HORIZONS
A NEWSLETTER FOR FAMILIES AND FRIENDS OF CROTCHED MOUNTAIN
WINTER 2008
VOLUME 8 - NUMBER 1

On Protecting Our 1,165 Acres: ANote of Gratitude.
by Don Shumway
President and CEO
IN DECEMBER, we were pleased to learn that Crotched Mountain was awarded $1 million through the federal Forest Legacy Program 
in partial compensation for the permanent protection of 1,165 acres of biologically diverse property surrounding our campus.
The award is the result of a rigorous and competitive two-year application process that considered the parcel’s potential for
public recreation, wildlife and watershed protection, benefits to regional economics, and scenic and cultural values.
The easement holds great value in all these areas, but we are most excited about its potential to be one of the most 
significant universally accessible centers for outdoor recreation in the nation.
A model of compliance with the Forest Service civil rights policy, the plan features more than four miles of accessible 
trails, camping, watersports, outdoor education, archery, shooting and hunting, wintersports and other activities designed 
to be accessible for people with disabilities.
In addition, the property is the northern anchor of a proposed 15-mile conservation and recreational corridor, which is a 
high priority for numerous local and regional conservation organizations.
The estimated total value of the easement is $2.75 million.
Our project will continue to be evaluated through the Forest Legacy Program for additional funding.
Our thanks to our congressional delegation, especially Sen. Judd Gregg, for their support.
With trail construction already well underway, our dream of recreational opportunities for everyone is within reach.
We were also gratified to learn of another appropriation, announced by Sen. John Sununu’s office.
Our wastewater treatment facility will receive $295,320 as part of the 2008 Omnibus Appropriations Bill.
These funds will go toward replacing our wastewater treatment facility, which is aging and of limited capacity.
This upgrade is of vital environmental importance as our campus is adjacent to several important headwater streams.
And, as always, we are most grateful for the help of our donors, whose consistent and generous support is the foundation for
all we do.
To learn more about our accessible recreation program, contact the Advancement Office, 603-547-3311 for a brochure.

CROTCHED MOUNTAIN REINVENTS THE D.U.M.P
CROTCHED MOUNTAIN is reinventing the DUMP, or Department of Unlimited Materials Processing—more commonly known as recycling.
In a recent three-month period, Crotched Mountain recycled 29.6 tons of paper.
At 17 trees per ton, that adds up to approximately 503 trees spared.
In the same period, we recycled 20.5 tons of scrap metal and 80 cubic yards of aluminum, tin cans and plastics.
In dollars, that earned the organization $5,000 in commodity sales and saved $7,000 in disposal fees.
But that’s only the tip of the compost pile, because the real commodities at Crotched Mountain’s Recycling Center are the 
experience, skills and pride the program offers to the many Crotched Mountain School (CMS) students who work there.
According to Paula Lombardi, career development teacher, the students experience a genuine work environment.
“They work with other paid staff in the recycling center, building relationships, learning to adapt to new situations, and 
ultimately feeling the gratification that comes from seeing how their work fits into the bigger picture,” says Paula.
Almost every student spends some class time at the Center’s universally accessible work stations, says Paula, who works along
side the students several days per week sorting plastics, paper, metals and glass, which are prepared for market and sold to 
manufacturers and materials brokers for reuse.
The Center strives toward what Susan Mansfield, who oversees special projects, calls “closed loop” recycling, which the 
Center does with high grade paper that is shredded, baled and sold to a local paper manufacturer who turns it around and 
sells it back to Crotched Mountain as tissue paper.
“The work, resources and energy stay in the local economic stream,” Susan points out.
But even with all those trees saved and local economies bolstered, “this is so much more than recycling,” says Susan.
“Students are exposed to good work ethics, productive work relationships and a commitment to quality, all of which will serve
them well in life.
And the movement of this program to the new Skills Center was tremendously important, as it added a lot of space, all of it 
accessible.”
Susan’s dream is to develop a computer recycling center to employ students after graduation.
“It’s a specialized service with real market potential, and it’s a perfect skill set for so many of our students.”
 
