Where It All Begins

This week, the emphasis at PMOEC is not on our lecture series. This seems pretty obvious, but we try as hard to concentrate on the task at hand and for the past few weeks, other than work projects, all of our time has been spent gearing up for and enjoying our lectures. This week, we have focused on what it is that makes our center so special. On Monday afternoon we welcomed a busload of Canadian teenagers who are here to hone their English speaking skills in an immersion field trip. It is always a great feeling to step onto a bus in our parking lot when a group arrives and see the gamete of feelings personified on the varied faces; trepidation, excitement, anticipation. You name it, I see it. This week, I had an incredibly rare bonus when I stepped onto the bus. I saw familiar faces. Our center typically welcomes back the same grade from the same school year after year. Thus, Mrs. Smith always returns, but it is with the 5th grade class each year. So, the connections with the students are always new, but always short lived. This school is one of the exceptions to the rule. They come twice a year. In the spring the come in 9th grade and in the winter they return the following year in grade 10. When I stepped on the bus, I was immediately excited by the familiarity I had with the students and their genuine smiles showed me the feeling was mutual. This week, their acclimation to our center and our programming has been sped up, relative to first time students, and they have been able to take hold of the more in-depth and abstract concepts in our classes that are sometimes left out of introductory experiences at PMOEC. It has been a wonderful experience for all of our instructors, whether they returned from a previous staff or are new this school year.
Despite the fact that we have a week off from our lecture series, I do want to plant the idea of next week's lecture a bit earlier than most. A few years ago, my introduction to PMOEC came through a lecture given by Sharp Swan. Sharp is the Director of Pok-O-MacCready Camps, board member of PMOEC and direct descendent of the man who founded the camp over a century ago. This lecture was captivating. Sharp's knowledge about the practices at logging camps, their locations and stories from within their ranks can not be paralleled by any single scholar, or library for that matter. And Sharp's zest for life and optimism for what is in front of him would make a staged reading of the phone book an interesting evening. Yet next Thursday, Sharp will be once again be speaking about logging in the Adirondacks; a topic that he too finds fascinating. It is a must see.
That's all for today. I am sure that I will have volumes to write once next week's Winter Break Camp has been in full swing for a few days. Until then...

Cabin Fever is good!

My first experience at PMOEC was as a customer. Specifically, on a cold winter night in early 2009, I came to the main building of Pok-O for a lecture given by Camp Director/ PMOEC Board Member/ Logging Aficionado Sharp Swan. I was immediately hooked. This lecture was enough to open my eyes to what an amazing center was so close to my home, with so many diverse activities to offer. Fate allowed me to find out, a few months later, that the Director position was open and after a great interview process, I was behind the Director's desk by April 15th. Thus, the lecture series has always been near and dear to my heart and the success we had in recruiting amazing speakers this year and the initial success we have had with Carl Heilman's lecture makes me feel like the Cabin Fever Lecture Series has truly arrived and become a part of the cultural fabric of the Champlain Valley.
Help us to continue this excellent newfound tradition of success tonight with Steven Kellogg. Steven is a resident of Essex, an amazing soul and a children's book author/ illustrator of world fame. Google him to find out which of the book's from your childhood Steven was either the author or illustrator of; I am sure their is at least one.
The end of our winter season is about to ramp up- starting Sunday we have groups through the 25th. Hopefully I will find the time to get a blog out during this intensive run, especially since Winter Break Camp is one of the funniest times of the year and you need to hear some of the stories. Until then...

Mid-Winter (Is it Winter?) Blues?? Nah...

We waved goodbye to our last group in the month of January and soon after waved goodbye to the last of the snow on the ground. Since our next group will not arrive until the 12th of February, there is renewed optimism that we will see lots of deep powder around the center before welcoming the next bunch of students. As is always the case with the time between groups, the staff is catching it's collective breath and, of course, tending to all of the jobs at Pok-O that get tabled until we have work project time. Extra days off come in batches before the next group, but thats just because people will be working many days in a row on the second half of the month.
But for now time is being spent mucking stalls, acclimating our new horses to the barnyard (And on this topic, let me tell you- when you have been looking at ponies, pigs, sheep, goats and chickens for 5 months, horses look BIG!), continued re-insulation of older buildings, shingle painting and too many other jobs to list. And of course, we are all wound up for our Cabin Fever Lecture Series starting tonight with Carl Heilman II. This really is a don't-miss-program and its free. And if you can't make it (for some reason that better be good), next week we have the acclaimed children's book author/ illustrator Steven Kellogg. Its big time at PMOEC. Big time.

