As I begin to write this report, the ground outside is covered with four inches of beautiful white, powdery snow that is covered by a thin layer of ice. It makes the most wonderful crunching sound as one walks through it around the Conference Center. I just returned from a week in Oviedo, Florida at Canterbury Conference Center where I attended the annual conference of the Episcopal Camps and Conference Centers (ECCC). I am privileged to serve on the Board of this organization which serves the needs of all of the Episcopal Camps and Conference Centers throughout the United States. The directors as well as some staff members and other interested people gather every year to share with one another our experiences at our Camps and Conference Centers and to hear speakers related to our specialized field. There are approximately 63 Centers (out of 86 possible Episcopal Centers and Camps) who belong to ECCC. We estimate that we collectively serve over one million children, youth and adults each and every year at our Camps and Centers.

By providing places of relaxation, recreation and spiritual retreat we are able to touch peoples lives in ways we can't even begin to fathom. If you were to add to those numbers all the other Camps and Conference Centers from other denominations across America, we are reaching many millions of people each and every year. I encourage each of you reading this report to give generously to your own Camp or Conference Center each year. Give of your time, your talents and your treasure. If any of you would like to learn more about our national "Ministry of Hospitality" or ECCC in general, please contact me or ask me on your next visit to Valle Crucis.

- Tom Eshelman
Executive Director

In December we said farewell to two wonderful board members whose terms ended at the end of 2003. We thank David Yates and Ralph Tilden for their dedicated service to the Valle Crucis Conference Center during their tenure on our Board. Jack Haile, who was filling an unexpired term, will continue on the Board and he will be joined by Susie Morgan, Sandy Jones, and the Reverend Brian Suntken. Susie is a local Watauga County Resident, a member of St. Mary of the Hills in Blowing Rock, and works at ASU as the Director of Testing. Sandy Jones just retired from the Citadel where he was the Director of Piping for the past twenty-five years. He and his wife Dorcas have just moved to Brevard where they attend St. Phillips. Sandy will continue to run the annual North American Academy of Piping which has been coming to the Conference Center for the past 26 years. The Reverend Brian Suntken is the Vicar of St Patrick's Episcopal Mission in Mooresville. Brian, his wife Kathy, and son John are long time friends of the Conference Center. We welcome all of these wonderful people as they join our already dedicated Board members who give generously of their time, their talents and their treasure to our "Mission of Hospitality."

We are hoping to be able to use Bishop Johnson Hall by late Spring. The building of this new meeting space has been a slow but through process and the end result is beautiful as well as functional. Mike Galleher and his fantastic crew have built us a wonderful new space for our many groups to enjoy. There's only one problem: with Bishop Johnson Hall's wonderful view of our sacred valley, we are all wondering how anyone will be able to concentrate on their meetings!

Pictured at top: Bishop Johnson Hall after a snowfall this January.

Pictured above right: Billy Kennedy and Dave Donovan applying stain to the outside of the hall.

In January we had to cut down three more of our beloved catalpa trees. These trees had stood in front of the Mission House for at least 50 years to the delight of our many guests. Unfortunately, as we are finding out, because these trees grow so fast, they are soft inside and vulnerable to attacks by wood eating ants and other insects. We will miss these old friends, but they will provide warmth through their firewood for the next year.

The construction of our new septic/sewer system progressed rapidly through the Fall towards a hoped for December completion date. However, the winter weather in the High Country, which has delighted the ski slopes and all of our ski groups, has slowed things down for this much needed project. We are now looking at a late spring date when we can be up and flushing into this new state of the art system that will serve the Conference Center for many years in the future.

Our special thanks to these individuals & organizations for their generosity in giving to the Center in recent months:

The mission of the Valle Crucis Conference Center is to inspire, by loving example and service, those who break bread with us and share in the quest for spiritual renewal, Christian community, and stewardship of this sacred place.

The Right Reverend G. Porter Taylor
Bishop of the Diocese of Western North Carolina

Brenda Binning, President
The Rev. Brian Cole, Vice President
The Rev. Tim McRee, Treasurer
Billy DuBose, Secretary

Tom Eshelman (ex officio)
Jaan Ferree
Jack Haile
Sandy Jones
Nina-Jo Moore
Susie Morgan
The Rev. Brian Suntken
Judy Teele
Diana White
The Rev. John Zellner (ex officio)