November 11

Looking back to the November 2009 Chapter Meeting - Photos by Jackson

   

Photos by Jackson – Click any thumbnail to open a slideshow with additional images.
Could you feel your chair shaking from all of the toe-tapping and foot-stomping around you? Was your view periodically obscured by a sea of heads or bodies bobbing to the music in front of you? If you were affected by either or both of these situations during Carl's, Casey's and the Dans' sensational program, you know what a superb evening of visual beauty and auditory delight was enjoyed by a crowd of about 320 people.
Carl Heilman, one of the finest landscape photographers in the Northeast, showed his award-winning, multi-media presentation titled "I Am the Adirondacks." Dan Berggren and Dan Duggan, two of folk music's nationally acclaimed and award-winning musicians and songwriters, sang and played some of the music from their CDs with Casey Filiaci, a nationally acclaimed and Emmy-nominated composer and pianist who happens to be from Rochester. One needn't look any further than this evening's program to understand why our passion for the Adirondacks continues to grow.
Thank you, Carl, Dan, Casey and Dan, for sharing your love of these mountains with us, and all of us look forward to your next visit!
If you wish to purchase merchandise from Carl or the Dans, here are the URLs to their web sites: http://www.carlheilman.com/, http://www.berggrenfolk.com/ and http://esperanceproductions.com/index.html. Casey does not sell merchandise, but here is the URL to his web site if you wish to learn more about him: http://caseyfiliaci.com/home.htm.

October 14

Looking back to the October 2009 Chapter Meeting

   

Photos by Steve – Click any thumbnail to open a slideshow with additional images.

September 9

Looking back to the September 2009 Chapter Meeting - Photos by Steve

   

At the September 9th chapter meeting, the following members were inducted into the High Summit Honor Society: Judy Immesoete, Dave Harrison, and Margaret Reek.
The HSHS exists to honor those distinguished members who have contributed to the continued growth and development of the Genesee Valley Chapter over an extended period of time. This year we honored three exceptional individuals who have more than met those criteria. Each person was awarded a certificate after a presentation of their outstanding contributions to the chapter. Judy, Dave, and Margaret graciously shared with us their feelings on being recognized in this manner by the chapter and on the benefits of being active participants in ADK-GVC.
I would like to give a special thanks to Bruce Tehan and Jim Bird for their presentations; to Sylvia Harrison for organizing the cake and hospitality; to Steve Tryon for photography; and to Rich Sensenbach for designing and producing the plaques received by each new HSHS member.
Deni Charpentier, HSHS Selection Committee Chair

June 13, 2009

ADK Outdoor Expo

   

Floyd   –   –   –   –   –   –   –   –   Carol   –   –   –   –   –   –   –   –   Sally

   

–   Steve   –

June 10

Looking back to the June 2009 Chapter Meeting
The following slate of candidates was approved at the June 10, 2009 meeting:

• Chair - Dave Harrison
• Vice Chair - Deni Charpentier
• Secretary - Bruce Tehan
• Treasurer - Bob Krenzer
• Director - Judy Immesoete
• Director - Tom Wallenhorst

Continuing in office are:

• Alternate Director - Shirley Thomas
• Alternate Director - Gail Soucy
• Alternate Director - Steve Tryon
• Alternate Director - Jackson Thomas

May 13

Looking back to the May 2009 Chapter Meeting
By Joanne Mitchell
For our May program Ken and Margaret Reek showed still photos and videos of their trip to Africa last year, when they visited Kenya, Tanzania, Botswana and Victoria Falls. They had amazing close-ups of lions, rhinos, hippos, giraffes, hyenas, antelopes, and a wide variety of birds. They had a video of a black heron hunting by spreading its wings to make a shady spot and then snatching the fish that came to enjoy the shade. One impressive photo showed a slightly blurred image of their van and then the camera pulled back to show that the van was a reflection in the eye of an antelope. They also discussed their accommodations and the food on their trip, and the options available, like hot air balloon rides and trip extensions.
Thank you, Ken and Margaret, for a superb program.

