It’s that time of year again, when I (Ember, the Communications Manager) break the 4th wall and spill the behind-the-scenes beans on what this year was like at the Shenandoah National Park Trust.
One thing before we dig in: As some of you know, I am leaving the Trust at the end of the month, and we are currently in the process of hiring a new Communications Manager. It was a very difficult decision that honestly took me most of the year to make. However, if some tiny part of you is secretly hoping that some of these beans I’ll be spilling have a dramatic flair, I’m sorry to disappoint. This is a wonderful organization full of dedicated people, and I will miss this work, my coworkers, and all of you – our donors, partners, and friends who willingly read my blog posts – terribly.
So if you’re ready for a lengthy blog post full of positivity, read on!
January
Much in line with its stereotype, January was a month for planning ahead. It varied from regular meetings to develop Trailblazers to Hill Day Orientation, Banff preparations, Givecloud trainings, conversations with partners about our goals for projects, and recording all sorts of videos and content for the year.
But the highlight for me was chatting with two couples from Northern Virginia.
I loved hearing Tom & Lisa Hayes talk about their family memories in the park, from their children running up Whiteoak Canyon to their grandson recreating family photos in a hollow tree on Stony Man summit. Their stories and photos captured the essence of family for me, and starting the year thinking about just how many memories Shenandoah holds for families like theirs put me in a beautiful frame of mind for approaching the work to protect the park so their grandchildren can continue those traditions if they want to.
I also got to talk with Beth & Jeremy Hawks about their unique approach to giving, which resonated heavily with things that Jessica is always saying about making intentional plans to maximize impact over time and engaging with our community of donors to celebrate that impact. It’s one thing to hear our Executive Director talk about those ideals from within the organization; it’s another thing to hear a first-hand account from a donor perspective of exactly how effective that intentional charitable planning is, and how each of them are able to support the other’s causes within their marriage. The word that came to mind during that conversation – and that has stuck with me since – is “thoughtful.” The Hawks put so much thought into their generosity, within the context of their family and their time and their values, that it made me put more thought into the ways that we steward generosity as a nonprofit organization.
Lisa & Tom Hayes with their family on Stony Man summit.
Beth & Jeremy Hawks
If those two conversations didn’t set up a good year, I don’t know what would have.
February
Three things happened in February that all compete for a top spot in the highlight reel, but I don’t feel like choosing just one (and I did warn you that this would be lengthy), so I’ll share all three!
- Jessica and I joined Trustee Teal Baker at Hill Day in Washington, D.C., where we met with our representatives and advocated for the reauthorization of the Great American Outdoors Act, which has made it possible for the park to fix up facilities and repave so much of Skyline Drive in the last few years.
- This highlight was actually something I did in my free time as a representative of the Trust: cleaning up Smith Roach Gap Cemetery with descendants of people buried there and complete strangers who saw the opportunity to help and decided to show up to volunteer. The group made such an incredible impact in just a few hours, and one man even found his great grandmother’s grave when we uncovered a fallen headstone!
- Beth joined the staff as our Good Neighbors Program Manager! Many of you may know Beth from her work as the Executive Director of Blue Ridge PRISM, and I wish I had filmed the moment in our Monday staff meeting when we found out she had applied for the Good Neighbors position, because there was an audible gasp of disbelieving delight.
Beth is one of those gently competent people who carries around nearly encyclopedic knowledge AND a 30,000-foot understanding of natural landscapes and conservation best-practices. In the span of a 10-minute walk, she can introduce you to every plant within eyesight and paint a larger picture of how those plants interact with air, water, animals, people, and the complex historical, cultural, and natural ecosystems of the entire state, all with a calm excitement that makes you feel like you have a valuable place in that bigger picture. She brings an expertise and patience to both our office and her work in the region that has already led to better communication between the park and its neighbors and impactful land donations/purchases along the park border in Rappahannock County.
March
March was a busy month for us! The Banff Film Festival obviously takes the cake for a March highlight, and it was especially nice to see Chelsea Murray’s familiar face as a volunteer! The festival was completely sold out and raised over $100,000 dollars, spurring us to add a 3rd night of films this year in honor of our 10th anniversary hosting! If you’re planning to attend Banff this year, I HIGHLY recommend splurging on the Adventurer ticket – we’re anticipating a packed house all three nights, and that early access makes a big difference in snagging the best seats!
Also in March, Emily and I spent three days at park headquarters, taking part in an accessibility training for Audio Description with the goal of ensuring that our digital content can be more accessible to folks with vision impairments. We enjoyed spending that time with park colleagues and other partners and gaining new perspectives on how people might engage with our communications and events.
But the real highlight was Jillian joining our staff as our Executive Assistant and Board Liaison! If you’ve met Jillian, you know she’s one of those people who perfectly blends being both authentic and accommodating. In the nine months she’s been with us, she’s tackled…
- Technology: learning our platforms and conference gear, as well as becoming the point person for our office IT needs!;
- Organization: handling complex contracts, calendars, and all communications related to our Board of Trustees;
- Interior design: as our staff has continued to grow, she came into the office after hours to put together new desks & chairs and rearrange furniture so we all fit as comfortably as possible;
- Realty: speaking of our cozy fit, Jillian has also been instrumental in finding us a new office space to move into this coming summer!
