OHA Steering Committee
Meeting Minutes, November 14, 2023
Called to Order: 6:33pm
Attendance:
Steering Committee Present: Emma “EB” Brandt, Jesse Carlson, Al Kamman, Jared Liu, Anne-Laure “AL”
Razat, Lawrence “Stroker” Rogovin, Kimberly “Schroeder” Steward, Deirdre Vander Schaff, Doug Shaffer,
Bethany Taylor, Gerry Whiting
Steering Committee Absent: Carter Bascom, Phoebe Howe
Guests: Bill Barrett (phone), Brian Post, Ray Welch, Alex Ziko
Quorum established
Secretary’s Report (Jared)
Action: Al Kamman made a motion to accept the minutes from the 9/19/23 Regular and 11/4/23 Annual
Meetings, Stroker seconded, unanimously approved
The 2024 membership mailings will go out by the end of this year in order to arrive in boxes around
January 1. Many folks here have a role in that, including collecting mail, processing payments, updating
the spreadsheet, copyediting, and more. I will be reaching out to y’all soon.
Treasurer’s Report (AL, Alex)
Presented the following 2024 projections:
Income of $29K, dues make up 50%, cabin and fees 20%+, donations 20%+, and Merch 1%
Expense of $20K, with the cabin making up 40%
We will make a general donation of $300 earmarked for Huts.
Net Income of $9K
Some discussion about photo projects, with concerns about wall space, mold, privacy, and more.
Phoebe will lead this effort, and anyone who wants to help should reach out to her. Question to ensure
we’re tracking targeted donations separately (such as for photo projects).
Action: Alex made a motion to accept the Treasurer’s report, seconded by EB, unanimously approved.
Alex will send the 2024 budget projections to Jared to include with minutes
Cabin (Brian)
No updates
Fallfest (Phoebe)
Phoebe sent an email summarize how the Annual Meeting went (overall, very well). The HiC was short
staffed, which led to some menu changes, but we’re otherwise thankful to the HiC staff for their
hospitality.
Pinkham vs. HiC. Phoebe led an informal survey as to whether we should host the 2024 Annual Meeting
at Pinkham or the HiC. The vote was 19-4 in favor of Pinkham. So we’ll try that for 2024, and can go
back to the HiC if Pinkham doesn’t work out. Deirdre also volunteered to help Phoebe with 2024 Annual
Meeting planning.
Action: EB made a motion to host the 2024 Annual Meeting at Pinkham Notch Visitors Center, Schroeder
seconded, unanimously approved.
Term Limits (Stroker)
The conversation ranged from minimum to maximum terms 1 year to 10 years, and whether there
should be different limits for different positions. There was some sentiment towards the general
Steering Committee term limit being a maximum of 10 consecutive years, and potentially minimum
terms longer than 1 year for Secretary and Treasurer.
Action: A task force was appointed to develop this policy and report back at the January meeting. The
task force will be Phoebe, Al Kamman, Jared Liu, and Alex. Be in touch with anyone in this group if you
want to join the conversation.
Action: Officers and anyone with a designated role is requested to write an overview of that role, with
your responsibilities and basic standard operating procedures that can be shared ahead of the January
meeting.
Bylaws (Jared, Stroker)
Stroker and Jared are looking at some bylaws cleanup to clarify language and procedures, as well as
amend officer duties, elections, and indemnification. They are consulting with Josh Alper, and will
submit recommendations to the Steering Committee well ahead of the January or April meeting, with
the intention of having this resolved by and put before the Corporation at the 2024 Annual Meeting.
Merch (EB, Brian)
Looking at some new color and design options. We’ll be using a print on demand service that also ships
the goods. We see merch mainly as a service for members, as opposed to a fundraiser for the OHA. So
we’ll offer the merch somewhere below the standard retail markup of 40%.
Action: Stroker made a motion to set the markup at no more than 40% of costs and to keep the cost
consistent across sizing (rather than up-charging), Jared seconded, unanimously approved.
Website (Schroeder, Brian)
Auto pay is an option for online dues processing, but it would cost a few hundred dollars for the
software and require some time for Brian to setup. This could be beneficial since there are between 150
and 250 individuals in any given year who paid dues within the past 3 years but then miss a year. We
will move forward with this only if Brian tells us he has the time to do so.
Over the next year, we’ll consider whether to add an option to the dues form that allows members to
opt into sharing their information in a searchable online membership directory. Things to consider will
include but not be limited to how much time this would take to setup, who would use it, what
information would be made available, and thinking about this as a tool for networking professionally.
Watch for this to come back as a Steering Committee agenda item.
Hut System (Benny)
Five of the 8 huts are asleep for the winter, and caretakers are in at the other 3 for the winter. Hermit
Lake and Carter have historically split a caretaker between Huts and Shelters. Hermit Lake will now be
managed by Shelters, and Carter will be managed by Huts.
Galehead is under utilized in early spring and may have a different opening schedule as a result.
We were sorry to learn that Carl Svenson died in helicopter crash in October, but touched that his family
requested that donations go to either Wounded Warriors or the AMC.
Trails (Bill)
Cleared a double blowdown on The Hutmen’s Trail on November 5, and may check on Hall’s Ledge if
there’s a nice day in the coming weeks.
Resuscitator (EB, Schroeder)
The Fall issue was emailed and mailed. Thanks to Schroeder and Bill for helping to edit. Stay tuned for
the Spring issue. Deadline for submissions will be April 1 so that notice about spring cleaning items can
be published. Summer Croo won’t be finalized in time for the Spring issue.
New & Other Bidness (Stroker)
Thanks to Alex for all that he’s done for the OHA.
2024 Steering Committee Calendar: 1/9, 4/16, 6/11, 9/24, 11/19
2024 Additional Calendar: 2/24 at Bertucci’s Boston, 5/10 at Shannon Door, 5/11 Spring Reunion (vote)
Next Steering Committee Meeintg:
1/9/24, 6:30pm ET
URL: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/3105879688?pwd=bW1NQUxnNUZPaURCdi9EdXBtM3hkQT09
Or Phone: 929-205-6099, Meeting Number: 3105879688#, Passcode: 780291#
Action: EB made a motion to adjourn, Jared seconded, unanimously approved.
Adjourned: 8:04pm