Voting for the board of directors for the Association for Challenge Course Technology (ACCT) is underway through Feb. 10. All eligible voters—ACCT members in good standing, which includes up-to-date dues payments—should have received balloting materials for positions they are entitled to elect. All voting will be conducted online.
B2B, B2C, industry stakeholders, affiliate members, and individual members can cast one vote per organization for the general membership seat. Candidates include:
- Leslie Sohl, a member of ACCT who has served in a variety of roles since 2008, from vendor to operator. As an operator she facilitated participants in experiential education programs and guided guests on canopy tours and aerial adventure courses. Her PVM work focused primarily on training and operations. Sohl also has extensive history with ACCT various committees and task forces.
- Olivia “Stretch” Rowland, currently with PVM Challenge Quest, who began as a ropes facilitator in 2014 and has been a ropes course manager, public school teacher, and camp director as well. Olivia has also been a trainer through American Red Cross and USA Archery. She is currently the lead trainer and facilitator as well as a builder and inspector for Challenge Quest.
More complete information on both candidates, including position statements and thoughts on what they can bring to ACCT, is available here.
Professional Vendor Members (PVMs) can also vote for two PVM-elected board members. Accredited professional members in good standing may cast one vote for each seat representing PVMs, for a total of two votes. The two votes may not be cast for the same candidate. To be eligible to vote, PVMs must be up to date on dues payments, annual report, and review requirements.
The candidates for these positions are:
- Kennerly deForest, of Experiential Resources, LLC. Over the past 30 years he has worked for various outdoor ed organizations as a challenge course director and been an active vendor. He founded Challenge Works, Inc., in 1997, and became PVM accredited in 2006 as the qualifying person for install/inspect/training/certification. He currently works for ERi. Within ACCT, he has served as the chair for the review committee and ACC and on several task and work groups.
- Michael Smith, principal of AdventureSmith, Inc., a consultancy specializing in the development, management, marketing, and risk mitigation of adventure parks. He has 25 years of experience designing and developing traditional challenge courses, though he has mostly focused on zip line canopy tours and aerial adventure parks for the past 18 years. In all, he has 28 years of experience as a facilitator, trainer, guide, and operator. He previously served on the ACCT board from 2014 to 2017, currently sits on the Accreditation and Certification Committee, and was on the marketing committee for several years.
More complete information on both candidates, including position statements and thoughts on what they can bring to ACCT, is available here.
