Captain's Report & Board Elections ~ ExGld
Hello Explorers!
We have a few quick updates to share with y’all. The Captain’s Report from the Berkeley Stairs expedition, results from our recent board elections, and the Night Parade (which is this Saturday).
Berkeley Stairs Captain’s Report
The sun was shining brightly as explorers began to congregate at the North Berkeley Bart station. With each train, a new face or two appeared and excitement was high. Our sights were set upon the hills and stairs of Berkeley. There was much discussion about the number of stairs we proposed to climb, and estimates ranged wildly.
When we reached the starting point of our hike, several explorers wisely chose to use the restroom facilities at Codornices Park. We tried to speed up this process by finding another available facility, but try as we might, no matter how hard we looked through various bushes blocking our sight lines, none were to be found.
Beginning our climb, we were entranced by the exotic wildlife found in these local hills, including the cyborg flamingo, and the whacker bird. Few of us had heard of Ernie Mirador and his involvement in the creation of the Berkeley Stairs. The story unfolded, as we listened to many interviews using the Explorer Waymark System. Shockingly, all but one of our original Waymark markers were still in place, even after all the years since our original expedition (2018). We even heard from a local that they had noticed the markers and simultaneously wondered about them, and also accepted that they were just another bit of Berkeley magic.
Meanwhile, an unexpected conflict was brewing amongst the explorers. In our quest to determine how many stairs we climbed that day we encountered a critical question: what exactly counts as a stair? And then another: if the stairway splits and one path has two steps but the other has three, what do we write on the official count? There was much passionate debate. After enjoying a community poetry wall and the calming presence of a waterfall we all agreed to the true official count written in the stellar cartography: 583 stairs up, 818 stairs down, for 1401 stairs total.
With this accomplishment fresh in our minds we semper explorandumed and bid farewell to our friends new and old. It was my pleasure to revisit this expedition with such a friendly and enthusiastic crew. It reinvigorated my love for climbing peaks, and I look forward to finding more opportunities in the new year.
Semper Explorandum fellow explorers!
-Lark
New Board of Directors
We just completed our election for two Board of Directors positions. Lark and Panopticon stepped down as Treasurer and Board at Large (respectively). Members were then given an opportunity to nominate themselves, then voting ballots were shared over this last weekend, and this morning we tabulated the results. Which leads us to...
First of all, Hannah Jackson is our new treasurer. She comes in as a part time bookkeeper and full time accounting student. She’s excited about taking our nascent 501c7 org and establishing a set of systems and procedures for the treasurer role.
For Board at Large, we’ll be bringing Lark into a new role for her. As our Board at Large, she’ll continue offering guidance and assistance to the needs of the board while also serving as captain for events.
I do want to also acknowledge and appreciate Seg’s proposal for the Board at Large role too. Seg’s previous experience and vision is one that we’d all be proud to have on our board.
The new board members will officially start on January 1st, 2025.
Night Parade, December 21st
It’s that time of year where the days are darkest and it’s a struggle for many of us. Fear not though, for this week we’ll start our slow march to getting back those daylight hours. It’s time to celebrate with Raining Chainsaws’ Night Parade event.
Saturday, December 21st at 5pm, the gathering will commence at Precita Park. At 6pm they’ll start their slow march to Dolores Park.
