Editor Emilie Allen Layout & Design Aaron Hobson Masthead Gail Brill Designs Cover Photo Sierra Grennan Contributors Emilie Allen, John Culpepper, Karen Culpepper, Katie Culpepper, Matt Donahue, Emily Eisman, Brian Eng, John Foppert, Chelsea Gibson, Ali Harte, David Hochschartner, Devon Jacobs, Angela Price, Jim Pugh, Don Rand, Fritz Sabbow, Matt Salinger, Chuck Schwerin, Kurt Terrell Photographers Emilie Allen, Nancie Battaglia, Tom Clark, Mitch Craib, Katie Culpepper, Kimberly Corwin Gray, Sierra Grennan, Ali Harte, Aaron Hobson, Becca Miller, Manuel Palacios, Jeff Sutton Editing Lisa Bramen, Niki Kourofsky Printing Print Management Pittsburgh, PA Editor’s note: “Growing up Progressive,” by Piri Halasz, which appeared in the Summer 2016 Roots, was an abbreviated version of one that originally appeared in The Virginia Quarterly.
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From David Hochschartner Head of School & Camp
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From Karen Culpepper Camp Treetops Director
NCS & TREETOPS TODAY 7 9 11
New & Returning Staff
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Pulling Together: Eileen Rockefeller Challenge
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Gratitude on the Farm Katie Culpepper CTT 92-99
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In Appreciation: An Interview with NCS Stalwart Nick Perry
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Reading the Landscape: Forest Management at NCS & Treetops
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Weather Underground on Campus
Trustee Transitions Meet Anne Swayze: NCS Assistant Head of School
FEATURE 23
Orienteering at Treetops Jim Pugh CTT 62-64; Chuck Schwerin CTT 61-64
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Campus Trail Map
ALUMNAE/I BULLETIN 29
Roots & Branches: Alumni Spotlights Sam Becker NCS 89; John Whitney CTT 90-94, staff 97-99, 02-03; Elise Munn NCS 06
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Friends’ Weekend 2016
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News and Notes
From the NCS Archives Treetops Tribute: Paul Nowicki CTT 51-54
44 ANNUAL REPORT 2015-2016
Winter 2017
LEADING THOUGHTS
Moving Forward
Together
By David Hochschartner, Head of School and Camp
The arrival of winter is slow but sure in the Adirondacks. At first, daylight begins to wane. Then, with every frost, our annual garden, once brilliant with color, recedes back into the earth. Watching the elements take hold across campus is humbling, reminding us that we must adapt to our environment and not the other way around. This certainly was true of our first big snow of the season. Due to a sudden impending storm, North Country School’s annual Thanksgiving feast was held a day earlier than planned. The celebration was a wonderful success, thanks to the graciousness and flexibility of NCS families, faculty and staff (in particular, our cooks). At year’s end, my gratitude to this community could not be greater.
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Looking back on the year gives much cause for celebration. The 2016 graduating class of 26 students was one of the largest in memory, and they are all doing quite well in high school. Treetops had another fantastic summer, which saw day trips and overnights to the “other side” of Round Lake. On one memorable excursion, campers witnessed the Perseid meteor shower from the sleeping porch of the RockE boathouse. Friends’ Weekend 2016 was attended by a record number of alumni, who traveled significant distances to celebrate Camp and School. And last, but not least, your contributions in support of Eileen Rockefeller’s Challenge helped our Annual Fund reach new heights: 1,090 donors gave $1.3 million this year, allowing us
to balance our budget for the 14th year in a row. This success made it fiscally possible for the institution to deal with unanticipated events, such as the geological shift that required us to replace our water well in 2016, to the tune of $200,000. As we stride ever forward, we should take stock of where we are now. In recent years educational theorists, parents, school boards and universities have pivoted towards the pedagogy we have offered at Camp and School for so many decades. There’s a new drive for maker spaces, for instilling resilience and grit, and a national embrace of the anti–Common Core movement, which rejects teaching to the test and trapping children in a rigid curriculum. More than ever—and these days I am emphatic about this—children need to work in groups to achieve tangible ends. They need to be part of a shared cause as small as cleaning horse stalls, as engaging as building a windmill, and as far-reaching as ensuring global food justice. Children need to test assumptions and develop critical judgment. They need to understand that their own voices are powerful, that they should strive to articulate ideas eloquently, resist groupthink, and be tolerant of opinions that challenge their own. Today we are fueling Camp and School’s approach to learning in two chief ways: strategic planning and ensuring financial sustainability. The strategic plan sets the stage for programming that will brand us as leaders in experiential learning, as well as in curriculum modeling self-reliance and resiliency, the values of protecting the natural world, thinking creatively, and contributing to a community. By the end of this winter, we will present a public document outlining the institution’s priorities for the months and years ahead.
We’re also pushing to the forefront, as a result of this strategic plan, a new Performing Arts Center, Treetops Hike House, and Teaching Learning Kitchen. These facilities will deepen programming for our children and reflect core values of School and Camp. In addition to developing a strategic plan, we are in the midst of a historical initiative led by Eileen Rockefeller and our Board of Trustees to fund priorities for School and Camp that will make us fiscally stronger, build our financial aid program, and enhance our campus. Eileen’s Challenge has enabled us to purchase the former Cushman property (including Eileen Rockefeller House or “RockE”). This location will soon host a wide-variety of shortterm educational programs, serving children for generations to come while preserving the natural surroundings and integrity of our campus. Over the past year, the achievements of this community have been staggering. What lies ahead may be unclear, but we do know that we will continue to pull together. On behalf of children of all backgrounds, cultures, and creeds, North Country School and Camp Treetops will, together, reach new heights in 2017.
We’re also pushing to the forefront, as a result of this strategic plan, a new Performing Arts Center, Treetops Hike House, and Teaching Learning Kitchen.
camptreetops.org | northcountryschool.org page 4
IN HONOR OF
TOM CLARK By Karen Culpepper, Camp Treetops Director
Every year, on the first day of staff training, Treetops stalwart Tom Clark (CTT staff 66-83, 96-present, parent 96-03, NCS staff 71-82, 01-present) leads counselors on a hike up Trouble to a spot overlooking our beautiful acreage and beyond. From this vantage point, he identifies many of the surrounding peaks—such as Algonquin, Colden, Marcy, and Big Slide—that counselors will climb with campers over the summer. Tom also tells the story of how the mountains were formed: how glaciers carved the land, and rocks rose through the mantle of the earth faster than they could be eroded away. This larger narrative reminds us that the place we call Camp Treetops is, in fact, an astonishing one-thousand-million years old. Together, we are the stewards of an ancient wilderness. Tom’s lesson on the geological history of Camp is a tradition that has inspired and informed our community for decades. He knows these mountains intimately and, like so many of us, his love for this place runs deep. By the time I arrived at Treetops in 1990, Tom had already spent nearly three decades hiking with campers page 5 Organic Roots Winter 2017
across the High Peaks. Soon, we began exploring the mountains together. At summer’s end, for many years, we set out with our families and other Treetops friends. One favorite excursion was Jane Woodburn’s (CTT staff 88-01) 46er trip in the Dixes, where we battled dense wooded terrain, bushwhacking our way to her final summit on East Dix (now renamed Grace Peak). The crew included myself and two of my kids; Tom; his wife, Alison (CTT staff 81-83, 96-present); their three kids; Bill Localio (CTT 55-59, staff 64-15 (various), parent 94-98, Trustee 85-91); and Tom’s ever-present border collie, Mickey. It was a grueling hike. But the camaraderie and resilience of that motley crew still resonates, as does my memory of Tom leading us patiently through the crippling brush. Despite his love of hiking, Tom’s true calling at Treetops has always been in the woodshop. In 1967, he was hired by Camp Director Helen Haskell to teach woodworking. Ever since, for the better part of 50 summers, Tom has devoted himself to inspiring children in the woodshop. In the early days, despite having no electricity, Tom taught campers how to fashion treasure chests
with false bottoms; tent bookshelves; and bowls on the treadle lathe, with one child pedaling and the other working to shave the wood. Another popular project in those years involved the transformation of a simple walnut shell into a keepsake brooch, with campers carefully slicing open the shell before preserving it in shellac and attaching a pin back. Canoe paddles, always popular at Camp, became even more popular with Tom and the advent of electricity in the woodshop. Making a canoe paddle with Tom Clark remains an iconic Treetops tradition even today. One summer, campers made a record 36 paddles. The truth is that Tom rarely says “no” in the woodshop. If a child is willing to do the work, he has the time. Once, a camper spent all summer meticulously constructing an architect’s model of a round hotel, complete with windows. In Tom’s woodshop, children have the chance to dream, design, and build almost anything. But his generosity of spirit doesn’t begin and end with campers. Tom is a friend to all. Over the years, my gratitude for Tom’s presence at Camp has only grown. Humble and kind, Tom’s enduring love for Camp Treetops comes through in his daily actions. Over many years, Tom has documented Camp life as a photographer, archiving the day-to-day, and ensuring that Treetops memories are available to everyone.
With his gentle spirit and natural teaching ability, Tom inspires a quiet confidence in children and adults alike. He has educated counselors on the meticulous rituals of opening and closing Camp for decades. Erecting and taking down the classic Treetops’ yellow canvas tents, for example, requires much instruction at first, and Tom has always been happy to mentor counselors through the process. This past summer, when Tom noticed that the woodshop needed new steps, he simply got to work. Rather than calling for Camp maintenance staff, he gathered several campers from the woodshop and together the group built the required steps. Simply put—if something needs to be done, Tom is there. When asked what it is that has kept him at Camp Treetops for nearly 50 summers, Tom replies: “This place always feels like you never left. It always feels like coming home—the sounds and the smells and how everything looks. The place hasn’t changed. Like most people, I have a deep yearning for the stability of a place like that.” Tom is an important part of what makes Treetops the bedrock of so many lives, as solid and comforting as the ancient mountains beneath us. Thank you to Tom, and to each of you who helps make this place special.
From the Editor North Country School and Camp Treetops celebrate the spirit of gratitude in this issue of Organic Roots, as well as the merits of finding our way, together, whether by visionary leadership or map and compass. Amid the “hush of a farm blanketed in snow,” our farm manager Katie Culpepper takes time to reflect and give thanks. Stalwarts Tom Clark, Paul Nowicki, and Nick Perry are recognized for their many contributions to Camp and School. The history of our campus’s diverse woodland is explored, alongside the development of a new forest management plan years in the making. Treetops alums Chuck Schwerin and Jim Pugh
reintroduce the sport of orienteering in an excellent companion piece to the new campus trail map that you’ll also find in these pages. Lastly, we give thanks to our community in the Annual Report for helping children continue to flourish at Camp and School. Happy New Year.
Emilie Allen
NEW & RETURNING STAFF
JOSH BRIGGEMAN
MATT DONAHUE
STEPHANIE DURELL
ALEX HENRY
JOSH BRIGGEMAN Social Studies Teacher Josh Briggeman returns to North Country School after a four-year absence. While away he lived in Pittsburgh, PA, where he studied the history of the environmental movement in America while earning his master’s degree in the Art of Teaching. Josh also coached the Pittsburgh Ultimate Frisbee team Alloy and helped them reach Nationals for the first time, in 2016. Josh graduated from Kenyon College in 2005 with a degree in History. His wife, Megan, is currently a PhD candidate in Condensed Matter Physics at the University of Pittsburgh, and they have a cat named Floyd. In his free time Josh enjoys hiking, Telemark skiing, rock-climbing, board games, and playing Ultimate Frisbee.
MATT DONAHUE Interim Director of Development Originally from Massachusetts, Matt first came to Lake Placid in 1989 to teach high school English, and he’s been in the Adirondacks ever since. He made his way into development work at the Adirondack chapter of The Nature Conservancy after an 18-year career in independent schools as an English teacher and administrator. The independent school realm eventually called him back, and he merged his enthusiasm for great teaching and learning programs with his background in institutional advancement by serving as Director of Development at Long Trail School, in Vermont, and later at
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Falmouth Academy, on Cape Cod. When he is not traveling in his capacity as Advancement Officer for Leadership Giving for North Country School/Camp Treetops, he spends time outdoors with his son, Finn, especially hiking, biking, running and, when the snow flies, Nordic skiing. STEPHANIE DURELL Math Teacher & Support Houseparent Steph earned a BA in Biology from Williams College, then spent a year working on the farm here at North Country School. She is excited to return to NCS after teaching math at a junior boarding school in New Hampshire. During summers, Steph has led wilderness trips for middle schoolers throughout New England and worked on a number of farms. She enjoys spending time outside with her dog, particularly hiking, trail running, and cross-country skiing; she also loves to grow, prepare, and share food.
ALEX HENRY Cook Alex was born and raised in the Adirondacks. After a great experience cooking briefly at Camp Treetops in 2015 with his partner, Azaria, they both decided to return in 2016, with Alex staying on as permanent cook for NCS. He enjoys relaxing in the outdoors, literature, art, listening to music and playing guitar, and hanging out with his cat, Scrap.
RORY MANDL-AMBRAMSON Horseback Riding Instructor & Support Staff Rory graduated from the University of Vermont in 2014 with a BA in Cultural Anthropology and a minor in Geology. Before coming to NCS, she taught an array of after-school classes at a Burlington elementary school, was a ski instructor at Stowe, and spent a lot of time training horses for friends. Rory has been riding and working with horses since 1996, and in the summer manages the riding program at the North Country Camps, also in the Adirondacks, which she grew up attending. Outside of the stables and classroom, she enjoys skiing, playing music, gardening, and exploring the surrounding mountains.
ANDREA MELHORN Farm Intern Andrea’s love of farming began at a young age. She grew up in Lancaster County, a community centered around agriculture in southern Pennsylvania. Andrea attended Houghton College, in western New York, and studied Spanish and Business. After college she decided to move to Lake Placid, where her desire to grow healthy food and share that love with others led her to Camp Treetops and North Country School. When Andrea isn’t working on the farm you can find her skiing, mountain biking or reading a book.
MARK STOECKL Farm Intern Mark learned about NCS during his
time at nearby Paul Smith’s College, where he studied Natural Resources Management and Policy. After college he spent time on a horse farm in Grand Isle, Vermont, and has been interested in teaching students about using draft horses. Aside from learning from his experiences as a farm intern, he is interested in a variety of pursuits, including canoeing, climbing, Alpine touring, and playing banjo. He hopes to someday manage his own orchard and agritourism business. ANNE E. SWAYZE Assistant Head of School Anne has a BS in Physical Education and Athletic Training from Indiana University and an MEd, with an emphasis in Experiential Education, from the University of Colorado Boulder. In her 30-plus years in education at Oldfields School and Proctor Academy, Anne has taught science, social science, and English and has served as an athletic director, dean of students and assistant head of school. Anne has a deep and abiding commitment to the summer camp experience, having been a camper and a counselor at a camp in northern New Jersey for 16 years. Anne is an outdoors enthusiast who has served as an Outward Bound instructor and as a leader of Proctor Academy’s 10-week Mountain Classroom program. Anne enjoys canoeing, canoe restoration and creative writing. Anne and her partner, Robin, a triathlete, coach, and artist, have two children: 14-year-old Hannah, who attends Kimball Union Academy, and 10-year-old Elliot.
