Howard Davis Named Manager for the Appalachian Trail Museum

Feb. 14, 2012 - PRLog -- – Howard Davis of Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, has been named manager of the Appalachian Trail Museum in Pine Grove Furnace State Par k in south-central Pennsylvania.

“As an avid outdoorsman, experienced association executive and frequent museum volunteer, Howard understands the challenges and rewards of recruiting volunteers and managing schedules,” said Larry Luxenberg, president of the Appalachian Trail Museum Society -- the volunteer and donation-driven non-profit organization that founded the Appalachian Trail Museum.   “Howard also will the on-site contact person for museum activities and operations.”

Davis spent 40 years in organizational management serving as executive director of the Pennsylvania Landscape and Nursery Association in Harrisburg and subsequently held the same position with the New Jersey Nursery and Landscape Association in Bordentown, New Jersey.  He has hiked all the Appalachian Trail in West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania and parts of New Jersey, plus numerous local trails.  Many of his days are spent volunteering for trail and boundary maintenance work. He has canoed nearly 100 rivers, streams and lakes throughout the Northeast as well as in Minnesota and Canada. His hobby is restoring vintage wood and canvas canoes.

“On just about any afternoon there are thru hikers or section hikers stopping by the museum to share interesting stories of their experiences on the trail, wildlife sightings, countless vistas, sunny days and not-so- sunny days and camping experiences,” Davis said about the Appalachian Trail Museum’s appeal. Approximately 20,000 visitors from throughout the United States and many foreign countries have come to the museum since it opened in June 2010.

Davis succeeds Margy Schmidt who Luxenberg said set a standard of excellence as the museum’s first manager.  Schmidt has returned to her communications and graphic design business.

The Appalachian Trail Museum hours for 2012 will be noon to 4 p.m. daily from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend, and on weekends from noon to 4 p.m. from Saturday, March 31 thru Memorial Day, and Labor Day to Sunday, October 28, plus Columbus Day.  Davis said to check the AT Museum website at http://www.atmuseum.org/intro.htm for any additional times and for hiking and backpacking related programs at the museum. Anyone interested in becoming a volunteer at the museum should contact Davis at atmuseumgreeters@gmail.com or 717-486-8126.

About the Appalachian Trail Museum Society
The Appalachian Trail Museum Society, a 501-C-3 not-for-profit organization formed in 2002, is organizing volunteers and fundraising nationwide to establish the Appalachian Trail Museum as a tribute to the thousands of men, women and families who have hiked and maintained the 2,184 mile long hiking trail that passes through 14 states from Maine to Georgia. The museum is located in the Pine Grove Furnace State Park in Gardners, Pennsylvania, approximately 15 miles west of Gettysburg.  Additional information is available at www.atmuseum.org.