When Martha retired from her career in education, she wanted three things: To live on the water, to get more sleep, and never have to attend a non-profit board meeting again. She achieved the first two at Mascoma Lake in 2011, moving with her husband David Kelman into the house they’d found and begun renovating ten years before. Soon, feeling well rested, she joined David in coordinating of the MLA’s milfoil control program. A decade of working with the MLA’s lively community of volunteers led her at last to modify her third goal. In 2021, she joined the MLA board.

As president, Martha is grateful to work with a dedicated group that brings all kinds of talents and experiences to pursuing the MLA mission. She considers the goal of environmental protection increasingly urgent as the climate crisis deepens. She also believes that only collective action —people working together — can achieve that goal. As a lifelong educator, she’s glad to help people learn about the lake and all the ways they can support its preservation. It keeps her busy, but she still gets enough sleep. Loon calls help with that.

My family history on the lake started in the year my mother graduated from Lebanon High School and my grandparents bought a cottage at the head of the lake.  As a family, we lived all over the country but every August was spent on Mascoma lake traveling by planes, trains, and automobiles from wherever we lived.  It’s always been a special place for our family and there are now multiple other family members with homes on the lake. Childhood memories include pumping drinking water for the cottage from the well near Knox Brook; blueberry picking, trips to the Enfield Library and sleeping on the porch,  opening/closing duties, painting and roofing the cottage, water skiing and fishing, swimming, flashlight tag, and softball games with neighbors and the extended family. This summer the 5th generation is being introduced to life on the lake. 
 
When it was time to retire from the University of Utah where I worked as a pediatrician for 20 years, I was lucky enough to find a house at the head of the lake moving here full time in 2021. Since moving, I’ve found a lovely community of neighbors.  My cats (Thing 1 and Thing 2) enjoy watching life on the lake year round and I enjoy having time to swim, kayak, read, knit, sew, and garden without having to juggle work responsibilities.
 
One of the reasons I value the MLA is the decades of effort invested in improving the water quality. My grandmother once said they could afford a place on Mascoma because it wasn’t as clean as some other lakes and so cottages were less expensive. I remember the copper sulfate treatments of the lake in the 1960s for algae, the promotion of low phosphate detergents, and the struggles summarized in the Smithsonian article in 1973. The MLA helped address the challenges and continues efforts to maintain a healthy lake environment. 

My wife, Tricia, and I moved “back” to the Upper Valley in 1984. We met in 1973 when we were students here. We raised our family in Hanover and moved to Lake Mascoma in 2004 when we became empty nesters.

I retired from a career as a fund raiser in 2016, although subsequently I assisted several local nonprofits with successful capital campaigns: Upper Valley Music Center, Willing Hands and the Campion Rink renewal project.

Our children and five grandchildren love visiting us here on the lake. Boating, swimming and fishing are their top pursuits throughout the summer.

I joined the board of the Mascoma Lake Association in 2015. Both Tricia and I have been active weed watchers since the start. She now runs the Lake Host boat inspection program. In 2018 I was tapped to be the treasurer.

I enjoy working with my colleagues on the board and others who take the best interests of Lake Mascoma to heart.

Leslie grew up in Greenfield, MA and spent many happy weekends skiing and visiting friends’ lake houses in the Upper Valley.  After college in Boston and culinary school in New York, she pursued a career as a chef in the hospitality industry, Leslie has lived in many places in the US, always hoping to one day return to her beloved New England.  It was with joy that she accepted a transfer by her employer to the Upper Valley in 2017.  She and her husband Paul looked for a lake they could live on as well as a home they could retire in. After looking at houses on many lakes and large ponds in the area, Mascoma seemed perfect so they purchased a home on the north end of the lake.  Mascoma was just the right fit both in size and sense of community. He is an avid fisherman, she loves kayaking and nature photography and they both love watching the birds and animals that are now their neighbors. Their daughter, friends and relatives all enjoy visiting them on this beautiful lake and enjoying all it has to offer.

Leslie has recently retired and is enjoying having more time to volunteer with community nonprofit organizations around issues of food insecurity and the environment.  When the opportunity arose to become an MLA  Board member and help with the mission, it seemed like a perfect fit.  A general board member since 2024, Leslie has worked on social media and membership.