BUILDING A BETTER MOUSETRAP
FROM DUCT TAPE TO ELECTRONICS, ATU SOLVES PROBLEMS
Assistive Technology - that is, any adaptation to a process or product to make it more accessible to someone with a 
disability-is not always about bells, whistles and blinking lights.
According to Crotched Mountain's Assistive Technology Unit (ATU) director, Dave Kontak, it's about listening to what a 
person wants to accomplish and "opening our minds to new ways of doing things."
With a background in the arts, music and occupational therapy, Dave is uniquely qualified to listen, observe and solve.
His specialty is the design and construction of adaptive musical instruments, and he has presented his work at many 
conferences across the country.
“My job is not merely about technology, ”Dave emphasizes.
“It’s about helping people.
Technology is a means to an end, not the end.”
It is with this in mind that the ATU staff provides an array of technical and clinical supports to clients across all 
Crotched Mountain’s rehabilitation and education programs.
“The creative part of this job is what makes it unique,” Dave says.
“We are consistently asked to create solutions for new and challenging situations.
For example, we’re currently working on a method for one-handed knitting for a patient in the Brain Injury Center.
To be successful, we have to be open to new ideas in order to provide solutions that are practical and effective.”
Dave doesn’t accomplish this by himself.
Peter Leavitt, the ATU shop foreman, is well known as one of the best rehab technicians in the region.
Crotched Mountain staff, clients and family members have benefited from hundreds of Peter’s practical, creative and effective
solutions.
If there’s a way to attach a communication device, laptop, arm support or other item to a wheelchair, Peter will find it.
Along with technician Doug Tracy, often assisted by interns from Korea, the team fixes or modifies everything from nylon 
straps to electronic lifts.
At many rehab centers, broken equipment is sent out for repairs that may take days or weeks to complete.
Here, the ATU shop often has the equipment back in service in a matter of hours.
All of this expertise translates to greater freedom and independence for many people with disabilities.
Jennifer, a young woman in the Crotched Mountain community with cerebral palsy, cannot speak and relies on a wheelchair for
mobility.
After much experimentation, Jennifer, her therapy team and ATU discovered that she could operate a head array (a head rest
with controls inside the pads) which enables her to control a power chair using her head and one elbow.
Jennifer has gone on to safely travel all around the Crotched Mountain campus, was a founding member of the adaptive dance
group and played a leading role in The Nutcracker.
With the help of ATU technician Linda Beliveau, teachers at Crotched Mountain School use technology to help students
communicate and develop sequencing, image recognition and discrimination, and decision making skills.
Each student is unique, as are the solutions that serve them.
“Whatever we do here, whether it’s mobility, communication or education-related, we do it with an eye toward outcome,
cost-consciousness and long-term planning,” saysDave.
“And we try to integrate and adapt current trends and products, such as the Nintendo Wii, into the therapeutic mix.”
From virtual reality to the Wii system, musical instruments and more, ATU adapts consumer products for interactive therapy,
upgrades working systems to meet new skill levels and creates prototypes.
There are no typical users or problems.
Each solution is brand new.
Whether the goal is wheeling, speaking, dancing or reaching, ATU will take it a little—or a lot—further.

ROBOTS IN ACTION
ROBOTS aren’t just the stuff of science fiction.
They’re the stuff of the ATU too.
Crotched Mountain has partnered with University of Massachusetts, Lowell, supported by a two-year grant from the National
Science Foundation, to redesign the interface for a wheelchair-mounted robotic arm to make it more user-friendly and
affordable.
Crotched Mountain students, patients and residents test drive interfaces provided by UMass to determine which work best 
under various conditions and demands.
Crotched Mountain previously partnered with UMass to test a self-navigating wheelchair.
Dr. Holly Yanco and her staff at UMass are focused on advancing the use of robotics as an aid to humanity.
We share that vision and look forward to a long and productive partnership as we continue to connect people with technology
in a quest for personal choice and independence.

