Updated Procession Route

The route of Margaret Anderson's procession tomorrow has been changed. Here is the updated route (turn by turn directions can also be found at The News Tribune):


View Larger Map

This will be the last update on this blog before the Memorial Service; however, keep an eye on the Employee Blog in case there are any other last-minute notices.

Protocols for ceremonial events

The protocols for when and how to wear a hat (including a volunteer ball cap), how and when to salute, etc. have been posted on the Employee Blog. If you will be attending the ceremony, please review these protocols in advance. They will be reviewed in person, as well, at the 12:00 briefing for NPS employees in the Memorial Auditorium.

Shuttle Bus Update - Highly Encouraged for Traveling to Memorial Service RSVP by 2:00

From the Memorial Service planning team:

We are strongly encouraging employees to ride the shuttle bus to Pacific Lutheran University. The shuttle bus will have a police escort and will arrive at the auditorium before the procession. Since the bus is arriving before the procession, employees will be able to attend processional ceremonies, including multi-agency pipe bands, rifle team, and mounted patrol. It is expected that traffic will be difficult to maneuver, especially around the time the processional will arrive. Additionally, parking may be full early. Due to these factors, please consider riding the bus--it will reduce additional stress during this emotional event.


Response to the shuttle buses has been low, and we may cancel buses if more employees do not choose to ride. Please contact us immediately if you are planning to ride. Remember, family members and friends are also welcome and encouraged to ride the shuttle.

The shuttle bus for employees will be meeting at 7:00 am and leaving at 7:15 am from the Eatonville Baptist Church to the memorial.

Please contact us: MountRainierInfo@gmail.com

or

360-569-6592 (Brandi's line)

We also need to know the amount of people who will be traveling with you and a phone you can be reached from.

The church is located about 3 miles off of Hwy 7/Mountain Highway. Take the Eatonville Hwy West exit. The driveway to the church is on the right just as you go down the hill and enter the town limits. [Here's a link to a map.]

The bus will be leaving Pacific Lutheran University at 5:00 pm to return to the Eatonville Baptist Church.

Volunteers: Please RSVP if you plan to attend the Memorial

I've posted this before, but it's gotten buried in the flurry of other information, so just a reminder: if you plan to attend the Memorial Service tomorrow as a Mount Rainier National Park volunteer, please RSVP to MountRainierInfo@gmail.com. Let us know if you're attending with any family members. That will give us a better sense of how many seats to reserve. Thanks!

For clarity, we will only have room in the Olson Auditorium for staff (including volunteers) and their partners or family members. Members of the public who are not family members of active employees/volunteers will be directed to overflow seating.

Volunteer Q&A for Memorial Service

I received an e-mail this morning asking for specific information on uniforms and other logistics as they apply to volunteers. It's timely and relevant, so I'll post the questions and responses for everyone here:

• Q: Should we wear our green volunteer cap?
  A: Yes. If the uniform you wear while volunteering includes a hat with a volunteer patch on it, please wear it.
   
• Q: If a volunteer does not have a long sleeve shirt, can he/she wear a short sleeve shirt?
  A: Yes. If you have both, please wear long sleeves. If you only have a summer (short sleeve) uniform shirt, it's fine to wear that.
   
• Q: Can we wear some layer like dark turtle neck shirt under the volunteer shirt? With short sleeve volunteer shirt?
  A: Yes. Dark layers that match the uniform shirt may be worn underneath either the long-sleeve or short-sleeve shirt for warmth.
   
• Q: Can we wear fleece/softshell jackets with sewed-on volunteer patch that we wear during cool weather? If yes, does the color of the jacket matter?
  A: It will probably be too warm in the auditorium for fleece or jackets, and uniformed paid employees will not be wearing outerwear. Jackets of any color should only be worn if you do not own a long-sleeved volunteer shirt, your jacket is lightweight and appropriate for an indoor setting, and you feel that it looks nicer than the alternative. Use your own judgment.
   
• Q: How about footwear? Dressy street shoes or field boots (clean)?
  A: Dressy street shoes are preferable if you have them available. Clean field boots are appropriate only if you do not own dress shoes and your field boots look nicer than the alternative.
   
• Q: Who are considered current MORA volunteers?
  A: Our volunteers range from current, full-time, and long-term to those who came up for a single visit several years ago as part of a larger group. All are part of our extended "family," and everyone's contribution is deeply appreciated, however small, but lines do need to be drawn due to limited space. If you're a current, recurring volunteer (i.e. you've participated several times in the past year), you're welcome to join us. If not, we'd appreciate it if you'd defer to others. A good guideline is this: if you can promptly name your supervisor at the park, and if they would readily recognize you on sight, you should consider yourself invited.
   
• Q: Is the 12:00 pm briefing for Mount Rainier National Park employees and their immediate families for current paid employees only?
  A: The briefing includes everyone who will be seated in the Mount Rainier employees section in the first tier of seats in the auditorium. This includes both paid employees and active volunteers, as well as their families.

Thanks for the questions, and if you have others, feel free to give me a call or drop me a note. I'll be in my office at 360-569-6567 until approximately 4:30 this afternoon.

