The magic of TPL only exists if we create it... TOGETHER.

You don’t have to like me.

And that’s okay.

I am not here to win a popularity contest. (I mean, I already did that - Mr. TPL 2024.) I am here because I believe in what this place stands for — what it can stand for, if we let it.

This isn’t just where I work. This is my home. My life. My community. My family.

For most of you, Twin Ponds Lodge is a weekend getaway — a place to unplug, unwind, and be yourself for a few fleeting days. And I always want it to be that for you. But, for me, it’s everything.

I live here. I work here. This is my living room, my office, my backyard, my heartbreak, my joy.

Ninety-eight percent of my time in Maine has been spent right here on these grounds. Ninety-nine percent of my friendships, my laughter, my heartbreak — all of it — has come from these 82 acres.

When people come at me, when they throw stones at my character, or whisper at the bar about how I “should do my job better,” it doesn’t hit like gossip. It hits like someone spitting in my kitchen. Because I live here. Because every insult doesn’t land on a name tag — it lands on a person who bleeds for this place.

And I’m not the only one.

Tommy. Roberto. Evan.

They live here too.

They don’t just run this place — they are this place. They’ve given up everything to create and protect this space. And people forget that. They remain willfully ignorant to the sleepless nights, the broken pipes, the medical emergencies, the storms, the endless stress that comes with trying to run a small, queer, men’s only campground in a world that makes everything harder than it needs to be.

They can walk away at any point. Truthfully. They’d be fine.

They could turn Twin Ponds into a family campground and make millions. They could go co-ed and retire six months later. They could sell the real estate and be sipping cocktails in Florida right now. 

But they stay.

Because they believe in you.

They believe in us.

They believe that community — real community — is still worth fighting for.

That’s why I’m here too.

Before I was the Director of Operations, before I was “Ranger Alli,” before I had keys to the lodge and a voice in its direction, I was just a camper. A community member. A person who fell in love with what Twin Ponds stood for.

I’ve been the new guy trying to fit in, the volunteer doing whatever needed to get done, the friend, the staff member, the family, and now — somehow — one of the people responsible for keeping this whole thing alive.

I manage operations: the bar, events, systems, contracts, hundreds of daily fires that need putting out. And that’s just what’s on paper. What I really manage is the thin, fragile thread between chaos and community — between business and belonging.

And when my day here is done (if that ever really happens), I give my unpaid time to the TPL Social Club, to the Growing Table, to Ranger Alli, because this mission — our mission — goes deeper than any paycheck.

Here’s what I need you to understand:

I have nearly 20 years of experience in nonprofit management.

I was the Chief Operating Officer of an international company.

I've built businesses and nonprofits from the ground to acquisition.

By 17, I was a respected state advisor on mental health and foster care.

I’ve led federal, multi-million dollar research initiatives.

I didn’t end up here.

I chose to be here.

I choose to be here.

I walked away from my “break from work”, my hike along the east coast, my stress-free adventure because I stumbled into this place, this opportunity, this community. 

So when I see people tearing it apart, when I see guests treating it like a cheap vacation instead of the sanctuary it is — yeah, it hurts. Because this place isn’t just a resort. It’s a living, breathing ecosystem held together by people who give more of themselves than they can afford to.

Tommy, Roberto, and Evan don’t get to “relax” here. In the two and half years I’ve been here, I have never seen the three of them use a single amenity.

They don’t get to clock out and have fun the way you do. They carry the weight of this lodge — financially, emotionally, physically — every single day. Their loyalty to this community is the only reason this place exists at all.

And me? I stay because I believe in them.

I believe in what they’ve built and what it can still become.

But truth be told, that commitment has wavered lately.

Because I’ve seen the cracks — the entitlement, the complaining, the way some people treat this place like the owners and staff are swimming in profits and deserve to be treated like servants, when they should be treated  like partners and leaders.

I’ve seen the way we forget that community isn’t just about having fun — it’s about showing up. It’s about being accountable. It’s about caring enough to take responsibility for the space you claim to love.

You don’t have to like me.

You don’t have to agree with how I lead.

You don’t have to like everything I personally post on social media.

And you certainly don’t have to agree with my outspoken beliefs.

But I hope you’ll remember this: If you treat this place like just a vacation, expect the experience of a vacation getaway. No personal connection, no prioritization of community. You have a good time solely because your good time equates to dollar signs. And those dollar signs aren’t cheap. 

If you treat it like a community, expect the results of growth. Expect Thanksgivings where any member can show up for a meal even if they can’t afford the day pass. Expect meaningful leadership from the social club board. Expect connection and meaningful relationships. Expect the bottom line to be about the community and not just the dollar. 

If you come here just to consume, to take without giving — the culture will shift. It has to. Because the people holding this up — Tommy, Roberto, Evan, me, the staff, the volunteers — we can’t keep doing this if the weight isn’t shared.

But if you come here to build something, to love, to grow, to mess up and try again — then Twin Ponds Lodge will be everything you need it to be and more.

Because this place has always been about more than a pool, a bar, a “Den”, or a party. It’s about belonging. It’s about resilience. It’s about proving that a small queer community in the Maine woods can do what the rest of the world keeps failing at — care about each other.

So no, you don’t have to like me.

But you do have to understand: I’m not here because I can’t be somewhere else.

I’m here because I believe in this.

Because I believe in you.

Because I believe in us.

This isn’t just my job.

It’s my calling.

It’s my family.

It’s my life.

And I’ll keep showing up — tired, flawed, stubborn, hopeful, outspoken — because I still believe that Twin Ponds Lodge can be everything it was always meant to be. I hope you'll join me.

Yours in Community, Ranger Alli