HORIZONS
A NEWSLETTER FOR FAMILIES AND FRIENDS OF CROTCHED MOUNTAIN
FALL 2009 VOLUME 9 NUMBER 3

Welcomes, Thank Yous and Congrats
by Don Shumway President and CEO
AUTUMN is traditionally a time for new beginnings.
And we have a number of welcome new beginnings to report.
We’re very fortunate to have two new employees who will make a big difference in the effectiveness of our organization
and two longtime employees who have taken on new roles.
Joseph Fermano has joined us as our new Chief Financial Officer.
Joe brings thirty years of senior experience in finance for nonprofits, with an emphasis on financial strategy and
reimbursement.
He served as CFO of Massachusetts Blue Cross for ten years and more recently has led hospital turn-around and insurance
contract improvements.
These will be critical skills for our organization over the next several years and will build upon the excellent work of 
our controller, Tom Zubricki, and the finance staff.
Nancy Pierce has joined Crotched Mountain School as the Assistant Principal.
Nancy comes to us from The Contoocook School where she served as director for five years.
She also served as the principal of five schools in New Hampshire owned and operated by North American Family Institute 
(NFI) North.
Prior to that, Nancy spent seven years working in shelter care with adjudicated adolescent girls as a teaching principal.
She has also taught college-level writing courses for New England College (NEC) in the New Hampshire State Prison and
currently offers a course called “Youth at Risk” to NEC’s undergraduate students.
Nancy is certified as a special educator, a secondary English teacher and principal.
She is a graduate student in NEC’s educational leadership program.
Susan Sperry RN, has taken the position of Nurse Manager in the Hayden Unit of the Crotched Mountain Specialty Hospital.
She began working at Crotched Mountain School nine years ago as a teacher assistant and later received her LPN degree 
through a program offered at Crotched Mountain in conjunction with New Hampshire Technical Institute.
She didn’t stop there, however, and continued her studies, receiving her RN degree through New Hampshire Technical College
in Nashua.
She accomplished all this while working in our residential program, health center and Specialty Hospital.
And finally, I want to express my gratitude and congratulations to a long-time, dedicated employee of Crotched Mountain.
Michael Redmond has served as the Vice President of Advancement for ten years, overseeing development, marketing,
communications and new initiatives.
During that time he successfully launched and managed many diverse projects for the organization.
Last year, in the midst of the worst global financial crisis since the Great Depression, Michael took on the vacant CFO
role at CM and led an amazing $6.4 million turnaround in our financial operations.
The task was daunting, requiring skill, knowledge, creativity and maybe even a little luck.
Whatever it took, Michael had it, and we are grateful for his willingness to step up to the plate during a difficult time.
Michael has taken on a new challenge at CM as Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer where he will oversee all
the operations of the organization.
Welcome and congratulations to our new and continuing employees.
Your skills and dedication are appreciated by all.

