Greetings from Montreat! This is to share highlights from the fall meeting of the Board of Directors for the Mountain Retreat Association (MRA), which was held last month. Each day began with board-led worship that helped challenge and ground our hearts for the work before us, and this meeting held special significance as we marked the progress made since Hurricane Helene devastated our campus last year.
The meeting included several familiar items of business. The finance committee, for example, heard a report on the current year, which has run ahead of budget. Meanwhile, a number of maintenance and repair concerns continue to require the committee’s attention, the byproduct of a campus with facilities that seem forever in various stages of development and renovation. Regarding funding, the overall trajectory of conversations with our insurers has improved, yet several hundred thousand dollars of unresolved claims remain outstanding. Until these loose ends are addressed, we have chosen to pause additional uninsured recovery projects. Finance will continue monitoring this closely as developments unfold.
The board focused on our newly adopted strategic plan. Staff provided a mid-year update, and we rejoiced that, after a year of work, we are actually implementing a fully active, ongoing plan. Elsewhere, the board reviewed and approved modest changes to our governing documents. Work like this – with its precision and fine-tuning – leaves me grateful that there are people in the world who excel at this kind of thing. (I do not.)
Our development committee received a fundraising update, with the Montreat Fund currently tracking its year-end and fiscal year goals. We also celebrated a major development in our program work with the announcement of the recent grant from the Lilly Endowment. Continuing our partnership with the Black Mountain School of Theology and Community, the grant will enable us to continue convening teams of pastors and lay leaders for shared training in a program that is now in its sixth year. Carol Steele offered helpful updates and context for what this next phase will entail along with a larger program report.
In executive session, the board reviewed the recent ruling from the North Carolina Court of Appeals on our lodge project, a decision that reversed the Buncombe County Superior Court and reinstated the original approval from the Town of Montreat Board of Adjustment.
To add context to these conversations, on Monday afternoon board members joined staff members for a tour of several Montreat lodges. Facilities tours are regular occurrences at our board meetings, and those who participated this time saw plainly both the challenges some spaces present as well as future possibilities.
Finally, the board received an update on the ongoing discussions regarding the Montreat Cottagers’ proposed transfer of the Jane Holt Wilderness to the conference center. Interest is positive, though we are still collecting insurance information so that board members will have the information necessary to make a decision. This will remain an active matter for staff and board.
In summary, the meeting’s discussions reflected both the complexity of the moment and the strength of our trajectory. The road is grounded and also full of promise, and your engagement will continue to be essential as we navigate the next stages of our work. As we look ahead, we do so with confidence in God’s faithfulness and gratitude for this community that makes our ministry possible. Thank you for your continued prayers and support.
In other news, the Mountain Retreat Association is excited to announce the Rev. Dr. Marti Reed Hazelrigg as its next vice president of development. Marti brings twenty-four years of experience as an ordained minister in the PC(USA). Her deep love for Montreat and the church, her proven leadership experience, and her engaging presence make her an ideal fit for this role and a tremendous addition to our senior leadership team. I invite you to read more regarding this announcement here.
More to come,
Richard DuBose
President, Montreat Conference Center
The Mountain Retreat Association, operating under the name Montreat Conference Center, is guided by a Board of Directors. This board consists of 27 members, with 20 required to be ordained officers of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).