Snow-less, Whats the Goal? and Other Ramblings of a Tired Man

It's Friday and everyone on the PMOEC staff has gone home except for me. They were beat, I am beat and they deserved an extra hour off to jump start their weekend- or maybe give them an excuse to take an afternoon nap. Whatever the case, this week, as so many before it have been, was exhausting in the good way. We had our first group of the winter that came from the States, Connecticut to be exact, and that really changed our approach on the week. Gone were the needs to emphasize sentence structure, proper grammar and enunciation. Here were a group of 22 boys who were focused on the bond shared with the class, the challenges associated with pushing yourself physically and simply having a good time. We did all we could to reach these goals and, despite little help from Mother Nature, I think we succeeded. It is heartwarming for me to hear Pok-O Instructors talking about if we need to reach the top of a mountain on a hike, as summiting does not necessarily mean the goal is met. Didn't somebody once say that its not about the goal, but the journey?
Looking forward to next week, we get back into work projects for a while but are eagerly looking forward to our first lecture of the Cabin Fever Lecture Series. CARL HEILMAN II!!! He defines Adirondack photography and, as someone who is drawn to vast landscape in portraits as well as photo, I can't wait to hear him talk about his craft. Join us- it will be Thursday at 7, it's free and it'll be near the wood stove. Can it get any better? Until next week...

Advertise, Advertise, Advertise!

Many wheels are constantly in motion at PMOEC and, although last week the bulk of our attention was on the French Canadian clients at PMOEC, we simultaneously got a lot of advertising out in the surrounding communities for some upcoming events. And while this forum is usually reserved for updates on the inner-happenings of our little corner of the Adirondacks, I would be remiss if I didn't give a little attention to all of the events on the horizon. First off, the Third Annual Cabin Fever Lecture Series is only a couple of weeks away from kicking off. The stellar list of presenters this year is a testament to many of the people who turned me down last year, but promised to present this year, living up to their promises. I am unsure if it will ever get better than having a world renowned photographer, children's author and farmer/writer, amongst others. Seriously, I may have set the bar a bit too high for 2013. In late February we will be hosting another Break Camp. It is amazing that, in a few short years, how much of a cornerstone of our programming these 2 weeks (Winter Break Camp and Spring Break Camp) of the year have become. It is a different experience for us as instructors, since we get to see the same kids year in and year out, we get to see them grow, form long term relationships and experience our classes in a different way. If thats not enough, we also have the a snow tubing evening on the Thursday night of Winter Break Camp. Wow. Its a full February and early March. I hope you are looking forward to it as much as we are.

St. Marc

Every school is an important client in the continued success of Pok-O-MacCready Outdoor Education Center. No client is less important than another. But some clients have become endeared to us as they have been long standing. And a few of those long standing groups have had fortunate staffing that has allowed the same teacher to come each year. One of those schools is at PMOEC right now and Rosemary Reader, who has come with St. Marc School on every of its bi-annual trips over the past 10+ years, still comes every time. Rosemary still has the drive to make her trip better every year and we are happy to oblige. She feels quite at home with our staff each year and is a welcome face for all of our employees, old and new. What better school and teacher to have kick off our overnight-educational groups for 2012?
The snow seems to have finally arrived today, although my early season optimism that turned into slight pessimism still lingers. It will take a few trips down the tubing hill and glacading down a Pok-O-Patch mountain before I'll turn my frown upside down. Stay tuned.
Next week the winter Pok-O-Press comes out, we start publicity for our Annual Winter Break Camp and we will let you know more about the Cabin fever Lecture Series Until then...

