[at-l] ATC Hot Issues?

[wdlists at optonline.net (Walt Daniels)]

The ATC is not the group of staff in Harpers Ferry. It is all of us. If you
see an issue that is important to the AT from your point of view. Pick it up
and run with it. The staff is there to support the volunteers. The "new" ATC
is supposed to be more regionally oriented, so issues like this are
important to the region. Get to know your regional director. They have a
regional partnership committee (maintaining club members) that act as a
board of directors for the region to help determine what is important to the
region and what should be escalated to the whole ATC. Most individual
properties are regional issues, but development along the whole trail in
general is an ATC issue. Obviously mail directed to ATC staff will get
pushed down to the regions when appropriate but that is delaying the
process. Webmasters are more concerned with the proper functioning of the
website and less with content which is supplied mostly by others. 

Marty Bartels (AOL guy) is the communications director, which is much more
than webmaster. In marketing terms he controls the spin, not the content,
but I sure he has easy access to the other directors who do control which
issues are important. He cares mostly about ATC communicating well on the
most important topics and is certainly one of the decision makers on what is
important.

As a webmaster for NYNJTC, I see 50 or more articles a day that I could post
to our website as being potentially interesting to hikers. I don't have time
to do that so I am somewhat selective. If something is really important, I
will hear about it from the staff. But they don't read as much of the press
as I or individual members do. So it is important to push on things that you
think are important. The squeaky wheel gets the grease.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: at-l-bounces@backcountry.net 
> [mailto:at-l-bounces@backcountry.net] On Behalf Of Snodrog5@aol.com
> Sent: Thursday, July 28, 2005 7:56 PM
> To: at-l@backcountry.net
> Subject: Re: [at-l] ATC Hot Issues?
> 
> In a message dated 7/28/2005 7:29:51 PM Eastern Daylight 
> Time, s.landis@comcast.net writes:
> Hasn't made the ATC Hot Issues List yet...
> Let's see if we can help open some eyes at the ATC. The ATC 
> 'webmaster' email address might just send mail only to the 
> new person they hired from AOL, who probably knows/cares more 
> about pretty webpages than issues impacting the Trail.
> 
> This link takes you directly to the 'contact the ATC' page:
> 
> http://tinyurl.com/92oeh
> 
> I sent this message:
> 
> What is the ATC doing about this issue?
> 
> http://www.cumberlink.com/articles/2005/07/07/news/news04.txt
> 
> "The plan proposes 164 half-acre lots with 
> 4,000-5,000-square-foot homes that range from $400,000 to 
> $600,000. The homes will be situated in a basin in between 
> two hills on the mountain, with the Appalachian Trail on both sides."
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