LPOC builds self-esteem through the satisfaction of achievement while having fun in the mountains. All Club activities foster teamwork, caring for others, and stewardship of the environment. The Lake Placid Outing Club (LPOC) has been providing mountaineering experiences, outdoor education, and fellowship for youths and their families since 1993. The Outing Club is open to all youths of any age an
d any residency and operates without any membership fees or paid personnel. Most simply put, the LPOC is a parent/child mobilization wherein over 40 parent leaders volunteer their time to take over 100 youths, in trip groups of twelve or fewer, on day-long and extended backcountry adventures throughout the year. All trip leaders are family members. In a typical year, LPOC will run approximately 70 to 80 day trips and 10 to 12 extended trips of one to ten nights in length. The Club also conducts at least six fund-raising activities and does 15 to 20 classroom presentations annually for the purpose of interesting new students in the program. LPOC provides trip leader training annually, publishes safety guidelines, adopts the 'Leave No Trace' philosophy, and imposes group size limits which match or are more restrictive than Department of Environmental Conservation regulations. As an extracurricular activity of the Lake Placid Central School, the Club's finances are managed by the School Business Office, although no funding is provided by the School. LPOC is a not-for-profit corporation insured through S. Curtis Hayes in Saranac Lake. Because it is a not-for-profit, and funds are channeled through the School, donations are tax-deductible. The Club's activities are managed by an eight-member Board of Directors comprised of parents all of whom also serve as trip leaders. While LPOC has no paid personnel in any capacity, it does have substantial annual expenses for equipment purchases and repairs, scholarships and subsidies for extended trips (depending upon youths' ability to pay), medical supplies, photography, postage, and insurance costs. These operational needs are met through the generosity of parents and friends of LPOC, grants, and fundraising projects in which our members and their parents participate. Other major sponsors include: the Adirondack Community Trust, Adirondack Lakes & Trails Outfitters, Adirondack Medical Center Foundation Trust, Adirondack Mountain Club's Adirondak Loj, Lake Placid, and North Woods Chapters, Appalachian Mountain Club's Youth Opportunity Program, the Clements Foundation, Eastern Mountain Sports, High Peaks Adventures Guide Service; Ironman, N.A., Lake Placid Education Foundation, the Mountaineer, Stewart's Shops, and the Uihlein Foundation. More detailed information about the LPOC, schedules, upcoming events, may be found at [email protected] or by contacting Board Chairman, Dave Balestrini (518-524-0446), Advisor, Don McMullen (518-523-2754), or by writing the Lake Placid Outing Club, Lake Placid Central School, 34 School Street, Lake Placid, NY 12946.
