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Yosemite
Association
2004 Annual Report
| For YA's 2004 IRS 990 form, click here. |
| For YA's 2004 audited financial statement, click here. |
Summary
Board and Staff
Sales and Publications
Membership
Volunteers
Contributions
Outdoor Adventures
Ostrander Ski Hut
Wilderness Center
Art Activity Center
Statement of Financial Position
Statement of Activities, 2004
Park Events for 2004
Annual Report for 2003
Annual
Report for 2002
Annual Report for 2001
Annual Report for 2000
SUMMARY
Though it featured little of last year’s fanfare attendant to our 80 th anniversary, 2004 was equally special for the Yosemite Association. It may sound odd to say that it was exciting to close our Yosemite Valley Visitor Center Store, but exciting it was. In November we moved our sales operation to the Wilderness Center for the winter and watched as our sales facility was transformed and improved in our first major remodel in nearly forty years. The results? Those will be included in next year’s annual report!
We are grateful to the several hundred YA members who donated to our annual campaign in support of the new store (and other initiatives). The gifts totaled over $107,000. Thanks to them, we will be able to make the sales outlet as attractive and efficient as possible for millions of park visitors.
One of our proudest moments occurred in August when Yosemite Association volunteer coordinator Virginia Ferguson received the 2003 Yosemite Fund Award for her ten years of service at Yosemite National Park. Virginia spends five months every summer working without pay for YA in the park, organizing as many as 75 volunteers who assist and orient park visitors. Her many contributions over the years to benefit Yosemite and our organization are greatly appreciated and her award (as an “unsung hero”) very much deserved.
Our reinstatement of the Student Intern Program in cooperation with the University of California at Merced and the National Park Service (NPS) was a real feather in our cap for 2004. For financial reasons, the program had been suspended for several years, but we pulled together enough resources to bring four culturally-diverse, talented students to the park for a 12-week learning experience. The NPS assigned us a house in Wawona to lodge the interns, and we repaired and furnished it with a special volunteer grant.
During 2004 we made the Student Intern Program the focus of special fundraising efforts, in the hopes that we could expand and enhance the initiative. Our work was rewarded when at the end of December the Morgan Family Foundation notified us we were the recipients of a $35,000 challenge grant for the program. That grant should bring exciting things for the student interns in Yosemite.
At the annual convention of the Association of Partners for Public Lands, YA was honored with several awards for our programs and publications. We received first prizes for our Yosemite Outdoor Adventures program and for our Cooperative Work Weeks Programs, which involves many of our members and four park partner groups.
The year 2004 marked the first time that YA produced an interpretive publication for the U.S. Forest Service, our partner at the Groveland Ranger Station in the Stanislaus National Forest. The brochure is titled “Flowers and Stories of Trumbull Peak,” which location is a Historic and Botanic Special Interest Area.
Another example of partnering was our co-publication with DNC Parks & Resorts at Yosemite of the handsome new photographic book The Ahwahnee – Yosemite’s Grand Hotel by Keith S. Walklet. This title was very popular with park visitors and allowed our organization and the park’s main concessioner to pool our resources and talents to produce a quality interpretive product.
In summary, it was a very rewarding year, filled with important initiatives and projects that allowed us to work with the many capable individuals, companies, and groups that care so much about Yosemite. From members to volunteers to donors to partners, each contributed something important to our work to promote stewardship at the park and to enhance the visitor experience there. We are grateful for that.
Thanks again for helping to make the Yosemite Association an effective and valued partner at Yosemite during 2004.
Steven P. Medley
President
BOARD AND STAFF
Once again the Yosemite Association’s volunteer board of trustees provided invaluable guidance, assistance, and support throughout the year. The talents of the entire board contributed enormously to our successes in 2004. The board was made up of Christy Holloway, Chair, Suzanne Corkins, Vice Chair (replacing Gerald Haslam), Barbara Boucke, Treasurer, Keith Alley, Brad Anderholm, Gerald Barton, Tom Bowman, Jeani Ferrari, Phil Frank, Gerald Haslam, Kimi Hill, Kevin Kelly, Malcolm Margolin, Ellie Nishkian, Lennie Roberts, Tom Shephard, and Phyllis Weber.