RORY MANDL-AMBRAMSON
ANDREA MELHORN
MARK STOECKL
ANNE E. SWAYZE
camptreetops.org | northcountryschool.org page 8
TRUSTEE TRANSITIONS
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The School and Camp community would like to thank departing board members Dennis Aftergut, Karla Ayala, Hope Knight, and Marty Rosenberg. They each came to NCS and Camp Treetops as parents before devoting themselves to the institution, with more than two decades combined experience on the NCS and Treetops board of trustees. We are deeply grateful for their collective generosity and insight, their tireless work and engagement of our constituency. On behalf of our whole community and every family, thank you! The institution would like to welcome its incoming board members Greg Marchildon (CTT 74-79, staff 83-86, 10-16, parent 08-12, 14-15, NCS 80, staff 12-13, parent 12-13) and Carla von Trapp Hunter (NCS 96).
Greg Marchildon is the State Director for AARP Vermont. He has been with AARP for 18 years and has served as the association’s director for media relations and as the Hawaii state director prior to his eight years of service in Vermont. Before coming to AARP, Greg served as the communications director for Families USA, a non-profit health-care advocacy group based in Washington DC. In 2007 and 2008, Greg took a leave of absence from his role as Vermont state director to become national strategy director for the Divided We Fail campaign. DWF was a coalition campaign that included AARP, The Business Roundtable, Service Employees International Union (SEIU), and the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB). In this role, Greg was responsible for developing and implementing political and communications strategies that raised the visibility of health and financial security issues in the early presidential primary and caucus states—and for the entire campaign. Greg lives in Burlington, Vermont, with his wife and two sons: Ben (CTT 10-12, 14-15) and Oliver (CTT 08-12, staff 15-16, NCS 13).
Carla von Trapp Hunter is director of communication and strategy for Eileen Rockefeller, an author and public speaker. Carla manages all facets of Eileen’s public image and shepherds her speaking engagements, which focus on bringing heart and mindfulness to the wealth management and philanthropic communities. Carla also speaks internationally herself, sharing lessons on “legacy” that she has learned through exploring her own roots and advocating practices that encourage individuals and families to selfactualize. Carla promotes vehicles like philanthropy to bring it all together, helping families identify shared values that transcend generations, model healthy stewardship of resources, and collaborate to the benefit of our communities. Many of the values that weave throughout Carla’s career and personal life were cultivated during her time at School. She recalls a quote from NCS’s cofounder Walter Clark that she feels rings especially true: “It is not so much where you live, what work you do, where you have traveled, your I.Q., or how much or little money you have. It is most of all how you feel about yourself, your family, other people, your work, our planet, the stars, sky and the universe that matter.”
MEET ANNE SWAYZE
N C S A S S I S TA N T H E A D O F S C H O O L
NCS: You have served in leadership roles for three decades at secondary schools. What drew you to a junior boarding school, and North Country School in particular? Anne: Joining a junior boarding school offers an exciting opportunity that is different from my past experience. Middle-school students have an abundance of energy, a shared enthusiasm, a playfulness, and a willingness to fine-tune the tools needed to transition to upper school. At this age, social pressures have not reached a critical point, so parents and educators have a key opportunity to help students become strong individuals and model the value of a cooperative approach. NCS: An assistant head’s responsibilities are many, including communicating with parents and faculty and implementing and monitoring systems. What are your favorite parts of the job? Anne: I have enjoyed getting to know families, students, faculty, and staff over the past four months. I have also enjoyed supporting the individuals who shape our students’ experiences and looking for smiles on students’
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faces as one measure of their engagement in our programs. As the year progresses, I will focus on ensuring that all programs are in line with the strategic vision of the school and take a hard look at where we are and where we wish to go. NCS: North Country School is nearing the end of a strategic planning process. In what ways, over time, can a school maintain its commitment to achieving the recommendations of a comprehensive plan? Anne: The work of reviewing the past, defining the present, and creating a long-range plan is really about laying groundwork and being transparent. The successful implementation of NCS’s strategic plan will require faculty engagement. Based on NCS’s fulfillment of the strategic goals in previous plans, I am confident that the school will successfully achieve new financial and programmatic objectives. NCS: One of the school’s strengths is how it functions as a community. In what ways does the school impart the value of coming together while celebrating diversity and individuality?
Anne: Communities are much like the gardens that surround our campus; they grow, prosper, and thrive when caregivers recognize their gifts. The NCS community is dynamic, always welcoming new people and their cultures, contributions, and ideas. In that way, nurturing an inclusive community becomes an organic process with a great outcome: individuals are recognized and honored, and those individuals come together to celebrate diversity. NCS: NCS offers exceptional place-based education. In your mind, how does a focus on place lend itself to project-based or experiential learning? Anne: Our community is surrounded by a pristine natural environment, and our campus includes a woodshop, music and art rooms, classrooms, cozy houses, and a wonderful farm and garden. Our places are where we most naturally learn, and they afford students a breadth of opportunities to observe, form questions, and undertake meaningful, hands-on projects that provide lasting takeaways. NCS: NCS’s teachers come from different professional backgrounds and have an average of 16 years in the classroom. What qualities do you help nurture in all teachers? Anne: In my experience, support systems are always appreciated and valued by faculty. My hope is that NCS teachers will recognize my willingness to share my time, my sense of humor, my appreciation for them as individuals, and my desire to exchange stories of great teaching moments—planned or unplanned. Clearly, our teach-
ers are devoted and talented, so it is my job to listen, support, and empower. NCS: You were a camper and counselor at a summer camp for 16 years. Would you tell us a bit about the camp and your experiences there as a child and alumna? Anne: Camp Nyoda is a traditional summer camp for girls in northern New Jersey. Girls ages 7 to 15 stay for two to six weeks in bungalows and participate in swimming, boating, archery, hiking, tennis and arts and crafts. A group of alumnae and I have remained close friends and have gotten together every summer for the past 25 years. 2017 will be a special summer because it will be the camp’s 100th anniversary. Nyoda is forever imprinted on my heart and soul and is very much a place to which I give back and thank. NCS: Your own son and daughter began 5th and 9th grades this fall. How have your beliefs about what children need in middle school been shaped by your experiences as a parent? Anne: Simply put, the middleschool years are challenging, dynamic, and unpredictable. Adolescents can be full of warmth and spontaneity and exude a sense of freedom, yet they also need constant reassurance and guidance. As a parent and educator, I strive to raise thoughtful, caring, adventurous, and globally aware children. I aim to be responsive to my children, and my students, by gauging their receptiveness on a given day or week. The particular challenges they’re tackling at a given time help me determine the most effec-
Our places are where we most naturally learn, and they afford students a breadth of opportunities to observe, form questions, and undertake meaningful, hands-on projects that provide lasting takeaways. tive opportunities to support their growth and well-being. NCS: As of this writing, you have been an integral part of school for four months. How has that time informed your priorities as a school leader, and are there special projects you wish to undertake? Anne: The past 16 weeks have been remarkable. I hiked to Balanced Rocks, participated in three harvests, sang on Wednesday mornings with Levels I, II, and III, and traveled to New York for strategic planning sessions with colleagues. My time with faculty has been especially productive; I have come to know and share their love of NCS for its transformational educational opportunities. I look forward to my continued work with teachers to refine the curriculum, ensuring that developmentally appropriate skills and content are fully incorporated and that transitions between grades are smooth. I also look forward to contributing to the fine-tuning of the mission—an opportunity to position the school for continued success.
camptreetops.org | northcountryschool.org page 12
BUILD
GROW
Pulling Together for
EILEEN ROCKEFELLER’S CHALLENGE In her memoir, Eileen Rockefeller Growald shares a story in which Walter Clark, NCS founder and then Head of School, asks the entire student body and faculty to help pull a tree out of the woods to create a climbing pole for the children. Working individually or in small groups, several students and adults try to wrench the fallen tree from its place with no success. It eventually takes the entire community of 80 people to move the spruce log from the forest. This story encapsulates a core value of Camp and School: a strong community can do monumental things together. Last fall, we announced Eileen’s gift of $500,000 and her challenge to our community, which aims to inspire philanthropy through strategically investing in Camp and School. In the spring, our Board of Trustees boosted the challenge to make it a full one-to-one match. Thanks to your support, we are more than 65 percent of the way toward our goal, which we aim to complete by August 2017.
Now we are asking you to come together to help us finish this challenge, which will ensure the sustainability of Camp and School programs by:
GROWING THE ANNUAL FUND BUILDING SCHOLARSHIP ENDOWMENT PRESERVING ROUND LAKE We hope you will consider joining other community members who have contributed toward this effort. New gifts and increases in your typical support can be matched dollar-for-dollar until we reach our goal. For more information or to make a gift, please contact Matt Donahue, interim director of advancement, at mdonahue@ncstreetops.org or 518-837-5402. Visit www.northcountryschool.org/eileenschallenge or www.camptreetops.org/eileenschallenge to watch a video about the effort and make a gift online.
PRESERVE
Gratitude on the Farm
By Katie Culpepper CTT 92-99, Farm Manager The farm is a busy place. Sometimes it feels like everywhere I look there is something broken, something that needs my attention, something that needs to be cleaned and put away. On most days it’s hard to stay on top of it all, let alone appreciate it. But gratitude is essential to ensuring that our farm remains a vibrant and flourishing place for children. This past November, teachers, students, and their families gathered to share an almost entirely homegrown Thanksgiving meal together. Serving platters overflowed with turkey raised
Photos: strawberry-raspberry jam and homemade bread by ESY students; onions and green beans harvested during camp; our pigs enjoying food scraps from the Treetops kitchen in summer 2016
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and harvested on the farm. Side dishes included green beans, potatoes, tomatoes, squash, garlic, and herbs, all grown here. Now, campus is quiet. Morning chores are done and there is a stillness on the farm that is unusual, but comforting. In a rare moment like this, it’s easy to give thanks.
I am grateful for this past summer’s farm staff: Andrea, Mark, Hannah, Jake, Nick, Tucker, and Molly. Their diverse interests—including permaculture, silvopasture, and aeroponics—made for a summer filled with experimentation and exploration. I appreciate their boundless energy, their commitment to this place, and their ability to engage both adults and children in the work of the farm. I am grateful for the camp counselors and farm interns who devoted a summer evening each week to discuss our farming and food philosophy and how that philosophy could be most effectively woven into the camp program. Those conversations were some of my favorite moments of the summer, informal gatherings that cultivated authentic connections between our farm and our kitchens, mealtimes, and activity periods. I am grateful for our kitchen staff. Paulette, Jacy, Jill, Mark and Alex work tirelessly to transform the raw ingredients from our farm into healthy, delicious, and nourishing meals for the School and Camp communities. I appreciate their commitment to not only use what we grow on our farm, but to source yogurt, honey, apples, beef, ginger, and more from farms in our greater community. I am grateful to our local farmers, who joined us this fall for a pig roast. With more than 20 farms represented, it was not just a celebration of the harvest, but also of the new energy surrounding local farms and food in this area. Above all, I am grateful for the children who engage with the farm on a daily basis: the continued on page 17
Gratitude on the Farm continued from page 16
campers and students who inoculated mushroom logs for the Children’s Garden; who visited other farms in our community to give a hand; who transplanted blueberries into our new forest garden; who woke before breakfast to care for an animal; who processed food scraps in our new composter; who weeded, watered, harvested, cooked, and tasted! My own experience is enriched and enlivened by the curiosity and excitement of the young people with whom I share this farm. I am grateful for the slowing of the farm in winter. Now is the time to take a deep breath and reflect on the season past. Now is the
EDIBLE SCHOOLYARD THANKSGIVING I am also grateful for the Edible Schoolyard Project, which has given greater meaning to the work we do in the kitchen and on the farm. We have joined a growing international movement of educators, farmers, administrators, and chefs who all believe that in order to teach stewardship and caring—let alone math and history—we must cultivate a deeper understanding of our food and the work, resources and people required to get it to our plates. This year marks the 10th anniversary of North Country School and Camp Treetops becoming one of seven founding members of the Edible Schoolyard Project.
time to fix that connection in the electric fencing that has been clicking for longer than I’d like to admit. Now is the time to pore over the seed catalogs that arrive just as we begin to forget how our bodies ached in the growing season. Though the hush of a farm blanketed in snow is a nice change of pace, it’s not long before I begin to crave the bright colors of a garden in full swing. Soon, the sap will flow, ewes will begin lambing and we’ll be starting seeds in the greenhouse. When spring returns, we’ll
For Thanksgiving this year, our Edible Schoolyard classes made their own collaborative Thanksgiving meal to serve to guests of their choosing. The students worked hard to create a menu and then a meal that truly reflected the bounty of both our place and the season. On the tables that night was turkey the students had helped to raise and harvest, potatoes dug up at the beginning of the school year, as well as green beans that were handpicked this summer and frozen for just such an occasion. Because we don’t grow cranberries here, students had to get creative about the sauce. The result was a delicious raspberry and rose-hip jam made with our own maple syrup. It was a delightful North Country spin on an old favorite.
welcome that shift in the rhythm of the farm, but for now it’s a joy to have the time to remember what makes all the work worth it.