WE WELCOME THREE NEW TRUSTEES
LAURIE CHANDLER is the managing director of Vigilant Capital Management LLC, a private wealth management firm with offices
in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and Portland, Maine.
A former senior vice president of Fleet Private Clients Group, she currently serves as vice chair and is a commissioner of
the New Hampshire Commission on the Status of Women.
She is a past chair and current board member of the Estate Planning Council of New Hampshire; a founding member and advisory
board member of the Women’s Business Center of New Hampshire; and advisory board member of Families First of the Greater
Seacoast.
In 2002, she received the Small Business Administration Women in Business Advocate of the Year Award.

BRUCE KING is president and CEO of New London (NewHampshire) Hospital.
He is a Certified Fellow of HFMA and a member of the Dartmouth Medical School Clinical Faculty.
He joined the Dartmouth-Hitchcock organizations in 1987 as a vice president of Finance and later became vice president of
Contracting and Network Development for Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Alliance and 
Dartmouth-Hitchcock Clinic organizations in New Hampshire and Vermont.
He is treasurer of the State of New Hampshire Health Plan and serves on the boards of the New Hampshire Hospital Association,
Foundation for Healthy Communities and New England Life Care.
He is chair of the Rural Health Coalition, Region I Appointee for MCHB-HTC and a member of the Ledyard National Bank 
Advisory Board.

SUSAN REEVES serves as the chair of Nursing at Colby-Sawyer College in New London, New Hampshire, and is a vice president at
Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center.
A registered nurse, she graduated in 1980 from the Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital School of Nursing.
She received a BS in nursing from Colby-Sawyer College in 1988 and earned an MS in nursing from the University of New
Hampshire in 1991.
She is currently a doctoral student at the University of Vermont in the School of Education’s Educational Leadership and
Policy Studies program.

THE FACE OF PHILANTHROPY
Planned Giving for 2008
by Shari Landry, Vice President of Development
IT’S A NEW YEAR, and a great time to begin planning your charitable giving.
Planned gifts provide many advantages, as can be seen in the list at right.
Crotched Mountain relies on financial assistance from people like you to continue our important work.
For more information, call or email Shari Landry, Vice President of Development: shari.landry@crotchedmountain.org or
call 603.547.3311, ext.1483.

PLANNED GIVING ADVANTAGES
Make a larger charitable gift than you thought possible
Increase your current income
Plan for the financial needs of a spouse or loved one
Provide inheritances for your heirs at a reduced tax cost
Reduce your income tax and/or avoid capital gains tax
Diversify your investment portfolio
Receive income from your personal residence or farm
Plan for the transfer of your business
Leave a charitable legacy for future generations

BRIEFLY NOTED
TAKING THE POLITICAL PULSE 
CMS students had their fingers on the political pulse as they voted in a mock primary January 8.
Not surprisingly, the outcome mirrored that of the general public — yes, despite polls to the contrary — Hillary Clinton
and John McCain came in first.
Teacher Karen Ricciardi says students cast votes in every election as part of their current events studies.
The polls are adapted for universal accessibility with paper and electronic balloting.
With voting completed by 1:00 pm, and a 58 percent voter turnout, CMS called the election results hours ahead of the
mainstream media.

WHEN TREES TALK AND WALK
CM staff and interns spread holiday cheer as they toured the campus sporting their hand made tree, elf and reindeer costumes,
all in the spirit of the season.
Meanwhile, long-time supporter Herb Simpson, who has visited the mountain for more than 25 years, and his elf-assistant
Cristy, brought holiday gifts for the kids from his Masonic and church communities in Marlborough, MA.

