HOOFPRINTS
Wisconsin Hoofers Newsletter Winter 2019-2020 • hoofers.org
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Hoofer Club Presidents 2019-20. From right to left: Charlie K., Amanda F., Regan M., Ansley L., Katie B., Owen T., Samantha S.
Welcome to HoofPrints, the official Wisconsin Hoofers Newsletter! My name is Amanda Fenton, and I have had the amazing privilege of being this year’s Hoofer Council President. I am a fifth year senior studying Biology, Psychology and Athletic Training. Hoofers has been the most impactful part of my college career, and I have been lucky enough to hold a leadership position within the organization for four years. As the Ski & Snowboard Club President last year, I was a member of the Hoofer Council, which fueled my desire to run for Hoofer Council President. Throughout my time with Hoofers, I have never experienced a governing body as motivated as the current one. As you read through this newsletter, you will see how Council and each club have made many new and exciting improvements in seven short months! This year, with the help of all of Hoofer Council, I have been able to create a Hoofer Council Grant to allocate funds appropriately back to our members, re-write our constitution and include space within it for programs like Hoofer Ambassadors, all while compiling a living document of the executive decisions past Councils have made. I can’t wait to see what the rest of this school year holds for Hoofers and am proud to continue the legacy of providing recreational and social opportunities to members and the greater community. Best Wishes, Amanda Fenton Hoofer Council President, 2019-20
WHO WE ARE: Council President Amanda Fenton president@hoofers.org Vice President - Administration Elizabeth Bensen vpadmin@hoofers.org Vice President - Finance Max Kramer vpfinance@hoofers.org Vice President - Information Systems Caleb Reiter vpinfosystems@hoofers.org Vice President - Marketing Caroline Miller vpmarketing@hoofers.org Officer - Alumni Outreach Joe Foye alumnioutreach@hoofers.org Officer - Diversity and Inclusion Annie Stimmel Tommy Zalewski diversity@hoofers.org Officer - Interior Design Ashtyn Duddleston interiordesign@hoofers.org Club President - Mountaineering Regan Murray mountaineering@hoofers.org Club President - Outing Ansley Laev outingpresident@hoofers.org Club President - Riding Katie Bartelt ridingpresident@hoofers.org Club President (Commodore) - Sailing Charlie Kutschenreuter commodore@hoofersailing.org Club President - Scuba Samantha Schiereck scuba@hoofers.org Club President - Ski & Snowboard Owen Tortora sns@hoofers.org
MESSAGE FROM THE OUTDOOR UW DIRECTOR Dear Hoofer Community, As we move into the new year, we have a lot to be thankful for and a lot to look forward to. Some of the more notable and visible features might be the Tong Family Marina and the re-designed corridor through Outdoor UW. These features honor our history and alumni and wield inspiration toward the future and our commitment to providing outdoor experiences. Additionally, we have a few new faces in the office. Over the course of the last several months, we’ve welcomed Mason Muerhoff (Program Administrative Specialist), Alyse Krueger (Financial Specialist) and Dan Haryanto (Outdoor Recreation Advisor). In addition, the Hoofer Sailing Club has hired Mills Botham (Commodore ‘18) as the Club’s Head of Instruction and Team Coach. I’m proud to be surrounded by such a dedicated team of professionals who care about supporting Wisconsin Hoofer leadership and development through outdoor activities. Looking ahead, we’re starting to plan the Wisconsin Hoofers 90th Anniversary Celebration in 2021 (Date TBD). We’re excited to celebrate our rich history while committing to a future where the leadership opportunities, adventures, learning and community generated through our model continues to thrive. It’s evident that our role on campus and in the community continues to be valued by our current and past membership through dedicated engagement and involvement with our programs and opportunities. We’re thankful for our Hoofer family and the spirit of lifelong adventures that pervades. On behalf of the Outdoor UW Professional Staff—Dave Elsmo, Jill Griffis, Adam Remus, Dan Haryanto, Mason Muerhoff, Alyse Krueger and Mills Botham. On Wisconsin! Joe Webb Director, Outdoor UW
HoofPrints, in all of its forms, has been a Hoofer staple over the decades. We couldn’t have brought it back with such success without the work of the Union Marketing & Graphics Team. They are the backbone of many of the projects led by Hoofers, such as Ski & Snowboard Resale, the Tong Family Marina Celebration and Winter Carnival. A special thanks to Isabel and the rest of the Marketing & Graphics team for turning our brainstorms into reality!
USING OUR OUTDOOR VOICES: PROMOTING INCLUSIVITY Hoofer Ambassadors
Hoofer Ambassadors is a Hoofer Council Program that works toward reducing barriers to the outdoors within Hoofers and the outdoor community. In its second semester, Ambassadors gave out over $500 in grants with the ultimate goal of making the outdoors accessible. These grants allowed members to attend events, such as Wilderness First Aid/Wilderness First Responder trainings, trips and socials.
