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Thank You Anne Vetterlein!
Most of our members have talked and/or received e-mail from Anne at some point in her 23 years of service to the ACA. Anne is retiring after a great career as the ACA’s Membership Director and we want to wish her well.
ACA staff welcomes Kelsey Bracewell
The Director’s Eddy S
Department: Safety Education, Instruction and Outreach
Title: SEI Coordinator
plash! The kid in the bow shouted a word he probably shouldn’t have and by the look on his face, either Loch Ness’ Nessie slapped the water in front of us or the Yeti threw
a rock at the boat. Normally, I’m the guy who witnesses a rare sighting in nature whether it’s a stingray
jumping over the bow of the boat, the green flash at the very end of a sunset, a bear carrying a salmon on its shoulder while walking on its hind legs through a creek, a water snake curling around a thwart for a ride down the French Broad, or a tarpon repeatedly bumping the bottom of my boat as if he needs me to do something . Now that I’m working crazy hours and have two kids, I don’t get out on the water as
often as I should (funny for an ED of a paddling organization to say!). I must admit, though, that a part of me wants to see some bizarre natural anomaly while I’m paddling, picking up trash, casting a line, or relaxing. However, I find when people ask me for paddling stories I usually tell them about great paddles or general scenery, not the unusual sightings. Everybody has a way he or she classifies a good paddle, but for me it is just about being out in nature and enjoying all it has to offer. I’m often surprised at what I recall about a paddle, but the one consistent underlying theme is that the effort to get away was worth it. The wide-mouthed kid was pointing in the sky, and as I adjusted to the sun I saw a
bald eagle flapping hard after he plucked some lunch a few feet from the bow of the boat. I’m sorry to say I was adjusting my trash bag when the pluck occurred. A rare sighting for the area, I felt lucky just to see the big fellow flapping away.
Wade Blackwood Executive Director American Canoe Association
Profile: After building her love of the outdoors in the mountains of northern Georgia, Kelsey graduated from Brevard College with an undergraduate degree in Wilderness Leadership and Experiential Education. She recently graduated with a Master’s degree in Recreation and Sport Pedagogy from Ohio University and enthusiastically joined the ACA as a part of the Safety Education and Instruction Department.
Prior to joining the ACA staff, she worked at several outdoor adventure summer camps in Western North Carolina, specializing in whitewater paddling. Kelsey holds a Level 4: Whitewater Kayaking Instructor certification, Wilderness First Responder, Leave No Trace Trainer, and has taken an ACA Swiftwater Rescue course.
When not in Fredericksburg, she can be found traveling around the Southeast paddling her favorite rivers: The Green, Chattooga, and Gauley.
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