On Sunday, December 10, Mountain Club members gathered at the Hawthorne Center in Columbia to socialize and celebrate the holiday season. MCM volunteer awards were given to several dedicated, hard-working volunteers who had been nominated by our members and chosen the club’s Awards Committee:
Outstanding Trip Leader awards were given to Caryn Joachim and Jon Hyman for excellence in developing and leading MCM hikes.
The Robert Grossman Award for Outstanding Service was given to Sharon Sniffen in recognition of her excellent leadership in organizing and managing our Hike Across Maryland (HAM) and Half-HAM events.
Debbie Coble and Andy Petras received Unsung Hero Awards for the long term behind-the-scenes work as Membership Chairperson and Appalachian Trail volunteer, respectively.
Jerry Wright was given the Eleanor Sewell Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his many years of work as an Appalachian Trail volunteer and as our Supervisor of Trails.
Congratulations to these award recipients and thanks for your hard work!
MCM president Bill Saunders gave a presentation reviewing the status of MCM’s business operations and our accomplishments in 2023. Then he outlined plan activities in 2024 to celebrate our upcoming 90th anniversary. (The details of these plans will be announced on the MCM web site and in emails as they are further developed.)
After the business presentation, Max Buffington—a volunteer historian at Patapsco Valley State Park—gave a very interesting presentation about the history of the Daniels Area and about some of the other ruins in the north section of the park.
The party was a delightful opportunity for our members to socialize with hiking friends and learn more about club activities and one of the areas where we often hike. We hope to see even more of you at our events in 2024. (Stay tuned for more information!)