In addition, Hoofer Ambassadors have liaisons in both Hoofer Sailing and Hoofer Ski & Snowboard Club. The program is excited to keep pushing forward with social justice work within Hoofers and the outdoor community. Tommy and Annie are Co-Officers of Diversity and Inclusion for Hoofers. Tommy is a senior studying Community and Nonprofit Leadership, as well as Environmental Studies and has been a Hoofer Member his entire college career. Annie is sophomore studying Communications and Global Health and is committed to a lifetime outside!
Throughout their involvement, they have become extremely passionate about changing the narrative of the outdoors and creating an environment in which all feel welcome. To learn more about how you can be a part of the movement, come to Ambassadors general meetings! They are constantly welcoming new members and those who have an interest in this work.
ACCESS FOR ALL
Hoofer Adapt
Megan and Kathryn are Occupational Therapy students who joined Hoofer Ambassadors last year in hopes of learning more about inclusivity in outdoor programming. With support from the Ambassadors, they’ve created an initiative called Hoofer Adapt with the purpose of promoting accessibility and inclusion in outdoor pursuits at UW–Madison and the greater Madison community. Over the summer, the Hoofer Adapt program accomplished great things! They purchased an adapted kayak and held a kayak training with Outdoor UW Staff and Outing Club members. The kayak will allow those with diverse abilities to enjoy Lake Mendota in a whole new way. The program has also held biweekly meetings and connected members with ways to get involved with adapted recreation activities, such as adapted climbing events.
Looking forward, Adapt hopes to team up with other organizations on campus to host collaborative events. Their ideas include participating in adapted cross country ski clinics, hikes and getting their adapted kayak out on the water!
TO SUMMIT ALL UP Hoofer Mountaineering
It’s been a great year to be a Mountaineer! In summer, Mountaineering reintroduced Devil’s Lake Climbing Socials. Then, in the fall, the Club had an amazing Welcome Weekend paired
with the most clinics and trips they’ve ever hosted. In the upcoming spring semester, the club has quite a few ice climbing trips planned and collaborations with Outing Club. Additionally, Mountaineering will split Spring Break into two trips, beginner and advanced, as well as introduce a trip leader outing for the first time in years. In fact, trip leaders will be heading to South Dakota this summer! Members look forward to their future events and will continue to bring exciting changes to the club. Mountaineering Club President, Regan, is a senior at UW–Madison studying Cartography and GIS, Rhetorical Science and Computer Science. She’s been in the Mountaineering Club for three years now and has met her best friends for life during her involvement. It’s been her favorite college experience, and she thrilled to share it with others!
GETTING OUT IN FRONT Hoofer Outing Club
Outing Club members have continued to explore the country through wilderness excursions! This past May, two canoeing leaders led a successful (and icy) training trip for three new club leaders in the beautiful Boundary Waters of Minnesota. Then in June, the Club ran a classic Weekend of Instruction (previously Day of Instruction), jam-packed with skills lessons for beginners.
In the fall, Outing hit the ground running with kick-off events for the school year. In fact, the Club gained 155 new members in September alone! Since then, the Club has restructured their weekly general meetings to include sessions such as educational presentations, adventure stories from Outing members and guest speakers. Recently, the Club has awarded eight leaders a total of $3,000 in grants to partake in Wilderness First Aid and Wilderness First Responder Courses. Outing members continue to enjoy the fall with new activities such as Trail Running and are looking forward to winter activities such as snowshoeing to take the stage. Outing Club President, Ansley, is a junior studying Gender & Women’s Studies, Italian and Spanish. She’s forever grateful for the community she’s found within Hoofers and ran for President of the Outing Club with the intent of making the outdoors as accessible and equitable as possible. She hopes others can create the same special memories she’s been able to experience!
THE MANE UPDATES Hoofer Riding Club
This year the Riding Club established a relationship with a new barn, Sugar Creek Stables, LLC., located in Brooklyn, Wisconsin. Since the start of the semester, the Club has assembled a full executive board of passionate individuals, all excited to find ways to enhance programming, renew membership formatting and strengthen community bonds.
Recently, Riding Club partnered with UW–Madison and Madison College Veterinary Technician students to learn horse handling, grooming, restraint techniques and more! The Club has led affordable mounted and unmounted clinics. The Wisconsin Equestrian Team has also gotten off to a strong start after hosting an incredibly successful horse show. They hope to carry their collaborative and positive energy into the future. Riding Club President, Katie, is a junior studying Animal Science with a business emphasis. She has been around horses since she was a toddler, so joining Hoofers as a freshman felt natural. Katie saw an opportunity to re-energize Riding Club while developing her management and professional skills, which motivated her to become involved in a leadership position. She loves sharing her passion for horses, the outdoors and connecting with others who feel the same and looks forward to expanding the reach of the Hoofer Riding Club in the Madison community! To stay up-to-date follow the Hoofer Riding Club on Facebook for programming announcements.