Saturday volunteers at Banff.
Emily experiencing visual impairments through special glasses.
Jillian at her first SNPT event: the Shenandoah Soiree.
April
One of my favorite parts of every April is celebrating birthdays, including mine! I have a twin, so I’ve always shared a birthday, and it’s been wonderful to continue celebrating with others at the office, as Ethan and Julie’s birthdays are the same week as mine (and theirs is even the same day!). With spring being such a busy event season for our office, it means even more that we’ve been able to take the time to reconnect over a birthday lunch.
This April, I also got to have a unique and incredibly meaningful conversation with Michelle and Craig Greene. If you received our Summer Newsletter, you likely saw the story of their decision to make regular memorial gifts in honor of their son Jackson, who loved Shenandoah.
After meeting the Greenes at the previous October’s Rapidan Society Weekend in the Park, I was drawn to the sheer depth of meaning attached with their giving and their desire to build connections with both the park itself and others who love it like their son did.
I’m not going to lie, when they agreed to share their story with me, I was a little nervous knowing that, to write that story well for an audience of relative strangers, I would have to enter into their grief to some degree. But I’ve always thought that memorial giving is a powerful form of memory, honor, and agency over loss, and I wanted to try to capture that impact for other donors who might feel the weight of turning a loss into a legacy.
That conversation gave me a new perspective on not only a unique type of giving, but the potential our events can hold for attendees beyond sharing insights on what donations do for our park. Sure, events are places in time where people gather around a common cause, but they’re also places in time where people become a community that is connected by a shared love for Shenandoah, whether that love is built on experiences, memories, hope for the future, or simple values.
Jackson Greene exploring Shenandoah National Park.
May
Show Your Love for Shenandoah Volunteer Day might be my favorite SNPT Event. There’s just something so special about a group of people that will show up in rainy, 30-degree weather ready to work, with only a boxed lunch and sore muscles as a reward. In just a few hours, volunteers had assembled new picnic tables, cleaned picnic areas, built waterbars, cleared ditches, removed invasives, and so much more.
This year, I got to tag along with a group digging a drainage ditch along Limberlost Trail to help maintain its accessibility standards. Despite the (admittedly terrible) weather, not one person complained, and the mood even became cheerful as we all sweated alongside one another and saw just how much we’d accomplished.
We also had a wonderfully engaging Rapidan Society Coffee & Chat with Margo Roseum. If any of you have heard Margo speak, you’ll know why this made the highlight reel!
June
June was the month of trails! First, I met the delightfully organized and energetic Cece from AllTrails (who happens to live in Virginia and love the park!), and we began planning a collaborative ad campaign.
Next, I got to hike in the park’s northern district with Anne Colgate and some of our donors, and, while the fog limited our view from Mount Marshall’s summit, it was great to feel embraced by the natural world in a way that only fog at high elevations can really accomplish.
Last, but certainly not least, Trailblazers: Charlottesville to Shenandoah became a reality after more than a year of planning! This is such a critical step in building a truly accessible and diverse pipeline for local conservation careers, and seeing it finally happen was, well, honestly kind of indescribable. It’s the kind of thing you read about in books or see in documentaries – people coming together around an idea because they see the value in it, putting the time, money, and energy into making it happen, and taking that first step to pilot a program that has massive potential to shape the future of a community.
That one crew of 8 Charlottesville teenagers fixing up 7 miles of local trails might have been small in the grand statistical scheme of things, but they proved that this program is not only possible, but worthwhile. With that foundation, I am beyond excited to see how this program grows, both in this community and in others surrounding the park.
July
While I enjoyed our Rapidan Society’s July Weekend in the Park programming, the month’s pivotal moment for me was another conversation about memorial giving, this time with Rappahannock’s Jay Ward Brown, who established the Kevin H. Adams Memorial Endowment in honor of his late husband.
Kevin was a staple of the Trust community, as both a park neighbor and Artist-in-Residence, and, after talking with Jay, I felt his absence keenly, despite never having met him. The way that Kevin saw, experienced, loved, and shared the park was truly special, and the words and paintings he left behind have made me look at the way light lays on the mountains differently ever since. Just knowing Kevin’s story was enough to change the way I experience one of my favorite places, and that is the kind of legacy that lives on as long as his name does. I’m honestly so thankful that this endowment will keep Kevin’s legacy alive so that others can have the enriching experience of seeing the park through his eyes.
Kevin Adams painting at an overlook during his residency.
August
I’ll keep this one short and sweet: Plein Air Paint Day! Being on site while all these local artists painted our beautiful park was truly magical, especially after my conversation with Jay in July. Seeing a place you love through the eyes of artists who love it too is an experience I hope everyone gets to have at least once in their lifetime.
On a bittersweet note, our beloved Kelly Berrang (who organized Plein Air Paint Day!) retired at the end of August – a departure that felt like the end of an era for the Trust. Read her exit interview here!
