contracts initiated.

3. By mid-June, the program concept, locations, programmed events, and registration arrangements must be written up for the Fall Schedule.

J. Josephs, 7/2000

MEMBERSHIP

PURPOSE:

        The Membership Committee helps new members become active; provides information about AMC to any who inquire; recruits members locally; and answers members' questions about their membership status. It also provides Chapter officers, upon request, with data on current and projected chapter size. The Membership Chair sits on the Chapters Membership Committee, which meets at most Spring and Fall Club Meetings.

        Income from the membership programs, run by the Committee, are a significant part of Chapter income.

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:

Local Enrollments Orientation Evenings Adopt-A-Store Membership Information Packets   Member Profiles New Member mailings Webmaster

Jill Arbuckle, Chair Ken West Henry Schreiber Martin Plante Ken West

FUNDING:

        The Chapter Treasurer handles the Committee's accounts, which involve many transactions, with substantial expenses (postage, printing) and substantial income.

ACTIVITIES:

        To help new members become active and involved we offer an Orientation Evening (slide-show, question-and-answer) monthly. Twice yearly, in spring and fall, we run a New Members Party, to which each chapter committee sends a representative to answer questions and provide advice.

        Requests for information about AMC are received on our 24-hour voicemail system at the office, or by staff during office open-phone hours. A MIP (Membership Information Packet) is mailed to all inquirers; it contains our Chapter Brochure and a photocopy of the Activity Schedule for the next 2 or 3 weekends (also rating and transportation codes). People are welcome to go on a walk or hike to see what it's like before deciding whether to join. We send out about 2,000 MIPs a year.

        Recruitment is done via our web site; through the MIBs; and through our Adopt-A-Store Program. Over 30 outdoor stores in the area have an adopter who keeps the store supplied with our Chapter Brochure. We print and ship several thousand brochures every year.

        Local enrollment runs about 1,100 memberships a year. We encourage people to enroll locally so that they will receive their Schedule in a few days rather than the 3 to 5 weeks it takes via Boston. Local enrollments are handled by the Chair.

        New Members who join via Boston are sent a Schedule and Welcome Letter as soon as Boston e-mails us their names and addresses. We have recently switched to twice-monthly processing to cut the delay. These mailings are done by the Office Manager.

        Growth trends are monitored so that the Treasurer can estimate next year's dues income, and so the Publications Chair can determine the size of the print-run for the Schedule.

        The Membership Chair advocates to the Chapters Membership Committee for issues of concern to the Chapter. In the recent past, these have included lack of diversity in the lists purchased for mass acquistion mailings, and the ever-increasing turnover in membership.

THE LARGER VIEW

        The first contact a new or potential member has with AMC is usually a hike or walk leader. Our leaders are therefore crucial to our efforts to attract and retain members. We rely on their good humor and good sense to help newcomers settle in as part of the AMC family.

J. Arbuckle, 10/2002

NEWSLETTER

PURPOSE:

        The purpose of the Newsletter Committee is to gather material and publish the Chapter newsletter, TRAILS & Waves four times a year.

TERMS OF OFFICE/SUCCESSION:

        The Chair is appointed by the Executive Committee for an indefinite term.

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:

        Nancy Tollefson, Editor, Assistant editors: Andrew Joyce, Mary Jo Robertiello, Betty Lebow, Susan Ewen.

FUNDING:

        The estimated cost of printing and publishing is a line item in the Chapter Budget.

FORMAT:

1. The Editor should consult with the Chair and establish issue dates and copy receipt deadlines, making these available to all Committee Chairs, Executive Committee members, and anyone else requesting them.

2. In the Fall (SEPTEMBER) issue, the nominations for the next year's officers are announced. If the election is contested, the alternate candidates are announced and a mail-in ballot is published along with the deadline for voting and the directions for returning the completed ballot.

3. In the Spring (MARCH) issue, the new Executive Committee is announced

GENERAL INFORMATION:

1. The Editor welcomes topics - manuscripts, cartoons, photographs - suitable for printing in the Chapter's Newsletter.

2. All material submitted should be typewritten; e-mail is preferred (copy and past into message). Material should be signed with full name, address and telephone number including area code (preferably daytime). Thoughts and feelings about the AMC and topics within its range are particularly desired.

3. If major rewriting (for space or editorial considerations) is necessary, the rewritten copy should be sent to the submitter with a note for approval.

4. The Editor is responsible for final contents of any issue.

5. Also sought are people interested in reporting or illustrating, either on a free lance or an on-going basis.

6. Address all correspondence to:
   AMC. New York - North Jersey Chapter
   Newsletter Editor
   5 Tudor City Place
   New York, NY 10017
   trailswaves<at>amc-ny<dot>org

NOMINATING

PURPOSE:

        The Nominating Committee is responsible for selecting the candidates for officers and members for the New York - North Jersey Chapter Executive Committee and makes arrangements for and oversees voting by the full chapter membership. A list of members considered for offices should be maintained for future use.

TERM OF OFFICE/SUCCESSION:

        The Chair is selected by the Chapter Chair and approved by the Executive Committee for a two year term. This should be done shortly after the annual meeting of the Chapter and before the April Executive Committee Meeting.