SAILING INTO THE OFF-SEASON Hoofer Sailing Club
Fall always requires substantial volunteerism from the Sailing Club to get all of the boats off the water and stored away before winter hits, and this year was no exception. With two snow storms by the first week of November, members rose to the occasion and conquered the elements to
successfully accomplish both lift-out and pier-out of the new Tong Family Marina. As the Club moves into the off-season, they have started to reflect upon and analyze past semesters. Their future goals are to improve how the club utilizes the new marina, as well as to update instruction and safety manuals. Additionally, the club is looking forward to its Winter Education Series which will feature lessons on important sailing topics and multiple guest speakers! Sailing Commodore, Charlie, is a fifth year senior at UW–Madison studying Civil Engineering with an emphasis in Construction Management. He started sailing at the age of five and has had an affinity for the sport ever since. Becoming Commodore was an opportunity for him to get involved with a whole new community of sailors. He thinks that the club is full of incredible people and is excited to work with them throughout the rest of his term.
BELOW THE SURFACE Hoofer Scuba Club
Scuba dove into an exciting semester and hosted dives nearly every weekend! Participation is currently at its peak with great attendance at general meetings and a full roster
for their upcoming winter break trip. Additionally, Scuba held many open water classes which led to new diver certifications. The Club is excited to offer more socials and host pool dives in the winter until the members are able to dive in the lakes again. Samantha, Scuba President, is a senior majoring in Evolutionary Biology and Zoology with a certificate in Classical Studies. She is passionate about ocean and freshwater conservation and has been involved in Hoofer Scuba Club for four years. Scuba has allowed her to explore the underwater environment with over 50 logged dives which makes her appreciate it all the more.
‘TIS THE SKI-SON Hoofer Ski & Snowboard Club
The Ski & Snowboard Club continues to conquer the cold. This semester, the club has offered three local trips per week to members, hosted educational series and films, and visited various mountains nationwide. In addition, the Club organized the 56th Annual Hoofer Ski & Snowboard Resale event which turned out to be a great success.
This year, the club implemented its first Diversity and Inclusion Grant Program. The program was designed to reduce barriers to the outdoors by providing students with funds to subsidize the costs of trips. Looking forward, the Club will host their annual Rail Jam event at the Memorial Union Terrace for the first time in many years. They are also working to create a volunteer program to match UW students with local middle school students to encourage involvement in the sport. Owen, Ski & Snowboard President, studies Political Science and History with a certificate in Public Policy and plans to pursue a Master’s in Environmental Policy after graduation. In his free time, he is passionate about freestyle skiing, running and all things outdoors! Owen enjoys the rewarding challenge of managing a complex organization and loves sharing his passion with others.
RECENT IMPROVEMENTS
Sail-abrating a New Marina
In the summer of 2019, the state-of-the-art Tong Family Marina opened to serve campus, the Hoofer Sailing Club, the Wisconsin Union and the greater Madison community. The project included a total renovation of the shoreline and lakeshore path between the Union and Limnology Building, and new piers replaced decades of old infrastructure. For the Sailing Club, a combination of year-round fixed decks and floating piers will help ensure that the club can continue to offer an extraordinary experience for all of its members. The donor-funded, new pier system will enhance safety, increase boat storage efficiency, allow for the creation of a new park and provide more on-land space for programming. A very special thanks to the Tong Family for their generous lead gift that will help guarantee that generations of future Hoofers and the greater Madison community will continue make lifelong memories at the Memorial Union lakefront.
In addition to the Tong Family, we would like to extend our deepest thanks to Robert Bruce for his early leading gift, as well the many others who gave so generously to bring this project to life.
Deck the Halls
Hoofers completed the first phase of updating the corridor through Outdoor UW. The re-design includes a beautiful new wall display and inspiring photo canvases that highlight Hoofer Clubs, Hoofer Council and Outdoor UW. In addition, the hallway features an award display that showcases past Hoofer Club members who have significantly impacted the organization. Asthyn, Officer of Interior Design, is currently working on compiling general and club specific Hoofer history in order to create a timeline that will be installed during Phase II.
HOOFERS SUPPORT OPPORTUNITIES
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Since its inception nearly 90 years ago, Hoofers has become one of the largest and most active collegiate outdoor recreation programs in the country! Without the support of our alumni our success would not have been possible. Help us continue to make a difference at hoofers.org/give-back. If you have questions, please feel free to contact Joe Webb, Director of Outdoor UW & Hoofer Council Advisor, at jcwebb@wisc.edu.
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Madison, WI Permit No. 84 University of Wisconsin–Madison 800 Langdon Street Madison, WI 53706 Prefer a digital copy instead? Email us at outdooruw@union.wisc.edu with an up-to-date email address and go green!
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