Below is a summary of the report made to the Governing Board. 

Human Resources 

Due to budgetary restraints and seasonal staffing needs, personnel were restructured in the following ways: The kitchen staff in Abiquiu was downsized to an average of 32 hours per week (and staff meals, with the exception of volunteers, are being paid by staff) and a different management structure was put into place for food services; the kitchen and housekeeping staff will be restructured in Santa Fe by June 1. The maintenance staff in Abiquiu, not already at 32 hours per week, and the ranchlands staff were downsized to an average of 32 hours per week. The part‑time administrative assistant position for the governing board was eliminated, with the ditties transferred to the executive assistant. Two fill‑time administrative positions were reduced to 32 hours per week and several titles changed to correlate with titles in the PCUSA system. The Site Manager position in Santa Fe was eliminated and currently five members of the management team work one day per week as the Manager on Duty in Santa Fe. A Coordinator of Faith Communities and Campus Relations position was added to the Marketing and Communications Department. A commission‑based Independent Sales Associate was added to Groups and Meetings 34 volunteers were recruited for the spring/summer season in housekeeping, food services, front desk, museums, programs, horse care, farm and maintenance. A former volunteer has been hired part‑time as a writer for marketing and fund development and a new volunteer position is being recruited to set up a communications/press database and to write press releases. The Employee Wellness Program began in January 2009; it includes monthly hikes, first aid and CPR training. Continuing Education is being provided to all staff; to date it has included hospitality training, Ghost Ranch History, Presbyterianism 101, O'Keeffe History, and Ranchlands tours. The College Staff Program was revised to include service to the Ranch and the building of a healthy substance‑free environment. The College Staff Handbook was revised, as were the Personnel Policies for all employed and volunteer ranch staff, the Personnel Policies are still in need of board review. The orientation processes for new volunteers and for college staff have been developed and implemented; the process is being finalized for new employed staff. Incident reports numbered 5 for guests and 3 for staff to date; one injury resulted in a staff absence for three weeks. A new performance evaluation system was implemented; each staff member has measurable performance objectives, is participating in the annual fiend yearly, is responsible for bringing in at least one new donor, group or program participant, and is accountable to the 2009 operational objectives by department. There has been no voluntary turnover in staff for the first quarter.

 

Program

 

The number of program registrants to date is the same as last year at this time, with an increase in overall revenue (see attached report). A new program offering, Interim Pastor Training, was held in February, and placed Ghost Ranch back oil the National Training Schedule for the Presbyterian Church USA. It will be expanded to two weeks in 2010, with specifically designed courses in Transformational Ministry. In 2009, the week attracted 36 participants, most of whom were first‑time visitors to Ghost Ranch, and the goal for 2010 is 80 participants in a two-week program. The first series of shoulder season programming will begin in the fall of 2009 through the winter of 2010. Named the "Resolana Series", it honors the history of the original name of Ghost Ranch Santa Fe. Twelve new course offerings from September '09 through April ' 10 has the potential of adding 150 new participants and $61,500 in additional revenue. A complete system for on‑line registrations has not yet been developed, but an interim step is in place whereby registrants can fill out a registration form on line and email its return; the payment methods are still being handled separately. The program database, and other databases within the Ranch, are in great disarray and are still creating problems for the Ranch and for recipients of our mailings. We have recently selected a software system (see Operations Report) that can provide universal information on all registrants to the different departments that depend on the database. We will implement the first summer of the Youth Service Corps under the leadership of our Youth Chaplain and two college staff. The Youth Service Corps will work on maintenance and environmental projects, as will the Adult Service Corps, and will also do service projects in the larger community of Rio Arriba County. The Youth Service Corps has been designed for two specific audiences; church mission groups seeking service projects during the summer months and teenagers accompanying their parents for multiple weeks at the Ranch during the summer. A new adobe brick‑building venture will be started by two students at the El Rito campus of Northern New Mexico College who are currently volunteers at the Ranch. The farm will also be developed this summer under the leadership of the Youth Chaplain and a volunteer from the local community. The High and Low Ropes courses were inspected in April and passed the inspection. Volunteer work groups assisted in improving the courses prior to the inspection. Casa del Sol now has over 50 Companions who lave made commitments to support the retreat center in terms of time, prayer and financial gifts. The library catalog is now online and can be accessed through ghostratich.library.net. We placed fitness equipment in the Family Center for use by health and wellness programs in the shoulder season; the equipment was either donated or purchased at a low cost. The equipment will be stored in the summer program season. I've received a proposal from staff to expand our horse program/educational trail rides; we began in March to offer O'Keeffe landscape tours by horse and they have been successful. Adding educational rides in a variety of subjects (paleontology, geology, NM history, movie sites, etc.) would mean adding horses, horse supplies, staff and capital improvements to the corral, so the plans are being carefully considered. The job description for the Director of Program has been updated and the search process will begin in the fall of 2009. Jim Baird is retiring in March 2010 and has committed to staying until June 1 if needed to help in the transition process.