Painter Armand Cabrera’s on-site creation at Thorofare Mountain Overlook.
September
September was a month for kin.
First, Beth and I were invited to attend the Children of Shenandoah’s homecoming potluck in Elkton, and hearing the stories of these people that have a connection to the park unlike any other was seriously powerful. They love this land in a deeply personal way, layered with family history, and they take care of places in the park that most people won’t ever see.
The Art in the Park tent at Big Meadows.
September also brought some of my own family to the park, as my sister drove six hours to join me at our second annual Art in the Park event! She is a farmer and soil scientist in Pennsylvania, and watching her experience nature in a place both so similar to and so distinct from our home was yet another layer of perspective added to my kaleidoscope understanding of Shenandoah.
October
October was, for me, the month of Mollys.
First, the amazing Molly Bossardt (of Bread and Butter Digital Marketing) signed on to take over our social media and digital advertising! Those of you who run social media and/or marketing accounts know how big of a lift it is to create digital content, and I don’t have to tell you how just how impactful her work is for us. She’s helping get our mission in front of new people, setting us up for a year of growth in 2025.
Toward the end of the month, Molly Strauchler joined the team as our new Events & Volunteer Manager! We discovered very quickly that Molly is one of those people who can do just about anything, and do it well. Within days of entering the office, she was designing vision boards for Rapidan dinners, building out templates for event needs, and navigating our donor database like she had a map. She’s also taken the lead on planning Banff 2025 AND learned how to edit our website to keep our events page up to date!
On a non-Molly related note, our October Rapidan Society Weekend in the Park was, in my opinion, one of the most inspiring events of its kind to date. Between TedX talks from our NPS colleagues and hikes/discussions led by interns and Chainsaw Crews, it was a weekend full of insight and hopeful momentum. Interacting with the people who are on the ground doing the work to protect and enhance the park was a fantastic reminder of why we do what we do, and just how much it really does make a difference.
Molly Strauchler, our Events & Volunteer Manager.
Margo Roseum, Corrina Wendell, and Evan Childress all presented short “TedX Talks” on the Trust-funded projects they’re managing this year.
November
My November highlight shifted not only my perspective of the park, but my perspective of myself. On Veterans Day, I went to Big Meadows to meet the folks from one of our partner organizations: Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing. I was only planning to spend an hour or two there to interview some of the members and take a few pictures, but as the veterans convinced me to get some hands-on experience learning how to tie flies and cast on a practice rod, I felt myself slip into the rhythm of it all – the focus it took to wrap thread around a hook and the all-consuming physical awareness needed to cast properly. Since I’ve written up a story on the partnership for our Spring Newsletter, I won’t say any more here, but I hope you’ll look forward to reading that story when it lands in your mailbox.
November also brought yet another new face to our team! Laurie Bennett took on a brand-new role as our Operations & Finance Coordinator, and she survived at least 16 hours of training on our donor database the week before Thanksgiving. So far, she’s revealed herself to be a solid source of encouragement, celebrating everyone’s small successes and refusing to let perfectionism stand in the way of growth.
Dave Ward, the leader of the Fredericksburg chapter of PHWFF, practices casting.
Laurie Bennett, our Operations & Finance Coordinator.
December
December, so far, has been bittersweet. As I draft this, my countdown sits at just 5 days left in the office, and I’m wrapping up tasks stretching all the way into March 2025 and creating a likely-too-detailed roadmap for the transition between Communications Managers.
The first week of this month had me traveling to Shenandoah’s Headquarters in Luray twice – once to film this year’s holiday video (which Tracy and Jessica nailed in just three takes!), and once to collect all of Luca’s digital materials/assets as he wrapped up his season as our Media Liaison working in the park. Both times, I was in awe of our NPS colleagues preparedness, from Tracy having his lines completely memorized to Luca having a massive library of digital content perfectly organized and labeled.
(If you haven’t seen Luca’s content yet, check out our YouTube channel and the park’s Flickr page!)
I also spent an afternoon in the lobby of Harrisonburg’s Hotel Madison chatting with Eddie Bumbaugh & Jane Cox, yet another couple whose approach to generosity shifted my perspective on giving, the park, and my own community in the Shenandoah Valley. Swapping book titles and hearing about their adventures on the Appalachian Trail was both refreshing and inspiring, and I can’t wait to share some of their story in next year’s Spring Newsletter.
We also celebrated our annual staff Holiday Party at Pikasso Swig, and our painting instructor, Jamie, kicked off our session with a get-to-know-you activity that really brought home that bittersweet feeling of being in a room full of interesting people with whom I’d only share space for one more week. I’m so grateful to each and every one of these quirky, passionate individuals for proofreading emails & newsletters and investing in my growth over the last three years.
Aaaaand that’s a wrap on 2024! It’s been a full, rewarding year, and I’m grateful to my coworkers, our trustees, and every single one of you who has not only supported Shenandoah but made it this far into a blog post that turned out to be 8 pages long in Microsoft Word.
I wish you all the best in 2025.
-Ember