I’ll Take Door Number 1
Accessing the Many Portals of Communication
FOR LINDA BELIVEAU, everyday at Crotched Mountain holds the potential for splendor.
That’s the word she uses to describe the liberation students experience when technology opens their worlds to communication
and learning.
Linda is the Assistive Technology Technician at Crotched Mountain, but describes herself as a tradesperson who constructs
pathways to learning.
To accomplish this, Linda collaborates closely with teachers and therapists to develop the means for students to access
content, communicate and learn.
“Everyone approaches the world differently.
My job is to find the best technological path to learning.
I think of it as collecting interests.”
Some of our students can only communicate through a raised eye-brow or blink of an eye, requiring a significant amount of
interpretation on the part of the listener— which is why Linda loves technology.
“It is truly objective.
It frees a student to communicate specific information without the filter of a third person.”
But to get there takes time, effort and the collaboration of the many disciplines within the teaching and therapeutic
communities at Crotched Mountain.
Linda contributes to the process by listening, observing and putting aside preconceptions.
“I discern where they are now, listen to where they want to be and develop a computer-based application to facilitate the
journey,” says Linda.
“Communication in an academic setting is essential to measuring progress,” explains David Kontak, director of the 
Assistive Technology Program.
“If a student can’t demonstrate understanding, it becomes difficult to evaluate his or her level of comprehension.
Linda is a magician at what she does.”
The pathways are many.
Linda works with students, teachers and therapists to make lessons meaningful to everyone through accessibility and content
solutions.
Students with autism might use a program with predictable, highly visual graphics.
Some students will use a mouse; others will use a touch screen to activate program functions.
Those with extreme mobility limitations can use a switch activated by a body part with the most control.
“The learning styles of our students are so variable we have to think outside the box to find the just-right challenge
to motivate them,” Linda points out.
Student Krista Lucas, who has cerebral palsy, was accustomed to communicating through body language.
“It was a method that worked pretty well for her here,” Linda notes, “but would not be effective in the world beyond
Crotched Mountain.
And, even here, there were limits to her learning.”
Linda’s job was to develop a method of access that would enable Krista to communicate more specifically.
After experimenting with a number of methods, the team hit upon an unlikely, but elegant pathway.
Using a laptop computer, touch screen symbols are magnified to fill the entire screen.
When the right symbol appears, Krista can touch the screen anywhere, enabling her to construct sentences.
A door was opened giving Krista the opportunity to say the things she wanted — and needed — to say.
She recently used this method to create invitations to her birthday party.
And according to Linda, it was a labor of love.
“She worked so hard, I could see beads of sweat forming on her forehead.”
Krista’s dad, Devin Lucas, agrees.
“For her entire life, Krista has been trapped in a body she has little control over, extremely limiting her communication
and causing her great frustration.
This technology opens up a whole new world for her, and I’m excited to see how she progresses and begins to communicate
her thoughts and desires to others around her," he said.
It’s clear the ability to articulate a noun, a verb and an adjective has opened up a world of independence for Krista.
“Shopping. Red nail polish.” Splendor.

Martin Wallem’s Recipe for a Full Life: Courage, Support and the Will to Keep Moving
EIGHT YEARS AGO Martin Wallem, 39, was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or ALS, commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s
disease.
It is a progressive neuromuscular disorder that rapidly leads to total paralysis.
Martin is in the late stages of the disease.
He breathes with a ventilator and communicates by blinking and moving his eyes.
Martin also skis, hunts, deep sea fishes and just last week went hiking at Squam Lake with his wife, Cara and six-year
old son, Martin Jr. (aka Little Martin).
Granted, he has slowed down since he began to experience symptoms in 2001 — the same year he went bungee jumping in
New Zealand.
ALS is a devastating diagnosis, a catastrophe in Cara’s words.
“But you can pick one of two ways to go,” Cara explains.
“You can sit home and be miserable, or you can make the best of what life has dealt.
Martin accepted his diagnosis and never looked back.”
Cara says they made a decision early on to continue living life as they always had.
That meant high energy activities, adventures with friends and family, and raising a family.
“That first year was overwhelming.
I didn’t do anything.
I had a new baby.
I had to return to work.
I didn’t know where to begin,” Cara recalls.
That’s where Crotched Mountain Community Care (CMCC) came in.
Care manager Maureen Babin has worked with the family for six years now, planning, advocating for and managing the many 
services which allow Martin to remain at home, including around-the-clock care from a variety of care providers — nurses,
home health aides and personal care attendants.
“So many services and programs are unconnected,” says Cara.
“Maureen put them all together for us.
She even helped me become employed as a personal care attendant for Martin.
Now I can be home with him and earn a small salary.”
“Martin is different from anyone I’ve ever met,” says Maureen.
“He has accepted his illness and he keeps going.
It’s clear his courage and stamina come from strong relationships with family and friends, and the will to continue to
pursue his interests.”
Even now, as Martin’s disease makes getting out of the house increasingly difficult, the family makes sure they go on at
least one outing per week.
“It’s challenging, exhausting and frustrating, but in the end, the rewards are even greater.
We do more as a family than many healthy families,” says Cara.
Ask Martin Jr., who is happy his Dad stays involved in his many activities like gymnastics and skiing.
“Martin is an active parent,” Cara points out.
“He has a strong voice in family decisions.
If Little Martin wants to stay up past his bedtime, I tell him, ‘go ask your father.’
And big Martin gives him an answer.”
It seems big Martin’s illness hasn’t diminished his standing in his son’s eyes.
As little Martin was overheard assuring a friend recently, “We can ask my Dad — he’s the smartest guy in the world.”

