Life Trustees

William (Mack) D. Beal, Jr. – Mack lives in Jackson, NH. He has four grown sons. Mack attended the Brooks School and earned a B.S. from Harvard University in 1946. He attended graduate school at the University of New Hampshire. Mack has succeeded at a number of varied careers. He served as a submarine officer during World War II, as a conservation officer for the state and federal governments, and as a manager in a manufacturing facility. He has been instrumental in a number of north country businesses, including his role as a founder of Wildcat Ski area and the White Mountain National Bank. Since 1970, Mack has worked as an artistic blacksmith, sculpting metal and stone artwork on a commission basis. Mack was introduced to the Observatory as an old hutman, truck driver, and mule driver who worked under the tutelage of Joe Dodge.

Charles W. Burnham – Charlie and his wife Mary Sue live in Durango, Colo. Charlie retired in 1996 after 30 years of teaching and research in the Dept. of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Harvard University. He earned a S.B. (Business & Engineering Administration, 1954) and a Ph.D. (Mineralogy & Petrology, 1961) from M.I.T. He and his wife have two grown sons and six young grand-children. He served as vice president of the Observatory and member of the Executive Committee from 1983 until 1994. Charlie first became acquainted with the Observatory on his first ascent of Mount Washington in 1944 and has been interested in its programs ever since. He became a trustee of the Observatory in 1981 and a life trustee in 1996.

Alain Chardon – Alain and his wife Phoebe live in Westport, MA and Jefferson, NH. They have three grown children. Alain graduated from the University of Minnesota Forestry School and the Fort Belvoir School of Engineering in 1953. In 1986 he retired as the president and general manager of Timberland Machines Inc. following a career of more than 20 years. Today, he runs his own consulting business. Alain became familiar with Mount Washington and the Observatory as a resident in Jefferson, N.H. for 25 years.

Russell A. Cook – Russ lives in Norwich, VT. He graduated from Dartmouth in 1953 and Amos Tuck School at Dartmouth in 1957, and worked as an analyst and then portfolio manager for Colonial Management in Boston for the next 20 years. He now runs his own investment counsel business in Norwich. He is an avid climber and bird hunter. Russ has served as a trustee since 1994, and has offered the Board his considerable expertise in updating the management of our endowment during that period.

Huntington W. Curtis – Hunt lives in Chelsea, NY. A 1942 graduate of William and Mary (double major, Physics and Chemistry), he received an M.S. in 1948 from the University of New Hampshire (EE), and a Ph.D. (also in Electric Engineering) in 1950 from the University of Iowa. After six years as a professor in engineering at Dartmouth College, with a principle interest in ionosphere research, he joined IBM in 1959. Still "with IBM," though retired, he is an Emeritus Scientist at IBM research. While at U.N.H., Hunt spent many weekends working with Joe Dodge on the summit, and on the summit's link to the Blue Hill Observatory and to the weather bureau. While at Dartmouth, he installed a radio station at Hanover on the Mount Washington Observatory frequency to assist in summit research, and made many trips to the mountain as an Observatory research associate.

John (Jack) A. Dunn, Jr. – Jack lives in Jackson, NH with his wife Patricia. They have three grown children. He comes from a distinguished career in management and planning both in manufacturing and in education. During the late 1960s he served as vice president and general manager of a Budd Company subsidiary in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He served as president of Dean College in Franklin, Mass. following a long tenure at Tufts University, primarily as vice president for Planning. Jack became a member of the Observatory in 1995 after moving to the White Mountains. He was the executive director of the Observatory from 1996 to 1998. Jack is board chair for Mountain Top Music Center and is a trustee of Fryeburg Academy, and has been involved with strategic planning and capital funds for both. He was moderator of the Jackson Community Church and led a capital campaign for them. He has also worked with the Jackson Historical Society and the Mount Washington Valley Arts Association. Jack and Patti enjoy music, the arts, and a variety of outdoor pursuits.

Brian K. Fowler – Brian and his wife Betsy live in Madison, NH. Brian received a degree in Geology in 1969 and has worked as a consulting engineering geologist in the construction aggregate and heavy construction industries in various parts of North America since 1972. He is involved in research on the late-glacial geology of northern New England and southeastern Quebec and has published more than 20 professional papers, including the only scientific treatise on the collapse of the Old Man of The Mountain. He and Betsy, along with their daughter Lesley and son Paul, are all active mountaineers and members of the American Alpine Club. In 1974 he, along with the late former trustee Colin Davidson and fellow mountaineer Rick Wilcox, founded the Mountain Rescue Service in North Conway. Brian was introduced to the Observatory during severn summers working for the AMC Hut System, and especially during two working as "croo" and then Hutmaster at Lakes of The Clouds. It is an understatement to say that Brian has been active since becoming a Trustee, having served as President from 1981 until 1996 and having been a significant financial donor to Summit improvement projects since. During his tenure, he chaired the Executive Committee and numerous project committees of the Board. His leadership and tireless effort, along with that of the staff, and his continuing personal and financial support are in no small part responsible for the basis upon which the Observatory is thriving and growing today.

