Supervisor of Facilities

The Supervisor of Facilities works with the people who make out cabins and shelters great. They are among the best volunteers in the club. It is an honor to work with them. 

My priorities for the cabin and shelters system have been and will continue to be, in this order:

1. A good experience for cabin renters and shelter visitors.

2. Rewarding work for volunteers.

3. A fair return to the club for providing the cabin experience. 

Facilities issues facing the club include the future of the six cabins in the Shenandoah National Park, the need to replace aging volunteers, the increasing cost of maintaining the cabins, shelters, and the roads that service them, potential new cabins, rental rates, and "advertising." We do not need to advertise the cabins like a commodity. We do need to educate members and the public about their value and availability. 

We had a big accomplishment recently. After many years of sending cabin keys to renters through the U.S. Mail, we have stopped that. Today, if you rent any cabin, we send you everything you need, including a code for the lockbox with the key, by e-mail. What to rent a cabin tonight? If it's vacant, you can. No need for expensive over night mail or a trip to club headquarters in Vienna. This new process is easier for renters, reduces the cost and unreliability of paper and postage, and creates more last minute rentals. Everyone wins. 

The end of mailing keys occurred because of the initiative of our cabin coordinator, Ben Danforth. He organized it all--set up the locks, enlisted maintainers to install them, and devised the new system under which we send the codes and cabin information. Thank you Ben!

Each elected officer has a vote on everything. My vote will be guided by the belief that our primary goal should be to make the club a better place for members. If we did that, everything else will flow.   

It’s hard for members to send a message in an election with few, if any, choices. If you have a message about facilities—cabins, shelters, or club headquarters--please send me an e-mail.

Relevant Experience

Cabins: 

Cabin Desk volunteer weekly (~15 years)

Acting Cabin Coordinator - five times

Chair, Cabin Reservation Committee (currently)

Drafted first half of the PATC cabin book

Trails: 

Manager, North Massanutten District (former)

Trail maintainer – BROT

Trail maintainer - PHT (former)

ExCom (10 years total): Supervisor of Communications (two terms), one term each as VP for Volunteerism, Secretary, and Supervisor of Facilities (currently)

Day job: Retired from career with federal government