April 8

Looking back to the April 2009 Chapter Meeting
By Bill Schweinfurth
Ken Atlfather gave program that was both informative and entertaining. He started with a brief history of the origins of kayaking - first developed in the northern hemisphere by Inuit peoples as a madder of survival and the surfski was developed in the southern hemisphere in Australia for fitness and fun.
Ken continued on the theme of how events like the Open Water Challenge promote the benefits of paddling for fitness – it's challenging, physically demanding, motivational, and most of all fun. There are only about 50 people in the Rochester area who train for racing – a very small number compared to other countries who would love to have similar water resources at their back door. Ken reviewed highlights of last year's race as well as a preview into this year's June 27th race that will have both a 10 mile and 3 mile course.
Ken invited people to come out to Baycreek on Wednesday nights where they set up a 2 mile course and run individual time trials with the goal to have fun and introduce people to the sport. This is for paddlers of all abilities - boats (both canoes and kayaks) can be provided if you don't have one.

March 11

Looking back to the March 2009 Chapter Meeting

   

Jim and Carol May described their 2000 mile self-supported bicycle journey tracing one of the Underground Railroad routes from Mobile, Alabama to Owens Sound, Ontario last Spring. They talked about how their experience differed from the slaves who took that same route to freedom and how much easier it is for today's travelers to know the way and what is ahead for them. They also described how, as in the past, the kindness of many strangers (their modern-day conductors) helped them on their journey. Following an overview of their trip, the Mays showed us a slide show of their trip accompanied by songs that told the story of the underground railroad travelers.

Jim and Carol are writing a book about their trip which will be available at Lulu.com this summer. Currently available through Lulu.com is a book about their cross-country bicycle trip titled "Bicycle Odyssey: A Pilgrimage to Discover the Real America". They can also be contacted directly at c4js17@yahoo.com as they have some copies on hand.

At the beginning of the meeting, Chapter Chair Gary DeWitt thanked Joanne Mitchell for her many years of service as Geneseean editor. Joanne is stepping down after the June issue.

February 11

Looking back to the February 2009 Chapter Meeting

   

Mike Allen, Senior Wildlife Technician of the NYS DEC is a man who is passionate about his job. This was evident in his presentation on Wed eve highlighting New York State's Bald Eagle Restoration Project. This 33+ year project has reached the incredible goal of restoring the breeding population of eagles in NYS by importing young birds from other states and hand rearing them to independence and release. This process is known as hacking. Mike was joined by Paul Schnell, an educator from the Institute for Environmental Learning, and Liberty, a rescued, non-releasable, bald eagle. The moment Liberty was taken out of her hood the audience was entranced by her majestic presence. This amazing raptor was both gentle and intimidating.

January 14

Looking back to the January 2009 Chapter Meeting
By Shae Hanford
Most of us had some vague idea of how the more familiar physical features arrived on the NY landscape, without any real understanding of the overall forces or sequence of events. Tim McDonnell, (a geographer and board member of the NY Geographic Alliance who teaches at MCC and the OSHER Lifelong Institute for Learning at RIT), put the pieces altogether for us at the January program. He led us on a geological journey through time, compressing millions of years into a 1-hour program, aided with diagrams, maps, photos, and a good dose of humor. We saw the dynamic interplay of plate tectonics, the Ice Ages, and erosion over the ages producing the present day Adirondacks, Catskills, Finger Lakes, Lake Ontario, Genesee and Hudson Rivers, along with the countless eskers, drumlins, streams, and hanging waterfalls strewn across the State. We also learned why the Adirondacks are "new" old mountains, and they continue to get higher.
Tim pointed out how it was its u-NY-que geography which led to the State's economic and population boom. As the glaciers receded to the north in the waning days of the Ice Age, the northern glacial blockage caused NY's newly created glacial melt lakes to backup to the point where the force of their spillover waters, having nowhere else to go, blasted a water route E and S through the surrounding highlands, creating the Mohawk Valley and the Hudson River - the only opening through the unbroken chain of mountains along the East Coast; and hence, the only economically feasible route on the East Coast for a canal connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the "West", (ie., the Great Lakes).
From the applause Tim received at the conclusion of his presentation, and the questions swarming him before departing, I think it fair to say that it was a topic of genuine interest to the audience, and delivered in a remarkably informative, comprehensive, and fascinating way.

The proposed revision to the Articles of Association of the Genesee Valley Chapter were accepted by the membership at the January meeting. Read them here (400 kb pdf).