CEO Update: 2024 Annual Meeting Recap

Each fall we host our Annual Meeting to recognize leaders across the organization and share highlights from the previous year as well as upcoming priority areas. More than anything, our Annual Meeting is a celebration of our community and all the impact made possible by the generosity and commitment of members, volunteers, and donors. Read on for a brief recap and please check out the virtual recording. 

Watch the 2024 Annual Meeting

As you may recall, in the recent past, our Annual Meetings took place in September. After a bylaws update in 2022, our Annual meeting was moved to October (starting last year), in order to better align with our October to September fiscal calendar. 

We began the evening by congratulating our new and re-elected board directors:

• Director at Large: Serene Chen 
• Everett Branch Director: Matt Hansen
• Director at Large: James Henderson 
• Foothills Branch Director: Liz McNett-Crowl 
• Director at Large: Ramki Pitchuiyer 
• Director at Large: Carry Porter
• Director at Large: Alex Pratt 
• Director at Large: Anita Wilkins 

We also recognized the following newly-elected branch leaders:

EVERETT

• Chair-elect: Robert White
• Vice-chair: Lydia Gillis
• Treasurer: Billy Anthony
• Secretary: Janelle Schank

FOOTHILLS

• Treasurer: Erik Jensen

OLYMPIA

• Chair-elect: Katja Hurt
• Secretary: Justin Fuehrer

We’re grateful for all these exceptional individuals who serve our community through these positions of leadership across the organization. The impact of our volunteers on the mission of The Mountaineers is extraordinary and we sincerely appreciate the commitment and generosity of our leaders.

Organization-Wide Honorees

We also celebrated three Mountaineers volunteers who had an exceptional impact on our mission and community in the past year.

Year after year, thousands of lives are transformed through the work of our volunteers. On behalf of the thousands of students who participate in our trips and courses, we are grateful for the unwavering dedication by our volunteers to our community and mission.

Our 2024 org-wide award recipients included our annual Mountaineers Service Award, Leader of the Year, and the Leadership in Youth Education Award. In addition to our Annual Meeting, we are honoring our org-wide award recipients at each of our branch celebrations and celebrating volunteers in their home communities.

Please join me in congratulating the following 2024 organization-wide honorees:

Mountaineers Service Award - Lynn Graf

A dedicated Mountaineers member since 1997 and leader since 2003, Lynn has been Chair of the Seattle Naturalist Committee for the past three years, bringing an infectious curiosity and tireless dedication to everything she does. As one of her fellow Naturalist Leaders shared, "Lynn isn’t just a stellar volunteer; she constantly invites others to share and participate. She’s a gem of a long-standing Mountaineer."

Under Lynn’s leadership, the Naturalist Committee initiated a new instructor training program that recruits recent graduates from the Introduction to the Natural World (INW) course to serve as field trip instructors, ensuring continuity and fostering new leadership within the program. Lynn is a master at networking, consistently collaborating with other Mountaineers groups and branches to develop enriching courses and lectures. The support she gives to subcommittee leads has been outstanding, as she provides guidance without ever "taking over." Her attention to detail ensures that gaps are filled, especially when it comes to following Mountaineers policies and procedures.

In every aspect of her work, Lynn leads by example, modeling curiosity, intelligence, and humility as she guides others in exploring the natural world. Her tireless enthusiasm and encouragement inspire future leaders, and her presence in the community has been nothing short of invaluable. As one nominator perfectly summarized, "Lynn fills every gap that emerges and does it all with grace and thoughtfulness. What hasn’t she done?”

Mountaineers Leader of the Year Award - Rob Erickson

Since joining The Mountaineers, Rob has made an extraordinary impact by leading 67 trips and courses in Fiscal Year 2024, volunteering an astounding 1,395 hours. During this time, he positively impacted 166 unique participants, creating meaningful and transformative outdoor experiences for our community.

Rob’s dedication as a hike leader is clear in every adventure he orchestrates. As one participant shared, "Rob is congenial and pays attention to the group. He is an excellent naturalist and enjoys helping us learn to identify plants of all types." His ability to pivot during unforeseen challenges has earned him the trust and admiration of his participants. When faced with unexpected conditions like road closures and snow accumulations, Rob remains calm and resourceful, ensuring the group's safety while adapting the trip plan. One participant praised his leadership: "Rob showed top-tier leadership… ensuring the safety of the group and pacing the trip effectively."

