Maine Canoe Symposium June 5,
6, 7, 2009
Camp Winona, Moose Pond, Bridgton,
Maine
Maine Canoe Symposium June 5,
6, 7, 2009
Camp Winona, Moose Pond, Bridgton,
Maine
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Special Friday
Extended
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This list will change as new pro-staffers come onboard for the 2008 symposium.
Staff & Biographies:
Jim & Lisa Lisius--North American Touring Technique (Sit and Switch) Paddling Style & Symposium Organizer. Jim and Lisa's lives center around water and people. Their careers center on education with Lisa as University Health Center Nurse and Jim as teacher and engineer. Both discovered canoes as children and they met during the canoe racing phase of their lives. They founded the Penobscot Fifty Mile canoe race, lead canoe trips, and teach canoeing and camping skills. Their claim to fame in the canoeing world is that they are the first to complete a continuous people-powered crossing of the United States by canoe. This 5100 plus mile journey changed their lives, their relationship, and their view of the world. They currently live on the banks of the Sandy River in Farmington Falls Maine. They have been Maine Canoe Symposium staff every June since 1995. July and August find them heading north to canoe the Atlantic coast of Labrador with their daughter, River Dawn. Rory Matchett--Whitewater Paddling Skills. New Brunswick Canoe Guide, Moncton, New Brunswick. Rory has been paddling, poling and "playing in canoes" for over 25 years. He is a Canadian Recreational Canoe Association Moving Water Instructor, a Canoe New Brunswick Poling Instructor, a Boy Scout Leader and Trainer, and Treasurer for Canoe New Brunswick. Polly Mahoney--Basic Paddling Skills & Wilderness Tripping. Maine Guide, Mahoosuc Guide Service, Newry, Maine. Polly is a native Mainer with extensive outdoor experience. For ten years she lived a subsistence lifestyle in the bush of the Yukon Territory. Her Yukon huskies were the primary transportation in winter. She and her huskies were featured in the movie "Never Cry Wolf". Seldom has a musher achieved the degree of friendship, loyalty and obedience from a dog team that Polly has accomplished. She has extensive canoe expedition experience into remote areas of the Yukon and British Columbia. Polly's softe-spoken manner and patient style go well with the wilderness she works in. She has emergency medical training as a Wilderness First Responder and is a certified Instructor for Outward Bound. Visit the Mahoosuc Guide Service web site at www.mahoosuc.com. Randy McEwen--Orienteering. Randy McEwen grew up hunting, fishing, and paddling the woods and waters of Aroostook County Maine. Paddling the northern half of the state for 25 plus years, his favorite trip is still the Allagash River which he has been running since 1989. Randy and his wife Mary now make their home in Carmel Maine where he owns and operates Central Maine Navigation, teaching GPS, Map, and Compass navigation skills. He is a Registered Maine Guide and guides paddling, camping, and hiking trips through his other company Raven Outdoor Adventures. In his spare time, he is a columnist for the North Woods Sporting Journal, Assistant Scoutmaster for his son John's Boy Scout troop, and he runs the youth shooting program for the Hampden Rifle and Pistol Club. Ben Meader--Rolling a Canoe. Ben has been canoeing since he was a toddler. An avid canoe tripper and whitewater addict, Ben loves to help people learn that skill many thought was only the domain of kayakers, rolling an open canoe! He has completed many trips down Maine's Dead River, a steady 16 miles whitewater run as well as numerous wilderness trips in Maine, New York, and Canada. John Meader--Astronomy, Weather Reading, and Symposium Organizer. John is an avid paddler and canoe tripper. He has shot and produced an award winning video titled, "Babes in the Woods, Extended Canoe Camping with Small Children." He is a Registered Maine Guide and the owner and founder of Northern Stars Planetarium, a portable planetarium business that visits schools and libraries throughout