Trail Crew News! From Shane

Message about Trip to Sacramento

From: trailcrew@comcast.net
Sent: Friday, February 11, 2005 7:35 PM
To: trailcrew@comcast.net
Subject: Trail Crew News! From Shane

High Sierra Volunteer Trail Crew
Recipient, Centennial Award for Best Partnership, USFS, 2005
Serving the needs of the forest and community

To all volunteers 

From Shane 

Some of you may know and many of you may not but last month I received a 
phone call from the regional office of the USFS from Mr. Tim Stone.  Tim 
manages the total 2600 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail which covers 
California, Oregon, and Washington. I have spoken with Tim a few times 
but never met him. Tim informed me that he was working on a presentation 
to the Regional Leadership Team and they would hold a meeting on February 
8 to 10th. The Regional Leadership Team is comprised of Mr. Jack 
Blackwell, the region five chief, 18 forest supervisors working under him 
in region five, and about 30 other key deputies. This group manages and 
sets policy for all of region five which encompasses all of California, 
Hawaii, and I think the Philippines. Anyway Tim was asked to get speakers 
that could speak about the conditions of the forest and how volunteers 
interact with the USFS. I was shocked that I was asked to talk, along 
with two others, to this team. This is a big honor and brings the highest 
level of recognition to your program; I'd compare this to getting to 
speak with the governor of California. 

I accepted the invitation and began to get so excited I could hardly keep 
from peeing my pants! The reality hit and I said, Oh no, I have to live 
up to your achievements and better get to work on the PowerPoint 
presentation. I must have spent over 20 hours putting in slides and 
taking them out when I realized I'd better ask how much time I would have 
(minor detail), and found out I would have no more than 20 minutes. I 
asked who else would be speaking and was told a man from the Backcountry 
Horsemen from Shasta, and the regional coordinator for the Sierra Club 
outings. I said to myself, I have hit pay dirt.  What I have learned is 
big, national organizations like the BCH and Sierra Club tend to be 
negative toward the forest service when they have an opportunity to 
speak, and I knew this was not the place or time for that. So I sent an 
email to Mr. Stone and asked if I could be the last speaker, and it was 
approved. 

Now I had the direction for the presentation of your program and 
assembled 18 slides that highlighted your abilities, believing that this 
was our best strategy to show the management team that volunteers are 
better prepared, organized and managed than many can believe. So the 
first pictures are of Barbara Wingfield doing recon of trails and trees. 
I spoke in detail of how her team goes in prior to recon and records all 
the info with GPS on each tree and water bar, takes pictures and brings 
this back and prepares a detailed plan of action for each crew leader, 
down to what tools she recommends for each task. 

So Thursday, 2 am, I am so scared I cannot sleep and I get up and review 
the presentation for two hours, over and over. Then it dawns on me to 
check for fog and sure enough, it's foggy so I jump in the shower, get 
dressed and leave for Sacramento at 5 am, all this time reviewing the 
slide show and what I would say. With the fog and traffic I arrive at 9 
am, 30 minutes early, so I sat in the room and watched the conversations, 
all this time getting scared out of my pants. Oh by the way did I tell 
you I have never met the new Sierra National Forest Supervisor, Ed Cole?  
Sure enough I found myself sitting two feet behind him in the room and I 
could have pooped my pants. Then came a brief break and I introduced 
myself to Mr. Cole and gave him a printed copy of the PowerPoint 
presentation with extra pictures of your program. He was very pleasant 
and supportive of us. 

Then came two bombs:  the first was the BCH speaker was late and I was to 
go first and then came the kicker, I was asked if I was not able to do 
the PowerPoint presentation would this make it impossible to give my 
talk. Oh yeah my days of Boy Scouts came out and I said not at all, I had 
already printed 50 color copies and I can go with that!  All this had my 
knees knocking so loud you could hear them all the way to Fresno!  So we 
went to the front of this very big room and gathered everyone to their 
seats, then the back door opens and sure enough it's the first speaker 
coming in saying I am sorry I am late but I am ready to go!  WOW, dodged 
that bullet! 

Sure enough the first speaker from the BCH explained that he has 
testified before congress in Washington, D.C. and that in the last three 
years the congress has approved budget increases in trail funds, but at 
the district level the funds have shrunk. He also said that congress 
informed him that it will not give the forest service any more money 
because they feel the USFS cannot manage money very well. This was a kick 
in the teeth for everyone in that room and I could see it did not play 
well. 

Then the lady from the Sierra Club got up and gave a nice talk about how 
the National Outing programs does about thirty five trips per year with 8 
to 12 people on each trip and they enjoy doing this for the USFS. 

Well I knew it was up to me to hit a home run and this was the place to 
do it, so without the PowerPoint presentation and everything I had 
rehearsed I flew by the seat of my pants and began to talk about YOU, and 
how our program works and what we have accomplished. You could have heard 
a pin drop it was so quiet in that room. Man I wish all of you could have 
been there! I intentionally had pictures that showed that we did not 
comply with USFS rules; the photo that got the most reaction was of 12-
year-old Abby and her mother sawing a very big tree. I knew this would be 
the indicator picture when questions were asked, that if this one did not 
come up I had failed to do my job. Sure enough the first question was 
about that very picture and the liability issues regarding children. So I 
stood up and began to explain in a very passionate way that Abby is the 
very symbol of our future, and how rules sometimes are wrong, and how the 
USFS must embrace and support the Abby’s in this world.  As I spoke I 
watched Mr. Blackwell, sitting only a few feet away, and I could see his 
reactions and concern.  So when I finished I turned to Mr. Cole, our 
supervisor for the Sierra, and said Mr. Cole I have a meeting at your 
office on this coming Tuesday and judging by Mr. Blackwell's facial 
expressions I think you might want to take me for a spanking at the 
woodshed so I will be ready for it. That brought the entire room to 
laughter like I have never heard. The questions continued with great 
success. So at the end Mr. Blackwell stood up and came directly to me to 
say Shane I loved what you said about children, they are our future and 
if you encounter any resistance from my people you call me and I will 
handle it!  I could have pooped my pants....he then said if I was not 
pressed for time he would like to have lunch with the three of us, and we 
did. What a day, it was all I could do not to speed all the way home. 

The issue that I toil over the most is making sure I can adequately 
convey to you just how remarkable you all are! You and your efforts have 
broken so many barriers and charted new paths. Many of you have heard 
this is the centennial celebration of the USFS and the theme is that the 
second 100 years will not be the same as the first; you are the example 
of this! You are the future! You are all amazing and I love you very much 
for what you do for the forest. I will strive to meet your expectations 
and lead you in our mission. 

I look forward to this season and lots of hugs and fun times!  See you at 
base camp. 

Your humble servant 

Shane 

Second message, three days later

From: trailcrew@comcast.net
Sent: Monday, February 14, 2005 10:28 AM
To: trailcrew@comcast.net
Subject: Re: Regional Leadership Email

High Sierra Volunteer Trail Crew
Recipient, Centennial Award for Best Partnership, USFS, 2005
Serving the needs of the forest and community

To All volunteers 

From Shane

I would like to thank you all over you for the wonderful replies to my 
email. Sometimes I get in a passionate writing mood and forget what I am 
writing, even my editor Susan Barnett did not clean up all the peeing and 
pooping.  I have to say that day I felt like I was on my first date ever. 

Yes I will accept all the diapers you have offered me, we can use them in 
our first aid kits just in case we ever have a major accident! 

Thanks, I love you all! 

Shane