White Mountain Aquatic Center's Maury McKinney on Valley Forum

Maury McKinney and host Mike Corthell on the set of Valley Forum

NORTH CONWAY, New Hampshire -  Maury McKenney was Mike's guest on Valley Forum today to talk about the White Mountain Aquatic Center. 
   The Center is located at the New England Inn, adjacent to Tuckerman's Tavern. He would like to invite all interested parties to come to the White Mountain Aquatic Foundation Public Forum Feasibility Study meeting Tuesday November 12th, 6:00 p.m. at the Red Jacket Mountain View Resort in the Hampshire Hall.

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   Maury McKinney grew up swimming in the Orlando, FL area for the Blue Dolphins under coaches Harry Meisel and Skip Foster. He attended West Point (USMA class 1983) to swim but left after the first year due to illness. He graduated from Auburn University with a B.S. in Biology in 1983 and then stayed on at Auburn to work on a M.S. in Exercise Physiology until 1986. He took a long hike on the Appalachian Trail in 1986 and wound up staying in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Until 1990 he worked for the Appalachian Mountain Club in construction and caretaking. It was during this time that he took up climbing (rock, ice, alpine) and endeavored to gain as much climbing experience as possible.

   For seventeen years, he worked as a professional climbing guide for the International Mountain Climbing School, Inc. (IMCS) in North Conway. He was a part owner for ten years and climbed in numerous locations around New England, the US, South America, South Africa, Nepal and Pakistan. He is a longtime volunteer member, team leader and former board member of the Mountain Rescue Service (MRS). He has experience serving on the boards of the American Mountain Guides Association (AMGA), MRS, New Hampshire Outdoor Council (NHOC) and Mount Washington Valley Soccer Club (MWVSC). He has held President, Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary positions while serving on these boards.

   He is currently the Aquatics Director of the newly formed White Mountain Aquatic Center (WMAC) and the head coach of the Saco Valley Swim Team. The team competed for the first time in the summer of 2008; the first competitive swim team in our area in nearly thirty years. The team now trains out of the WMAC pool located at the New England Inn's indoor pool in Intervale.  Maury is hoping to help build awareness and enthusiasm for the value of aquatics and competitive swimming. He believes this effort will have a positive influence on completion of the mission of the WMAF. He also maintains Water Safety Instructor (WSI) and Lifeguard certifications and is currently pursuing certification as a swim coach through the American Swim Coaches Association (ASCA).

   Maury is 51 years old, has been married to Karen Eisenberg for 15 years, and has a 12-year old daughter Zoe that swims for the Saco Valley Swim Team. He continues to compete as a US Masters swimmer for Maine Masters and in regional open water events during the summer.