Guy Gosselin – Guy is one of the North Country's most respected modern pioneers and North Country historians. The "high point" of Guy Gosselin's career began February 15, 1961, when he arrived on the summit of Mount Washington as a weather observer. Guy was promoted to chief observer in 1963, appointed to the director's post in 1971, and was voted in as a trustee in 1978. Since retiring as executive director in 1996, Guy has continued to serve the Observatory in a variety of important roles, for a time as managing editor of Windswept, and more recently as a consultant. Guy was voted in as a life trustee in 2002 and continues to contribute to the success of the Observatory, as well as giving time to other local charitable concerns.

Philip (Phil) T. Gravink – Phil and his wife Shirley live in Jackson, NH. They raised three children and have five grandchildren. Phil received his B.S. from Cornell University in 1957. He retired in 1999 as president and chief operating officer of Attitash Bear Peak for American Skiing Company after 36 years as an executive of ski resorts. During 2000, he and Shirley were on a year-long world-wide bicycle tour. Phil came to know the Observatory through his longstanding work in the ski industry and his role as a north country businessman. He was elected a trustee in 1996 and served as Interim Executive Director of the Observatory for six months in 2006.

Christopher R. Hawkins – Chris lives in Lancaster, NH, where he raises Highland cattle. Chris works at the New Hampshire Department of Transportation. Chris first became interested in the White Mountains through the frequent trips he and his father took to the mountains in the 1960s. This whetted his appetite for becoming an AMC hutman. In 1971 he joined the crew of Lakes of the Clouds hut which was his introduction to the Observatory. Chris joined the Board of Trustees in the 1980s.

John (Jack) W. Newton – Jack and his wife Anne live in South Natick, MA and Lancaster, NH. Their son Jonathan and daughter Sarah are grown. Jack has two married daughters. Jack received his B.A., Phi Beta Kappa from Dartmouth College in 1953 and an M.B.A. from Dartmouth in 1954. Jack has held senior financial management positions with a number of New England based companies, including Itek Corporation, Apollo Computer, and Morgan Construction Company where he served as the senior vice president of Finance and chief financial officer until his retirement in 1997. Jack was introduced to the Observatory through his involvement with the AMC and the hut system and the efforts of his New Hampshire neighbor Bruce Sloat. He served for many years as the treasurer of the Observatory. Jack has served as a Trustee since 1976, and as Treasurer for 15 years until 1998.

William L. Putnam – Bill lives in Flagstaff, AZ, where he runs the Lowell Observatory. His involvement with Mount Washington dates from the early 1940s when he worked at the Appalachian Mountain Club for Joe Dodge and served as Chairman of the AMC's Committee on Mountain Leadership. Bill became an Observatory trustee in 1984.

Bruce Sloat – Bruce and his wife Mary live in Lancaster, NH. They have three grown children. Bruce worked for many years at Pinkham Notch in senior management positions at the Appalachian Mountain Club. Bruce's involvement with the Observatory stems from his days working for Joe Dodge at AMC. Bruce worked at the Observatory from 1952 to 1957. He has been a trustee since 1970.

Kendall D. Smith – Ken and his family, wife Marilyn and grown daughter Patricia, reside in Melrose, MA. After leaving the service (four-plus years in the U.S. Air Force), he attended and earned an A.S. degree in Computer Science from Northeastern University, and a B.S. degree in Business Management from Boston University. Ken's expertise is in the technical communications/project management arena. Now retired, Ken has worked both as an individual contributor and in management, in high-technology companies around the metropolitan Boston area. Ken's first encounter with Mount Washington dates back to the late spring of 1954. At that time, he had just accepted a summer job to work on the AMC Trail Crew, and was invited by Al Folger, who was then Councilor of Trails, to hike the Tuckerman Ravine Trail. Perhaps it was due to this hike, two summers on the Trail Crew (1954 and 1955), and a third summer working at Lakes-of-the Clouds Hut (1958) that Ken developed an abiding love for New Hampshire's White Mountains, and in particular, Mount Washington and the Observatory. Ken has been a member of the Observatory since 1958 and an Observatory Trustee since 1977. He also edited the Observatory's News Bulletin (now known as Windswept) for three years. Ken is an ardent supporter of the Observatory, and has served on various board committees including Executive, Membership (Chair for ten years), Long Range Planning, and Science and Engineering. Ken is also a Life member of the AMC.

Bryant F. Tolles, Jr. – Bryant and his wife Carolyn live in Concord, NH, and have a second home in Sandwich on Squam Lake. Bryant is the retired director (1984-2006) of the Museum Studies Program at the University of Delaware, and Professor Emeritus of History and Art History. Since the early 1970s Bryant has held a variety of leadership positions at distinguished museums and institutions. He is the author of books on New Hampshire architecture including The Grand Resort Hotels and Summer Cottages of the White Mountains. A visitor to the White Mountains since the late 1940s, Bryant was introduced to the Observatory in the mid-1970s by Brad Washburn. Since joining the Board of Trustees in 1976, he has played a major role in enhancing the Observatory's Summit Museum and in the educational programs of the Observatory. He was elected a Life Trustee in 2003.