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A reporter from North Country Public Radio, Todd Moe, stopped by as students were chopping, mixing, and tasting in preparation for their big meal. It was clear as Todd chatted with the students that there was immense pride in the kitchen that afternoon. Students were proud of what they had grown and raised, what they had learned, the menu they had planned, and especially of the work they were currently doing. To listen to the story, go to: https://shar.es/18kzPG
In Appreciation: An Interview with NCS Stalwart Nick Perry We are all incredibly happy for former assistant head of school Nick Perry, who embraced a new role, in fall 2016, as Head of The Grammar School in Putney, Vermont. Nick will be greatly missed at NCS. He is a master teacher and a renaissance man. Nick has been an incredible mentor to children and to staff alike. He is steady, unflappable, and has been a hugely nurturing presence to everyone in our community. He’s an outstanding friend and colleague, a keeper of the flame. On behalf of North Country School and every family, thank you, Nick! David Hochschartner Head of School NCS: Describe your experience at NCS over your 17year career here. NP: When I was in college I double majored in anthropology and education. I grew up working on farms and my grandparents had a farm. I was looking for a school where I could get my hands dirty and explore experiential learning opportunities. NCS fit the bill. I visited in the winter of 1982, meeting Roger Loud and
Jerry Marchildon. Roger and Jerry would be instrumental in helping me grow and evolve as a teacher. A year later I was teaching math to 7th and 8th graders and living in Algonquin with Sue Young and Beth Hardy as co-houseparents. The search for balance between personal life and career led me to other schools, marriage, family, business, master’s work in law, and ultimately back to NCS. In 1999, my return coincided with Hock’s return to the helm. After Roger and Jerry, Hock became a significant mentor to me. The decision to return most recently to NCS, in 2007, was based on my desire to work with the leadership team. As the Dean, Assistant Head for Student Life, and then Assistant Head, I came to understand the tenuous nexus between the needs of the institution, the needs of the faculty, and those of students and their families. NCS: How has NCS changed during that time? NP: If you wait a minute, like the weather in the Adirondacks, things at NCS could change. When I started there was only one barn and no greenhouse. continued on page 37 camptreetops.org | northcountryschool.org page 18
Reading the Landscape: Forest Management at NCS & Treetops By John Foppert
“Reading the Landscape” is a synopsis of a talk given by John Foppert and Director of Facilities & Sustainability John Culpepper at Friends’ Weekend 2016. To read the institution’s forest management plan in its entirety, please visit “Farm and Garden” on the NCS website. To understand the forests growing on and around North Country School and Camp Treetops today, and to consider what these forests could be in the future, it is useful to look back over the history of the land. And that story, the story of the land here, is long and deeply layered. page 19 Organic Roots Winter 2017
An ancient granite bedrock remained flat for 10 million centuries before being thrust up—rudely, but so beautifully—to form the Adirondack High Peaks just twenty million years ago. Again and again, milethick glaciers plowed through the land, grinding down mountains, filling in valleys, and then feeding shifting rivers and short-lived lakes as they retreated. Soon the first seeds blew in, adding shades of green to the newly exposed landscape. In the past dozen or so millennia, since the last glaciers left, a growing cast of characters has fought for
space here. Birches were joined by spruces and then hemlock, other hardwoods, and pines. As the climate warmed or cooled over the centuries, or as it grew wetter or drier, the mix of trees in the forest shifted, and with it the suite of other plants and animals. In places—at the base of Trouble Mountain, for one—the soil grew increasingly rich, as leaves and dirt tumbled down steep slopes. Elsewhere, layers of sour muck slowly built beneath swamp conifers growing on deep, wet sands or in abandoned, silted-in beaver ponds. To this ever-changing environment, add ice storms, hurricanes, landslides, and windstorms, and a clear picture emerges of an ongoing ecological drama not bound for any concluding stasis. There was, of course, one player who provided a plot twist. While Iroquois and Algonquin hunters, trappers, and warriors, and those who came before them, must have had an intimate knowledge of the Adirondacks, their effect on this rugged borderland was far less than it was in the St. Lawrence and Mohawk valleys. Even the opening of early roads and the establishment of frontier industry in the early 19th century had only a limited impact. Substantial, landscape-scale change did not begin until the 1840s, when farm families began to settle the region in earnest and mines, forges, and charcoal kilns popped up everywhere. The stagecoach line from Westport, on Lake Champlain, to North Elba (Lake Placid) opened in 1858, running right in front of what would become Camp Treetops and North Country School. The Farmhouse, built around this time, still stands, having watched a century and a half of traffic pass by. The Big Barn, which now shelters the horses, was originally built to accommodate a small herd of dairy cows. Much of the land was cleared by the late 1800s, with the more easily worked bits cultivated for cropland and the rest—too steep or rocky to plow—kept as pasture. The fire that swept across much of the High Peaks in 1903 burned Porter, Cascade, and Pitchoff Mountains, among others, and may have charred portions of what would become the NCS-Treetops property. Within 10 or 15 years of the fire, the property was heavily logged
again, though most of the fields were allowed to grow back up with trees. Mountains, glaciers, climate, soils; clearing, farming, fire, logging: these were the factors that had shaped the land when Camp Treetops acquired it in 1923. The young forest went mostly unmanaged, slowly growing and changing but largely unnoticed, other than as an attractive backdrop. The hurricane of 1950 and the ice storm of 1998 mostly missed the forest here, but the effects of acid rain, beech-bark disease and climate change have not. Over time, a number of people have worked together to consider the challenges and opportunities of owning more than 150 acres of diverse forestland and to explore how thoughtful management can contribute to the well-being of the community. In the early 1990s, Director of Sustainability and Facilities John Culpepper put forth a plan to manage the forest in a more intentional, sustainable way. Board Member Sumner Parker (NCS 41, parent 77-82, CTT 37-40, parent 73-79, trustee 77-present) led the board’s support of John’s conservation plan, which was made possible by generous donors like Bob deCourcy (CTT staff 42, parent 55-65) and The Baldwin Foundation. Today, North County School and Camp Treetops are recognized by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation as a leader in the area of sustainable forestry. This past year, a new forest management plan was developed, building off earlier efforts. It defined overarching goals for the forest—fostering ecological integrity, enhancing recreational and education opportunities, and sustainably producing wood and maple sap—and prescribed specific management activities to accomplish them. At the heart of the management strategy is the recognition that the landscape is dynamic and always changing. With care, we can steer that change in a positive direction, working to keep the landscape healthy, biologically rich, ecologically dynamic, and
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Reading The Landscape: Forest Management at NCS & Treetops naturally beautiful. The forest should be attractive, accessible and conducive to reflection and exploration, which is especially important for the curious children (and adults) of School and Camp. At the same time, we can garner wood for building projects, carbon neutral biomass energy for heat, and sweet maple syrup. When the forest can provide these things today without compromising its ability to provide them in the future, that’s sustainability. When the forest becomes more diverse, complex and resilient, not in spite of but as a result of providing these things, that is true stewardship. 1
Dr. Michael Farrell completed a master’s thesis on campus in 2003 titled “North Country School/Camp Treetops Appraisal and Recommendations for the Forest and Natural Resources”. Dr. Ken Baker led a Treetops Expedition in 2006 titled “Baseline Ecological Data for Developing a Forest Management Plan for North Country School of Lake Placid, N.Y.” Dr. Baker’s work provided the basis for our first forest management plan, which was developed in 2007 by the Residents’ Committee to Protect the Adirondacks (Dan Gilmore, Forester). NCS and CTT’s second forest management plan was adopted in 2016 and is written by John Foppert of Pekin Branch Forestry.
Photos, top to bottom: our woods before sustainable thinning; 2016 sign designating NCS and CTT as a nationally certified tree farm; our woods after sustainable thinning
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Weather Underground
ON CAMPUS By Devon Jacobs, Director of Technology North Country School and Camp Treetops have installed a weather station on campus that transmits realtime data to Weather Underground, a popular national weather website. It is one of the few stations near the High Peaks that locals, hikers, tourists, alumni, and the parents of our students and campers can use to check current conditions in the area. The station brings many benefits to our campus as well. It will gather substantial meteorological data that students can use in classes, from science to math to Edible Schoolyard and beyond. The station is capable of gathering data on solar radiation so that classes and clubs learning about our sustainability efforts can compare our energy use against what we should be generating on solar panels, or contrast our heating-energy use with temperature, wind, and solar-gain data. It will also help our farmers and students forecast and track garden and animal data against local historical weather data (rainfall, temperature, wind, light levels, and more). It even calculates real-time wind chill and UV index data and displays it on Weather Underground, allowing our program leaders to make more informed choices about trips, barn chores, and other outdoor activities—no more guessing based on the weather in town. camptreetops.org | northcountryschool.org page 22
Orienteering at Treetops By Jim Pugh (CTT 62-64, staff 77) and Chuck Schwerin (CTT 61-64, staff 74-77, parent 89-03, NCS staff 73-76, parent 99-00)
Intro to Orienteering By Jim Pugh
Orienteering is an activity in which a person uses a map and compass to find the way to various locations in the woods—the top of a hill, bend in a trail, or corner of a marsh. A typical course consists of six to 10 different locations, each of which is marked by a “flag,” a unique nylon box with two distinct orange and white sections on each face. Hanging on each flag is a plastic punch with a distinctive shape. Upon finding a flag, the orienteer documents the visit by punching a card attached to the map. When all of the points have been visited, the orienteer heads to the finish line and presents the card with all of the correct punches. It is a bit like a well-defined scavenger hunt. Orienteering can be either recreational or competitive. Some participants prefer to walk around the course leisurely, perhaps with a friend. This is the way I introduced my daughter to orienteering. Some people prefer to race against the clock. An organized meet usually offers several courses of varying length and difficulty. The recreational orienteers generally like a course of one to three miles that stays close to trails. Competitive orienteering courses may be six miles or longer and go deep into the bush, far away from trails. There is a level for everyone. Orienteering originated in Scandinavia, where it is a very popular sport. Every summer Sweden hosts a five-day event that attracts more than 15,000 participants. In the United States, there are currently 86 orienteering clubs, probably one near you. They hold most of their meets in state parks in the spring and the fall. A quick Internet search will reveal dates and locations. Membership in a club is not required to participate. Orienteers typically hang around after a run and socialize.
Treetops Orienteering: The Early Days After becoming hooked on orienteering in the mid-1970s, I figured it was an ideal way to teach map and compass skills to Treetops campers. I began by making a couple
of primitive orienteering maps of the Camp and School area. A tent platform was drawn like a tent platform, a tree like a tree, etc. The most popular depicted the area from the Boathouse to Raspberry Knoll to the barn. A few campers with requisite compass skills used a more complex map, which extended to the cliffs of Trouble and Shelter Rock. Teaching the basic skills of orienteering was a good rainy day activity. A table in the Main House served as the classroom. In half a period, three or four campers could look at topographic maps and strategize how to get from one point to another on that lesson’s map. Once a week I would offer orienteering in the field. The Hike House was the start and finish, and campers were advised not to run through the garden. Our emphasis was on completion of a course, rather than a fast time. I fashioned orienteering “flags” from #10 tin cans circled with red tape, with a crayon hanging on a string. The mark of the crayon’s distinctive color served as proof of finding the correct point. Typically I laid out a course of about one kilometer in length, as well as a longer one of two to three kilometers. Some kids preferred to go out in pairs, while others sometimes ran the course a second time to improve their accuracy and time.
The more eager orienteers received an extra level of coaching. “Don’t run too fast. Read the map. Balance speed with accuracy.” I liken competitive orienteering to playing chess while cross-country running. The two skills are contradictory. Due to a backlash against “peak-bagging,” a competitive approach to hiking, Treetops de-emphasized High Peaks trips in the late 1970s. This came as a surprise to some of the campers who arrived for their Super year in 1978. I asked the Camp directors whether, as a sort of recompense, several campers could join me for a threeday orienteering meet in Quebec. continued on next page
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Orienteering at Treetops continued To my surprise, Colin [Tait] and Dick [Wilde] approved the Canadian triple overnight. We packed food and equipment just like any overnight trip. Three separate competitions were held in three different locations north of Montreal. We camped in a provincial park near my friends from the New England Orienteering Club. The campers had a blast—and their times were respectable. A couple years later, the 1980 Winter Olympics provided a gorgeous base map—with accurate five-meter contour lines—of the cross-country ski area across the road at Mt. Van Hoevenberg. I spent several days mapping the area for boulders, streams, and other natural topography. My intention was to develop an orienteering map that would challenge campers to find their way around unfamiliar wooded terrain. After a while I thought better of the project. It gave me the willies to think of searching for a camper who might be lost anywhere between Big Slide and South Meadow. That trip to Quebec turned out to be the first and only off-campus orienteering activity.
Orienteering at Treetops: The Second Act By Chuck Schwerin
When I returned to Treetops as a part-time counselor in the late ’80s, I needed a hook, or thought I did, to convince Jeff Jonathan, the Camp director at the time, to have me around for a week. The routine was this: I would arrive during Visitors’ Day to see one of my four children and then stay the following week. This was during a time in the summer when a fresh face and new activity were welcome additions to the program. So I proposed to Jeff that I lead some trips that were not often done and wouldn’t strain the transportation schedule all that much—like bushwhacking Big Slide directly from Camp, or climbing Cascade from Owl’s Head (for the senior campers) or Balanced Rocks from
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Trouble (for junior campers), following an ancient route that Don Rand had once flagged with orange fabric strips, now long-faded or disintegrated. The rest of the time, I would offer orienteering, which I knew Jim had introduced at Camp 10 years earlier but had lapsed after he went on to real life elsewhere. I, too, had competed in orienteering events while living in the Boston area, as Jim had done. I dodged Treetops’ homemade ethic by purchasing official orienteering flags. I recall puttering around the Hike House and coming across the hand-drawn maps of the place that Jim had created. I also discovered the map of Van Hoevenberg that he had drawn, and reached the same chilling conclusion: letting inexperienced orienteering campers loose on the vastness of the ski trail complex was probably counselor malpractice. Maybe it was the hype I gave it at morning council, explaining to campers that the orange and white “flag” I held was identical to those used in competitions around the world, including the World Championships that had twice included my fellow Super from 1964, Jim Pugh (he competed in Finland and Austria as a member of the U.S. Team). Or maybe it was the cool factor of introducing a new game that allowed kids to compete for time if they wished, or just navigate with a friend for one period. Whatever the reason, it instantly became a hit, and I found myself sitting alone on the Craft House porch while a significant fraction of the population from both Junior and Senior Camp roamed the property, searching for hidden flags. My chief worry was that I would be the cause of mass littering if the courses proved too difficult. Maybe campers would become frustrated or bored, abandon their quest and dump the ziplock-encased maps hither and yon. While many counselors marveled at how determined the campers were, racing here and there, clutching their maps as treasured documents, I
also heard mutterings that horses were getting spooked when campers unexpectedly thrashed through the trees surrounding the riding rings. I needed to be more careful with the course design.
the descendants of Jim Pugh’s maps, to be retrieved the following summer. That all came to an end when my own children outgrew camp in the late ’90s, my professional life changed, and I ceased to be the orienteer-in-residence.
As long as campers were using a map of a place they knew so intimately, there was no need for them to use a compass to find the flags that I had hidden. Initially I’d had the goal of teaching kids to use a compass. However, I soon realized that I could impact far more children by simply showing them how to “orient” themselves on a fairly simple map. Map-reading—not figuring out direction of travel with the compass—was the only skill required to locate the flags. This philosophy made the activity accessible to many more campers.
The old itch returned in 2014 after the camp session was over. I emailed Hock with a proposal that I spend two weeks at North Country School after the Thanksgiving break to offer orienteering as an out-time activity and to guest-lecture during morning science classes if there was interest. Hock agreed. Only then did I remember that it had been 15 years since I had last stashed that equipment in the staff room cabinet.
It may have appeared I was scarcely working while I sat at the Craft House, awaiting my charges to gallop back with their maps properly hole-punched as proof they had visited all the flags. Much of my labor was done during rest hour or after dinner, when I would set out with my flags stuffed into a backpack, clipboard in hand, to lay out a course for the following day. Then it was off to the Camp office to create a new master map, make sufficient copies, and secure more ziplock bags to protect the maps. One summer I suggested to Mildred Brooks, Junior Camp nature counselor and Pied Piper to generations of campers, that we collaborate on an orienteering course that used different plants instead of the nylon flags as targets. My plan was twofold: to create a hybrid activity that would appeal to a different set of campers and, selfishly, to give me the chance to spend time with Millie. While this version was never repeated, it was a privilege for me to have her all to myself for an afternoon. When each week-long junket ended, I retrieved the flags from the final course and stored the equipment in a filing cabinet in the Junior Camp staff room, along with
Upon my arrival at School, I made a beeline for the Main Building, the realization setting in that I might have to spend the first part of my stay combing the recycle bin for #10 tin cans like Jim used 40 years before. But there they were—every single dog-eared, weather-beaten nylon flag I had purchased, as well as the maps of the place that were now sorely out of date. Many of my favorite hiding places no longer existed, like the pine forest between Junior and Senior Camps that had been decimated by winter storms. But new options appeared. The perimeter loop opened up possibilities for hiding flags in places that once would have been too far off the beaten path, like the area around the yurt. I laid out the first course and introduced it at Council, much as I had done in 1989, holding up an orange and white control flag and asking the group, “Can anyone tell me what this is?” Once again, they lined up to participate. Then it hit me—what happens if it snows and the routes to the flags become visible for all to see? I wondered if they would take to “ski-orienteering.” Would this be a summeronly activity? Ten days and 24 inches of snow later I had my answer. Undeterred, students bundled up and hit the woods. Kids love to orienteer.
