Eric Linxweiler
Think back to your first big outdoor goal. How hard the journey appeared at first - how daunting the end goal seemed. But then, through hard work and perseverence, you reached the figurative (or literal) summit and glowed in the sense of your own accomplishment. We've all realized the benefit of a good plan, hard work, and the excitement of accomplishing it. Well - finding the next visionary to lead The Mountaineers into the future is much the same.
When we began looking for a new leader in late 2008, I was the Board President and headed up the search committee. We partnered with the Forest Group, experts in executive searches in the outdoor industry who seek to find "leaders who resonate within your culture and thrive pursuing your mission." The Forest Group helped us find and hire Martinique, who turned our organization around. Under her leadership, we achieved an outward-looking culture, engaged with the community in a larger way, became a 501(c)3 nonprofit, started youth programs, and developed a professional staff. Her talent and dedication helped us achieve financial stability and energized our conservation movement.
Process
Now we are looking ahead to find someone to do that again - to really take our club to the next level.
To do so, your Board of Directors created a Selection Committee that is comprised of key leaders to help identify and recruit a spectacular leader for the future. We're all excited to take this challenge on, and have been working hard with our program and publishing staff to help identify what we need in our future leader.
We're once again working with The Forest Group. Together we've created a recruiting profile to help explain who we are, what we stand for, and what our ideal leader might look like.
Apply and Share
We're sharing this Recruitment Profile with you in hopes that it spreads throughout our collective networks - and that includes yours. Please read this from the perspective of someone who needs to learn about us, the opportunity, and the position itself. It is supposed to be an overview – sort of our resume – to help inform candidates about the role and the ideal person to fill it.
People who are interested in the position, or know someone who may be a good candidate, should contact the Forest Group directly. Their job is to dig up as many good names as possible and then carefully sift through to identify the best possible matches for our future leader.
Read it over and share with people who you think might be the next leader of our awesome organization.
Interim Support
To provide support and guidance in the interim, we've been lucky to have Elizabeth Lunney join our team. Her professional background is well suited for us. She was a longtime executive director for WTA and is on the board of Braided River. She recently served as interim ED of Mountains To Sound Greenway Trust. She came with the highest recommendations from Helen, Martinique, and Adam Forest (head of our search firm).
Elizabeth joined us in September, and will be working 20-hours a week as an additional resource for our board and staff until we find the perfect CEO to lead us into the future.
