Mary Margaret Perhacs began volunteering for ATC in December 2009 and continues to volunteer
when she visits her daughter, Land Protection Manager Carlen Emanuel.
Margaret's earliest contribution was to the land protection office, where she assisted in compiling and organizing boundary maps, organizing and reconciling papers and files, and performing other administrative tasks. Since then, she has worked at ATC's sales distribution center, folding shirts and bandanas, packing map and guide sets, and stamping packages. She also has assisted the membership department by packaging ATC calendars for mailing. Margaret has participated in the boundary management and monitoring of ATC-owned lands and planted trees for the Tree-as-a-Crop project at ATC's Kellogg Conservation Center in Massachusetts.
This summer, she's taken on a new assignment—working with other dedicated volunteers to prepare 2,000-miler packets to send to hikers who complete the entire Appalachian Trail. Information Services Manager Laurie Potteiger says, "Thank you, Margaret! With a record number of hikers reporting completing the Trail this year—and with more reports coming in daily—we appreciate having those packets ready to go."
Margaret has always loved to be outdoors and to swim. As a swimming instructor, she was especially good at teaching those with fear of the water. A talented pianist, she worked as an accompanist and piano teacher, and now volunteers her musical skills at a nursing home and a rehabilitation center when at home in Florida. On her visits to the Harpers Ferry area, she plays during worship services at a local church.
As someone who always strives "to do something worth doing," Margaret, now 88, is looking forward to her next volunteer assignment.