Rob’s immense dedication, passion, and adaptability has made him a standout leader in our community. His deep knowledge of the outdoors, combined with his commitment to sharing it with others, makes him an invaluable asset to The Mountaineers.

Mountaineers Martinique Grigg Leadership in Youth Education Award - Emile Blouin

Since joining The Mountaineers in 2023, Emile has dedicated an astounding 416 volunteer hours in Fiscal Year 2024 alone. Emile’s journey with our Youth Clubs began when a family member in the Nomads program introduced him to the opportunity. From that moment, he has been a powerful force of energy, expertise, and kindness within the community.

In less than a year, Emile has made a lasting impact on the climbing curriculum for all our Youth Clubs, helping to overhaul and revitalize the program alongside the staff. As a mentor and instructor for Mountaineers Adventure Club leadership meetings, workshops, and weekend activities, Emile’s presence has been integral to the success of the program. His youthfulness and ability to connect with students on a personal level have resonated with participants, and his willingness to teach and empower is felt by everyone he works with.

Emile’s impact extends beyond instruction; his kindness and leadership have transformed the Youth Clubs community. As one staff member shared, "Emile is a locomotive of energy, expertise, and kindness, and we are so grateful for him."  

2024 Highlights & Challenges

Staff leaders then shared highlights and challenges from the past year. We hope you’ll take the time to listen to the Zoom recording, but here are some of the top points we highlighted:

• We had support from 3,573 volunteers in 2024, exceeding 3,000 volunteers for the first time. 
• Membership reached 16,000 in 2024 - an all time high for The Mountaineers! 
• Our volunteers invested more than 182,000 hours of time to teaching, leading, and stewarding. 
• We offered 210 courses and led 1,394 field trips and 507 seminars and clinics. 
• On our trips, courses, seminars, and clinics, we covered 224,359 miles and climbed more than 48 million feet.
• We had a 130% increase in participation in our Leadership Development Series and our two Leadership Conferences. 
• In September 2024, we launched the 10th edition of Freedom of the Hills, which has been one of our most successful and recognized books since 1960. 
• Investments in our publishing team allowed us to increase the number of Mountaineers Books being released in the coming year from a pandemic low of 29 to 38. 
• A Board-chartered committee focused on preventing sexual harassment and sexual assault worked for nearly ten months to develop a set of recommendations that were adopted by the Board in October 2024. 
• Our youth programs had a successful year, running year-round clubs, summer camps and partner programs. After a significant decline during the pandemic, we are seeing an uptick in partner program engagement. 
• We continue to be generously supported by more than 350 Peak Society and 133 Ridgeline households.
• In 2024, our community donated more than $2,000,000 in support of our mission and impact, including $255,000 in bequests. 
• A $500,000 donation to help revitalize our lodges allowed us to accelerate high-priority repairs and improvements in the summer of 2024. 
• 23 land manager meetings and 16 comment letters on permitting and access issues resulted in three new special use permits for our programs.  
• Through our participation and leadership of Outdoor Alliance Washington, we had 28 meetings with state/federal lawmakers and land managers, including three events/tours and one Washington D.C. lobbying visit. 
• We invested in Pacific Northwest Tribal engagement and initiated two strategic tribal relationships.
• Our Tacoma Program Center became the first Mountaineers facility to reach net zero - we now produce no greenhouse gas emissions to operate this building.
• We collaborated with the Keta Legacy Foundation to successfully resolve the 2019 lawsuit filed against The Mountaineers, a win for both organizations and our community. 

Some of the top challenges we discussed included: 

• Course capacity continues to be a challenge, both in terms of volunteer availability to lead courses and trips, as well as program center space and permit availability on public lands. 
• Our efforts to expand youth programs experienced a number of challenges, including cost pressures and the capability of other youth-serving organizations to engage in partner programs.
• Mountaineers Books has experienced significant cost pressures, notably in book production and shipping costs, putting pressure on our books financial margins. 
• Overall inflationary pressures in areas such as liability, property and medical insurance, program and event expenses, and repair and maintenance. 
• Our efforts to accelerate improvements for our website was impacted by the sudden and tragic loss of staff member Jeff Bowman. 

As in previous years, we plan on sharing a mid-year update on highlights, challenges, and priorities at our spring State of the Organization presentation (currently scheduled for May 6, 2025 - stay tuned for more details!). We appreciate everyone who took the time to participate in the 2024 Annual Meeting and for the many members of The Mountaineers community who contribute generously to our success, especially through our deep tradition of volunteerism and philanthropy. Thank you all!