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Camp Treetops and North Country School Trailmap F
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map created by Elie Rabinowitz, June 2016
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LEGEND
STRUCTURES 1 2
TROUBLE
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TRAILS
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SUPER LOOP
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STREAM/LAKE
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FIELD/PASTURE
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CRAG CABIN
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YURT CLARK HOUSE WOODS HOUSE HILL HOUSES
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ROCK
BOAT HOUSE SUGAR HOUSE TREE HOUSE
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2.5” = approximately 1/4 mile
BARNS & FARMHOUSE EILEEN ROCKEFELLER HOUSE
RASPBERRY KNOLL LEAN-TO HUBBARD LEAN-TO OUTPOST LEAN-TO
8
PARKING
MAIN BUILDING MAIN HOUSE
14 15
TRAILS & ROADS O
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SUPER LOOP MILES
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LAKE TRAIL
STEEP
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SUNRISE TRAIL
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SCOTCH PINE LOOP
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GARDEN PASTURE TRAIL
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JACKRABBIT SKI TRAIL CONNECTOR
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BOB BLISS HIGHWAY
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Roots &
Branches:
Alumni Spotlights
solving logistical problems throughout the creative process: developing and selling a collection from an initial concept, analyzing trends, choosing fabrics, marketing, merchandising, allocation, and all the other details that get an idea to the stores and into your closet. And through it all I get to mentor creative talent and watch it grow. I even met my wife through the fashion industry. Most recently, I was Vice President of Design and Product Development at Xcel Brands working on three brands: IMNY by Isaac Mizrahi, H Halston, and Highline Collective. Last summer, I resigned my job and moved with my family to Seoul, South Korea, so that my two daughters can know their Korean family and culture and my wife can live in her hometown. Seoul has mountains! I missed living surrounded by mountains.
SAM BECKER NCS 89
My NCS Roots: When I visited NCS for the first time on what felt like a whim with my mother, I was a mild-mannered boy with few expectations. Entering the campus and driving towards the main building, I knew instantly this was the place to be. I enrolled a few weeks later and threw myself into tackling the mountains, the slopes and the basement craft rooms. My adolescent awkwardness was allowed to be and I was more at ease—I felt a real sense of belonging. How I Branched Out: At NCS I explored, messing around in boats, scaling rocks, and seeking other new experiences. From there, fantasies of designing boats turned into fantasies of designing ladies’ clothing. I have now been in fashion for 20 years, working mostly on mass-market brands. Fashion takes great teamwork and leadership to get right, and requires learning from mistakes and speaking truth (tactfully) to management, your partners, and the consumer. I especially enjoy
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JOHN WHITNEY
CTT 90-94, CTT staff 97-99, 02-03 My CTT Roots: Treetops has been the most important institution in my life. Period. Not only did this city kid discover the outdoors, but my years as a camper and on staff showed me that my own happiness and well-being depend on the strength and values of the communities in which I engage. In turn, I learned that it is not just my responsibility but also my privilege to contribute to those communities.
How I Branched Out: I’ve spent the last 20 years trying to recreate barn chores (minus the early wake-up). My wife, Victoria, and I now live in Boulder, Colorado, which is a pretty special place in its own right. I am a consultant to large foundations and other philanthropies, helping to design and implement programs and partnerships to address some of the most significant challenges of our time, including land and species conservation, climate change, economic development, education, domestic and global health, and many other issues. More important, these are issues I care deeply about, and I work with groups of incredibly talented, incredibly caring individuals who have devoted their lives to strengthening their own and other communities around the world.
ELISE MUNN NCS 06
My NCS Roots: I was fortunate to have attended North Country School because of someone who saw potential in me, and others who were willing to offer financial support. I believe one of the greatest lessons I learned was to say “yes” to opportunity when it presented itself. I was able to go on my first plane, to Mexico with my Spanish class, fly to South Korea for spring break with my roommate, ski Tuckerman’s Ravine in the spring,
and go snorkeling for the first time, in the Everglades, among many other experiences. I feel forever grateful that as a young child I was able and encouraged to experience so much of the world. NCS also cultivated grit and delayed gratification. Whether it was working on an art project, soccer practice, rock-climbing, title trekking, or barn chores, I learned to apply myself fully in everything that I did. Seeing an art project I had diligently worked on displayed at the Thanksgiving showcase, and being able to show my family, made me proud to have worked the extra hours in the art room. How I Branched Out: From NCS, I went to Emma Willard School in Troy, New York, and then to the George Washington University in Washington DC. While in DC, my worlds collided when my advisor had a former student who was the clinical director at the Olympic Training Center in Lake Placid. I interned in their sports medicine clinic and then acquired a fulltime job at Adirondack Medical Center working in their rehabilitation clinics as an athletic trainer. I was grateful to live in the Adirondacks as an adult and experience the playground that is in our backyard. Between moonlit skiing, rock-climbing, mountain-biking, and hiking the High Peaks, I cherished that as a child and student at NCS I was encouraged and taught how to do so many of these activities. After I took a corporate wellness and injury prevention job in the Capital District, I quickly learned that there is so much more to life than the nine-to-five grind that young professionals are encouraged to embrace. I packed my car with three bikes, two pairs of skis, and some other gear and drove out to Colorado to accept a job in program development and training for an experiential outdoor fitness training facility. I am grateful to be learning and doing something I love while having a positive impact on individuals and cultivating a supportive and encouraging community. I feel forever grateful for North Country School in my life and it is my hope to someday help other students attend this school and experience opportunities that they might not otherwise have.
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What did you like about Friends’ Weekend? This past August we welcomed more than 320 alumni and friends back to Camp and School for Friends’ Weekend. The weather was exceptional, with beautiful, sunny skies every day. Friends enjoyed making crafts, horseback riding, swimming, and boating on Round Lake. This year we also offered tours of our new property across Round Lake, the Eileen Rockefeller House. Trips included hikes to Mt. Van Hoevenberg, Big Slide, Cascade and Porter mountains; paddling on Hoel, Turtle, and Slang ponds; and swimming at Tender Foot Pools. Friends also joined our community in barn chores, harvesting the garden, pickling kimchi, and cleaning garlic. Many attendees also worked hard building a run-in shelter for the horses and helping Larry Robjent (NCS faculty) finish painting and staining the NCS Class of 2016 bench that outlines the 10 peaks visible from Camp and School.
“Being at CTT for the first time in 60-plus years”
On Saturday, we celebrated the life of Paul Nowicki (CTT 51-54, staff 61-71, 80-02, parent 79-83, 87-93, NCS staff 6771) with a memorial in Rickey Circle. Friends and family joined his children, Stefan Nowicki (CTT 87-91, 93, CTT staff 97-03, 06, 11) and Sara Cady (CTT 79-83, NCS 83-84, CTT staff 85-88), as they shared memories and reflected on his remarkable life. We hope to see you next year at Friends’ Weekend 2017: August 23-27.
“The crafts, the hikes, the bonfire, the square dance, the barn, and even the chicken-moving!” Photos, clockwise from top left: Songs at Morning Council; breakfast in the CTT Main House;Eric Wagner (NCS 38-39 and 40-42, CTT 4041, CTT staff 50-55) and Malcolm Willison (CTT 41-43); Stanley Isaacs (CTT 89-94, CTT staff 2000-06), Jenny Mullins (CTT 92-99, CTT s taff
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Friends’ Weekend
“Bare feet, family, friends, canoeing, the lake, the stars, the memories, and the laughter!”
03-04, 06), Jim Hayes (NCS staff 07-10, CTT staff 01-06), Hannah Edwards (NCS s taff 07-08, CTT staff 04-08, CTT s taff 16); NCS alumni from the 1930s through the 1990s; CTT alumni and staff from the 1980s; Lanie Fleischer (CTT 49-50, CTT Staff 53-59 and 61-63), Eric Fetz (CTT 57-62), and Billie “Bee” Whittaker (CTT 52-55); the Naftal family enjoying the Lake Hill; Vanya Desai (CTT 80-85) and her family paddling on Round Lake.
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From the NCS Archives
Photos: NCS founder Walter Clark with students, circa 1960s. camptreetops.org | northcountryschool.org page 34
...it isn’t enough that we teach only the 3 R’s (rugged, resourceful, and resilient), the fundamentals of music and art, proficiency in sports, and the vocational skills. We must also strive to develop the hidden values, the inner values of the spirit. Such values do not lend themselves easily to naming and classification, but there is certainly one which is always uppermost in our minds as we plan the program for children at North Country School. I shall call it courage. The courage to stand up for your convictions, the courage to face up to mistakes, to start again after failure, to keep going against all odds and difficulties, to get back on a horse after you are thrown, the courage to question, the courage to experiment in new realms. Walter Clark NCS graduation, 1956
In Appreciation: An Interview with NCS Stalwart Nick Perry continued from page 18 Dexter pasture was used as a soccer field. The Super Loop was created, at least in part, as a byproduct of our sugaring operation. I also saw the purchase and development of the Crag, enabling students of all abilities to rock climb on campus, as well as the evolution of the ski hill, which now allows students an excellent introduction to backcountry skiing. NCS: What were your favorite aspects about working at NCS? NP: Seeing my two kids, Justin and Sarah, thrive; the relationships formed with students; teaching math; overnight winter hikes in the mountains; skiing the ski hill with NCS friends and colleagues; evening faculty meetings; skiing the Loppet with students; running the Level 5 trips; the relationships with other teachers; the food; students being thankful for the faculty and staff’s efforts to help them; seeing how hard others around me were working; the core three Rs. For me, what makes NCS unique is how one school can offer so many varied experiences for a child. Finding that island of competency is what the NCS experience is about for students, and what I admired about my colleagues over the years is that they all seemed to know it instinctively. Perhaps this is what brought us all to NCS—given our own areas of interest, expertise, and passion, we could offer students a slightly different route to competency and mastery. I think the goals are the same at other schools, but the breadth of possibilities that students can imagine at NCS does not exist elsewhere. NCS: How do your experiences at NCS inform your current role at The Grammar School, i.e., what did you take with you in your metaphorical toolbox?
page 37 Organic Roots Winter 2017
For me, what makes NCS unique is how one school can offer so many varied experiences for a child. Finding that island of competency is what the NCS experience is about for students... NP: The latitude that Hock gave me in developing the leadership team strategies prepared me for almost all of the roles I am charged with here. My observation of the deep commitment and talent of our board at NCS has left me with a great appreciation for the level of stewardship and fiscal oversight that can be achieved and has informed my work with the TGS board. I am also trying to mimic Hock’s daily visits into classrooms and quick check-ins with teachers. The students see me as part of the school because of the presence I try to maintain. Metaphorical toolbox from NCS in a nutshell: eat well, enjoy your family, respect the efforts and skill sets of your faculty, respect the uniqueness of families and try to see things from their perspective, try to exercise every day, and model the things you expect from others. NCS: What anecdotes, unique to NCS, will you continue to share in the years to come? NP: Certainly numerous skiing ones: hucking cliffs with Dave, following him where I had no business going; skiing the Trouble Slab with Dave; making an avalanche video on Trouble Slab with Larry; on my 50th birthday, sharing the camaraderie of my closest friends on staff who were willing to collectively ski 50 runs in celebration with me.
P LEASE JOIN ALUMNI, FAMILY, AND FRIENDS OF CAMP AND SCHOOL AT OUR COMING FRIENDS’ WEEKENDS AT ALTA LODGE AND LAKE PLACID. FRIENDS’ WEEKEND AT ALTA LODGE April 5 - 9, 2017
FRIENDS’ WEEKEND IN LAKE PLACID August 23-27, 2017
For more information on alumni events, contact: alumni@ncstreetops.org 518-523-9329
GOWANUS GETDOWN Saturday, January 28, 2017, 8:00-11:00 PM Jalopy Theatre | 315 Columbia Street Brooklyn (Gowanus neighborhood), NY 15 minute walk from F train at Carroll St/Smith St
Tickets: $12 includes two free drinks Limited availability! Join John Doan (NCS Faculty) and his band, Hannah Doan (NCS 05), Jake Doan (NCS 07), Larry Robjent (NCS Faculty), and Joey Schultz (NCS 04) to celebrate the release of John’s new album, Cascadeville, and to connect with friends from Camp and School. Your hosts for the evening are Emily Clark (CTT 96-01), Sarah Davidson (CTT 96-99), and Will Whitney (CTT 90-94).
For decades, Paul Nowicki was one of the “keepers of the Treetops torch.” He first arrived in 1951. Treetops stalwarts Helen and Doug Haskell were close family friends, and they made it possible for Paul to go to Camp. As a young man, in the late 1960s and early 70s, Paul worked at Treetops for Helen, as well as co-directors Dick Wilde (CTT staff 60-82) and Colin Tait (CTT staff 54, 57, 67-82). He later returned to Camp in 1980 with his first wife, Sandy, supervising the waterfront and eventually taking over the pot shop in the 1990s. Paul had a rich history with this place and a strong commitment to the ethos and values of Treetops. He was passionate about keeping the legacy of Helen and Doug alive. Paul often came to speak during the Treetops history and philosophy sessions at early staff trainings. He always spoke eloquently and from the heart about what Treetops meant to him both as child and adult. Paul was an artist and highly creative. Pottery was his passion. He designed the Senior Camp pot shop and the addition to the craft shop, both in a style that was fitting to the Treetops landscape. These buildings continue to provide opportunities for children and adults to foster their creativity, which was of primary importance to Paul. He was committed to the landscape and viewsheds here and worked tirelessly to ensure that these were preserved.
TREETOPS TRIBUTE PAUL NOWICKI
January 3, 1941 - December 12, 2015 CTT 51-54, staff 61-71, 80-00, parent 79-83, 87-93, NCS staff 67-71 By Karen Culpepper & Don Rand
Photos from top: Paul leading Treetops council with daughter Sara, circa 1981; Paul as a camper in the early 1950s
page 39 Organic Roots Winter 2017
Paul was gifted in architectural design, as structures in Norwich, VT, Hanover, NH, and Keene, NY, all attest. Though Paul’s designs are decidedly contemporary, there often lurk hints of a traditional Japanese ethos. Reference to and dependence upon nature are ever-present, the found object discovered on a mountain hike sharing equal status with the man-made. At Friends’ Weekend 2016, a large assemblage of family, friends, former students and campers gathered in the Rickey Circle in recognition of Paul’s enduring influence upon their lives. A recurrent theme was his generosity, his willingness to share expertise, and his commitment to honesty and quality whatever the medium. An apt summation offered: “He gave so much and asked so little.” Paul’s connection to Treetops spans six decades and continues as the husband of Barbara (CTT staff 87-88, 96), the parent of Sara (CTT 79-83, NCS 83-84, CTT staff 85-90) and Stefan (CTT 87-91, 93, CTT staff 97-03, 06, 11) with his first wife Sandy (NCS 57, staff 67-12, parent 83-84, CTT parent 79-83, 87-91, staff 96-14, trustee 93-present) as well as uncle to Eleanor (CTT 86-92), Sophie (CTT 91-93), and Marion (CTT 92-94), and grandfather to Natalie (CTT staff 16).
NEWS & NOTES NCS ALUMNI/AE NCS 53 Betty Eldridge (also, NCS parent 70-82, CTT 49-50, staff 12-15) Betty recently relocated to the Keene Valley Neighborhood House. Her beloved home on Raspberry Way, located adjacent to Camp and School, is currently for sale. For details, please contact her daughter, Noni: neldridge@northcountryschool.org. NCS 72 Susan Mahaffy “Still teaching Kindergarten and loving it. I will come to Friends’ Weekend when I retire. NCS in large part made me who I am today, and I’m proud of it.” NCS 80 Anne Dickerson While there wasn’t a 9th grade at NCS at the time, Anne wishes there had been! At NCS, she loved riding horses, working on the farm and in the garden, and weaving in the art room. She attended the Barlow School after NCS. Now she works for an accounting firm in seacoast New Hampshire, where she is about to take a Forensic Accounting class. Anne also runs her own organic farm in Madbury. She’s pictured on a recent trip to NCS, where her partner’s daughter, Rory, currently works as horseback riding instructor and support staff. NCS 74 Theron David Cook (also, NCS parent 94-98, CTT 73, CTT parent 94-98, staff 14) “In May 2016 I graduated from Princeton Theological Seminary with a Master of Divinity and a Certificate in Black Church Studies. I was recently ordained as Minister in the Many Waters Ministries, a Richmond, VAbased international apostolic ministry.”