Also providing important assistance and remarkable cooperation were National Park Service representatives Mike Tollefson (park superintendent), Kevin Cann (deputy superintendent), Chris Stein (chief of interpretation), and Mary Kline (interpretive branch chief), as well as many other NPS employees throughout the ranks.
In the annual board election held without balloting (no nominations by petition were received at the annual meeting), incumbent Phyllis Weber (who has served the association since 1980) was elected to a new three-year term. Gabriella “Nené” Casares of Fresno was elected to replace Gerald Barton, who left the board for business reasons after six years of dedicated service.
Gerald Barton of Ripon brought needed financial experience and business savvy to YA at a time when our fiscal fortunes had declined. As a key member of the Finance Committee he helped develop a plan to re-invigorate the association’s business and to cut costs and streamline operations. His hard work resulted in a significant turn-around in YA’s financial position and important new fiscal policies and systems. We will miss Jerry and his wife Janet, but are hoping we will still enjoy the benefit of their support and wisdom for years to come.
In other trustee changes, Bradley C. Anderholm replaced Kevin Kelly as the DNC Parks & Resorts at Yosemite representative to the board. Mr. Kelly was promoted to regional vice-president for DNC, and Mr. Anderholm was named to follow him as chief operating officer of the Yosemite operation. As well, long-time Yosemite Fund representative Tom Bowman was appointed to fill a regular board position with the Yosemite Association.
For the first time in several years there were no staff changes to report.
SALES
AND PUBLICATIONS
The Valley Visitor Center emerged as the “most valuable player” in sales I n2004. As history has demonstrated, the performance of the center can make or break our operation, and thankfully it hit a home run this year. The scheduled remodel of the center—the association’s largest retail outlet—was delayed in 2004, but even the temporary location (necessitated by the postponement) proved fruitful: total sales of $705,897 represented an increase of $121,716 over 2003 and a level we have not experienced in the center since 1996. Additionally, despite the fact that sales at the other stations experienced sluggish growth, overall in-park sales revenues exceeded budget by 17% due to the center’s stellar performance. These gains underscored the importance of the remodel project, which was given a new targeted completion date of spring 2005.
Our publishing program continued to issue quality, educational products. Highlights in 2004 included the new book, The Ahwahnee: Yosemite’s Grand Hotel, a collaborative effort with Delaware North Parks & Resorts at Yosemite, along with an attractive gift set of notecards featuring a selection of Chiura Obata’s prints. The association also produced a guide to Trumbull Peak in conjunction with the U.S. Forest Service. We released the fifth edition of The Complete Guidebook to Yosemite National Park, one of our best sellers, and a paperback edition of the popular Missing in the Minarets. Even with our new initiatives, our wholesale business continued to struggle, posting a decline in revenues of 8% from the prior year.
To assist with setting strategy in our sales operations, the board of directors formed a new Retail Committee. The committee will examine our retail locations in 2005 and make recommendations for updates and remodels.
MEMBERSHIP
Our total membership remained stable at 10,073 members for the year. We had a modest year for signing up new members, welcoming 2,448 enrollees through the recruiting efforts of diligent bookstore sales staff, dedicated volunteers, direct mail, and other programs. Our members continued to support our programs and services enthusiastically by volunteering their time, attending Outdoor Adventures, purchasing our books and products, and making generous financial contributions in support of our mission.
The annual Spring Forum was attended by more than 400 members who enjoyed the customarily wide variety of interpretive walks and auditorium programs as well as a Research Library open house under cool but sunny skies. New this year was the offering of a children’s track of programs, which were well attended and which resulted in the commissioning of many new Junior Rangers, to the delight of all who witnessed or participated in the ceremony.
Our twenty-ninth Annual Fall Meeting was held on an uncharacteristically cool and cloudy September day at Wawona’s Pioneer Yosemite History Center. More than 300 members enjoyed the witty observations of guest speaker Royal Robbins as he spoke about the “golden age of climbing,” took part in the many interpretive walks offered, and experienced living history thanks to the efforts of many talented volunteers who staffed the PYHC.
Seventy-four member volunteers contributed 12,073 hours of service in Yosemite Valley, Wawona, and Tuolumne Meadows, providing information services to thousands of park visitors in the twentieth year that YA month-long volunteers have been helping us help Yosemite. In addition, volunteer coordinator Virginia “Mother Duck” Ferguson was honored with the Yosemite Fund Award, in recognition of her decade of service to YA and the park’s visitors.
