The Mountaineers
The National Outdoor Leadership School's (NOLS) 22nd Annual Wilderness Risk Management Conference will be held in Portland this October. The conference is an invaluable source of training and professional development and The Mountaineers are investing in its volunteers by sending four volunteer "ambassadors!"
What is the WRMC?
The Wilderness Risk Management Conference (WRMC) is organized by NOLS, Outward Bound, and the Student Conservation Association (SCA) each year and provides professional development and training opportunities for those who consider themselves "wilderness practitioners." Its stated goals are to:
- Educate wilderness practitioners on risk management and practical skills.
- Share field and administrative techniques in risk management.
- Influence risk management standards in the wilderness adventure and education industry.
- Provide a networking and professional development forum with today’s leaders in the field.
This year, the event will be in Portland, Oregon from Oct. 14-16, 2015.
Check out the schedule and topics here.
Mountaineers volunteers getting professional training
In what was a very difficult and painful selection process, four of our most invested volunteers were selected to attend. In alphabetical order, we are proud to announce who will be attending on behalf of The Mountaineers!
- Helen Arntson - Seattle
- Jon Schwegler - Everett
- Jeff Panza - Seattle
- James Pierson - Bellingham
Selection process
Members of the organization-wide Managing Committee and the committee of volunteers who are organizing this year's Mountaineers Leadership Conference (registration is open now!) were invited to review all of the applications for this scholarship and then vote anonymously on who to send. Everyone who applied was an incredibly invested, skilled, and worthy candidate for attending. Every person who voted expressed regret that not all of the applicants could be sent. Originally the Leadership Development Manager's budget provided for two volunteers to attend, but after reviewing the applications we decided to send two additional volunteers (I've taken some time off without pay to try and offset this cost - it was a price I was willing to pay...in Florida!).
The following factors were considered in the selection process:
- A documented track record of engagement and leadership in Mountaineers programs.
- Availability to attend all three days of the conference (it takes place during the work week: Wednesday through Friday).
- Involvement in Safety Committee or other risk management work at The Mountaineers
- Providing opportunities to volunteers from different branches of The Mountaineers.
- A stated commitment to promote and share the knowledge and lessons learned at the WRMC in the recipient's Mountaineer community (to spread the knowledge throughout our membership!).
"Thank you" to all of the volunteers who applied and "congratulations" to Helen, Jon, Jeff, and James. We hope that you (1) enjoy the conference, (2) learn from it, and (3) pass the information from it back to your Mountaineers community in our effort to engage in constant improvement and development of our collective expertise.