NCS 81 Aimee Reveno “I represented NCS 81 and had a wonderful time at Friends’ Weekend.” NCS 02 Jon Hochschartner (also, CTT 96-01) Jon married Amanda Kane at a beautiful ceremony at Trapp Family Lodge on October 15, 2016.
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NEWS & NOTES where he is currently a senior. This project is “an ambitious conservation effort to eliminate the use of disposable plastic water bottles at Blair. The goals of the Water Bottle Project were clear: Give every student a reusable water bottle, install filling stations and filtered drinking fountains in every building, and ultimately eliminate the wasteful and unethical use of disposable bottles.”
NCS 12 John Canning Also a graduate of Gould in 2015, John is now at University of Dayton (Class of 2019), majoring in Spanish and Criminal Justice. NCS 13 Lucy Hochschartner (also CTT 06-08, 11-12 and CTT staff 15-16) In fall 2016, Lucy began her freshman year at St. Lawrence University, where she competes as part of the Nordic ski team.
NCS 16 Grady Allen (also CTT 10-15) This summer, Grady became a 46er. He’s pictured above celebrating his final ascent with his mom, Jenny (NCS 84, parent 14-16, CTT parent 10-15, trustee 06-present).
NCS STAFF
NCS 14 Tys Sweeney (also CTT 11) Tys launched the Water Bottle Project at Blair Academy, page 41 Organic Roots Winter 2017
Current teacher Meredith Hanson presented “Collaboratively Determining English Learners’ Readiness to Mainstream,” a 70-minute workshop on creating ESL exit benchmarks, to teachers at the New York State Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages conference on November 4, 2016.
NEWS & NOTES John Culpepper and Katie Culpepper, our current director of sustainability and farm manager, respectively, presented at the November 2016 Farm-Based Education Network’s 6th Annual Conference in Concord, MA, where they lectured on composting techniques, including NCS and Treetops’ continuous flow rotatingdrum composting system. Katie also co-presented on this topic with SUNY Canton at the Adirondack Youth Climate Summit, held at The Wild Center in November 2016. Katie is pictured below with Patrick Quinn (NCS 14) at the Climate Summit, where Patrick was representing Lake Placid High School.
John Kotler, CTT 61-62 “We really enjoyed participating in Friends and Family Weekend this summer. Being at Treetops always nourishes the body and soul. Thanks!”
Tim deJong, CTT 67-71 “I often look back fondly on my experiences at CTT. They contribute greatly to my continued creative drive as an artist/owner of Wimberley Glassworks (www.wgw.com).”
In November 2016, Jill Magurk celebrated 20 years of employment at NCS & Treetops. Jill currently works as a cook during the school year and maintenance staff in the summer.
CTT FRIENDS Liza Ketchum, CTT 58-60, CTT staff 65-67 “Gardening organically at our home in Vermont, along with visiting grandkids. My next novel for young adults will be out winter of 2017.”
Lisa Mierop, CTT 67-69 “Married my business partner of 13 years in June. Ceremony officiated by wonderful friend and client, Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson. A perfect day enjoyed by all outdoors surrounded by gardens I designed and installed.”
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NEWS & NOTES Ray Verner, CTT staff 70-73, also NCS staff from 67-68 Though he finished hiking the 46 High Peaks in 1971, on Rocky Peak Ridge, Ray only recently decided to get his name in the record book. With help from Chuck Schwerin (CTT 61-64, staff 74-77, parent 89-03, NCS staff 73-76, parent 99-00) and Jim Pugh (CTT 6264, staff 77), Ray recently applied for and received his number: he is 46er #9426. Among many feats, he once ran up and over the Lower Range three times in one afternoon. Sarah Hall Gordon, CTT staff 79-82 Continues to live in the Sierra foothills teaching hiking, snowboarding, swimming, SUP and Yuba River exploring. Alberta Hemsley, CTT staff 86-90, CTT parent 84-90 Now retired after 45 years as a science teacher. Daughter Jenny Winkler (CTT 84-86), is getting a PhD in Public Health from Arizona University. Son David Winkler (CTT 85-90), has been with Microsoft for 18 years.
Jesse Williams, CTT 93-94 Grey’s Anatomy actor Jesse Williams was awarded BET’s Humanitarian Award in June 2016. Upon its acceptance, he delivered a powerful and political speech on the racial issues plaguing the United States. Jesse was executive producer on the recent documentary: Stay Woke: The Black Lives Matter Movement.
page 43 Organic Roots Winter 2017
Abigail Pines, CTT 99-03 “I am currently in my 4th and last year of veterinary school at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY. Hoping to get back to CTT for FW soon!”
Brook Erenstone Phillips, CTT staff 02-04 “Husband Taylor Phillips and I welcomed son Canyon Irving Phillips on April 29th. He is already a mover and we can’t wait to bring him home to the Adirondacks!”
ANNUAL REPORT 2015-2016
Photo by Manuelo Palacios
ANNUAL REPORT 2015-2016
Greetings from Lake Placid Dear Friends, The loyalty and generosity of our extended community was once again remarkable this year. We are pleased to share with you our Annual Report for September 1, 2015, through August 31, 2016. Your contributions and Eileen Rockefeller’s Challenge helped our Annual Fund soar: 1,090 donors gave $1.3 million this year. This record-setting giving has allowed us to balance our budget for the 14th year in a row. Your support this year provided:
• need-based scholarship assistance to more than one-third of our students and campers; • new learning opportunities both in and out of the classroom—from permaculture demonstration
sites on our farm to a learning annex and maker space, to Edible Schoolyard classes and a busy Camper Kitchen, to great creative moments behind the camera or at the loom or pottery wheel; • adventures too numerous to count, from the first paddles across Round Lake to camping overnight at the Eileen Rockefeller House, to climbing at the Crag and rappelling down the Clark House chimney, to the many hikes in the surrounding mountains. Over the last 12 months, there has been significant and important work toward a new strategic plan that will help guide Camp and School into the future. The plan promises to be both foundational and aspirational. We look forward to sharing it with you. Thank you once again. And, if you can, please come visit. We’d love to have you here to help collect sap in the sugarbush, share the Lake Hill with you at a bonfire, or just reminisce on a stroll out to the barn.
Sincerely,
Barkley Stuart Board Chair
David “Hock” Hochschartner Head of School and Camp
page I - Annual Report, September 1, 2015 – August 31, 2016
Dear Friends, As we approach our goal of $25 million for the Strong Roots, High Peaks Campaign, we are enormously grateful for all that our community does to sustain and grow NCS and Treetops. We are delighted to report that, as of August 31, 2016, over 3,000 individuals and families have contributed nearly $22.95 million for this campaign that is so essential to the future of Camp and School. This year, we are particularly thankful for Eileen Rockefeller’s Challenge, which boosted giving towards the Campaign’s priorities: the Annual Fund, which supports most of our need-based financial aid, as well as many program areas; the Capital Fund that provides resources for improving our facilities and infrastructure (listed at right); and Endowment Funding, which is a strategic investment in our future that helps immediately with additional scholarship aid. Campaign funds were put to great use last year with renovations of Woods and Farm Houses, the re-building of Wing House—one of Doug Haskell’s original designs—improvements at the Eileen Rockefeller House, a new coat of paint on the Main Building, two solar-thermal arrays, and much more. We look forward to celebrating the completion of this transformative campaign in the next year. Thank you for your sustained and generous support. We can’t reach our next milestones without you. Sincerely,
Matt Salinger Development Chair
D. Kurt Terrell Director of Advancement
Strong Roots, High Peaks Campaign Accomplishments New Construction o Clark House o Flushing Meadows plant o Barnyard improvements o Timber-frame garden shed o Three living-roof structures o Doug Haskell’s Hanging House and Wing House reproductions o Parking lot behind campus for more green space Renovation o Treetops Main House o Farm House o Main Building dining room, ramp, circle locker room, library, media center and Quonset o Solar panels on Treetops shower house o Woods House Infrastructure Improvements o Remove utility poles and overhead power lines o Seven biomass heating units o Three solar-energy arrays and two solar-thermal arrays o Roads, bridges, paths, steps and drainage o Trail system o Chimneys, foundations and walkways o Electric feeds and Technology Upgrades o Water systems o Sprinklers, fire alarms and campus security systems
Giving Opportunities New Construction and Projects o Eileen Rockefeller House and property acquisition o Teaching and Learning Kitchen o Treetops Hike House and staff housing Renovation o Hill Houses, Main Building, and Road House renovations Endowment o Richard Rockefeller Fresh Start Fund and other named funds for scholarships, faculty and staff, land acquisition, and program support
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ANNUAL REPORT 2015-2016
From Our Campaign Leadership
ANNUAL REPORT 2015-2016
Annual Financial Summary Dear Friends, Thanks to your generosity, we are pleased to again announce a very successful financial year for North Country School and Camp Treetops. School and Camp provided formative experiences to more than 250 students and campers on our beautiful Adirondack campus. Your continued support of the Annual Fund and the Endowment Fund allowed us to provide more than $1,000,000 in need-based tuition assistance to students and campers this year. This level of financial aid is critical to allowing us to offer the NCS and Treetops experience to children of all backgrounds. This year did have its financial challenges. In particular, we’ve seen an increase in both the number and the amount of students and campers requesting financial aid. In response to that, and thanks to the many gifts provided for scholarship aid, we increased our endowment contribution to help support that need. Your generous contributions to the Annual Fund also helped us defray the costs associated with drilling a new well, allowing us to still have a successful financial year. Your support helps us give our wonderful campus the care that it requires. While your direct financial support is crucial, it is not the only gift that you can offer to Camp and School. Since tuition revenue comprises more than 70 percent of our operating budget every year, we depend on your referrals to families who may have an interest in School or Camp. You are our best advocates. We would welcome the opportunity to see you and meet any potential new campers or students. We cannot express enough how much we appreciate your continued support and encouragement as we work to meet the challenges and needs of our greater community. Your continued generosity helps to make School and Camp as transformative to young lives as it has always been.
Sincerely,
Fritz Sabbow Business Manager and CFO
Brian Eng Board Treasurer
page III - Annual Report, September 1, 2015 – August 31, 2016
Year Ending August 31, 2016 (unaudited) Expenditures Program Services 2,554,498 Physical Plant 1,589,639 Administrative 2,156,072 Subtotal 6,300,209 Financial Aid 1,003,941 Total Expenditures 7,304,150 Revenues Tuition and Fees Distribution from Endowment Annual Fund Gifts for Operations Other Revenues Total Revenues & Gifts
5,513,470 400,000 1,274,157 116,523 7,304,150
Summary of Gifts Received Annual Fund Gifts including ERC* Endowment Gifts Restricted Gifts Total Gifts Received
1,322,157 672,606 530,985 2,525,747
*Includes Annual Fund for operations plus Eileen Rockefeller’s Challenge (ERC) gifts to the Richard Rockefeller Fresh Start Scholarship Fund and Round Lake Cottage Fund.
BOARD OF TRUSTEES Barkley Stuart, Chair Jenny Ewing Allen, Vice-Chair Brian Eng, Treasurer Sandy Gray Nowicki, Secretary Lisa Beck Barry Breeman Peter R. Brest J. Matthew Davidson Guillaume de Ramel Laura Thrower Harris Nick Hewitt Carla von Trapp Hunter Caroline Kenney Roger S. Loud Greg Marchildon Jennifer Maslow Bob Parker Pamela Rosenthal Matt Salinger Hume Steyer Manny Weintraub Jun Zhang
HONORARY TRUSTEES Joan K. Davidson Colin C. Tait Richard E. Wilde TRUSTEES EMERITI David T. Kenney Rose Kean Lansbury Sumner Parker ADMINISTRATION David Hochschartner Head of School and Camp Karen Culpepper Camp Treetops Director John Culpepper Director of Facilities and Sustainability David Damico Director of Admissions John Nicholson Director of Communications Anne Swayze Assistant Head Fritz Sabbow Business Manager & CFO D. Kurt Terrell Director of Advancement
North Country School and Camp Treetops is incorporated as a not-for-profit organization and is listed as a charitable and educational organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the United States Internal Revenue Service Code. Our federal tax ID number is 14-1430542.
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ANNUAL REPORT 2015-2016
Institutional Leadership
Operating Fund Statement of Activities
ANNUAL REPORT 2015-2016
High Peaks Giving Levels Thank you to our community of alumni, families, employees past and present, trustees, and friends for your generosity. Your ongoing loyalty makes a tremendous difference to our campers and students. Marcy (5,344 FT) $50,000 and up
Algonquin (5,114 FT) $25,000-$49,999
Anonymous (3) Mr. and Mrs. Barry Breeman Matthew and Amy Davidson u Elizabeth Prince de Ramel ‘60 u Guillaume ‘89 and Molly de Ramel H The de Ramel Foundation EJMP Fund for Philanthropy Eng Family Charitable Trust Brian Eng and Renee Bourgeois Elizabeth Eng and Benjamin Botts H Kenneth and June Eng H Fullwood Foundation, Inc. H Goldman, Sachs, & Co. l Paul and Eileen Growald ‘66 u The J. M. Kaplan Fund, Inc. u Mr. and Mrs. David T. Kenney u Caroline Kenney H Sandy Gray Nowicki ‘57 u Mr. and Mrs. Sumner Parker ‘41 u David Rockefeller David and Susan Rockefeller l Drs. Pamela Rosenthal and Sam Wertheimer Barkley Stuart and Ann Glazer u
Anonymous (2) Dennis Aftergut u American Endowment Foundation Keith and Peggy Anderson Keith and Peggy Anderson Family Foundation Lisa Beck and Mitch Seider H Peter Brest u The Gruben Charitable Foundation Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund Laura and David T. Harris u Rose K. Lansbury u Jennifer H. Maslow u New York State Energy Research and Development Authority Robert Davila and Carmen Nigaglioni Stefan Nowicki Diana Oehrli David and Linda Stein H Dr. Jun Zhang and Ms. Bei Zhu Haystack (4,960 FT) $10,000-$24,999 The Baldwin Foundation Isabel Huffman Belden u Martha Brooks H
David A. Stein Charitable Trust Diana Davis Spencer Foundation l Joan K. Davidson (The J.M. Kaplan Fund) u Sarah H. Lambert Dolan ‘86 H Feather Foundation, Inc. Edie and Jim Garrett u Neva Goodwin l Growald Family Fund Nick and Ruth Hewitt u Jewish Communal Fund C. Ryan Joyce Jane Lang u Steven and Monika Lang u Marjorie Lang Mr. Andrew Lerner and Ms. Maryam Banikarim Michael E. and Carol S. Levine Foundation u Anna Levine and Andrew Rosenblum Sara Levine The Maslow Family Foundation Bonnie & John Morgan ‘65 u Catherine Oppenheimer H Bob and Margaret Parker u Meredith Prime u Marty Rosenberg Matt Salinger u Steven Saslow Bill Savage u James Seymour u
To celebrate those who have given for the first time, in 10 separate fiscal years, and 20 separate fiscal years, we have marked your loyalty as follows:
KEY TO SYMBOLS
l
First time donors
H 10-19 years giving
page V - Annual Report, September 1, 2015 – August 31, 2016
u 20+ years giving
*
Deceased
High Peaks Giving Levels
Skylight (4,926 FT) $5,000-$9,999 Anonymous (7) John Allen Kyra Tirana Barry H Benevity Community Impact Fund Margy and Elliot Brownstein u David Brownstein H The Charles Evans Hughes Memorial Brad and Lynne Davidson H Davis/Dauray Family Fund l Rohit and Katharine Desai u Rohit and Katharine Desai Family Foundation Ian Desai Vanessa Desai Joe Edmonds ‘84 Peter M. Gilbert H Eric and Keiko Greenberg Zhi Hongfeng and Yun Qiu l Foundation, Inc. Ralph Jones Judith and James A. Saks Philanthropic Fund of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland H Philip Kneisl ‘75 u Hope Knight and Steven Umlauf Eric and Simone Lang H
Mimi Muray Levitt ‘57 u Roger and Pat Loud u Lucretius Foundation, Inc. William and Allison Mankivsky Peter Martin, in memory of Kathy Martin The New York Community Trust u Ken Okin H Kent and Robin Palmer Mr. Bin Shi and Mrs. Huawei Qiao l Schwab Charitable Fund Hume R. Steyer u The Stuart Four-Square Fund Daniel and Katia Szor H Timothy Wennrich and Jessica Griffiths H Bee Lacey Whittaker u James and Holly Wilson l Mr. Zhou Yu and Ms. Yao Wang l Whiteface (4,867 FT) $2,500-$4,999 Anonymous (4) Adirondack Foundation H Jenny Ewing Allen u Alvarez-Santiago Family l Philip and Eden Anker Tina and Peter Barnet H Bill and Pat Barton H Mr. and Mrs. Thatcher M. Brown u Dr. Shiu-Kai Chin u David L. Klein, Jr. Foundation l Jenifer Hale Deming u Deirdre Farley u Ronald and Jane Fondiller ‘65 Don Gallo
Susan Gardner and Martha Cassidy Arleen F. Gilliam u David Hochschartner and Selden West u Tessa Huxley and Andy Reicher u Liza Ketchum and John H. Straus u Lolya Lipchitz and Harold Kasimow u Meimei Ma ‘70 u Ms. Maria Mabee Mason H Moccasin Brook Fund, a donor advised fund of the Boston Foundation, recommended by Mary Woolsey and Mark Peterson u Mary B. Morgan l Davlyn and Kyle Mosley Michael and Cannella Mullins H O’Donnell Iselin Foundation Brian Orter and Michael DiMartino Victoria Read u Phyllis W. Reicher u John and Susan Skovron u Wolfensohn Family Foundation l Wright (4,580 FT) $1,000-$2,499 Anonymous (7) Adirondack Foundation - Brooks Family Fund u Adirondack Foundation - Meredith M. Prime Fund Paul Adomeit Henry and Nancy Armstrong u D.J. and Ken Baker u Mrs. Meryl Baker and Dr. Erin Baker John Berendt Robert and Wendy Bickford l Wolcott R. Blair H Mr. and Mrs. Perry J. Bolton u
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ANNUAL REPORT 2015-2016
Shames/Argo Families u Shames Family Foundation H Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program Manny Weintraub H Tracey Westbrook Whitney Family H Mr. Hui Zhao and Mrs. Haixia Chi
ANNUAL REPORT 2015-2016
With him it was never about winning, but instead sharing the joy of landing that first basket in a game, building selfconfidence, or experiencing the camaraderie of belonging to a team.
