2007 CALL FOR APPLICATIONS LECONTE MEMORIAL LODGE COMMITTEE
The LeConte Memorial Lodge Committee is soliciting nominations to fill
three
vacancies on the LeConte Memorial Lodge Committee. Additional
non-committee
volunteer opportunities are also available for one-week on-site periods
during the 2008 summer season, or occasional off-site volunteer
contributions available year-round. There is also a LeConte Forum Listserv
available to anyone interested in learning more about the LeConte Memorial
Lodge and its programs. Please forward this message to individuals and
groups that might be interested.
COMPLETED RESPONSES ARE DUE September 30, 2007.
Near-Term committee meetings, open to all Sierra Club members, are:
September 13, 2007 7 PM Pacific Time Conference Call
October 14, 2007 10 am 4 pm San Francisco, SC HQ
The LeConte Memorial Lodge is a National Historic Landmark in Yosemite
Valley. It was built by the Sierra Club in 1903-04. The unique structure
honors eminent University of California geologist Joseph LeConte, an early
Director of the Sierra Club who died in the Valley in 1901. The Sierra Club
has operated the rough hewn granite and wood Tudor-style building since
1904
presenting and promoting the conservation ethic through public programs,
educational displays and a library. Although styled a Lodge by its founders
in the traditional meaning of the term as a gathering place (similar to the
Elks Lodge or Masonic Lodge), this small stone building has never been used
for overnight accommodations, but rather it is a public building used as a
library and education center.
Over 15,000 visitors per year enjoy this important historical structure due
to the efforts of the Sierra Club. For 100 years, a Curator and Sierra Club
volunteers have served as summer caretakers providing information to
National Park visitors about Yosemite, the Sierra Nevada, and the National
Park Idea.
Further information about the LeConte Memorial Lodge and its programs is
available on the web at: www.sierraclub.org/education/leconte/
<http://www.sierraclub.org/education/leconte/>
COMMITTEE BACKGROUND
The mission of the Sierra Club LeConte Memorial Lodge Committee is to
manage
the cultural resource of the LeConte Memorial Lodge in Yosemite National
Park, including its future and its history, programs, physical structure,
and educational undertakings, in order to honor the legacy of Joseph
LeConte
and our call of stewardship for the natural world, and to fulfill the
purposes of the Sierra Club and its historical and ongoing relationship
with
Yosemite National Park. A detailed Mission Statement including our
commitments is provided at the end of this message.
Those appointed to the Committee serve terms of three years with option to
continue. The Committee elects a chair and a secretary from its membership.
Unlike most Sierra Club Committees, the LeConte Memorial Lodge Committee is
not a “policy” or “issue” committee but a “working” committee. In addition
to group communications, members are expected to provide individual
volunteer contributions of time and creative efforts. Our organizational
guidelines call for the following Committee Member Responsibilities:
1. Volunteer one week per year (averaged over two years) at the LeConte
Memorial or the equivalent on-site assistance, such as giving weekend
programs, assisting with opening/closing, assisting with spring cleaning,
assisting with maintenance of displays, lighting, wood stove, or other
equipment. All committee members should volunteer for a regular volunteer
week at least once.
2. Attend committee meetings regularly, which include 1 to 2 standard
meetings per year plus monthly conference calls in between the standard
meetings. Missing three meetings in a row may make you ineligible for
continued membership.
3. Regular members are tasked with taking on specific roles or
implementing specific projects. This is an expectation of each regular
member. In many cases, we need more than one person for different parts of
each role, so committee members may serve on sub-tasks in more than one
project area, and are encouraged to solicit additional volunteers and
corresponding members to assist, and break up the tasks further.
Ex-officio
corresponding members should also be assigned as advisors or volunteers on
one or more of the foregoing roles/projects. However, a regular member will
be assigned as the lead person for each project on the list below. The
current roles/projects include:
a. Displays & Library
b. Relationships with other Sierra Club entities - Gov Comm, Sierra Club
California, Yosemite Committee, Chapters and Groups
c. Fundraising - Friends of LeConte & 200 Club
d. Program speakers and Volunteers
e. Internship Program
f. Relationships with Yosemite NP entities - NPS, concession, YA, School,
g. Public Relations - media, free speech area, local community
organizations, printed materials, websites
Current members of the LeConte Memorial Lodge Committee are: Dan Disner,
Vern Johnson, George Pettit, John Phillips, Sam Roberts, Suzanne Sharrock,
Richard Wiebe and Harold Wood. There are also several corresponding
members. Bonnie Gisel is the LeConte Memorial Curator; Dave Simon is the
liaison from the Club’s Outings Department.