Crotched Mountain Community Care
CMCC has helped adults and seniors with chronic illness and disabilities remain independent in their own homes since 1986,
serving over 800 people statewide.
Services include in-home assessments, care plan development and monitoring, referrals to home care providers, ongoing
advocacy and care coordination with home care and medical providers, assistance with insurance and benefit management.
Private pay and sliding scale options available.
For more information, contact Ann Schwartzwalder, 800.339.3042. Email: communitycare@crotchedmountain.org

Care Management Calls for Myriad Skills
DEB BURKE is a care manager.
And after spending time with her as she goes about her work, you learn that her title is shorthand for general contractor,
accountant, interviewer, trouble-shooter and lynch pin.
For the past eight years, Deb has skillfully juggled these roles and more as a care manager at Crotched Mountain Community
Care where she helps seniors with chronic medical conditions and people with disabilities live independently.
Deb stays pretty busy coordinating and monitoring all homecare and medical services for over forty clients who would 
otherwise reside in residential care facilities, were it not for the Home and Community-Based Care Program (HCBC) which
enables people with medical frailties and serious disabilities to remain in their homes.
Her clients live safely and comfortably at home with many conditions including spinal cord injury, multiple sclerosis,
muscular dystrophy, dementia, pulmonary disease and arthritis.
Jeanne Stone is one of Deb’s longtime clients.
Diagnosed years ago with multiple sclerosis, Jeanne now uses a wheelchair for mobility.
Deb has worked with Jeanne for eight years, and during that time Deb says, “Jeanne has never complained or been one to feel
sorry for herself. She just keeps going.”
And the same could be said of Deb, who keeps moving no matter what obstacles arise.
This was evident last summer when Jeanne underwent heart valve replacement surgery that required months of hospitalization
and rehabilitation.
During that time, Jeanne and her husband had to sell their home of many years to move to a smaller, more accessible home.
“While she was in the hospital, all progress stopped.
Home modifications were put on hold.
The purchase of her new wheelchair was postponed,” recalls Deb.
Despite the lull, Deb kept plugging away, keeping the momentum going so that when Jeanne returned home, she could pick up
right where she left off.
All evidence points to mission accomplished.
The ramp and Hoyer lift are installed.
A new wheelchair has been ordered, and estimates are in for the final bathroom modifications.
Jeanne looks comfortable and at ease in her new home as she and Deb sort through paperwork with impressive efficiency.
“She gets me the things I need,” says Jeanne. 
“I don’t know what I’d do without her.”

Why Every Gift Matters
Dear Friends, I look forward to every issue of Horizons because every story about our students, patients, families and
staff reminds me how fortunate it is that there’s a place like Crotched Mountain.
Here, kids who use wheelchairs learn to dance and ski.
They make friends, learn new skills in school and are valued for who they are.
Adults with brain injuries relearn how to walk, speak and think again.
I know how much the families of our students and clients value what happens at Crotched Mountain because I get letters,
emails and am stopped in the hall every day.
But none of this is possible without the support of thousands of people across New England and this great country.
We depend on the philanthropy of individuals, businesses and organizations to keep our programs strong so we can continue
to celebrate milestones like those of Krista, Martin and Jeanne in this issue of Horizons.
In this season of giving, please consider making a gift to Crotched Mountain.
Look for our Annual Appeal letter in the mail at the beginning of December, or use the envelope in this magazine to support
our work.
And on behalf of the staff, clients and families of Crotched Mountain, may you have the best of holiday seasons!
Don Shumway, President and CEO

BRIEFLY NOTED
LEANER AND GREENER
We were the proud recipeint of a 2009 Lean and Green Award, presented to eco-friendly and business-savvy New Hampshire
businesses by Business NH Magazine.
CM won the Large Company Award in the Green Practices Category for demonstrating sustainable processes that result in
increased efficiency and savings.
Among ouraward-winning innovations are a biomass heating system that burns wood chips from local forests to provide
campus-wide heat and hot water, a student-centered recycling program, campus-wide installation of compact fluorescent
light bulbs and motion detector switches, an “environmentally preferred” purchasing system that, to calculate cost,
considers product life, recycled content, recyclable capacity and toxicity, a wastewater treatment system using aerobic
and biological processes, roof rainwater collection system, a nearly 1,400 acre conservation easement, and the restoration
and operation of a 70-acre organic farm in Peterborough.
The story is featured in the September issue of the magazine.