Fifty-one member volunteers donated 1,700 hours to the park through the Cooperative Work Week program. Participants worked alongside NPS leaders to restore Yosemite’s natural places. Now in its seventeenth year, this program has been made possible by our member volunteers and support from our partners at the National Park Service, the Yosemite Institute, and DNC Parks & Resorts at Yosemite. In an annual competition for nonprofits that support public lands across the United States, YA was honored to accept the Association of Partners for Public Lands’ Media and Partnership Award for best public land improvement program in 2004.
Members responded generously to our annual fundraising campaign by donating over $107,000 in support of the renovation of our flagship year-round Valley Visitor Center bookstore as well as the many other programs and services we provide in Yosemite. We conducted several successful events to recognize our Sustaining and higher level members, along with others who have donated $250 or more to YA in the last year. We are very grateful to several partners who helped us with these events: The Ansel Adams Gallery, which hosted our pre-Spring Forum reception, and DNC Parks & Resorts at Yosemite, which hosted a sumptuous autumn dinner on the Ahwahnee Meadow to honor the association’s $1,000 donors.
YA was gratified to receive a $35,000 challenge grant from the Morgan Family Foundation, in support of the Yosemite Cooperative Student Intern Program. The grant, and subsequent matching pledges by several magnanimous members, is helping the association expand the program size by increasing its funding base to cover the costs of intern stipends, scholarships, supplies, and restoration of several housing in the Wawona area to lodge the interns.
The program began the year on a high note, winning first place at the 2004 Association of Partners for Public Lands Annual Media and Partnership Award for Best On-Site Educational Program. Highlights of our offerings in 2004 included the new Yosemite Birding Festival, a sold-out Weekend with Nevada Barr, the popular Family Camping Jamboree, along with Junior Ranger Adventures, and Yosemite en Español.
Partially due to the new initiatives, we experienced a large increase in enrollments, almost doubling our total participation from the prior year with 900 enrollees (as compared with 475 in 2003). Not surprisingly, the boost in enrollments also allowed us to decrease our operating loss for the year, from a loss of $16,556 in 2003 to $8,866 in 2004.
YA oversaw the winter operation of the hut at the request of the National Park Service. Frequented by wilderness skiers and snowshoers, the hut received over 1,330 visitor nights of use. Primary hutkeepers returning for another fine season were Howard Weamer and Kelsey Ripple.
The Yosemite Valley and Tuolumne Meadows Wilderness Centers were operated for the seventeenth year as a cooperative effort with the National Park Service. A vital information resource for thousands of wilderness travelers, the center also manages the wilderness permit reservation system and bearproof food canister rentals (the latter with the further cooperation of DNC Parks & Resorts at Yosemite). The center booked 22,600 permit reservations and 9,730 canister rentals in 2004. Generous donations for the purchase of replacement canisters were received throughout the year, which helped YA maintain this important program to protect Yosemite’s bears.
The twenty-third season of the Yosemite Art Center (formerly known as the Art Activity Center) welcomed 2,898 participants who registered for free painting, drawing, and sketching classes taught by visiting artists in the park. YA continued to sponsor this popular program with DNC Parks & Resorts at Yosemite and the NPS.