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:

1. Usually 4-6 members are asked to serve on the Committee for a two year term.

2. These members should be chosen by May 1 and should be representative of the entire Chapter.

FUNDING:

        Chair submits a statement of expenses for reimbursement to the Chapter Treasurer.

PROCEDURES:

1. Selecting candidates.
   1. The Chair tells the other members the vacancies on the Executive Committee to be filled and the qualifications and characteristics needed for these positions.

   2. The Chair asks the members to suggest candidates and sometimes asks those who qualify if they would accept the position if selected. More often, the Committee makes selections (first choices and backup choices) and asks the selected candidates if they accept.

   3. Present Representative Executive Committee Members should be considered for positions as officers.

   4. Committee meets and/or consults until candidates for office are selected.

   5. Advice and suggestions are obtained from the current Chair regarding the openings, especially regarding the position of Chair and Vice-Chair. The Nominating Committee makes the final choice.

2. Incumbents who have served one year should be asked to serve again.

PUBLISHING THE NOMINATIONS:

1. The Committee Chair obtains biographical sketches (and photographs if possible) from the candidates and submits them to the Newsletter Editor in time for an early fall edition, eight weeks prior to the annual meeting. For this issue, the Chair also submits an article based on by-laws information stating the procedure for nominating alternate candidates.

2. If alternate nominations are received, biographical data (and pictures) from these nominees is obtained and sent to the Newsletter editor, along with a mail-in ballot form to be published in a later issue of the newsletter.

3. If a mail-in ballot is necessary, the ballots should be sent to the Nominating Committee Chair with a deadline for returning them one week prior to the Annual Meeting. The Committee verifies that the voters are current members by cross-checking against an up-to-date roster of Chapter membership obtained from the Membership Services Coordinator.

4. The votes are tallied and the result is announced at the Annual Meeting.

5. If alternate candidates are not nominated, a mail ballot is not needed. The Chapter Secretary casts one vote for the official slate at the Annual meeting. If the Chapter Secretary is unavailable, the Nominating Committee Chair or other member of the Nominating Committee or member of the Executive Committee casts the vote.

J. Levenson, 4/2000

SCHEDULE, PUBLICATIONS in 1992

PURPOSE:

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:

TERM OF OFFICE/SUCCESSION:

FUNDING:

SPECIFIC PUBLICATIONS:

SCHEDULE

AMC OUTDOORS

W. Foote, 1992

WEBSITE

PURPOSE:

        The purpose of the WebSite Committee is to create and maintain an Internet World Wide Web site for the New York-North Jersey Chapter of AMC. The Chapter has had a WebSite since late 1995. In early 2000 some portion of the site was being visited by over 200 unique visitors almost every day. The Welcome (or Home) Page (http://www.amc-ny.org/) is getting an average of 67 unique visitors per day

• The purposes of the Chapter WebSite are:
  1. Recruit new members of AMC and specifically for the NY-NoJ Chapter.
  2. Provide on line resources for existing members to enhance the quality of their membership in AMC and the Chapter, with such features as:
     • Special Notices of items & announcements of importance to members.
     • On Line Schedule and late changes, corrections and additions to the Schedule.
     • Download Chapter/Committee forms and other documents.
     • Directions on how to obtain member services.
     • Chapter Calendar of meetings and other Chapter & Club happenings.
     • Chapter Message Board for exchange of notices about Club or personal activities.
     • An on line Member Profile Form.
     • Online Registration for preregistration activities.
     • Read Trip Reports or Post Trip Reports.
     • Photo Albums to promote activities.
     • Online edition of Newsletters.
     • Many other.
  3. Encourage and educate members and public about the necessity to preserve and conserve the natural resources that we use and enjoy.

TERMS OF OFFICE/SUCCESSION:

        The current Webmaster volunteered to take on this project as the outgoing Chapter Chair in 1996, and was appointed to the position by the Executive Committee. The term of office was undefined, but the Webmaster is charged with the responsibility of seeking his successor.

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:

        The Committee consists of the Webmaster and other volunteers for specific tasks as needed. (As an example; Molly Conners has been converting the Canoe newsletter PADDLE SPLASHES into html, and uploading it to our server, since November 1998.)

FUNDING:

        Funding of the Committee's ongoing expenses is through the Chapter Treasurer, with the approval of the Executive Committee for any special expenditures. The major costs of having the site are the Internet Hosting Service at Best Web Inc., the annual cost of registration of our domain name (AMC-NY.ORG) by Internic Corp., and for software as required, such as the purchase of Adobe® Acrobat software for converting Chapter documents into PDF.

WEBSITE DESCRIPTION:

        The WebSite is designed with a Welcome Page, and several overview pages for the Club and the Chapter as a whole. Each of these pages has links (hyperlinks) to other pages for most of the different elements/committees of the Chapter. For example, there is a set of pages that make a web site for the Hiking Committee. Similar pages make a web site for most of the other committees of the Chapter. In each case the activity or service committee has complete control over the material displayed on their pages. Some committees have taken a very active role, going so far as to submit pages in html format, other committees have simply left the content and design up to the webmaster.

