[at-l] The A.T.Conservancy

[Snodrog5 at aol.com (Snodrog5@aol.com)]

>From www.appalachiantrail.org

Blazing a New Chapter

An Open Letter to Our Members

The January-February issue of the Appalachian Trailway News will report on 
this in detail, but I wanted you to hear first, before it gets into the news, 
that your Board of Managers did decide at its fall meeting to change the name of 
our organization from Appalachian Trail Conference to Appalachian Trail 
Conservancy.

This historic decision was not made lightly. The vote was overwhelming: 23 to 
1, with 1 abstention. And, in fact, this decision has been years in the 
making.

ATN readers will recall that, in two issues last year, we announced that, 
consistent with a new strategic plan adopted by your Board, we were considering 
such an important change to better position the organization for success in the 
years ahead. Since August 2004, we've received and published letters from 
members on both sides of the issue, all of which were considered in our thinking, 
along with some very important market research, the first we have undertaken.

Simply put, our new name?scheduled to take effect as we celebrate ATC's 80th 
anniversary at our biennial meeting on July 4, 2005?is a much better fit for 
our responsibility to protect and promote one of the most biologically and 
culturally diverse units of the national park system.

Not only have we outgrown the name ?Conference,? which originated in 1925 
when the organization was primarily a coordinator of clubs, we've earned the 
right to proudly declare that we?all of us who work tirelessly to maintain the 
Trail's pristine 2,174 miles from Maine to Georgia?are focused on preserving 
America's premier hiking experience for the next 80 years.

Personally, I have never been more excited about the Trail's future. I've 
been privileged to be an A.T. volunteer since 1980, and this year is my 
fourteenth on the Board of Managers. So, I'm very familiar, and comfortable, with ATC: 
its name, how it's organized, and how it works. I do sympathize with members 
who might resist the name change. But, to achieve our vision of an enduring, 
protected special place that rings with the affection of those who maintain it, 
we must blaze this new chapter of the organization's strong history together.

I invite you to join us in this exciting new journey, to help us honor A.T. 
heroes of the past three generations next year, and to help us inspire many 
more new ones.

Additional details about the name change are available here. Thank you for 
your support.

Very truly yours, 

Brian T. Fitzgerald
Chair, Appalachian Trail Conference
__________________
Teej

Only after the Last Tree has been cut down, only after the Last River has 
been poisoned, only after the Last Fish has been caught, only then will they 
learn that Money cannot be eaten. - a First People's Prophecy