DONOR PROFILE:
Coach Mike Smith gives back to NCS and Treetops By D. Kurt Terrell, Director of Advancement As is always the case at NCS and Treetops, Mike Smith was hired for specific work, then added many indispensable talents to the mix. He arrived at NCS in 2000 as the Main Building janitor, but soon learned that this was a different kind of place, where staff readily move beyond the job description to share their talents and impact the lives of children in many ways. Since then Mike has helped School and Camp in innumerable capacities: as janitor; as part of the maintenance department, responsible for vehicle upkeep and records, trash, and recycling; as a driver for airport, Whiteface, and town trips; and as a member of the housekeeping department. He also served as a key support staff at big events like Thanksgiving and graduation, as an inspirational small-engine repair guru for students at Intersession; and, most conspicuously, as Coach Mike for the NCS basketball teams. When I first met Mike, I quickly learned he was a passionate basketball fan and student of the game—something as rare in the North Country as finding a lawn mower or snowblower that Mike couldn’t bring roaring back to life. Our lunchtime conversations would inevitably lead to his favorite basketball players: the group of boys and girls of all ages who joined his squad in the Quonset every winter. Mike taught the fundamentals of passing, shooting, and positioning with great patience, and he managed the mix of abilities adroitly.
Mike is a devoted follower of the University of Connecticut women’s basketball squad, a perennial Final Four or National Championship team. He rejoiced last year when UCONN coach Geno Auriemma was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. A masterful team builder, Coach Auriemma said at the ceremony,
If I can be part of a team the rest of my life, then I’m going to be a lucky guy. I’ve tried to do that all of my life—be part of a team. And I was fortunate enough to work with people that allow me to do what I love to do—and that is teach and coach. The same sentiments seem to have driven Mike at NCS/ Treetops. For him, however, the concept of “team” morphs into “family.” The close associations Mike has had with staff and children here have been pivotal to him. Though he turned 65 this spring and retired at the end of the summer, he continues to come in four afternoons a week to coach “his kids.” Moreover, in the process of putting things in order for his next chapter, Mike chose to leave NCS and Treetops in his will and made Camp and School the sole beneficiary of his retirement plan. We are humbled by this generous philanthropic gesture, and we are delighted to welcome Mike to the Balanced Rocks Circle. I asked Mike why he made this decision and he said: “You are my family and I wanted to give back to a place that has given me so much.” Coach Mike’s legacy continues. Every afternoon one can hear basketballs drumming on the floor of the Quonset and the squeak of sneakers as children happily feint, pass, and shoot under his direction. Mike’s basketball family continues to flourish.
page VII - Annual Report, September 1, 2015 – August 31, 2016
High Peaks Giving Levels
KEY TO SYMBOLS
l
Susie Jakes and Jeff Prescott Andrew Katzander Michael and Danelle Kelly u Sally and Wynn Kramarsky u The Louisa Kreisberg Family Foundation Tom Krouwer u Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Lambert III u Mr. Thomas H. Land Jr. Susan Localio u The Losam Fund Brigit Loud H Patrick Loud Nicholas and Cassandra Ludington The Mabee Family Foundation Martha W. Mabee u Tim Mabee H Jean and Jerry Marchildon u Roger Martindell ‘63 u Cindy Marvell H Dwight and Sue Mason u Richard and Barbara Moore u Toshiaki and Junko Morishima Brian and Amy Naftal and family Laura Nicholson Robert B. Opatrny and Susan J. Sutherland u Dee Osborne Marian Osterweis u Penguin Random House H Pew Charitable Trusts Pat Kramon Pincus u Felicity M. Pool ‘63 u Mr. Jan and Dr. Joan Popkin Henry Posner III and Anne M. Molloy H
First time donors
H 10-19 years giving
James R. Pugh u Mr. and Mrs. G. Peter Reed, Jr. Redstone Strategy Group Jane Regan Regeneron Matching Gift Program Renaissance Charitable Foundation Inc. The Rodgers Family Foundation, Inc Stewart Rubenstein and Christina Parker Maria Ruiseco Saxton Family Christine Semenenko ‘62 u Serge Semenenko Family Foundation H The Shelby Family Silicon Valley Community Foundation - Wallace Family Fund Steven Silverstein and Anne Manning Alan and Beth Singer Nicholas N. Solley Sarah Stahl and Harry Foster Philip and Marcia Steckler H Helen Stein u David Stewart and Rene Yang Colin and Debby Tait u D. Kurt and Eden Terrell Peter A. Thacher u Edith G. Thayer ‘50 u Paul and Sarah Titterton Mr. A.C. Toland Edward Tuck Matthew and Courtney Tuck H Carole and Michael Tylman Michael J. Urfirer u Mara F. Wallace H u 20+ years giving
*
Deceased
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ANNUAL REPORT 2015-2016
Alice Brown u Luis Browne u Burnham Financial Services, LLC Meg Bluhm Carey u Mary O. Carr Charles Catlin ‘54 u Bertram and Barbara Cohn l The Community Foundation for The National Capital Region Community Foundation of Sarasota County Ann Cooper u Tony and Nancy Corwin u John and Karen Culpepper Sally Powell Culverwell u David and Melanie Damico Jacqueline Davies Tim deJong l David and Melanie Dumont u Susan Elman and Joe Ronson Ted Ewing u Mr. and Mrs. Delio Fernandez H Nicholas and Geoffrey Flanders H Alexandra Fordyce Flowers ‘87 Ingrid Caruso Gersin and John Christian u Adam Guettel Elizabeth Harlan u Josh Harlan Bob Heays u Molly Hunt Heizer u Bruce Hodes u Hyde Fuel Company H Ms. Janet Spiegelberg Hyman ‘49 u Mr. Judson H. Irish Jr. u
ANNUAL REPORT 2015-2016
High Peaks Giving Levels Ms. Louise D. Walsh and Mr. Charles L. Rupp u Jerome Webster H Sam Weinig David H. Wells Dick and Sara Wilde u Susan Welch Williams ‘54 u Xuejun Xu and Wenjing Li l Mr. Jun Yang and Ms. Min Zhou Saddleback (4,515 FT) $500-$999 Anonymous (9) Cyrille and Rica Buxbaum Allannic H American Center for Philanthropy American Recycling Technologies Inc. Karla Ayala Lionel and Deborah Barthold H Sam Becker u Jon Bell u Charlie Biddle H N. Tyras Bookman H Sarah Rivkin and Mark Brennan Matt Brest Fraser Brooks H Suzanne and Geoffrey Brown u Ms. Cameron P. Buster H David Carter Alexandra and Marcelo Castro H Danny Chiu and Stephanie Chang l Michael Churchill H Cleveland H. Dodge Foundation, Inc. u Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts Jim and Sharon Cushman H
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Charles Darwall and Victoria Stoneman Robert and Marilyn DeRight u Claire Douglas H Mimi Coletti Dow ‘47 u Althea L. Duersten Eastern NY Chapter of the Air and Waste Management Assoc., Inc l Katharine Knight Flebotte u Robert Frost John R. Goodman Nina Goodman H Drs. William and Valerie Graham H Teri and Jeff Greene Richard Hahn u Sandra Hurd Hennemeyer H Eliza Hewat ‘65 u Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence Hughes u Ted and Julie Kalmus Rachael and Mitchell Katz Chris and Rebecca Kelly H Franklin Kenney ‘84 H Kent-Lucas Foundation, Inc Beth and Peter S. Kolevzon u Arthur, Valerie, Sarah and Henry Korzec Eli Zalichin Kramer H John Kress Randi Land H Lorna Livingston ‘50 u Stuart and Mary Lollis u Hélène Lorentzen H Serge and Caroline Lussi u Lisa May H Marcia Mason McClellan u Mike McCrary H Cathy McDermott
First time donors
H 10-19 years giving
page IX - Annual Report, September 1, 2015 – August 31, 2016
Abigail Mellen u Alan and Alice Model u Deborah Model and Joe Falkowski H Jonathan and Kristin Adomeit Moore u Katherine Cromwell Moore u Brooke and Bernhardt Nadell The Naftal Family H The Namm Foundation, Inc. (Andrew Namm ‘42) u Cola Parker and Andy Anderson u Tracey and Thomas Parker Frank and Mary Pellegrini Karen Kjorlien Phillips l Dr. Victoria L. Pillard H Jeremy and Eva Radtke Fred and Roz Rea u Susan Read u Jane Crowell Rieffel u Marjorie P. Rosenthal Peter and Lisa Rowley Nat Rubin Scott and Amy Sanderson Santa Barbara Foundation Peter and Elisa Skinner H Dan Slutsky u Stanley-Hunt Family Jim and Liz Steyer u Emily and Luther Strayer Lisa Tapert and Chad MacArthur H Tashman Family Marilyn Taylor Cornelia and Joseph Tierney u Jane Isaacs Toussaint u Carey and Claudia Turnbull l Helen Stuart Twiss u u 20+ years giving
*
Deceased
High Peaks Giving Levels
Rocky Peak (4,420 FT) $250-$499 Anonymous (10) Adirondack Foundation - Sweeney Family Fund u Dinnie Thorndike Aldridge H The Allen Family America’s Charities Mr. Orman Anderson Elliott August AXA Foundation Allegra Harris Azulay H Katie Bacon H The Bank of America Matching Gifts Charles Barnett and Maureen Pao H Timothy and Claire Barnett H Peggy Bell H Alexandra Bley-Vroman The Boeing Company Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth P. Borden, Jr. H Phillip Brest Richard and Paula Brewer William and Katherine Brown H Lewis Canfield Glen and Elizabeth Chidsey u Kay (Faron) and Denny Ciganovic u
We are very grateful to the 55 community members (as of August 31, 2016) who have included North Country School and Camp Treetops in their estate plans, thereby becoming members of our Balanced Rocks Circle. If NCS and Treetops are included in your estate plans and your name is not listed here or if you would like more information about the Balanced Rocks Circle, please contact Kurt Terrell at 518-837-5446 or kterrell@ncstreetops.org.