        All Chapter committee chairs are encouraged to contact the webmaster to request any change, addition, deletion or rearrangement that they would like to have. There is a lot that we can do. If you would like to see a sample, most of it is displayed on the Canoe & Kayak Page, because the current webmaster's activity experience is mainly from canoeing. Take a look and please contact me with your requests.

WEBSITE HISTORY:

• Detailed history of the past year can be found on the WebSite at: What's New Page (removed 7/2003)
• Detailed history before the past year can be found on the WebSite at: Archive Pages (removed 7/2003)

        The WebSite was originally established on November 28, 1995 with the assistance of Dan Ludas of the Delaware Valley Chapter. It started on the Lehigh University's web server with the URL of http://www.lehigh.edu/~ludas/NYNoJ/AMCNYhom.html.

        For the next several months we attempted to find a permanent home for the web site on a free or very low cost server. One possibility was to use the Newark Institute of Technology (NJIT) computer system, and we almost pulled that off. However, NJIT refused, and we were unable to find a another free server. On February 15, 1996 we moved to Global Telecommunications Inc. (GTI) in Morristown, NJ, because it was within the webmaster's free calling area at the time. At that time our URL was: http://www.gti.net/amcny/. We stayed at GTI for approximately 2 years. Then disaster struck GTI and our WebSite died on January 25, 1998. After two weeks of GTI not being able restore anything, and a frantic search for another server, we moved to Interport.net and our WebSite was restored as http://www.amc-ny.org on Interport on February 9, 1998.

        In part due to our inability to maintain our Internet identity as a result of the GTI crash and our move to Interport, we obtained an Internet domain name that could stay with us if we ever had to move again. On February 13, 1998 our WebSite domain name officially became http://www.amc-ny.org. Interport did not permit us to use Common Gateway Interface (cgi) programming to build an interactive site as we had begun at GTI. However, they did offer an Interport version of html, called IHTML, that did provide some of the same functionality as cgi programming could. We made heavy use of IHTML to provide interactive forms for Registration, Trip Reports and Member Profiles. Then in 1999, Interport was purchased by RCN, a very large Internet Service Provider, and they assured us that nothing would change -- but, that was not to be.

        In October 1999 RCN disabled our access to IHTML and shut off our shell access to Interport's Unix system. We were forced to move again to keep many of the services that we wanted. With the recommendations of a few other Webmasters, we got a temporary account Best Web Inc. in Ossining NY, who did allow us cgi programming and Unix shell access, and began testing to see if we could restore the functionality of our WebSite at Best Web -- we could and in October/November 1999 we moved our WebSite and domain name from Interport to Best Web.

        While it was a great deal of work to reprogram everything from IHTML to cgi, at Best Web we have been able to restore and improve all of the interactive functionality that we lost. Plus, we have added more.

CHAPTER EQUIPMENT USE:

        The Webmaster uses a flatbed scanner that was purchased jointly by the Chapter and the Canoe & Kayak Committee.

TRADITIONS:

        We need to stop the tradition of moving the WebSite every two years. . . . .

Al Braley, Webmaster
February 27, 2000

WILDERNESS FIRST AID

PURPOSE:

        The mission of Wilderness First Aid committee is to provide locally available, professional quality wilderness first aid training at an affordable price to chapter members and to encourage members to get this kind of training. We also stand ready to provide support to any unit of the club who wishes to learn more about wilderness emergency care.

        The committee teaches the 16-hour version of the ECSI wilderness first aid course.

TERMS OF OFFICE/SUCCESSION:

        Any individual fulfilling the requirements of becoming an instructor is eligible for the office of committee chair after one year of service.

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:

        All WFA instructors are automatically members of the WFA committee.

FUNDING:

        This Committee is self funding. Books are maintained by the Chapter Treasurer.

MEETINGS:

        Scheduled on an 'as-needed' basis.

SCHEDULING OF COURSES:

        Courses are generally scheduled 4 times per year, 2 in the winter schedule and 2 in the fall schedule. The courses are either in a Saturday/Sunday format or held over two consecutive weekends days.

REPORTING OF COURSES:

        Course fees and registration numbers are collected by an assigned WFA committee member (generally the lead instructor) and turned over to the chapter treasurer who maintains the committee’s books.

        Course rosters, exam grades, student evaluations and other course information is maintained by the committee co-chair assigned that responsibility.

INSTRUCTION:

        See Purpose above.

LEADER TRAINING:

        Instructor recruitment is the responsibility of the committee co-chairs. Any committee member may recommend a person for an instructor position. Instructor training is conducted by ECSI instructor trainers unless the candidate has previous instructional experience. In that case the candidate may be “grandfathered” into the program.

EQUIPMENT AND STORAGE LOCATIONS:

        Training equipment and retail sales items are housed with committee members on a rotating basis.

CHAPTER EQUIPMENT USE:

        Courses require access to a laptop computer and digital projector. The committee will use the chapter’s equipment if it is not available from the course venue.

TRADITIONS:

        N/A

J. Silver 1/12/2007