The Hulbert Outdoor Center marked my first full time job out of college. I started at Hulbert in January of 1997 as a School Program Instructor. During my time at Hulbert I had many roles including Voyaguers/Elderhostel Trip Leader, Rock Specialist, Andy's Minnion and Challenge Course Trainer. It is in that last role that I first met Ryan McCormick.

Ryan McCormick's first full time job out of college was also at the Hulbert Outdoor Center. While Ryan and I had met the year earlier when Hulbert hosted the AEE Northeast Regional Conference, this was our first opportunity to work together. I was the trainer for the challenge course during Ryan's first staff training, a role Ryan would later take on. It was the fall of 1999 and ironically... the 6 founding members of High 5 were laying the foundations for their new organization.

Prior to his time at Hulbert, Ian Doak led trips for Peak Adventures and programmed for Smugglers Notch. It is unclear to Ian and I when we actually met for the first time. It likely was back at the 1999 AEE conference at Hulbert when Ryan and Ian were on the service crew and I was working at Hulbert. Ryan and Ian met at Lyndon State College in the Adventure Based Management program and Ian joined Ryan on the Hulbert School Program staff in 2000. While I had left Hulbert by this point, I worked a few weekend challenge course program with Ian and Ryan.

Ian continued to work at Hulbert as a program coordinator for school programs and a trip leader for Voyagers until 2002 when he left to work for Benson's Woodworking in NH as Timber Framer. Ryan stayed on with the Hulbert School Programs, taking on the role of Assistant Director of School Programs until 2005, when he took a position with Project Adventure, Inc with the Trianing and Consulting department.

While our collective paths only crossed briefly at Hulbert, over the years we all became good friends and when we would meet up at conferneces or social gatherings, we would inevitably start to talk about how great it would be to all work together. Little did we know that this would actually happen. It was Ian who was the first of us join the High 5 team as a part time builder in 2005, while also filling his time as a NOLS Instructor. A few years latter Ryan made the transition from Hulbert to working at Project Adventure. I began working for High 5 as a contract trainer while working full time at Camp Takodah and shortly after had the opportunity to join the High 5 family full time in 2006. In 2008, Ian officially took on his current position as the Ropes Course Design Coordinator. Completing our reunion, in April of this year, Ryan joined our Training and Program Design team.

The team at High 5 Adventure is a family. When you spend as much time together as we all do, it helps to like one another. We consider the people we work with friends and for 3 of us... that friendship started at back at the Hulbert Outdoor Center 10 years ago.

Chris "Goose" Ortiz
HOC 1997-99
Ryan McCormick
HOC 1999-2005
Ian Doak
HOC 2000-2002