Tom and Alison Clark H David and Jane Condliffe H Kalle Condliffe Evelyn and Dion Cook Michael and Sybil Corrigan Katie Culpepper H Jennifer “Sam” Cummings Jim Darby u David and Leni Moore Family Foundation H Josh and Jennifer Davis Sophie DeLaCour DeLaCour Family Foundation H DeLaCour Family Foundation Cassie Levitt Dippo u Joan and Allan Dumont u Mark Dumont and Lynn Mehlman u Mary Lynne and Robert Eakin H Lee and Ann Farnham u Eric Fetz Lanie Lacey Fleischer Dominic Giarratani Alice Woolsey Godfrey H Micah and Marla Goodman H Noah and Micol Harlan Adam Harmon l Guy H. Haskell H John P. Herrera Jeffrey Herrmann and Sara Waisanen H Christina Honde u Ellen Hornstein and Denis Cioffi u Harvey and Claudia Horowitz u Betsey Huffman Ian Hughes u Jan Hummel J.P. Morgan Chase Foundation u
Anonymous (4) Dennis Aftergut Jenny Ewing Allen Peter Brest Cali Brooks and Galen Crane Alice Gresham Bullock Sally Powell Culverwell, NCS 51 Dudley H. Cunningham Samuel and Laurie Cushman Amy and Matthew Davidson Claire Douglas Brian Eng and Renee Bourgeois Suzanne Glickman Reggie Govan Gay Booth Greenleaf Lisa Gulotta Elizabeth Harlan Laura Thrower Harris Bob Heays Nick and Ruth Hewitt David Hochschartner and Selden West John and Amy Isaacs Elsbeth S. Johnson Jan Johnson Liza Ketchum Robin and Peter Ketchum
Sophie Kasimow and Seth Shames David Kassel and Michelle Conrad l Elise E. Keely u Jonathan Kerlin u Jessica Koster John and Meg Kotler H Laurel MacKay-Lee Dudley and Jane Mairs H Gregory and Alicia Marchildon Nate Mason l Lauren McGovern and John Sweeney u Debra M. McPhee Don Mesec and Becky Rice u Lisa (Ernest) Mierop H Henry F. Minnerop Alice Morey and Harvey Weinig H Nils and Kara Morgan Lynne and John Morgan H Claudia Murphy John Nicholson and Casey Cooper Clary Olmstead and Kathleen Heenan u Joyce Olum-Galaski Geoff Parker H Roger and Rebecca Perry H Arthur Platt and Janet Fink H Jane Purden Don Rand u Campbell and Nancy Rea u Alice Reich Aimee Reveno u Peter and Lynne Reveno H J. Michael and Sally Ritchie Jim and Cathy Robjent H Anne Rorimer Kai Ruppert l
Philip Kneisl, NCS 75 Monika and Steven Lang, NCS 53 Rose K. Lansbury Mimi Muray Levitt, NCS 57 Lorna Livingston, NCS 50 Bill and Jan Localio Susan Localio Roger and Pat Loud Dwight N. Mason Sandy Gray Nowicki, NCS 57 Brian Orter Meredith M. Prime Susan Read, NCS 70, CTT parent 04-05 Jane Crowell Rieffel Maggie Rosenbloom Matt Salinger Mike Smith Hugh Thacher Jessica Tuck Matthew and Courtney Tuck Frank Wallace Louise Walsh and Charles Rupp Jill Werfel Francis and Patricia Whitcomb Edward B. Whitney and Martha C. Howell Susan Welch Williams, NCS 54
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ANNUAL REPORT 2015-2016
Vermont Community Foundation l John and Alida Vessey Karen Waddell u Frank Wallace H Ben Watson and Ruth Izraeli H Jennie Weiner and Jeremiah Jordan Whiteleather Family Wise Wealth Management, LLC l
ANNUAL REPORT 2015-2016
High Peaks Giving Levels Fritz Sabbow and Rob Hastings Susan Slesinger Jay Scott u Ordway Clifford Sherman H Zachary Siegel Nicole Been Siskind H Ruth and David Skovron u Douglas Sloane Jenny Smith-Yuen ‘84 H Yasuhiko Sotohama and Setsuko Egashira Staritch Foundation, Inc. H Stephen Tilly, Architect Amina Tirana H Jessica Tuck u Vivian and Paul Olum Charitable Foundation l Mr. and Mrs. William H. Waddington H Eric G. Wagner u Wells Fargo Foundation Matching Gifts Program H Barbara Westergaard u Hilary (Culverwell) Wilkinson Sarah C. Williams Daniel C. Wing ‘62 u Amy Weisser and Adam Yarinsky Joseph and Ann Zahm Big Slide (4,240 FT) $100-$249 Anonymous (19) Jamie Abbott u Robert Abramowitz and Susan Stewart u Allan and Martha Ackerman l Lynda Lees Adams H
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American Express l Timothy Amussen Refugees to Camp Carolyn Arvidson u Kate Tuttle Asselin Todd and Pam August Terren Baker J Balcerzak u Baltimore Community Foundation Stephanie J. Banks Judith Bardacke H Barry and Teri Volpert Foundation Barbara R. Barnes u Jennifer Cahill Bean and Chris Bean H Harold and Natalie Been u Colin and Jenny Bell u Anne Leland Benham H Drs. Laurie and Herbert Bergamini H Lynda Bernays and Stan Smith u Edwin and Fern Beschler u Lynn Boulger and Tim Garrity l Christian Brammer and Jane Haugh Ellen Thorndike Brawley ‘52 u Eric Brest David Bronfman Cali Brooks Paul Brouha H Margot Parsons Brown ‘51 H R. Dede Brownstein H James and Theresa Brzusek l Elizabeth Buchanan Alice Gresham Bullock H The Chris Burden (‘56) Family u Danforth Cardozo u
First time donors
H 10-19 years giving
page XI - Annual Report, September 1, 2015 – August 31, 2016
Chris and Elizabeth Carroll Chun Chieh and Yating Chang Stacy and Dorothy Changelo l Linda Chappell Monie Chase and Stuart Chase u Kate Chasson H Hope S. Childs u Emily Clark l Georgia Close l Helen S. Cohen and Mark Lipman u Mimi and David Cohen Molly and Edrian Colina Community Foundation of Greater Memphis l Kate Condliffe and David Chen l Robert and Susan Console u Margaret Cooley Jeff Cooper CTT 74-77, staff 82 Anthony and Elisabeth Corsaro John Crowley-Delman Dudley H. Cunningham H Mr. Robert Curry and Ms. Carrie Moodie Julie Curtis and Keith Gerstenmaier H Carolyn and John Curwen Laurie M. and Samuel W. Cushman u Ms. Katharine H. Cushman Weimer Sarah C. Davidson Tom, Polly and Betsy Davis Frances Davis u Elizabeth Davis Laura Goff Davis u Tom Davis H George B. de Brigard H Anne Dealy H David deCourcy and Jo Ann Price u u 20+ years giving
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Deceased
High Peaks Giving Levels Tess Ghilaga and Todd Aydelotte Calvin Gilkey Mrs. Alice Gorman l Alan Grant u Richard and Katherine Barrett Greene Florence Grieb u Ralph and Judy Grossi l Sara Blum Hadden ‘69 H Mr. and Mrs. Siegfried Haenisch u Anne Beemish and Patrick Hainault Thomas and Deirdre Hamling Kris Hansen l Meredith Hanson Mr. and Mrs. Frank R. Harnden Jr. H Trish Harris Henry and Ginny (Walker) Hart u Ruth Hart Christopher M. Hawes l Diana M. Hawes u Ann S. Hedges H Ann Henderson Kent Hewitt u Ann Partlow Aaron and Brandy Hobson Jody Hochschartner-Boyd Sarah Hoffman H Jean Hoins Wallace and Lindsay Tam Holland Jeanette Gaston Hooban u Ken Hornstein u Mr. Richard Hornstein H Linda Livingston Houghton Logan Hovie Hunt Howell ‘58 u Christopher Hughes H Joan Hunt
Tori Hunt, Tony, Gabriella and Ben Wan H Carla von Trapp Hunter Fran Huntoon Anne Hurd David Husing Jane Hyde u Judith M. Jacobson l Evan A. Jenkins Berkeley D. Johnson Jr. H Frank Johnson ‘62 u Virginia Johnson H AJ Stone Jonathan Sarah Jonathan Johanna Kalmus l Allan S. Katz Andrea Kavanaugh and Djavad Salehi u Michele Kelly Thomas P. Kenefick H Lily Killiam l Margaret Kinosian H Karl Kiser l Andrew B. Knox H Hirotake Komatsu Deborah Wing Korol H Meredith Kovach and Sam Eaton Gerald LaGrange John and Kathy Lanza H Randall and Karen Larkin Greg and Bunny LeClair Christine LeFevre u Scott Lenhart H Levin-Paunil Family Daniel Levy and Adrienne Ward Tarky Lombardi Jr. David Loud and Pedro Porro u Alida N. Lovell H
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ANNUAL REPORT 2015-2016
Elizabeth DeLana Kathy (Hordubay) Della Fera H Dr. Winifred M. deLoayza Beth Dennison H Pasuntra Dhebpunya Lisa Dillmann and Chris Cox H Robert Doat Matthew T. Donahue and Angela Price l Robert and Linda Douglass l Linton Duell l Chip (‘62) and Lyn Edmonston l Alan Eldridge l Noni Eldridge l Laurie Engle Expedia Kitty Fair H Stafford “Corky” Farmer-Lee Greg Farrell u Gwen Storey Feher H David Feldbaum John W. Filkins, Jr. Payton Fireman ‘72 H Niclas and Michelle Fjalltoft l Mr. John A. Foley ‘70 H Duncan Fordyce u Esty Foster u Linda Bird Francke H Mio Fredland M.D. H Jim Friedlander H Jill McCullough H Doug Gallant u Susan Gallant Jeffrey and Kimberly Garlinghouse l Tania Gee u Ehud and Laura Gelblum Matthew Geyman and Amy Arvidson H
ANNUAL REPORT 2015-2016
High Peaks Giving Levels Julia Lowd Rachel Lowenthal Margaret T. MacCary Susan Mahaffy u Barry Mallis NCS Faculty 1968-72 The Honorable Ellen H. Maloney u Diana Marin Liz Marshall ‘80 Jeffrey and Sytske Martin Ms. Jane B. Mason and Mr. Brian Vaughan Marsh McCall u Dr. Stephanie McCall l Lauren McCarty Sarah McCoy and Jim Buchanan Dr. Michael and Shana McKeown Richardson McKinney l Bruce McLanahan Aaron and Cheryl Megliore Edward and Libby Faron Mell H Onesimus Mercado l Theodore Metzger and Robin Fleischner H Martin and Edith Miller l Ellen Mitchell u Danianne Mizzy Dr. Charles E. Moisan H Fred C. Morgan Danikka Moses Simon Mould Barbara Mulvey Chris Muray ‘59 H Adam Neaman and Bianca Santomasso Network for Good Isabelle N. Nicks
KEY TO SYMBOLS
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NYSE Euronext Foundation Inc. Mr. Paul F. Obrecht III Paul Olin Kris Eldridge Osborn u Brad Ouderkirk Dan Ouderkirk Rob Parker Thomas and Victoria Patterson Sherm Peale H Jenny and John Pearlman H Thomas Penchoen H Roswell B. Perkins u Nick Perry David Pettengill Gretchen Phillips Dale Ferris Phillips u Nina Pillard and David Cole u Laura Pologe, Sarah and Mirian Goler Steven Pologe H Lizabeth N. Pope The Portal Family Lauren Olitski Poster ‘71 u Dr. Peter W. Pratt ‘47 Lisa T and George Prince Fishler Kate Kubert Puls u Lindsay Putnam u Maya and Marco Radiconcini H Nancy Reder and Peter Pocock H George and Joanne Reed u Matthew Reese Wynde Kate Reese Jonathan and Julia Rhoads H Susan Richards l
First time donors
H 10-19 years giving
page XIII - Annual Report, September 1, 2015 – August 31, 2016
Philip Rickey u Edward I. Riegelhaupt and Patricia G. Morrill H Ella and Peter Robjent H The Ross Family Victor Rostow H Salesforce l Avery Salinger Gannon Salinger Karen Sanford Judith Scammell Schulman Family Foundation Jean L. Schwartz u Chuck Schwerin and Laura Bronstein u Dan Schwerin Josh Schwerin Shelah K. Scott u Mr. and Mrs. Norman Seider Peter Shaev Lauren Shaw Kate Shepherd u Daniel Sherman David A. Silva and Eileen McHugh Tony and Julie Simons l Margaret Sloane H Shari and Jim Smart H Dr. Phillip R. Smith and Dr. Marjorie Schulman H Robert and Sharon Smith Ted Sonneborn Joseph L. Sorkin l Karen and Frederick Spaulding Dave Steckler Kathleen L. Steed H Steven and Carol Andersen and Family u 20+ years giving
*
Deceased
High Peaks Giving Levels David Sloan Wilson u Edith Wislocki and Alfred Darby u Mr. and Mrs. James H. Witherspoon Sr. l Bob Witsenhausen Hans and Helen Witsenhausen H Carol S. Wolfe Ray Wolfson and Irene Sherman H John Wood ‘73 H Dianne Wulsin H Kai Xing Peter J. Zimmerman H Cascade (4,098 FT) Gifts up to $99 and gifts in-kind Anonymous (27) Camille Abbe l Matthew and Shira Ackerman Aetna Foundation, Inc. Victoria Alekhine l Emilie Allen Amazon Smile Foundation Kari and Graham Anderson l Lindsay Anderson Laura Anker and Steve Grossman Cynthia Ariev Richard G. Arms, Jr. Brook Ashley Lurline Aslanian H Katherine Baird l Lauren Baker Bridget Baran ‘88 Joanie Barbier Matthew Beckwith-Laube Arthur Beecher The Benner Family
Erica and Herb Bergamini u Ed and Ridgely Biddle H Faith Bieler Kathleen Bliss Charles A. Bookman u Jean Bookman H Elisabeth Bouché H Elizabeth Bradley Brian and Alicia Brandes Sara Breen l Joshua Briggeman Heather C. Brown H Jim Brush and Donna Foley Dorothy and David Buley Benjamin Buster David Buttrick Heather Byrne Duncan and Ann Campbell Molly Campbell H Harrison and Judy Caner u Rachel Carter Mary Ann Champagne H Jai Chandrasekhar Johanna Chase Gillian Cieri l Garth Cilley Thomas and Michelle Coleman Jaime and Florence Collins Ms. Lydia N. Collins l Theron Cook H Susan Cooley H Ms. Olivia Couture l Christie and Rob Cox Mitchell Craib and Mary Johnson H Gino Crocetti Tucker Culpepper
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ANNUAL REPORT 2015-2016
Barry and Laura Strongin Josey Stuart Jack Sturgis H Nat (‘62) and Margo Sturgis u Charles and Eve Sutton u Sonja G. Sweek Tys Sweeney Hon. Robert W. and Mrs. Adele Hall Sweet H Bob Tam u Mrs. Elizabeth Taussig Sheila Tavares Russell Taylor and Margaret Elwood Colin Thompson l Victoria and Jack Tomlinson Cole l Stuart and Susan Topper u Lisa, Bob, and Eric Tostevin u Egg Foo Townsend H Marty and Gus Trowbridge H J. T. “Skip” Tubbs Jr. ‘70 u Miles Turner H Ms. Quincy Ryland Umphlette u Dr. D.A. Vail l Willa Vail Lynn and Bill Vogt Teri and Barry Volpert u Herschel Ward Sarah Seabury Ward Rebecca Warner u Tim and Katie Eldridge Weaver ‘78 H Vanessa Weber l Ed and Lisa Weibrecht / Mirror Lake Inn u Ann Lynch Weirich Judith Weitzman Maggie Westergaard Peter Willcox H Malcolm Willison H
ANNUAL REPORT 2015-2016
High Peaks Giving Levels Ms. Leslie Daniels Amy N. Davis Peter Delman and Maureen Crowley H Jerry and Amy de Rham H Thomas De Sausmarez Andrew Dennison Anne Dickerson ‘70 Sarah Reed Dlugokencky Cecelia E. Traugh and Alexander F. Doan John and Libby Doan H Carly Dominick-Sobol Barbara Donohue Todd Dowling Nolan Dumont Veronica N. Dunlap, Esq. l Hannah Edwards Bliss Eldridge u Ms. Ashlynne Elliott Elizabeth and Jeremy Ellis Linda Ellsworth Gretchen Kahn Espe H Claire Fellman Anthony Fernandez Elsa First Peter and Diane Fish Juliet Clarke and Robert Fisher Daniel and Deborah Fitts Jeffrey Oscar Fjalltoft l Donna Foley l William F. Forbes H Mr. and Mrs. Michael S. Forman Edward W. Fox Jr. ‘57 H Sarah Fuller
KEY TO SYMBOLS
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Mimi Geier H Julie Getzels H Michael and Jane Gieryic Caroline (Cara) Golden Lola Gonzalez l Deborah (Churchill) Goodell u Jerry and Susan Goodman Jerome and Amy Gordon Jill Gordon Sarah Hall Gordon Gordon W. Pratt Agency Kimberly Corwin Gray ‘95 H Andrew Green Donald and Judy Green Martha Green l Sierra Grennan Randolph Grossman Mr. Bennett Gurian l Piri Halasz u Cade Halkyard l Richard Hanau u Mickey Hardt Sarah Harrison HB Live, Inc l Peter Helmetag u Alberta Hemsley u Ms. Kathie Herkelmann l Adam and Carol Hewitt H High Peaks Cyclery Caroline Hlavacek l Ms. Lucy Hochschartner H The Hordubays u Kristin Hovie
First time donors
H 10-19 years giving
page XV - Annual Report, September 1, 2015 – August 31, 2016
Mr. Russell J. Morris and Ms. Kristen M. Hoyt Luke and Andrea Hudak Sara Hudson Mr. and Mrs. William O. Humes u Mary Hutchins Alex Hyde ‘88 Mauricio Maille Iturbe and Flavia Gonzalez Devon and Meredith Jacobs Joplin and Alison James u Barbara Janeway Margo Rice Jay u Jessica Jeffery l Nancy Jessup l Elsbeth S. Johnson u Lucy and Tracy Johnson u Rebecca Johnson H Drucilla Jones Kirsten Lynch Jubin ‘85 William Karg and Reese Fayde Seckin Kaygisiz Mr. and Mrs. Curtis Kendrick l Larkin Kenney William Kenney H Dorothy A. Kenny u Charlotte Killiam l Elizabeth and Adrian Kitzinger Sam and Bethany Kletz Florian Koralambe John and Sarah Koster Max Kronstadt l Gioia Kuss ‘74 H Jennifer Ladd u Richard Langlois u 20+ years giving
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Deceased
High Peaks Giving Levels Britt Nielsen H Christine O’Loughlin Barbara Otsuka H Joan Pachner H Ms. Armetta Parker l Bart Patnode l Rose Paul l Paulette Peduzzi and Family H Jacob Perrin Sarah Perry Abby Pines Hilary Platt David and Barbara Plimpton Joshua Popkin Dr. Cameron Price l Jaymi and Julian Priester l Dr. Leonard R. Proctor u Mr. Francis J. Purcell III l Molly Pytleski Elie Rabinowitz and Becca Miller Lourdes Ramirez-Crusellas Janine Alpert Randol H Mr. Dan Reicher and Ms. Carole L. Parker l Wende (Liz) Richter H Rev. Linda H. Ricketts Charlotte and John Riley Jacy Lynn Rinne Helgard Rittenberg l Terence Roche James Romm and Tanya Romm Marcuse Mrs. Oren Root H Joyce Roy H Meg Runyon Susie and Ben Runyon H Susan Saarinen H
Matthew Saehrig Kia Salehi Leonard and Ann Sand Peggy Sand and Jonathan Kronstadt H Nell Sanders Christopher and Angelina Schiavone l Charles Seider Mr. William B. Seider George Selden Mark Seltzer Jill and Jim Sheffield u Nora Simon and Riva Dunn Eliot Sloan CTT 80-85 Betsy and Favor Smith H Marcia Smith Mike Smith Claire and George Stahler Frances Starn Dorian Stedman and Heidi Pelkey Mr. Robert M. Stein Jr. u Mark Stoeckl l David Stonebraker, in memory of Charlotte Rea H Chris Stoneman H James and Elise Straus l Ms. Anne Swayze l Karen Szvoren Elizabeth Tait Target Corporation Robbie Tepperberg l Jhanak Thapaliya and Mary Cameron Paul Theimer Darren and Katerina Thompson Loran Thompson Jessica Townsend
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ANNUAL REPORT 2015-2016
Elizabeth Lansbury Barbara and Woody Laporte H Caleb Law l Maria Lawson Hope Jensen Leichter Janice Lewis l Dana Lindsay Avril Mablin Hugh C. MacDougall Elizabeth R. Macken u Mr. Mike Madden l Thomas Mahon Rossetti l Joseph Mayer u Amalia and Joseph McGavin l Donata Coletti Mechem H Andrea Melhorn l Johanna Messer Elma Metzloff u Lisa Miller-Samber Paul Mitchell Maya Morduch-Toubman Alex Morel Henry Morlock and Ursula Jones l Anna Mould Susann Moyer John and Patty Mueller Jenny Mui Lisa Munoz K. Raymond and Lynne Murphy l Camille Myers Kim Narol Richard and Margaret Nells l Lisa D. Nicholson u Carrie Niebanck and Mark Richards
High Peaks Giving Levels ANNUAL REPORT 2015-2016
Ernie Tracy H Constance K. Tucker u Micah Turner Charity Vitale Loring Vogel l Roberta W. Waddell u Carolyn Walker Laura Walker l Jeremy and Judith Walsh H Gabriella Wan l Jay and Julie Ward Keisha Waring Sally Warner H Andrew and Debra Weiner Bonnie Welch Susan K. West H Corbett Wicks Herb Wilkinson u Lynne Williams Liz Wise Carol Witherell
KEY TO SYMBOLS
l
First time donors
H 10-19 years giving
page XVII - Annual Report, September 1, 2015 – August 31, 2016
Mr. and Mrs. Oliver Wolfert Roger Wonson l Chris Wood Rebecca Yamin Stephanie and Reed Yarbrough Margaret Zamoyta-Fenwick
Please note: This report includes gifts, pledges, and pledge payments made from September 1, 2015 to August 31, 2016. Gifts received after August 31, 2016 will be listed in next fiscal year’s Annual Report. Despite our best efforts to avoid errors and omissions, they do occasionally occur. If you contributed and your name was omitted, misspelled or listed in the wrong place, please accept our sincere apology—and do let us know. Please call the Advancement Office at 518-523-9329, x5450.
