AORE Association News December 2015 | Page 11

Silvia Chan – the Patsy Kott Service Award

Silvia Chan currently serves the University of Connecticut as Senior Associate Director, a role whose specifics are spent on the day-to-day operation of facilities, far removed from the mountains, rivers, crags and forests that form the crux of an outdoor professional’s world. In her career, she has worked in the intramural, operations and business areas of campus recreation but organically discovered outdoor programming as both a participant and a volunteer. Through her participation and volunteerism with the UConn Outdoors program Silvia found a connection with our wild places, herself, and most significantly, with the outdoor professionals she met during cooperative programming experiences.

Silvia has been integral to the development of AORE’s Presenter Relations Committee (PRC), chairing it from 2008-2014. She has streamlined many of the processes and grew the committee from just a few people to several professionals from across the country. This has helped elevate the quality in presentations and has set a standard for other committees within AORE to follow.

“[With] …attendance to almost every national conference since Pocatello [2001]. It is my uneducated belief she may be the only facilities professional in history to attend an outdoor programmers conference in the double digits! I have tried to explain this to fellow recreation professionals who wonder why she would take vacation time and pay out of pocket to attend a conference with little to do with her professional area. I can only tell them the truth, she loves the people of this association and believes in the work outdoor professional do every day.”

“Volunteering by definition is “willingly offering yourself in service.” I believe Silvia embodies this principle.”

“Silvia has been one of THE MOST IMPORTANT VOLUNTEERS the AORE has been fortunate to have in recent history.”

“Silvia has given so much to this organization--she is a role model, a mentor, a leader, and an amazing person; who has absolutely had an impact on the organization and its mission, and so deserving of this recognition.”

“Silvia has been instrumental in providing consistently high-quality selfless support for the AORE through her service on the Presenter Relations Committee. Her leadership in reviewing, selecting, notifying and working with presenters for many years has been vital for our association to provide high quality presentations — this is the core of our association.”

James Madison University (JMU)- the David J Webb Program Excellence Award

The Adventure Program at James Madison University (JMU) was officially founded in 1996 with the opening of the student University Recreation Center (UREC). UREC’s mission is to promote and advance healthy lifestyles through educational programs, participation opportunities, and support services. The qualified staff is committed to excellence and responsive to the developmental needs of participants. The JMU Adventure Program embraces its role in the bigger picture of educating students within the campus recreation model through consistent utilization of Student Development Theory, Student Learning Outcomes and assessment practices.

Prior to 1996, there was a small, yet active, outdoor equipment checkout center in another building on campus. When UREC opened in 1996, equipment rentals moved to UREC and a trip program started. A climbing wall was built in 1997 and the first ropes course completed in 2001. As the university grew in the next 10 years, the program expanded rapidly and moved from 10 trips a semester to over 40. In 2013, UREC opened a new outdoor park for JMU featuring a high and low ropes course anchored by a custom Alpine Towers Odyssey Course that can put 100 people in the air at once. The other aspects of the program has have also continued to grow, and last year, UREC Adventure served over 6000 climbers, 1000 trip/workshop participants with over 700 days in the field, 3000 participants on the challenge course, and thousands of items being rented. The level of participation in the program has prompted construction of a second climbing wall, a bouldering gym, a cycle center, and a 3600 square foot rental center slated to open Summer 2016.

Guy deBrun and Sasha Griffith graciously accepted this award on behalf of the JMU Adventure Program and want to recognize the years of dedicated work from those who came before them, our supportive administration at JMU, and all of the students who have Motivated Madison into Motion through working in the program through the years.

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