Memorial Service details including seating arrangements

A lot of employees, including volunteers, have had questions about seating at Margaret Anderson's Memorial Service tomorrow. Here's the scoop:

Due to limited seating capacity, Olson Auditorium will be reserved for those directly related to Margaret's family or work. This includes the following groups:

• Margaret and Eric's family
• Dignitaries
• Mount Rainier National Park employees (including volunteers) and their families
• Other National Park Service employees (including off-duty seasonal employees)
• Affected park visitors (e.g. those involved in the lockdown at Paradise)
• Pierce County police and fire
• Law enforcement and fire personnel
• Representatives from state parks and other federal agencies

Members of the general public will be directed to three overflow areas, two of them on the PLU campus, the third being Rainier View Christian Church, 12305 Spanaway Loop Rd S, Tacoma.

Mount Rainier National Park employees (including volunteers) and family will be seated in the first tier of seats next to the stage, with other National Park Service employees in the second set of seats on risers behind them. Only about 300 seats are available specifically for Mount Rainier National Park staff in the first tier of seats. Numbers in excess of that will be seated at the front of the general NPS contingent in the second tier.

Because space is so limited, we are asking all employees to make sure that those who knew Margaret and her family, or those who were directly involved in the events of last week, have priority in the first tier of seats. Thank you for your cooperation.

Mount Rainier National Park staff should meet at 11:00 a.m. in the Memorial Gymnasium, just east of Olson Auditorium, for a briefing prior to the Memorial Service. We will then be seated as a group just before the service begins. The service is expected to last about an hour and a half, and will be followed by an additional 15-20 minutes of Last Honors which will take place outside the auditorium but which we expect to stream on live video to screens inside the auditorium. Audience members will be dismissed following the Last Honors.

NPS employees are invited to a reception after the ceremony at the Norwegian Heritage Center, a short walk from Olson Auditorium.

For those who are unable to attend, the Memorial Service will be broadcast live on the Internet by Northwest Cable News (NWCN) at http://www.nwcn.com/and KING 5 at http://www.king5.com/. NWCN will be broadcasting live to areas of Washington, Idaho, Oregon and Alaska.

Bussing available to Anderson Memorial -- RSVP ASAP

I just learned at this morning's briefing that shuttles will be available for employees (including volunteers and family members) to get to the Memorial Service at Pacific Lutheran University tomorrow. Employees are asked to RSVP by 11am (which is only 20 minutes away as I write this, so just do so ASAP) to indicate whether you would like to take advantage of the shuttle service.

RSVP either by e-mail to MountRainierInfo@gmail.com or by phone to Brandi Stewart at 360-569-6592.

Complicating matters is that as of this writing the pickup locations and times have not been confirmed, although tentatively there will be a shuttle leaving from the Eatonville Baptist Church in Eatonville at 9:30 a.m. Additional stops and shuttles will be added as needed, so when you RSVP, let us know how many are coming and where you'd like to be picked up. We'll accommodate as best we can, and confirm pickup times and locations later this afternoon. Watch the employee blog for the most up to date details: http://moraemployees.blogspot.com/.

The shuttle will hopefully arrive in time for Margaret's processional, but in any case will be there in time for the employee briefing at noon in the Memorial Gymnasium. Watch for a separate blog post momentarily with those details. The shuttle will return after the NPS reception, which will follow the Memorial; that timing is also yet to be determined.

If you do not ride the shuttle, parking is being reserved for NPS employees in the Ivy lot just south of the Memorial Gymnasium and southeast of Olson Auditorium. Space is limited, so please carpool.

Occupy Paradise

Here's a set of photos from our first day back open yesterday. Lots of volunteers helping out, both at the Longmire Museum and at Paradise.

"Reflection, seeds of recovery at Mount Rainier"

Volunteers are featured significantly in a multi-page set of articles in The News Tribune today.

Allan and Rose Evans, park volunteers from Graham, met Anderson shortly after she was hired in 2008. “We want to be here,” Rose Evans said. “I think being here honors her.”

National Park Service workers from as far away as Georgia helped run the park, and local volunteers chipped in. Tacoma Mountain Rescue stationed two climbers at Camp Muir and another team in Longmire to respond to search-and-rescue situations. “This place is sacred to a lot of people,” said Scott Schissel, a Tacoma Mountain Rescue volunteer headed to Camp Muir. “It doesn’t matter if you are a climber, a hiker or just somebody who wants to visit a national park; it’s pretty devastating to think something like this could happen in such a pristine and hallowed place.”

Read more here: http://www.thenewstribune.com/2012/01/07/1973769/reflection-seeds-of-recovery-on.html#storylink=cpy

Briefing, reception, and parking for Mount Rainier employees

This update for "Current Mount Rainier Employees" is on the Mount Rainier Employee blog:

Prior to Margaret's memorial service there will be a special briefing for Mount Rainier National Park employees and their immediate families at 12 noon. This briefing is for current employees only. The 12 noon briefing will take place at the Memorial Gym (close to the Olson Auditorium where the service will take place). The doors to that facility should be open by 11:00am.

Following the memorial service all National Park Service employees, past MORA seasonals, and current MORA volunteers are invited to a reception in the Norwegian Heritage Center.

I realize that first paragraph is a bit ambiguous with respect to volunteers. I'll try to get some clarification tomorrow. Also:

We are highly encouraging everyone to carpool to the memorial service on Tuesday. Parking is going to be tight. Mount Rainier National Park employees are to park in the Ivy parking lot at PLU.

A campus map can be found here online or here in PDF format. The Ivy lot is bottom center in both maps, just east of the track and tennis courts.