Maine. John lives in Fairfield, Maine. Visit the Northern Stars Planetarium web site at: www.northern-stars.com Mike Patterson--Canoe Poling, Wilderness Tripping, and Out door Skills. Mike is a very active Maine Guide leading trips throughout Maine, Canada and the Southwest. Mike is eager to share his knowledge and skills with MCS participants. Ray Reitze--Master Maine Guide, Instructor & Naturalist. Ray has been paddling and poling canoes for over forty years. Ray teaches the skills and philosophy of the Elders that have influenced his life since he was a boy. He speaks on wilderness survival at numerous organizations and schools. Ray and Nancy co-author a series of articles on primative skills entitled "Grandfather's Teachings." Ray runs "Earthways Guided Canoe Trips and School of Wilderness Living" with his wife Nancy. Visit their website at: www.earthways.net Harry Rock--Modern
Poling. National Canoe Poling
Champion, Westfield, Massachusetts. Harry is the author of
"The Basic Essentials Mike Shannon is a naturalist, educator, and a Registered Maine Guide. Whether in the forest prowling for owls or aboard ship scanning for pelagic birds, he continues to lead outings for local groups. He is recently retired from Unity College where he taught ornithology and ecological education for ten years. A former director of the National Audubon Society's camps in Connecticut and in Maine (Hog Island), he has also served as a Master Naturalist for the Massachusetts Audubon Society. Mike has a long history of sharing his passion and enthusiasm for things natural.
Kevin Slater--Whitewater Skills & Basic Paddling Skills. Maine Guide, Mahoosuc Guide Service, Newry, Maine. Kevin has been an active guide for 20 years. He has traveled extensively in the north by canoe and dog team with Natives. This has provided him with a deep respect and understanding for the people and their culture. Kevin has done numerous canoe expeditions in Maine, Quebec, Labrador, and a pioneer descent of the Grand Canyon. He is an excellent teacher and a certified instructor-trainer for the American Canoe Association. Kevin has been a Registered Maine Guide since 1976. He is a former Program Director for Outward Bound and taught at the University of Maine where he received a Masters of Education degree in 1984. Kevin is a true craftsman who takes great pride in what he produces from his workshop. In his rare moments of free time he enjoys listening to Celtic music and writes occasionally for Mushing magazine. Visit the Mahoosuc Guide Service web site at www.mahoosuc.com. Kirk Wipper--History of Canoeing & Wilderness Walk. Former president of the Canadian Recreational Canoe Association and the founder of the Canadian Canoe Museum which has the largest collection of historic canoes in the world. Reinhard Zollitsch--Sea Canoeist. Reinhard is a retired professor of German at the Universtiy of Maine. He began canoeing when he built his own canoe in 1974. At that time he began canoe camping with his family then became involved with both kayak and canoe racing. In 1994 he began taking extended solo ocean trips in his 17 foot Kruger sea canoe with a rudder and spray skirt. He made extended trips along the coastlines of Maine and the Maritime provinces of Canada. The culmination of these combined trips adds up to a 4000 mile journey circumnavigation New England and the Maritimes. ZollitschCanoeAdventrues.com.
2004 Schedule of Events - Staff - Featured Speakers - Auction & Door Prizes - Children's Workshops - War Canoe Race - Accommodations & Meals - Camp Winona - Directions - Comments - Registration - Sponsors & Friends of MCS - MCS Poster 2005 - Paddling Primer - Home |
Maine
Canoe Symposium
c/o Winona Camps
35 Winona Road
Bridgton, ME 04009
Reservations: 207-647-3721
Information: 207-892-3121
or email us at: mcs@canoemaine.com
Jane
Barron--Paddling Skills. As a
Maine Guide, Jane has been guiding canoe trips in Maine
for 15 years. She has also done extended trips in
Labrador, Quebec, Yukon, and NWT. Jane owns and operates
Alder Stream Canvas. She designs and makes camping gear
for the outdoors from her home in Kingfield,
Maine.