u 20+ years giving
*
Deceased
Tributes and Memorials
Mr. Orman Anderson in memory of Ralph Nelson Cynthia Levy Ariev in honor of Rose Gellman Alexandra Bley-Vroman in memory of Ed & Elsa Bley David Bronfman in honor of Wanda Erikson David and Jane Condliffe in honor of Eileen Rockefeller Growald Dudley H. Cunningham in memory of Gail Schumacher Leslie Daniels in memory of Valery Daniels DeLaCour Family Foundation in honor of DeLaCour children Veronica N. Dunlap, Esq., in honor of Ronald Dunlap Gordon W. Pratt Agency in memory of Gordon Pratt Adam Harmon in honor of Brian Orter and Michael DiMartino’s wedding Mr. and Mrs. Frank R. Harnden Jr. in honor of Susan Localio and Camp Treetops Ruth Hart in memory of George Hart MD
Jody Hochschartner-Boyd in memory of Joan and Norbert Hochschartner A. J. Stone Jonathan in memory of Jeff and Julia Jonathan Rachael and Mitchell Katz in honor of Pippi Seider John and Meg Kotler in memory of Paul Nowicki and Hugh Fleischer Mr. Thomas H. Land Jr. and the Louise Kreisberg Family Foundation in memory of Louisa Kreisberg Scott Lenhart in memory of Gail Schumacher Avril Mablin in honor of Sacha Mons Margaret T. MacCary in honor of Laura Harris Peter Martin in memory of Kathy Martin Maria Mabee Mason ‘65 in memory of Melanie Horne Onesimus Mercado in honor of Brian Orter and Michael DiMartino’s wedding Maya Morduch-Toubman in memory of Jeff and Julia Jonathan Mr. Russell J. Morris and Ms. Kristen M. Hoyt in honor of the Skovron Family Armetta Parker in memory of Reg Gilliam Nina Pillard and David Cole in honor of Sarah Pillard Mr. Dan Reicher and Ms. Carole L. Parker in honor of Bryn Huxley Reicher Judith Scammell in honor of Don Rand Mr. and Mrs. Norman Seider in honor of John Seider’s birthday
George Selden in memory of Antoinette Selden Peter Shaev in honor of Pippi Seider Sonja G. Sweek in honor of Andres and Gabriela Sweek Mrs. Elizabeth Taussig in honor of Isaac D. Newcomb ‘16 Carey and Claudia Turnbull in memory of Richard Rockefeller Dr. D. A. Vail in honor of Willa Vail Wise Wealth Management, LLC in honor of Kim and Jill’s beautiful life together Kai Xing in memory of Bob Schumacher
Gifts in memory of Walter P. Breeman for the Performing Arts Center Anonymous (2) Steven and Carol Andersen and Family Goldman, Sachs, & Co in honor of Barry Breeman Thomas and Deirdre Hamling David Hochschartner and Selden West Judith M. Jacobson Arthur, Valerie, Sarah and Henry Korzec Laurel MacKay-Lee Dr. Michael and Shana McKeown Karen Kjorlien Phillips David A. Silva and Eileen McHugh
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ANNUAL REPORT 2015-2016
We are grateful to those donors who choose to honor or remember a loved one or important event by making a contribution to North Country School and Camp Treetops. Listed below are gifts received from September 1, 2015 through August 31, 2016.
ANNUAL REPORT 2015-2016
Endowments We are grateful to the individuals and families who have made the extraordinary commitment of establishing named endowments. Thank you as well to those who have made contributions to those endowments. These funds honor a friend or family member’s legacy in meaningful fashion while benefitting North Country School and Camp Treetops in perpetuity. In the 2015-16 fiscal year, we were honored to add the Richard Rockefeller Fresh Start Scholarship Fund to our growing list of named funds. Established by Eileen Rockefeller Growald (CTT 63, staff 69-71, parent 97-99, NCS 66, trustee 76-84 and 92-98), this endowment honors the memory of her brother, Richard (CTT 58-59, NCS 63, trustee 73-76), and his vigor for life, learning, and maintaining diversity. If you have questions about a current fund or would like to discuss establishing a new fund, please contact Kurt Terrell, director of advancement, at 518-837-5446 or kterrell@ncstreetops.org.
General Endowment Fund Bob and Margaret Parker The Shelby Family
Memorial Endowment Fund Memorial gifts support the general endowment fund
Brook Ashley, in memory of Celeste Crenshaw Judith Bardacke, in memory of Tracy Marchildon Kay (Faron) and Denny Ciganovic, in memory of Gail Schumacher Michael and Jane Gieryic, in memory of Bob Schumacher Richard Hahn, in memory of Bob Bliss Wallace and Lindsay Tam Holland, in memory of Paul Nowicki Elma Metzloff, in memory of Bob Schumacher Mr. and Mrs. Sumner Parker ‘41, in memory of Bob Schumacher Jane and Joe Purden, in memory of Bob Schumacher Christine Semenenko ‘62 and the Serge Semenenko Family Foundation, in memory of Dylan Semenenko Clark & Anthony Eastburn Clark David Stonebraker, in memory of Charlotte Rea Dick and Sara Wilde, in memory of Gail Schumacher
page XIX - Annual Report, September 1, 2015 – August 31, 2016
Milton and Liesa Allen Fund For Faculty Salaries David and Peggy Bailey Fund In honor of the founders of Woodstock Country School Beck Seider Family Fund For CTT Scholarships Lisa Beck and Mitch Seider
Beyond the Mountains Fund For Faculty Development Bob Bliss Fund For Waterfront Improvements Bramwell Family Fund For NCS & CTT Endowment Mildred Brooks Nature Program Fund For CTT Salaries Leo and Walter Clark Fund For NCS & CTT Brion Crowell Fund For NCS & CTT
Endowments
Dumont Scholarship Fund For CTT Scholarships
Joan and Allan Dumont Mark Dumont and Lynn Mehlman
Harry K. Eldridge Scholarship Fund For NCS Scholarships Peggy Bell Kris Eldridge Osborn James R. Pugh
Feather Foundation Fund For Gardens and Greenhouse Eric Feldsberg Memorial Scholarship Fund For CTT Scholarships Garden Fund For Program Enhancement
Reginald Gilliam Mountaineering Leadership and Scholarship Fund For Mountaineering Program Support and CTT Scholarships Arleen F. Gilliam Michael and Danelle Kelly Liza Ketchum and John H. Straus James R. Pugh Dick and Sara Wilde
Govan Family Fund For CTT Scholarships
Nancy Reder and Peter Pocock
Tsu Hansen Fund For NCS & CTT
Sandy Gray Nowicki ‘57 Lisa Tapert and Chad MacArthur
Harlan Family Fund For NCS & CTT
Helen Haskell Fund For NCS & CTT Guy H. Haskell Dick and Sara Wilde
Kaye Clark Hoins Fund For NCS & CTT Lindsay Johnson Fund For NCS Scholarships Adlin and Sherman Loud Scholarship Fund For NCS Scholarships
Roger and Pat Loud Edward and Libby Faron Mell
Anne Martindell Gardening Fund Restricted Endowment
Noah and Micol Harlan
The Master Teacher Fund For Faculty Salaries
Doug Haskell Fund For CTT Scholarships
Peter W. Merle-Smith Fund For CTT Scholarships
Malcolm Willison
Kate C. Moore Fund For CTT Scholarships
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ANNUAL REPORT 2015-2016
Kitty and Carl (C.D.) Dennett Scholarship Fund For NCS Scholarships
ANNUAL REPORT 2015-2016
Endowments Christopher Nicholson Memorial Fund For NCS Scholarships Diana E. Oehrli Fund For CTT Scholarships
The Gruben Charitable Foundation Diana Oehrli
Okin Fund For Maintenance on Capital Improvements Ken Okin
Olmstead Fund For NCS & CTT Arthur W. Parker Fund For NCS & CTT
Ms. Cameron P. Buster Fullwood Foundation, Inc. Cola Parker and Andy Anderson, in honor of the 2016 Super Girls’ Counselors Mr. and Mrs. Sumner Parker ‘41 Barkley Stuart and Ann Glazer
vSusan Powell NCS 51 Fund For NCS & CTT Sally Powell Culverwell
Prince/de Ramel Charitable Trusts Fund For Faculty Salaries
Guillaume ‘89 and Molly de Ramel The de Ramel Foundation
Joyce Pearson Prock Fund For NCS & CTT Richard Rockefeller Fresh Start Scholarship Fund For NCS & CTT Scholarships
Anonymous (2) Lynn Boulger and Tim Garrity Bertram and Barbara Cohn Community Foundation of Greater Memphis Joan K. Davidson (The J. M. Kaplan Fund) The Diana Davis Spencer Foundation Robert and Linda Douglass Joan and Allan Dumont Peter M. Gilbert
page XXI - Annual Report, September 1, 2015 – August 31, 2016
Neva Goodwin Mrs. Alice Gorman Ralph and Judy Grossi Paul and Eileen Growald ‘66 Mr. Bennett Gurian Jewish Communal Fund The J. M. Kaplan Fund, Inc. Ralph Jones Sally and Wynn Kramarsky Roger and Pat Loud Martin and Edith Miller Richard and Barbara Moore Bonnie & John Morgan ‘65 Mary B. Morgan The New York Community Trust Sandy Gray Nowicki ‘57 Mr. and Mrs. Sumner Parker ‘41 Ann Partlow Meredith Prime James R. Pugh Jane Regan, in memory of her mother, Jennifer David Rockefeller David and Susan Rockefeller Drs. Pamela Rosenthal & Sam Wertheimer Tony and Julie Simons
Endowments
Smith Family Foundation Fund For NCS Scholarships
Sylvia Pool Sperling Fund For Visiting Artists Restricted Endowment
Spiegelberg Fund For Scholarships David A. Stein NCS 52 and Allison Stein Robbins NCS 74 Fund For Riding Program, Farm, and NCS Scholarships Matt Salinger David A. Stein Charitable Trust David and Linda Stein Tracey Westbrook
Elizabeth Claire Stein Scholarship Fund For CTT Scholarships Helen Stein Mr. Robert M. Stein Jr.
Strong Roots, High Peaks Faculty Support Fund
Jerome P. Webster III Fund For NCS & CTT Jerome Webster
Herbert and Maria West Fund For NCS Intern Salaries
David Hochschartner and Selden West
Strong Roots, High Peaks Greening and Renewal Fund
Winter’s Children Fund For NCS Scholarships
Strong Roots, High Peaks Scholarship Fund For NCS & CTT Scholarships
John O. Zimmerman Fund For NCS & CTT
Margaret and Randolph Thrower Fund For Greening and Renewal Laura and David T. Harris
Frank H. Wallace Fund For Faculty Enrichment
Joel and Christine DeYoung
518-523-9329 | camptreetops.org | northcountryschool.org - page XXII
ANNUAL REPORT 2015-2016
James and Elise Straus Barkley Stuart and Ann Glazer Dick and Sara Wilde Wolfensohn Family Foundation Roger Wonson