QUALIFICATIONS
The LeConte Memorial Lodge Committee is looking for candidates with:
-- interest and knowledge of the human and natural history of Yosemite
National Park, the Sierra Nevada, and national parks and wilderness values
-- skills in budgeting, fundraising, publicity, education, writing,
public
speaking, graphic arts, and/or other professional/creative pursuits
-- access to e-mail and ability to be subscribed to the Committee
Listserv
-- willingness to commit to attending day-long meetings one or two times
per year, usually in the spring and fall, typically in the San Francisco
Bay
Area or Yosemite area, and a one-hour telephone conference call on a
monthly
basis
-- willingness and ability to work alone and independently in between
committee meetings
-- sufficient flexibility in time commitments to allow full volunteer
participation in this committee
-- Sierra Club membership is required. Club experience at local, state, or
national levels is helpful but not necessary.
FOR MORE INFORMATION about the current work of the LeConte Memorial Lodge
Committee or the appointment process, see
www.sierraclub.org/education/leconte/
or contact committee chair Harold Wood:
[log in to unmask] mailto:[log in to unmask]>
Phone: (559) 739-8527.
Members of the LeConte Memorial Lodge Committee will be appointed by the
Communications and Education Governance Committee.
APPLICATION FORM
Completed responses are due September 30, 2007.
Send completed form (below) to Harold Wood
([log in to unmask] mailto:[log in to unmask]> )
Forms can also be mailed to Sierra Club LeConte Lodge Committee Chair,
Harold Wood, P.O. Box 3543, Visalia, CA 93278; but email is preferred.
If you want to nominate someone else, please send that person this entire
e-mail message and ask them to contact Harold Wood with the requested
information.
********************************
THE SUBJECT OF YOUR MESSAGE SHOULD BE
" LeConte Comm: ".
PLEASE DELETE ALL TEXT ABOVE THE *******
1) Name, address, phone(s), e-mail address, and best times & means to reach
you:
2) Sierra Club experience, including length of membership, volunteer
positions held if any, Sierra Club activities.
3) Sierra Club membership Number:
4) What Sierra Club chapter are you in?
5) Outdoor, education, history, creative, or other related experience.
6) Other relevant experience and qualifications you would bring to the
LeConte Memorial Lodge Committee, as related to the qualifications
described
above.
7) Why do you want to serve on the LeConte Memorial Lodge Committee? (75
words max.)
8) Describe your general availability for meetings, conference calls and
regular e-mail contact:
9) Names, phone, and e-mail addresses of two references, including best
times to reach them. If possible, please indicate contact information for
your Sierra Club chapter chair, if that person is not one of your
references.
END
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LeConte Memorial Lodge Committee
Mission Statement
(Adopted 10/16/04)
Vision:
To ensure the ongoing viability as a Sierra Club program of LeConte
Memorial Lodge in Yosemite Valley for another 100 years and beyond.
Mission:
The Mission of the Sierra Club LeConte Memorial Lodge Committee is to
manage
the cultural resource of the LeConte Memorial Lodge in Yosemite National
Park, including its future and its history, programs, physical structure,
and educational undertakings, in order to honor the legacy of Joseph
LeConte
and our call of stewardship for the natural world, and to fulfill the
purposes of the Sierra Club and its historical and ongoing relationship
with
Yosemite National Park.
Commitments:
To realize our vision and to accomplish our mission, our commitments are:
1. Maintain agreements and an excellent working relationship with the
National Park Service;
2. Deepen the identity of the Sierra Club with the LeConte Memorial Lodge
consistent
with our educational, non-lobbying purposes and National Park Service
interpretive guidelines;
3. Maintain the LeConte Memorial Lodge interior to fulfill our educational
purposes and assist the National Park Service in the maintenance of the
entire physical structure and grounds, consistent with the historical
design
of the structure and in a way providing for reasonable access by the
disabled;
4. Develop a library, exhibits, printed materials, electronic
communications, and other media, and public programming that reflect the
Sierra Club's conservation philosophy and priorities consistent with those
of the National Park Service interpretive guidelines.
5. Effectively recruit and sustain LeConte Memorial Lodge staff and
volunteers with a view towards excellence in fulfilling our educational
mission;
6. Seek to expand the LeConte Memorial Lodge's service to the public.
7. Prepare budgets, seek funding, and spend funds in a financially
responsible manner with a view to maintaining and improving all of our
Commitments.
--
Harold Wood
Chair, Sierra Club Le Conte Memorial Lodge Committee
[log in to unmask]
http://www.sierraclub.org/education/leconte/
The LeConte Memorial Lodge, the Sierra Club's physical and
spiritual home in Yosemite Valley, is celebrating its
100th anniversary in 2004.