GOLF CLASSIC A SUCCESS
On a perfectly rare perfect summer day in July 2009, 136 golfers enjoyed a great round of golf and raised almost $30,000
in support of programs and services for children with disabilities at Crotched Mountain School (CMS). Hosted by CMS parents,
the tournament was held at Crotched Mountain Golf Club in Francestown and was followed by a buffet reception with 
recognition of prize winners, a raffle and an auction.
The winning team with a score of 60 included Darryl Howe, Fred Mohr, Tad Schrantz and Mike Farhm of Macmillan Co.,
pictured below.

GOODBYE OJT...HELLO VLD
As the school year began, so did the exciting new learning experience of Vocational Life Development (VLD), a new twist
on On-the-Job-Training (OJT) that expands our focus to include teaching life skills that serve students across all settings
— at work, home and in the community.
Engaging in real life situations on and off campus allows students to experience success with responsibilities they are
comfortable with and introduces new situations where they can problem solve, hone communication skills and feel that
all-important sense of accomplishment!

Which came first — the chicken or the egg?
At CM it was the chickens, as the Crotched Mountain School Farm Program welcomed chicks to the mountain.
A chicken hoop house frame was constructed and transported to the CM campus by our friends, the farmers at Sunnyfield Farm.
The design allows the chickens to be on grass in a pasture where they supplement their diets with bugs and grasses and,
in return, deposit free fertilizer to the field.
The light-weight structure is moved by sliding it across the grass every few days to provide fresh ground to the chickens.
Students and staff in the Farm Program and Earth Connections classes installed the door and attached poultry wire to the
exterior.

LOCAL TASTES RAISE $36,000
Crotched Mountain held its first ever Harvest Tasting, a dinner featuring local foods and beverages to celebrate the
rich bounty of the Monadnock Region.
The main courses, cheese and dessert were paired with specially selected local wines with commentary by wine writer Jim
Beauregard, whose weekly column “Notes from the Vine,” appears in the Manchester Union Leader.
Many of the courses showcased produce from Crotched Mountain’s own Cornucopia Gardens and Sunnyfield Farm, an organic farm
owned by Crotched Mountain and located in Peterborough.
Crotched Mountain’s Dining Services department catered the gourmet dinner.

FAREWELL TO A HERO
MUCH HAS BEEN WRITTEN about Eunice Kennedy Shriver in the days after her passing.
She was a great woman who helped change the world for people with disabilities.
She was the founder of Special Olympics.
There are over 160 countries that participate in this movement today!
I was honored to have met Mrs. Shriver twice.
The first time was in July 2003, when I received a call from her office.
She was to behonored later that month during a Red Sox game at Fenway Park along with Travis Roy, a young hockey player
disabled by a spinal cord injury, and Cale Bullis, a Crotched Mountain School student and Special Olympic athlete, as part
of the Exceptional Parenting Disabilities Awareness event, observed at all major league baseball parks that day.
She wanted to know a little bit about Cale before meeting him that night.
Cale was honored to meet her, and Mrs. Shriver seemed just as honored to meet him.
She sent him a handwritten letter after the event.
Then, in July 2006, a number of Special Olympic athletes from Crotched Mountain participated in the National Games in Ames,
Iowa.
There were many celebrities and politicians who took part in the Opening Ceremonies.
Despite her standing as founder of Special Olymics, Mrs. Shriver played no public role in the ceremonies.
However, we saw Mrs. Shriver at our Motor Activities Training Program (MATP) competition.
One of the smallest venues, it was comprised of athletes with the most significant disabilities.
Mrs. Shriver sat right next to Dana Pappalardo, mother of CMS student Joe Pappalardo, who was participating in MATP
volleyball.
She struck up a conversation with Dana, and they spent the next few minutes together talking and cheering Joe on.
Then, the founder of this incredible organization, the woman who proved that sports can change the world and was witness
to it through Joe and his mom, was on her way to the next venue.
—GEOFF GARFINKLE Director, Therapeutic Recreation

HORIZONS 
Published by The Office of Advancement
Editor: Robin Boyd
robin.boyd@crotchedmountain.org
Crotched Mountain Foundation
One Verney Drive
Greenfield, NH 03047
603.547.3311,ext.1490
Please write us at the above address if you wish to have your name removed from fundraising requests supporting Crotched 
Mountain.

Thanks to OurPhotographers:
Robin Boyd, Joan Crooker, Geoff Forester, Michael Havey