Sandy grew up spending summers on Lake Mascoma. Her grandfather, Jack Bonardi built the original family cottage in 1926. Sandy and her husband, Hank, raised their four sons spending weekends and vacations at the lake. They now live on the lake full-time in the new home they finished building in 2019. Their home became the “bunker” for close friends and family during COVID. Filling the house with visits from their adult kids and grandchildren is now their greatest source of joy.

Prior to leaving the “corporate world”, Sandy’s career was in Human Resources and Leadership
Development helping business leaders identify and develop the human talent needed for success. She now fills her time focused on her passion for animal welfare. She has played a key role in the rescue of hundreds of dogs from southern regions of the country. She works with several rescue and shelter
organizations in NH to help the dogs find loving homes. In addition to their own “three pack” of dogs, Sandy and Hank will often foster a dog while it is waiting to find its “forever family”.

Sandy’s primary current focus on the MLA Board is working in partnership with fellow board member Leslie Ekstrand on MLA membership.

Robin was born and raised in the Upper Valley and has spent every summer of her life on Mascoma. She learned how to waterski behind the Arey’s old blue boat when she was four years old. Her other core lake memories include buying beads and shiny stones at Gemstar, boat trips to the Baited Hook for ice cream and fried cauliflower, digging holes for bonfires at the head of the lake, her sister sitting on a fish hook, jumping off the rope swing, learning how to barefoot ski, and picking blueberries off the side of Shaker Boulevard.

Robin’s childhood dream came true in 2022 when she and her husband bought the cottage at the head of the lake that her family had rented for over 25 years.

Robin is passionate about sharing her love for the water and teaching others to enjoy the lake the same way she learned as a kid: To educate and encourage SAFE and responsible water sports for both ourselves and our beautiful lake.

On the weekends (if you get up early enough!) you’ll find Robin, Mike, their daughter (Louisa), and Golden Lab (Mabel) in their ’74 Century Arabian (The Fox Sea Lady) anchored out at the slalom course by the bridge enjoying hot coffee and calm water.

Cari grew up in Weston, MA but has spent most of her adulthood in New Hampshire with her husband, Carl, and their three sons. The sons are now married with kids (we have seven grandchildren), with one, Ben, and his family, having a summer cottage on Mascoma Lake. 

Now retired, Cari loves spending time with family and friends, golfing, playing pickleball, and enjoying the four season beauty of Mascoma Lake and the Upper Valley. 

Terri and I moved to the Lake on July 4th 2005.  

We were welcomed to the lake by our neighbors, Doug and Meredeth Smith at a gathering and I was asked if I was a diver by 4 different people and eventually told of the Lake association’s efforts to control milfoil in the lake.   I joined the effort at that point and became a certified diver.

I became a board member about 9 years ago when Terri, my wife, turned over leadership of the board to Allison Flint.  Terri was passionate about the Loons and we have worked together on the yearly loon census for the past 18 years.  We have managed loon nesting platforms, signage for nesting areas and warning signs about chicks in the water.  We have also reported on nesting eagles.

I have also been very active on the SWAT or submerged weed attack team and been part of the plant harvests of over 5000 plants a year down to a maintenance level of 1-300 plants a year. 

I have helped to organize Lake Clean up days for the past ~8 years.

Mark is a retired Chemical Engineer and Dentist, who brings many years of valuable knowledge and experience to our Water Quality committee. He focuses much of his time and energy on battling invasive plants, including knotweed and cyanobacteria (He’s a loyal “SWAT” team member!)

He is also an active member of the lake Watershed study team and VLAP (Volunteer Lake Assessment Program) Team.

Mark is a lifelong Alpine Skier, avid gardener, household handyman, and participates in many other local organizations, including the Lebanon Opera House and Bone Builders (Strength & Balance Training).

Mark and his wife, Mel, have lived on the lake for 10 years. They have two grown boys who each have two children. 

Kim grew up in Norwalk CT and lived in Ayr, Scotland for 35 years. Her husband, Tom’s family first stayed at Mascoma Lake in the 1930s and bought a home on Shaker Blvd in the 40s.

In 1977, shortly after graduating from UConn with a BA in English, Kim began visiting the lake with Tom. They bought their Shaker Boulevard home in 2010, rebuilt it in 2013 and moved here year-round in 2021. 

Kim has been a board member since 2017. For the last few years Kim has been our lead event organizer for the MLA summer picnic. Both she and Tom have been very involved with milfoil control.Tom makes the milfoil markers!

Kim teaches Bone Builders twice a week at the community building. She and Tom have 3 sons and 5 grandchildren.