Where Are They Now? A Look at Past Moondance Leaders

If you've ever done a trip with Moondance, you know what an amazing impact your leader can have on you - not only affecting you during your trip but also possibly introducing you to a new band, a new book or maybe even encouraging you to attend their former alma mater for college - and sometimes even ultimately changing your life and your view of the world forever. We are fortunate enough to have had some great folks work for us over the years, many who spent several summers with us before pursuing their dreams of music and art. We'd like to feature some of those leaders who have made a name for themselves, and we'll continue to update the blog with more "Where Are They Now?" posts!

Chris Barnes

Chris Barnes spent five summers with Moondance leading several of our adventures including Pacific Northwest, Moondance Leadership, Grand Ascents and Chamonix Alps. Chris served as our "musical director" for several summers during staff training in Colorado and Asheville, and he is now composing original music for commercials and films with Human Worldwide in Los Angeles. Most recently, Chris composed the music for the short documentary "One Beach" - a film to highlight what is being to done to clean up beaches across the globe and how some creative activists are making art and jewelry out of trash washed upon shore. You can view the video's positive message (and Chris's music!) here.

Alex Cullen

Hailing from Atlanta, Alex Cullen led our Grand Ascents and Machu Picchu trips back in 2008 and 2009. From the moment we met Alex, we knew his creativity would leave a lasting impact on our staff and our students. Alex's talent behind the lens led him to start IriScape Productions, creating documentaries, music videos and marketing pieces for clients such as Emory Healthcare the band The Model Planes. According to Alex's Facebook page, he has lately been working on a documentary about persistence hunting in New Mexico - way to go Alex!

Kelly McFarling

When we first heard Kelly McFarling's unbeatable voice and banjo stylings at staff training in 2006, we knew we witnessing something extremely special. After leading three summers for Moondance on such trips as California's Lost Coast, Moondance Leadership and Northern Lights, Kelly went on to pursue her musical career on the West Coast. Since landing in San Francisco, Kelly has been making a huge impact on the music scene there and gaining loyal followers while on tour - you simply cannot resist her! Her songs of "original rhythm and bluegrass" have earned her positive reviews in various respected blogs and online magazines. You can find out more about Kelly and listen to some of her beautiful music on her Myspace page. Make sure you check out her tour dates to find out where you can catch her next!

Who should we pick next? Keep checking back for more leader profile updates!

Catalog Time!

After all the trips have returned home, and all the end-of-summer paperwork has been sent off and all our debriefs have been completed, we immediately start getting our heads into catalog mode. It's a time I look forward to every year as it gives us a chance to look through TONS of photographs taken by our leaders over the summer as well as hundreds of inspiring quotations from students and parents alike.

Here are just a few of my favorite photos from this past summer that just might make it into the catalog!


Something's up on Northern Lights!


Making shadows at the Great Sand Dunes on Colorado Trail


Seizing the moment in Peru


Cooling off on the Big Wild

We can't wait to share with you many more fantastic images from this summer in our 2012 catalog which will be revealed in October! I wonder what will be the cover shot?

A Day in the Life at Moondance Central

Today, I wanted to welcome you all to the interior of Moondance Central and give you a sneak peek of where it all happens. Come on in!

Our office is located in South Asheville, right off the Blue Ridge Parkway. When the weather gets warm, we like to take a hike or ride our bikes up there during our lunch break. I know we're all looking forward to those warmer temps!

The office is home to the five of us who are full-time staff members, most of whom you probably already know either by phone call, presentation or summer adventure. Here's a snap shot of Theo Moore's desk (our staff director), in the foreground, and my desk behind it (I'm Genna Harris, the admissions director). Don't you love our big photos from trips past? The one above Theo's desk is from the sea kayaking section our Northern Lights adventure. Above my desk, you see a photo from our Pacific Northwest trip. You've probably seen a few of them in our catalogs over the years!

Hayes, our president and founder, has a great office next to our "wall of fame" - our wall of catalog covers throughout the years. 16 covers and counting! (Don't worry - Hayes wasn't slacking or playing hooky. I took that one after normal business hours!)

That's Shannon Revolinski, our community service director pictured below, working on organizing some photos from our Machu Picchu Lode to Lodge Trek adult trip last fall. We have so many amazing photos from years past on our trusty desktop Mac. Behind Shannon is our little meeting area where we sit down every Monday morning at 8AM to discuss the week's plans. To the right, you can catch a glimpse of our "trip board."

Our trip board is kind of like a map of what's to come this summer. I love watching it fill up as the months pass. We use different colors of chalk to signify different ages so it's easy for me to glance at the board and see how each group is shaping up.

If you've ever done a trip with us, you know there's some paperwork to fill out! We like to know as much about our students before they come on board, and it often feels like we've known each other for years. Even on day one of our adventures. I thought I'd show you the cute little cubbies where our Trip Information Packets (fondly referred to as "TIPs" by the office staff) live. Each cubbie has a plaque noting which trip's TIPs are in it.

Bill Johnston, our program director, works hard throughout the year to get our trip itineraries finalized. Each trip has its own notebook...we call them Kellys...for each leader team to study at staff training and carry with them in the field. These notebooks list everything from important phone numbers to details of campsite reservations. We keep ones from years past on hand to help us plan for the following summer.

Sorry for the grainy photos, but I figured my iPhone photos were better than none at all. We hope you'll come swing by the office if you're ever in town. We'd love to see you!