It is with great sadness that NorthWoods reports having received news of the passing of one of its early leaders, Don Wilson, earlier this month.
Don had been interviewed last summer as part of a project to document the history of NorthWoods. Don’s energy, sharp memory, and obvious enjoyment from discussing the early years of NWSC made those interviews lively, insightful and rewarding. Although the history project is still ongoing, in honor of Don’s significant contributions to NWSC, the following excerpts from those interviews are presented below.
Don, whose professional career was in insurance in Hartford, CT, one of the leaders during the transition period from which NorthWoods evolved. In the early 1980’s, Bill Manning began planning and operating the Vermont Leadership Center (VLC, incorporated in 1984) on the site now partially occupied by NSWC. During the late 1980’s, VLC began transforming into the NorthWoods Stewardship Center (NWSC, incorporated in 1989). Don spearheaded the series of negotiating sessions with Bill that took place during these transition years. Those sessions resulted in NWSC purchasing 40 acres of land from VLC, including the main lodge (later expanded by the addition of office space on the east side) and two cabins (one was later transformed into the current residence for seasonal NWSC staff).
After the transition, Don became the President of the first NWSC Board. As such, he was active in the group that wrote the by-laws and other papers needed for incorporation. Soon after, Don purchased 250 acres of abutting land that had come on the market. Rather than add it to the NWSC acreage, Don thought that a higher priority was to put conservation easements on the parcel, re-sell it, and donate the profits to NWSC to help defray initial costs of operation. Later, to get the additional acreage needed for NWSC to offer its envisioned projects, Don began investigating purchasing another abutting land parcel of about 1400 acres which had come on the market. That investigation led Don to initiate discussions with Lydia Spitzer, another early Board member. As a result, Lydia agreed to purchase that acreage and gift it to NorthWoods. This enlarged NSWC to its current size of about 1500 acres. Also during these early years, Don and Charles Woods, another early Board member, worked together to write a series of grant proposals to the Freeman Foundation. These successful proposals funded a large part of NWSC’s operating costs throughout in its early years. From these achievements, it is clear that Don had wonderful ideas, and great managerial and interpersonal skills. As a result, NWSC benefited not only materially and financially, but also operationally from the many lasting friendships that were formed. In fact, Bill, Lydia, Charles, and many other former trustees and staff still remain active in NWSC.
Throughout the interviews, Don emphasized the debt that NorthWoods owes to its talented board members and dedicated staff members. In particular, he was complimentary of the staff, not only in its early years, but also continuing to the present. Don repeatedly remarked that staff talent and dedication resulted in their putting forth extra time, effort, and lots of grant proposals that went well beyond their job descriptions and salaries. He thought that was a large part of what made NSWC the respected and successful organization that it has grown into.