Ski Week

A great week of skiing and hiking is behind us. The annual Pok-O Ski Week, a collaborative effort between Pok-O-MacCready Camps and Pok-O-MacCready Outdoor Education Center, was a lot of fun. Little snow has fallen in the North Country so far this winter, save the early season foot that fell before Thanksgiving that had promptly melted before the beginning of the next work week, but no bother. The kids adapted, as Pok-O summer camp kids do, so rather than snow-tubing we did some alternate night activities; a night hike one evening and a smor-extravaganza another. Of course, there were some trips to the Crux, but most memorable were the trips to the High Peaks for hiking and skiing. Two days of winter mountaineering trips went out, one to Tabletop and one to Wright, and they were both a huge success. The days at Whiteface were fantastic with staff and kids enjoying the development of their skiing skills and friendships that are often limited to the summer months. This week, our focus turns to winter training and snow dances as we anticipate the arrival of our first winter group next Tuesday. A little tease about next weeks blog- more info about our Cabin Fever Lecture Series and the Pok-O-Press that will be coming out in a couple of weeks. Pray for snow!

Home for the Holidays

The snow came and went yesterday, but there is no doubt that winter is here. We have completed our 2 week period, always a kind of weird time of the year, between the Thanksgiving break and holiday hiatus we give our staff. This year, some the drudgery of this 2 week period was eliviated by two simple words- Secret Santa. I will admit that, with an 18 month old in the house, my excitement for the holiday season is as high as it has been since I was a child myself, but it seemed that everyone on the staff had fun with this year's holiday plan per PMOEC. We all drew a name and had to give three gifts to our selected person; one that cost less than $5, one that was a re-gift and one that we made. We revelaed who we were giving gifts to at our first annual PMOEC-Formal-Holiday-Party that Laura and I hosted. And today? Only a few PMOEC employees are around still arounf. Others have left the North Country to reconnect with family all over the East Coast. It is a welcome break in our schedule- a time that we all reflect on how PMOEC has changed our paradigm, how excited we are about tour profession and how much we are looking forward to coming back to PMOEC for an incredibly unique winter teaching experience in 2012. This will be my last post of 2011 (sorry Molly), so I hope you all have a safe and happy holiday season and I hope we all have a great start to the new year. Until then...

Reflecting

Cutting wood. Housing renovations. Pasture maintenance. It is the time of year when we dedicate our full selves to work projects. I am always very introspective about this time of year as, by trade, we are educators; and yet, we must do these things to survive the winter and into the future. Thankfully, any fear that I have about our staff getting into a rut is quelled every morning when they happily invest themselves in the jobs of the day. We have also had a chance to spend some time reflecting on the first 4 months of all of this staffs time at Pok-O. Things move forward and, collectively, I am optimistic about the winter and getting back into teaching. In the meantime, for those of you who are pining for the traditional days of PMOEC as a premier outdoor education center in the Adirondacks, check out this video posted by a group who came to se us a few seasons ago. Enjoy!

http://youtu.be/8WumPgSRIxg

We are great adopters!

The end of the fall season took a long time to truly finally happen, but no matter how you cut it, the week of Thanksgiving definitively means the fall outdoor ed season has ended and the winter outdoor ed season has begun. We bid a fond farewell to Patrick Duvall as our winter staff shrinks by one member every year, meaning one of our fall staff instructors has to go . This is one of the parts of my job I dislike the most, but it has to be done. Patrick was an incredibly valuable part of our fall staff; his vigor for oration, his love of learning and his passion for board games will be missed. We hope to have him back in the spring, but recognize that someone else would be well served to add him to their staff and, thusly, wish him the very best. At the very end of the fall season we also hosted an incredibly successful community event- Pie and the Sky. Folks came to our site, made their own pizzas, went out to build a scale model of the solar system while their pizzas were cooked for them and came back into the warm confines of the Pok-O-Queen to enjoy their culinary creations.
Also, as the mild temperatures have given us more time to focus on outdoor work projects as the fall has crept into December, and this year we reached our goal of 3 cleanings of our Adopt-A-Highway section of road south of Willsboro. It was an incredibly satisfying feeling to get this done, making a contribution to our community. Thats all for now. Pray for snow!