Shawn
Burke--Paddling Skills and Tripping
Skills. Shawn is an avid canoe
tripper, having paddled many routes of the
Northeast. His longest paddling adventure to date
was a two-month solo venture in Ontario, although he much
prefers tripping with his wife Monica and friends.
He has been known to dabble in poling, running Spring
whitewater, canoe racing, and paddle making.
Shawn has been an organizer and instructor at MCS for the
past nine years. When he isn't paddling he has co-founded
several high-tech startup companies. A Maine
native, Shawn and Monica live in Andover,
Massachusetts.
Jeff
& Lisa Dehart--Traditional Outdoor Skills and
Paddling. Jeff and Lisa both hold
ACA canoe poling placements; Jeff has won several First
to Third placements, and Lisa holds a third in Womens
wildwater. They began Guiding about 7 years ago and began
re-enacting living history in 1994. They live in West
Gardiner, Maine. When not guiding Jeff works for State
Waterways setting the bouys on the lakes in Maine. Lisa
is an Equity Stage Manager at the Public Theatre in
Lewiston, Maine.
Kim
Gass--Freestyle Paddling. Raymond,
Maine. Kim is an ACA instructor in tandem flatwater, solo
flatwater, and solo freestyle. She also is a Canadian
Recreational Canoe Association instructor in flatwater
and lakewater(thats the precision paddling solo of a big
boat). She teaches at La Louisiane Freestyle Symposium
near New Orleans and at the Midwest Freestyle Symposium
in Ohio and the Adirondack Freestyle Symposium at Paul
Smiths, NY, as well as the annual Wooden Canoe Heritage
Association Assembly and Great Camp Sagamore in Raquette
Lake NY. She sometimes competes in FreeStyle canoeing.
She is a Registered Maine Guide. Kim also works for the
Maine Island Trail Association and the Raymond, Maine
Fire Department.
Gil
Gilpatrick--Camping and Canoeing Skills.
Maine Guide, Skowhegan, Maine. Gil
Gilpatrick has spent his life in outdoor Maine. For 26
years he was an instructor of Outdoor Resources at the
Skowhegan Regional Vocational Center. His other major
occupation was guiding wilderness canoe trips in northern
Maine. Gil considers his life, combining these careers,
an ideal blend of his love of the outdoors and that of
making hand crafted items. 
renowned "Peake Brothers" have undertaken amazing
wilderness trips throughout northern Canada. The Peakes
are perrenial favorites at the Maine Canoe Symposium for
their spirited Friday evening slide shows as well as
their entertaining and informative wilderness camping
workshops. Michael is also the editor of Che-Mun, the
Journal of Canadian Wilderness Canoeing. Check out the
Che-Mun website at: 
Lynne
is a Certified Audiologist and an avid hiker. Her
interest in the outdoors dates to childhood explorations
in New Hampshire. Later hiking experiences in the Rocky
Mountains of Colorado furthered her interest and skills.
In Maine she has become an enthusiastic canoe tripper,
with a continuing interest in traditional wilderness
canoe travel. Together, as working professionals, their
trips constitute the BIG VACATION of the year, and they
have developed strategies to increase the enjoyment of
both the trip and the year-round planning. Since 1990,
the Lewises have been exhibitors at the annual
Commonground Country Fair in Maine, with displays and
discussions featuring the wilderness travel skills of the
Maine Guide. They are also members of the Wooden Canoe
Heritage Association, and present their popular workshops
at the annual Assemblies.
Kevin
Silliker--Classic Style Poling.
New Brunswick Canoe Guide, Sunny Corner, New Brunswick.
Kevin has been "messing with canoes" for over 30 years.
He is a Canadian Recreational Canoe Association Moving
Water Instructor, a Canoe New Brunswick Poling
Instructor, a Training Officer for New Brunswick Ground
Search and Rescue, the Founder/Trainer of the Miramichi
Search and Rescue River Team, Secretary of Canoe New
Brunswick, and a Class I Guide.