STATEMENT
OF FINANCIAL POSITION
For year ending December 31, 2004
| ASSETS | |
| Cash and cash equivalents |
$754,660
|
| Accounts receivable |
88,777
|
| Prepaid expenses |
23,999
|
| Inventory |
701,082
|
| Property and equipment |
161,880
|
| TOTAL ASSETS |
$1,730,398
|
| LIABILITIES | |
| Trade accounts payable |
$38,381
|
| Deferred revenues |
28,315
|
| Loan payable |
111,593
|
| Royalties payable |
33,053
|
| Other accrued liabilities |
50,221
|
| TOTAL LIABILITIES |
$261,563
|
|
NET ASSETS |
|
| Unrestricted: | |
|
Undesignated |
$877,925
|
| Temporarily restricted |
255,910
|
| Contingency reserve |
335,000
|
| TOTAL NET ASSETS |
1,468,835
|
| TOTAL LIABILITIES AND NET ASSETS |
$1,730,398
|
| REVENUES, GAINS, AND OTHER SUPPORT: | |
| Contributions |
$137,418
|
| Auxiliary activities | |
| Publication sales |
1,866,017
|
| Outdoor Adventures |
115,183
|
| Memberships |
544,395
|
| Investment income |
3,989
|
| Other income |
6,655
|
| Wilderness programs |
215,552
|
| Restrictions satisfied by payments |
145,984
|
| TOTAL REVENUES, GAINS, AND OTHER SUPPORT |
$3,035,193
|
| EXPENSES | |
| Cost of Sales: | |
|
Publication costs |
$1,571,140
|
| Auxiliary activities: | |
|
Outdoor Adventures |
125,340
|
|
Wilderness programs |
166,230
|
| Supporting services: | |
|
Management and general |
351,437
|
|
Membership |
337,771
|
| Aid to National Park Service |
411,892
|
|
2,963,810
|
|
| CHANGE
IN UNRESTRICTED NET ASSETS |
$71,383
|
| TEMPORARILY RESTRICTED NET ASSETS | |
|
Contributions |
$80,498
|
|
Auxiliary activities |
121,119
|
| Designated Programs | |
| Net assets released from restrictions | |
|
Restrictions satisfied by payments |
(145,984)
|
| INCREASE
IN TEMPORARILY RESTRICTED NET ASSETS |
55,633
|
| INCREASE IN NET ASSETS |
127,016
|
| NET ASSETS, AT BEGINNING OF YEAR |
1,341,819
|
| NET ASSETS, AT END OF YEAR |
$1,468,835
|
PARK EVENTS IN 2004
February
*The federal budget included a proposal to raise the rent that San Francisco pays for its Hetch Hetchy reservoir in Yosemite National Park from $30,000 a year to $8 million, inciting immediate opposition from some of California's most powerful members of Congress. This change would have required legislative action, which has not occurred to date.
*John Hawksworth, tireless volunteer steward of Yosemite’s giant sequoias, died.
April
*The US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals directed the National Park Service to prepare a revision to the Merced Wild and Scenic River Comprehensive Management Plan and Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement that adequately addresses user capacities throughout the entire corridor and properly draws the river boundary in El Portal. While the Court’s decision upheld the other elements of the plan, work had to be stopped on seven construction projects; media attention toward the interrupted work was intense.
*Secretary of the Interior Gale A. Norton celebrated Earth Day by touring Yosemite Valley.
*Bill Krause, a long-time association member, park resident, and naturalist died at the age of 84.
June
*Park officials dedicated the Wawona Covered Bridge to commemorate an extensive restoration project for this structure listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is one of two covered bridges owned by the National Park Service and one of 13 in California.
*The University of California at Merced and Yosemite and Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks opened the Yosemite Field Station in Wawona, which will be managed as part of UC Merced’s Sierra Nevada Research Institute.
*The Wawona Hotel’s 125th anniversary and the Pioneer Yosemite History Center’s 40 th anniversary were marked.
*Jane Gyer, a versatile and talented artist considered by many to be the first lady among contemporary painters of Yosemite, died at age 78.
July
*Widespread lightning activity ignited numerous fires in the park, including the Meadow Fire, which experienced sudden growth during the month. It was eventually contained at 4,777 acres.
*A yearling black bear and its mother were euthanized by park authorities after the yearling reportedly injured a young hiker and regularly approached people in search of food; the mother encouraged the bold behavior by teaching her cubs how to scour campsites for food.
August
*Long-time YA volunteer Virginia Ferguson was honored with the Yosemite Fund award for her decade of service to the park and its visitors.
September
*A celebration was held to mark the fortieth anniversary of the Wilderness Act, which brought legislative protection and definition to America’s wilderness, and twentieth anniversary of the California Wilderness Act which officially designated the Yosemite Wilderness.
October
*One hundred five park rangers and search and rescue personnel were involved in rescue efforts for seven climbers on four different routes on El Capitan caught during the first major storm of the season. Two climbers were deceased by the time a team reached them; five others were rescued.
November
California Secretary of Resources Mike Chrisman directed the Department of Water Resources (DWR) and California State Parks and Recreation to undertake a comprehensive study of the costs and benefits of restoring Hetch Hetchy Valley.
December
Yosemite historian and prolific writer Shirley Sargent died at age 77.