Jennifer Percival is Our Volunteer of the Month for leading a regularly occurring afternoon hike at Duke Farms in Hillsborough, NJ.  For the new hiker, the shorter length and gentler terrain provides a way to build stamina and skills. A brief history presentation about Duke Farms is available before the beginning of the hike.

During the winter months, Jennifer is known for leading snowshoe weekends at Mohican Outdoor Center, focused on skill building and enjoyment of nature in the winter.

Both of these activities are perfect to introduce people new to the outdoors to great places for recreation in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Thank you Jennifer for providing these opportunities for AMC to reach out to the community.

Our Volunteer of the Month program was initiated to recognize volunteers nominated by their peers. Chapter members can nominate volunteers by e-mail to recognition@amcdv.org.The nomination should contain the nominee’s name, reason for the recognition, and name of the nominator. Each nominee name is entered into a random drawing for the Volunteer of the Month recognition. The monthly winners are entered into an annual drawing at the Annual Dinner for a grand prize of a weekend stay at an AMC facility. Nominees must be an AMC member, not a member of the current Executive Committee, and may serve in any volunteer capacity that benefits the Chapter mission in the Delaware Valley area. See the past Volunteers of the Month.

PA DCNR Secretary Dunn presents award to Bill Steinmetz

Pennsylvania’s Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Secretary, Cindy Adams Dunn, presented AMC’s Bill Steinmetz with an engraved hiking staff and letter of appreciation for 22 years of service on Pennsylvania Appalachian Trail Advisory Committee. Bill Steinmetz retired from the Committee in 2018.

The Pennsylvania Appalachian Trail Advisory Committee advises the Secretary in matters related to the Appalachian Trail in Pennsylvania. The Committee has worked on issues such as improving coordination among state agencies, supporting trail user surveys and counts, as well as engaging on issues and projects that threaten the trail corridor and trail experience.

Secretary Dunn presented the recognition to Bill Steinmetz at AMC’s regional office in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania with members of the AMC Delaware Valley Chapter Executive Committee and AMC staff present. Secretary Dunn added that both her and her husband are current Appalachian Trail maintainers themselves and that she is deeply appreciative for Bill’s long-standing service.

Chapter executive committee members for 2019

As approved at the annual meeting, November 3, 2018:

Chair – Susan Weida*

Vice Chair – Greg Bernet*

Secretary – Midori Wakabayashi*

Treasurer – Joseph Nanfara

Backpacking – Cindy Crosser

Bicycling – Robert Liston

Communication – Eric Pavlak

Conservation – Adrian Noble

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion - Christine Loch

Family Activities – Annette Sheldon

Hiking – John Rogers*

Leadership – Jeff Fritzinger*

Membership – Kathy Kindness*

Paddling – Eric Pavlak

Social – Jeanne Mantell*

Trails – Phil Mulligan

Young Members – Kate Prisby

* indicates new at this position