On Friday, October 25, the SaddleBrooke Hiking Club gathered at Catalina State Park for a special 25th Anniversary Celebration. In warm fall weather, about 100 members brought potluck dishes to share for a chance to visit and catch up with one another after a long hot summer.
Picnic Lunch - Photo by Lynda Green
Picnic Gathering - Photo by Lynda Green
To commemorate this milestone, Club President Ken Wong brought along a large bundle of awards to distribute to individuals who have made significant contributions to the club over the years.
While people munched on a delicious chicken lunch that was provided by the club and those member-provided dishes and desserts, Wong addressed the crowd. For those who could not attend, here are excerpts from the text of his speech:
Today we celebrate the 25th Anniversary of our great club. This is a significant milestone, and it has been achieved through the dedication, commitment, perseverance, and hard work of hundreds
of individuals who have served as Guides, members of Club Committees, and members of the Board of Directors since 1999.
Their work has enabled the achievement of the club’s primary mission of providing quality, safe hiking and outdoor adventure experiences for all members.
In the short time I have on the podium, I cannot possibly recognize all who have served in these capacities over the years, but let me provide you with a high-level perspective of the 25-year journey we have taken:
GUIDES
We have had approximately twenty to nearly forty guides leading hikes for the club at various times over the years and coordinating their work have been twenty-two different Senior Chief Guides since 1999, some of whom served multiple terms.
Ten of them are here today:
Elisabeth Wheeler (2 terms)
Larry Linderman (2 terms)
Walt Shields
Susan Hollis
Dave Sorenson
Phil McNamee
Ruth Caldwell
Karen Gray
Jeff Love
Marc Humphrey (incumbent)
A special acknowledgement is in order for a past Chief Guide and also past President who is not here today – Rob Simms. Rob has announced his retirement from guiding, and we thank him for serving as a guide since 2014 and for providing outstanding leadership to the club as Vice-President and President in the 2019-2021 timeframe.
CLUB COMMITTEES
Today we have sixteen different Committees supporting club activities and operations, with a total of thirty-eight members filling forty-nine positions, so we have several who are doing double or triple duty.
I am going to highlight just one of the sixteen “Committees” for recognition and that is the Catalina Hills Cleanup. The initiative was started in 2007 and continues to this day, marking 17 years of community outreach. We have had amazing continuity in leadership over the years, with only two coordinators since inception: Bill Leightenheimer and Walt Shields.
Bill initiated the program in March of 2007 and Walt has been coordinating the program since January of 2017.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
We have had nineteen Board Presidents since 1999, some of whom served multiple terms, and seven are here today: Bill Leightenheimer (3 terms), Michael Reale (2 terms), Randy Park, Dave Corrigan, Bruce Landeck, Ruth Caldwell, and Ken Wong (incumbent).
I also want to acknowledge the commitment of all who served in the Treasurer and Secretary roles over the years. These are “behind-the-scenes” jobs that require specialized skills and are absolutely critical to running the club.
Here with us today are four members who have served in these roles.
Please stand when I call your name: Our current Treasurer, Arlene Daigle, serving her second two-year term, Katie Atkins, Secretary from 2020 to 2024, Dave Sorenson, Secretary from 2012 to 2014, and Ken Wong, Secretary from 2010 to 2012.
CONCLUSION
And of course, we would not be here celebrating if it were not for a special individual who had the vision to establish our club. That person is Bill Leightenheimer, and for this we owe you a great debt, Bill!
Much work, thought and coordination went into establishing the club from scratch back in late 1999, and the fruits of your labor are very evident. Bill told me in a conversation we had a couple of years ago that the club is his legacy to SaddleBrooke, and what a legacy it is!!!
I think we’re all in agreement that establishment of the club has had and will continue to have a long-lasting impact on the SaddleBrooke Community! Here’s to another 25 years!
As a small token of appreciation, the club has a commemorative plaque. It reads:
25th Anniversary Tribute
Presented to
Bill Leightenheimer
In Recognition of Your Founding of the Club
September 8, 1999
We also want to recognize a second person who played a big role in the founding of the club with Bill during that historic time over two decades ago, and that is Barb Leightenheimer. Not many people are aware that the first hike for the club was guided by Barb, and for this the club has a commemorative plaque for you. The plaque that we are presenting to Barb reads:
25th Anniversary Tribute
Presented to
Barb Leightenheimer
In Recognition of Guiding the Club’s 1st Hike
October 17, 1999: Canyon Loop Trail, Catalina State Park
Bill and Barb Leightenheimer - Photo by Ruth Leman
As an aside, Barb also co-designed the club logo that we use extensively in our communications and virtually all club media.
At our Fall picnics, the Board has recognized a Volunteer of the Year – someone who has gone above and beyond and made a positive and significant impact to club operations. Last year, we recognized two individuals as co-Volunteers of the Year. This year the Board had a difficult decision to make as there were more than a handful of members who made very, very significant contributions to the operations of our club. So, the Board made the decision to recognize all of them and I think you will agree that they are all very deserving. There are six, yes six members we are recognizing today. Each of them will receive a framed certificate in addition to a gift card to REI. They are:
Bruce Hale, Chairperson of our Programs Committee: Bruce did a fantastic job last season coordinating and providing us with six great programs. He continues as our Programs Chairperson, and the 2024-2025 program year was successfully launched last week. He has served on the Programs Committee since February of 2019, and took over as Chairperson in November of 2021. Thank you, Bruce!
Bill MacSween, Technology Committee: In November of 2023 we started the work to adopt the Club Express website software and had a successful go-live in February of 2024 after countless hours of intensive work. Bill was a key member of the Tech Team that made this all happen, and today he continues to address issues and provide solutions to all aspects of the new website. Thank you, Bill!
Dave Schafer, Technology Committee: What I just said for Bill MacSween can be repeated for Dave Schafer. Dave was also a key member of the Tech Team that made this all happen, and today he continues to address issues and provide solutions to all aspects of the new website. Thank you, Dave!
Tim Butler, Guide: Tim Butler was selected as an Outstanding Volunteer for his commitment and excellence as a Guide, and few would dispute that he is one of our best. However, just recognizing him for Guiding would be missing what Tim currently does in other arenas:
Activity Fair: Coordinator
Introduction to Hiking in the Desert Southwest Presentation: Coordinator
Trip Committee: Current Member
Programs: Presenter at March 2024 Club Program
Picnic Committee: Informal Member
Newsletter: Frequent Contributor
Terry Heggy, our Videographer: A year ago we asked if anyone in the club would take on videoing our programs, and Terry stepped up. He professionally, and I emphasize professionally videoed six programs and the annual Orientation to Hiking presentation, edited all of them, and posted them to YouTube without any help. Thank you, Terry!
The sixth recipient of our 2024 Outstanding Volunteer award needs no introduction. We probably wouldn’t be here without her:
Missy Rodey, Picnic Coordinator: No one is more deserving of this award than Missy. Thank goodness she showed up today or we’d all be in a heap of trouble. I can only say what you all know – she does a dynamite job of planning, organizing and executing the club’s twice-a-year picnics with her team. Her organizational skills and attention to detail are amazing, and the results of her work are quite evident. Missy joined the Picnic Committee in November of 2019 as Co-Chair and took on Chairperson responsibilities in February of 2023.
Wong delivered his presentation with much humor, while those recognized stood for applause by the membership. Even while extending their appreciation, those who have never been a guide or a committee or board member, are not always aware of the time spent and the responsibility volunteers take on to make a great club. This year, the tributes spread back to the beginning, covered the present and gave hope for many future years of club hiking in and around SaddleBrooke.