On behalf of the Board of Directors of Cold Spring Resort in Ashland, New Hampshire, it is my sad duty to report that our President, Nelson Goldin, passed away on Monday, June 15, in Florida, after a long battle with kidney disease.
Nelson served in several capacities on the Board of Directors for over thirty years as treasurer, vice president and president. More importantly, for twenty-six of those years he presided over the group’s annual meetings in Ashland as moderator. We prize our annual meetings as an opportunity for all of our owner/members to come together to celebrate good, old-fashioned Yankee North Country local democracy where people speak their piece and encourage others to do their best for the common good of all.
Nelson was a master of his craft at the moderator’s microphone, listening to all proposals and carefully encouraging the worthy ones and gently dissuading others which did not represent our philosophy of an owner-operated resort doing the best it can to make it a home away from home for all who visited.
His experience and background in working with people day in and day out as a local Framingham, Mass. businessman, constable, school committee member, health board member and Justice of the Peace tempered his pronouncements as he sought the best solution to every problem encountered.
We sat at many Board meetings where he delighted in challenging his fellow Directors, his colleagues, to think not just outside but beyond the box to solve long-range problems in an uncompromising fashion. I shall miss his mentorship in how he could easily deal with difficult people in such a way that both sides would feel things ended as a win-win situation.
Many years ago as stifling, humid summer heat waves affected our Resort’s guests in their non-air conditioned units, he had the foresight to suggest that we look into the use of geothermal heating and cooling as a means of making everyone’s life more comfortable. That initiative eventually led to an approved plan to install air conditioning units in all residential units. Just another example of how he thought beyond the box.
When he last ran for office as a Board Director three years ago, he said he wanted to continue to serve because he had a vested interest in the future and continued Resort growth within a framework of prudent fiscal policy. That was Nelson in a nutshell. “Let’s do the best we can but with what we have available.” That was his approach to life. He did do more and his accomplishments are evident in everything he touched during his life. We shall miss him dearly.
All of this was such a surprise.
But we should never question what God has planned,
Sometimes it’s not meant for us to understand.
So as we sit here and mourn the loss of a beloved friend,
We have to keep telling ourselves that we will meet again.
I ask myself why did you have to die?
You were always there for me, because you were my good friend,
But now it’s time to let you go. Your spirit now is free.
You won’t really be gone, because you’ll live inside of me.
This is hardly a goodbye, so I won’t weep anymore,
Because now you’re in a better place than you ever were before.
Rest in peace, Nelson!
George W. Reilly, Secretary (for the Board of Directors)
Cold Spring Properties Townhouse Association
Ashland, New Hampshire
June 20, 2020