Steve Kulick, Volunteer Extraordinaire

 

Steve Kulick was first elected Chapter Treasurer in 1985, 35 years ago.  Before that he served a couple of terms as Chapter Secretary.  How did this amazing volunteer get started?  And what is his secret?

 

Steve will tell you that he was invited.  Every step of his long journey in the Atlantic Chapter he was invited to join, to participate.  In the beginning, back when Ronald Reagan was president, Steve attended a presentation put on by the Iroquois Group.  Someone invited him back and he attended a few more.  Then someone invited him to join the Group ExCom.  Then someone invited him to run for the Chapter ExCom.

 

When I asked Steve for his advice to today’s Chapter and Group leaders he said that the best way to keep the Club strong is to invite people in and make them welcome.  He quickly added that a volunteer does not have to do the same thing for the Club for a long time, as he has done.  Pointing to John Muir’s famous line, “When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe.” Steve emphasized that there are many, many different things the Chapter is doing all the time so that it is easy for a person to try different things until they find the right one.  He said that he was just lucky to find the right one first thing (35 years!).

 

Steve has followed his own advice.  When Joe Grinnan was first elected Treasurer of the Rochester Group he knew nothing about the job.  Joe told me, “Steve was always very responsive to my questions.  Knowing that I was new, he often gave me the rationale of why things were  the way they are.  Steve helped me get through that first Annual Report.”  Kathy Cronin, Susquehanna Group Treasurer agreed.  She said, “My interactions with Steve were always via email, but he was prompt in his responses and very willing to help when I called upon him.”

 

Former Chapter Chair Rhea Jezer summed it up when she said, “Steve Kulick has literally been the pillar of the Atlantic Chapter for decades. He quietly kept our financial records, gave timely reports, paid bills on time without any fanfare, was an avid environmentalist but never became involved in controversies.”

 

In the 35 years Steve has served as Treasurer he has worked with at least 17 different Chapter Chairs and a host of other Chapter officers.  Sometimes the Chapter’s internal politics have been fraught with controversy.  Steve told me that through it all he tried to be a model of calm, focussing on what was real, the budget and bank accounts.

 

Steve told me that when he began to serve as Treasurer he felt intimidated by having to deal with the National Club.  That is not surprising since, when he took over, the Chapter had overspent its budget and was behind in covering the Chapter staff salaries paid by the Club.  To his delight, however, Steve soon found that everyone in the finance department was friendly and helpful.  And, he said, this is true even to today, when most of the people Steve has worked with over the years have also retired.