 

Museums

 

The museums are now open on Sunday afternoons to accommodate travelers on the highway over the weekends. 1,927 visitors came to the museums through April 10. An additional 507 came to Piedra Lumbre. (In the first three weeks at Piedra Lumbre, visitors came from 38 different U.S. states, 3 Canadian provinces, South Africa, New Zealand, Denmark, Poland, Germany and Great Britain.) Budget cuts in the school districts resulted in fewer school buses available for trips to the museums; museum staff are now taking Ghost Ranch programs into the schools. In January, Stephanie Scissons of the Acoma Pueblo and Janice Tosa from the Jemez Pueblo, received their Florence Hawley Ellis and Andrea Ellis Pueblo Indian scholarship for their spring '09 semester. Chris Crews, a graduate student from Texas Tech, will present his recent work at Ghost Ranch the Society for American Archeology's annual meeting in Atlanta at the end of this month. Alex Downs, our paleontologist, is writing an abstract for presentation at the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology meeting in Bristol, England this fall. The paper will describe a partial skull of Typothorax which was found at the Hayden Quarry in 2008 and was prepared by Alex. Typothorax is the first fossil named from the Triassic in the Southwest in 1875 but the skull has never been described. At Piedra Lumbre, an ancestral Puebloan stone‑bordered garden has been installed in the old mountain lion exhibit and a medicinal plant garden in the Prairie Dog compound.

 

The outdoor information kiosk now has more information on the Old Spanish trail, the Cumbres and Toltec railroad and the Northern Rio Grande Heritage Area. Volunteers have significantly improved the Rocks and Minerals exhibit in the Pack Museum and the O'Keeffe Tower at Piedra Lumbre. Work groups from Kansas University, Michigan State and Menaul High School improved the gallery space and the grounds and readied Piedra Lumbre for its opening on April 1. The first gallery exhibit brought in 145 visitors on its opening day. Fiber Arts students of the El Rito campus of Northern New Mexico College exhibited their work at the anthropology museum and Photography and Pottery students of the Espanola campus exhibited their work at the gallery opening at Piedra Lumbre. The work was quite impressive and 20% of the sales are donated to arts scholarship funds at the College. The Piedra Lumbre contract expires in June 2010; Cheryl Muceus, Len Horan and I have met with Ray Martinez of the Forest Service to review our options in lease renewal or land exchange.

 

Environmental Sustainability and Education

 

This summer, we will hold our second annual program in our Earth‑honoring faith series. Operationally, we are revitalizing our solar energy systems, partnering with the Adobe building program in El Rito, and considering new proposals for wind energy and water use.

 

Facilities

 

Same as the September '08 report: There is no doubt that we need more private rooms. We are currently losing program attendees and groups and meetings because of the limited number of private rooms. We are, however, doing a great job of community service in filling the Abiquiu Inn and other for‑profit beds and breakfasts in the area (whose rates are competitive with ours.) We are also balancing the needs of resident staff and volunteers with the limitations of our current available resident housing. There have been many years of deferred maintenance and we are in great need of facilities improvements, newer vehicles, mattresses and furniture, newer computers, and operational equipment such as boilers, washing machines, food serving lines, etc. Other: The O'Keeffe arroyo project was completed by the Russom Trucking Company in Chama; the final cost came in under budget. The arroyo was rerouted away from the house, the road was rebuilt, and new culverts were installed with double the capacity of the previous culvert. The farm building was renovated into a new volunteer residence with one bedroom, one bathroom and an efficiency kitchen. The renovations to the men's bathhouse in the campground were completed; new plumbing and shower stalls were installed. Based on the state gas inspection and final report issued by Chief Inspector George Watkins, we completed extensive upgrades to the gas delivery systems and appliances to comply with state gas codes; this work was not optional. Detailed copies of the report and our work to date can be made available for your information. (The cost of the repairs to date is approximately $12,000.)

