Message from the president
In what seemed to be one of the least controversial Presidential elections in recent years, I took over the role of Moose Pond Association (MPA) President from Mark Patterson at the end of this year’s annual meeting — a event that was held at the Shawnee Peak ski area on Saturday, August 21, 2021. I have been the MPA’s VP for several years now and, before that, was the Clerk/Recording Secretary.
I would be remiss if I did not start this letter by thanking Mark Patterson for his many years of service on the board and for being our most recent President. He has been involved in the MPA from its humble beginnings in 2008, was the organization’s original VP and has put in a countless number of hours over the years to help the MPA both survive and thrive. Under Mark’s leadership, we increased our membership numbers (and related revenues) and that revenue boost allowed the MPA to increase our efforts to protect the lake that we love. During Mark’s tenure we expanded the number of Courtesy Boat Inspector (CBI) hours at both the Bridgton and Denmark boat launch ramps, partnered with the Lakes Environmental Association (LEA) to conduct more extensive invasive plant and watershed surveys, launched a new website and Facebook group, introduced the membership to the important LakeSmart property inspection program and expanded the board to include representatives from all three basins. I am delighted to say that Mark has agreed to stay on as an active MPA board member and I look forward to leveraging his wisdom as the organization’s newest President. Thank you, Mark!
I have been in the business world for my entire 37-year career and one of my role models (Charlie) used to encourage all of us who would listen to him to periodically remind clients why they decided to hire us in the first place. He used to say that you should not assume that even a very long-term client will remember what it was about you (or your firm or your product) that they found valuable when they first decided to work with you. And so, “every once in a while,” Charlie would say, “try to bring that back into the discussion.”
With that in mind, I hope that all of you will remember why you decided to join the Moose Pond Association in the first place and why you continue to renew your membership each year. We all love Moose Pond. I have been coming to the lake for more than 30 years. My girls both went to Camp Wyonegonic and they basically grew up on the lake. A number of my fellow board members have been coming up to Bridgton and spending time in and around Moose Pond for 40 (if not 50) years or more. We all have vivid memories of fun times with friends and family enjoying all that Moose Pond has to offer and want to make sure that those opportunities persist during our lifetimes. And, of equal or maybe even greater importance, we want our kids and grandkids to have the same chance to enjoy our wonderful lake as we have.
The MPA’s stated goal is: “Helping to maintain and improve the quality of life on Moose Pond for all to enjoy for generations to come.” We are an action and awareness organization and not an enforcement organization. On the action front, we partner with the LEA to monitor our lake’s health by tracking a variety of water quality measurements throughout the year. We have LEA perform shoreline surveys to try to catch unwanted plants and animals before they have a chance to spread. And, more importantly, we fund the CBI and boat wash station programs so that we can do our best to prevent invasives from entering Moose Pond in the first place. We work with LEA and others to perform watershed surveys to look for “hot spots” where poor grading and/or erosion can encourage phosphorus-laden runoff to enter the lake and are willing to partner with property owners to help them implement fixes. On the awareness front, the MPA, along with great partners like the LakeSmart program, tries to make members and non-members alike aware of what they can do to make their properties more “lake friendly” and try to remind motorized boaters about the impact that their wakes can have on important issues such as shoreline erosion, the stirring up of bottom sediment, disturbing loon nesting grounds and the impact that their boating behavior can have on swimmers, docks and non-motorized watercraft.
Your support is invaluable. Thank you for being members. Please encourage your friends and neighbors to join the MPA if they are not current members and please let me know if you think it would be helpful for me to come a speak at your annual neighborhood (or road association) meeting to make the case for MPA support.
Lastly, I want to thank the MPA board members for their service and their willingness to contribute articles to this current version of our Moose Pond Matters newsletter. I hope you enjoy reading it and please let me know if you have any ideas for future articles as well as any other things that you think the MPA board should be thinking about.
See you on the lake,
Chip Wendler, MPA President
Middle Basin Resident
30+ Years on the Lake
chipwendler@gmail.com