It was great to see so many folks join us for the Annual Meeting held Sun Oct 30 at Mahoosuc Guide Service in Newry, ME. Thank you all for your support of MWGO and its mission and goals; it is the energy you bring that keeps our organization moving forward! Thank you as well to Kevin and Polly of Mahoosuc Guide Service for hosting us all; it was a beautiful facility and an excellent gathering spot for our group. Thank you to all of the members of the MGWO Board who worked together to organize and run the events of the day; it was well advertised, well attended, and well organized. And of course a huge thank you to our guest speaker Chris Sockalexis, Tribal Historic Preservation Officer for the Penobscot Nation. We all enjoyed your presentation and learned so much about the history and culture of the Penobscot Nation and we are excited for future programming!

After a chance to connect and chat over coffee and donuts, the morning agenda featured the MWGO Quarterly Board Meeting, which included the standard reports from the President, Secretary, and Treasurer, highlighting recent and upcoming work and documenting previous meetings and the finances of the organization before moving on to the reports from our committees on their recent and upcoming work.

The Advocacy Committee continues to support the removal of four dams along the Kennebec between Skowhegan and Waterville and a bill to expand access to the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument from the Millinocket end, and opposes the Wolfden Resources mine in the Katahdin Region. The Communications Committee continues to work to expand the new website with additional features, to increase our social media presence, and to put together a small leaflet/brochure for new Guides. The Education Committee is working on an excellent set of repeat and new training opportunities for 2023 including a Wabanaki REACH class, virtual astronomy courses, and business workshops (pro deals, business plans, insurance, etc). And the Membership Committee is gearing up for a Membership Drive, identifying and expanding the list of membership benefits and purchasing access to IF&W’s listing of Maine Guides.

Additionally, there was discussion about the need to talk about Ethics and Standards for Professionalism in our next meeting with IF&W as well as a renewed request for MWGO representation on the IF&W Advisory Council. We talked about possible future opportunities to work with the Maine Office of Outdoor Recreation. We also discussed partnering with the Friends of Katahdin Woods and Waters to help highlight Guides and guided opportunities in the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument. Finally, it was decided that it is not too soon to work on identifying a location for next year’s Annual Meeting and that an Events Committee should be formed to organize that meeting as well as a rendezvous and other opportunities for Guides to connect and build community.

After an excellent lunch from a local business, we all thoroughly enjoyed a presentation from Chris Sockalexis, Tribal Historic Preservation Officer for the Penobscot Nation. Chris compressed his typically longer presentation into a quicker overview of about 20 thousand years of Penobscot history, sharing everything from the origin stories of the Penobscot to the artifacts that have been found throughout what is now Maine. He highlighted their significance in telling the history and culture of the Penobscot as the land changed with the retreating of the glaciers and the rise and fall of sea levels. Chris also shared the work that the Penobscot Nation is doing to provide cultural experiences at their Sugar Island property, through an upcoming new museum on Indian Island, and throughout the region. Chris closed his presentation with a drum song. His presentation was highly engaging and educational and we look forward to further opportunities to connect MWGO and its members (and their clients) with the Penobscot and other Wabanaki Nations.

After the presentation, we moved on to the Annual Meeting for the remainder of the afternoon. In addition to referencing and highlighting the reports and discussions from the morning’s Quarterly Board Meeting, there was good discussion about the proposed budget for 2023 which will be voted on at the January Quarterly Board meeting. Given the large overlap of attendees between the morning and afternoon meetings, many of the reports were able to be quickly covered before moving on to voting for new board members and officers.

MWGO is pleased to welcome Jonathan Gardner and Ari Leach to the board. Jonathan was featured in the About a Guide section of the September eNews and we look forward to featuring Ari in an upcoming About a Guide article. Melanie Sturm will take over the Secretary position previously held by Mac Davis, and Jeanne Christie and Reid Anderson will swap their President and Vice President roles with Reid becoming President and Jeanne becoming Vice President.

The afternoon wrapped up with a formality vote to approve the updated bylaws (effectively just an update to the address of the organization) and then a discussion of ideas for future work of the organization. Activities explored in addition to the existing action plans of the committees were discussion on the formation of a Guide mentorship program, the formation of the aforementioned Events Committee, a project to identify and preserve historic portage trails, and a presence at the NOLS Wilderness Risk Management Conference as well as continued discussion about the need for a part time director.

It was a full day and a very productive one for the organization. We plan to continue increasing our visibility and level of activity as we seek to provide a sense of community for Maine Guides across the state. We look forward to the upcoming year and we hope to see even more of you at next year’s Annual Meeting and at various events and training opportunities between now and then!

Save the date for next year: The MWGO 2023 Annual Meeting will be held the weekend of October 28-29. More details to follow in the months ahead!