 

The fiber optic cable connection was (finally) completed by Windstream which will improve computer and phone communications; the computer cable was intentionally split by Windstream which resulted in half the speed we had in our existing computer system. This issue is currently being addressed. Renovations have begun in the Office Lounge area to create the coffee shop. Volunteer work groups have been phenomenal and resulting in improvements around the Ranch at a low cost. This includes a new roof on one of the volunteer residences completed at the end of 2008, improvement of the Social Center; and new headboards for the beds in Santa Fe. I have received a staff proposal for an adobe construction program at the Ranch, utilizing students in the El Rito Adobe Program and Ghost Ranch volunteers to construct an adobe entrance way, volunteer housing, and guest rooms in Abiquiu. This would require a strategic plan and detailed cost estimates, staff and building materials and is (another proposal) under careful consideration.

 

Ranchlands

We had approximately 425 cattle in the winter grazing program, down from 2008 due to the amount of overgrazed land we have and drought that reduced the carrying capacity of the pastures. Knapweed eradication continues and the affected areas are being reseeded with grasses. The farm cottage was renovated to provide residence for farm volunteers; portions of the farm land will be cultivated with fruit trees and will also house small livestock animals.

 

Water Rights
The City of Albuquerque has given us a proposal to inundate more acreage around AbiquiuLake for their storage and supply of water. We are working with local landowners and with a water rights attorney in Santa Fe to research the short and long‑term implications of the city's proposal, as well as the current contract with the Rio Chama Acequia.

 

Housekeeping

We implemented an Excel‑based room tracking system, as a stop‑gap measure while researching hospitality software, to provide a data base for monitoring the use of rooms and creating housekeeping schedules. Communication systems between departments have been improved to coordinate room readiness with guest arrivals. Extra linens, color‑coordinated by facility, and towels were purchased to speed room turnover. College staff will assist four hours per week this summer to speed room turnover between program weeks.

 

Finance

 

Internal control procedures are in place, as are procedures to ensure reliable financial data. There is also an improvement in the financial analyses of our data and reconciliations of accounts and departmental data. First Quarter 2009 analysis includes:

 

Program revenue was $38k ahead of budget and $16k ahead of 2008 YTD Groups and Meetings revenue was $49k behind budget but $84k ahead of 2008; B & B revenue was $21 k behind budget and $40k behind 2008. Fund development revenue is in line with the budget and $29k ahead of 2008; NGRF support is $25k ahead of budget, although $80k less than 2008. Operating expenses are $116k under budget and $5k less than 2008, mostly due to personnel changes described previously; all the administrative departments’ expenses are under budget by $49k (included in the $116k above). Several purchases have been delayed to the second quarter, including IT systems, commercial washer, coffee shop equipment, 2°d serving line, and room refurbishing; this amounts to approximately $90k.

 

Information Technology

 

The following list of IT needs outlines priorities for 2009:

 

•  (Upgrades of two servers that are six years old (and at risk for failure)

 

•  Purchase and installation of Quickbooks software

 

•  Upgrade to FileMaker 10.0 (currently at 5.0) to be the system for accommodations, program registrations, meal counts, room cleaning, contracts, and guest/donor information across both locations

 

Note: The licenses purchased for Event Pro, which we've determined can not meet our needs, are being sold by 21" Century so we can recoup our expenses funded by NGRF.

 

•            Check Scanning

 

•            Wireless upgrade

 

Groups and Meetings/Hospitality

 

Several groups who have come to the Ranch (both locations) have cancelled for economic reasons, the host significant being Presbyterian Healthcare Services' leadership retreat which brought in over 450 guests the first week of September. We have been fortunate to have other groups taking their places, but to date we are under budget in groups and meetings revenue. Glorieta Baptist Conference Center outside of Santa Fe has downsized their year‑round operations to summer season only and we have hired their former sates director to work on commission to bring in Glorieta's off‑season groups, as well as other groups, to the Ranch. Several large, off‑season groups have been booked to date. The organization of dining hall and kitchen staff in Abiquiu has been changed to include specializations in cooking and cleaning, to improve inventory process and reduce food costs, and to reduce the dependence on pre‑packaged and processed foods. Customer service will also be improved in the summer with expanded meal times and a second serving like at peak times. The Front Desk hours in Abiquiu have been changed to include coverage over lunch times, as we are seeing an increase in visitors at those times. The number of volunteers at the front desk has been increased, as our Front Desk supervisor will be going on maternity leave in May (it's a girl?). We are also expanding our coverage to handle the volume of people coming into the Ranch on Mondays daring the summer season.