WE WELCOME OUR NEW CFO
Crotched Mountain welcomes our new vice president of finance and CFO, Randal Loubier.
Randy comes to us from Atomic USA in Amherst, NH where he served as senior vice president, COO and CFO.
In announcing the appointment, Don Shumway said, “His financial experience, leadership and understanding of our mission are
precisely the skill set we need to guide our operations and to help us move the organization forward.”

SILC IS RECOGNIZED
Statewide Independent Living Council (SILC) Chair Dorine Pelletier accepted a Certificate of Recognition for SILC’s work and
collaboration with the Governor’s Commission on Disabilities, NH Vocational Rehabilitation, and the NH Division of Personnel.
Under Pelletier’s leadership, SILC excelled in developing collaborative relationships to help New Hampshire’s citizens with
disabilities become independent members of their communities.
Dorine is a senior accountant at Crotched Mountain.

CMS ANNUAL PRODUCTION IS SRO
AS USUAL, both performances of Crotched Mountain School’s annual holiday production were standing room only.
The musical Oliver! was the perfect vehicle to showcase the many talents of students, school staff and other CM employees as
they sang, danced and acted their way to campus celebrity.
Kudos to director and performing arts teacher Bonnie Arpin and her assistants, who brought together ideas, people, sets,
sound, music and lighting to produce an entertaining and fun-filled event.

CLINTON HILLIARD SERIES, SPRING PROGRAMS
Talks and presentations featuring insights from people with disabilities who share their stories and wisdom.
All events are free and open to the public.
“Including Samuel”
A Film & Discussion with the Filmmaker Dan Habib
Wednesday, March 19, 3:15, Carter Hall
DAN HABIB’S documentary, Including Samuel examines the educational and social inclusion of youth with disabilities.
The film is built around the efforts of Habib and his family to include Samuel, 7, in all facets of school and community 
life.
Including Samuel also features four other families with varied inclusion experiences, plus interviews with dozens of 
teachers, young people, parents and disability-rights experts.
Dan Habib is the director, producer and cinematographer of the film which recently won the annual Positive Images in Media
award from TASH, an international group committed to the full inclusion of people with disabilities.
The film was also named “Best Documentary” of the 2007 Somewhat North of Boston Film Festival.

Saying the Four Things That Matter Most
Ira Byock, MD
Tuesday April 8, 3:15, Carter Hall
LIFE CAN be difficult.
Relationships are often difficult.
After 20 years’ experience with patients and families facing profound challenges, Dr. Ira Byock has seen that four simple
phrases can help us through the unpredictability of daily life.
Dr. Byock will discuss how saying the four things that matter most can reconcile the rifts that divide people, cut through
old history and improve all relationships.
Ira Byock, MD is a nationally recognized authority in palliative and end-of-life care, and a long time advocate on behalf of
seriously ill people and their families.
He has authored numerous articles on the ethics and practice of hospice, palliative and end-of-life care.
His first book, Dying Well, (1997) has become a standard in the field.
His most recent book, The Four Things That Matter Most, (2004) is published by the Free Press.

Adaptive Sports, Life and Adventuring
Tyler Walker
Monday May 12, 3:15, Carter Hall
SKIING since the age of 13, Tyler rapidly worked his way up the competitive ranks to join the US Disabled Ski Team at 16.
He competed at the 2006 Paralympic Winter Games in Torino, Italy where he placed fifteenth in the Downhill event, eleventh
in the Super G, sixth in the GS and fourteenth in the Slalom.
He most recently won the gold at X-Games-11 held in Aspen, CO in January 2007.
Tyler Walker is a University of NewHampshire student and member of the U.S. Disabled Ski Team.
A double-amputee since the age of four, Tyler has met with great success skiing competitively on a mono ski.
This series is made possible by gifts in memory of Clinton Hilliard, former head of the Speech Department at Crotched Mountain.

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 fund-raising requests supporting
Crotched Mountain.