Minutes of Fall 2001 Meeting

Fort Meyers Officers’ Club, VA

Saturday, September 29, 2001

President Wayne Homens called the meeting to order at 9:09 a.m. and welcomed everyone. He recognized Myrna Aavedal from the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club (our newest member) whose emphasis is cross-country skiing. Would be a good contact for club members with interests in cross-country. The other delegates introduced themselves.

First item of business was the minutes, introduced by the President on behalf of Nancy Cruise, BRSC Secretary, who was unable to attend. Dave Olsen, Pentagon Ski Club, recommended that the ski committee’s written recommendations be attached to the minutes for clarification of all the listed changes. Bill Schrodel, Columbia Ski Club, moved to approve the minutes. Cathy Homens, Columbia Ski Club, seconded the motion. The motion was approved.

The agenda was rearranged slightly to accommodate Joanne Magro and Tom Croft, JTM tours, joining Cathy Homens, Eurofest 2002 coordinator, to report on Chamonix, BRSC Eurofest, 2002. 

1. Tour operators are moving trips to BWI and Dulles from National Airport as the airport is currently closed. It is envisioned that it will be re-opened in November. 
2. Trip insurance does not cover “acts of war”; however, “acts of terrorism” within 30 days of travel in country of event or country of origin is cause for a refundable cancellation. 
3. There is a slow down in travel with many flights now and in the future canceled, especially internationally. Airlines that run three trips to London per day will reduce to two, etc. 
4. As of Thursday (September 27, 2001), there were 160 folks signed up for Chamonix, down from 190. Extension to Prague is selling well. 
5. Sabina Airlines is in financial trouble, canceling flights, Swissair is in dire straights. Look for the equivalent of Chapter 11 filing. Please stay flexible, all will be worked out. 
6. BRSC needs to delineate all clubs participating, even if it is only one person piggybacking with a larger club contingent. It is important to show that many clubs are participating even if their contingent is negligible. 
7. http://www.IndependentTravelers.com is a good web site to keep up with current changes in travel. 
8. Leave lots of time at airports such as BWI & Dulles. 
9. Passports may soon be required for all international travelers including destinations Canada & Mexico. 
10. Handout from Cathy Homens.

The meeting paused for a break at 10:15a.m. Chamonix folks have the opportunity to meet with Joanne and Cathy.

The meeting reconvened at 10:40a.m.

OLD BUSINESS

none

NEW BUSINESS

Harry Gaskin, Bylaws Review Committee Chairperson, presented the By-laws with changes annotated in bold italics (enclosure 4). Bill Schrodel, Columbia Ski Club, moved to accept the changes. Kitty Imdahl, Columbia Ski Club, seconded the motion. Dave Olsen, pentagon Ski Club, discussed the meaning of Article VII. Elections, Paragraph 5, that the President appoints someone to fill a vacancy between council meetings and does not fill the position with himself. The make up of the assembly and voting authority was also discussed and clarified (hopefully). The motion was approved by more than the required 2/3rds vote of the General Assembly. A short discussion of ramifications ensued.

Wayne Homens, BRSC President, reminded everyone that 2004 trip coordinators résumés need to be submitted prior to the Spring meeting. Further, please think about five (5) year resort selection.

Meeting was paused at approximately 12:00 noon for lunch.

Meeting resumed at 1:00p.m.

BRSC has gotten behind by a half year in trip coordinator selection and resort selection. Résumés of volunteers for 2003 trip coordinators are at enclosure 5. Nancy Waddington, Crabtowne Ski Club, was elected by the delegates to be the 2003 Western Carnival coordinator. Kitty Imdahl, Columbia Ski Club, was elected by the delegates to be the 2003 Eurofest coordinator. Both coordinators were tasked to shadow current coordinators previous actions on bid submission and current actions in trip preparation.

Lake Tahoe was elected to be the destination for Western Carnival 2003, barely beating out Breckenridge and Aspen / Snowmass close behind.

Judy Miller, GTU Travel Service and Peter Porton, BRSC Western Carnival Coordinator, presented an update on the Banff / Lake Louise trip (enclosure 6). There was a discussion of carrying passports on the person, or just carrying a copy of your passport while the real passport is in the hotel safe.

Innsbruck / combo (Tyrol region) was elected to be the destination for Eurofest 2003, soundly thrashing Cortina and Davos.

Tour operators for bids for these areas for 2003 were limited to:

Western Carnival – GTU Travel Service, JTM Tours, & Rocky Mountain Tours;

Eurofest – Central Holidays, GTU Travel Service, & SportsTours.

Resolution of actions:

Send bid letters next week (September 30) to tour operators for 2003

Responses back by October 31, 2001

Disseminate to clubs and their internal vote by their executive councils (if necessary) by December 1, 2001

BRSC vote by e-mail or a quick meeting on December 7, 2001 (weekend)

Trip Time-frame Coordinator e-mail

Western Carnival First full week in Feb. Nancy Waddington

WaddingtonNancy@hotmail.com

Eurofest First full week in Mar. Kitty Imdahl

Stacy Hickman, Fagowee Ski Club, motioned and Pam Chewning, Fagowee Ski Club, seconded that Aspen / Snowmass & Breckenridge be the destination resorts for 2004. Following discussion, the motion was withdrawn.

Myrna Aavedal, Potomac Appalachian Trail Club, motioned and Cathy Homens, Columbia Ski Club, seconded, that a single destination be selected for 2004, 2005, & 2006. During discussion it was noted that it was a new way of doing business, but if it didn’t work, we could change it. Motion was approved.

Peter Porton, Pentagon Ski Club, motioned and Myrna Aavedal, Potomac Appalachian Trail Club, seconded that we select at least two (2) additional resorts and vote separately for each year. Motion was approved and nominations from the floor for additional resorts were taken. It was noted by Kate Hayes, Baltimore Disabled Sports and SCWDC historian, that 2006 is the 70th anniversary of Ski Club of Washington DC, Ski Magazine, and Sun Valley. Nominated resorts were: Breckenridge, Aspen / Snowmass, Mammoth, Whistler / Blackcomb, Steamboat Springs, Salt Lake City, and Sun Valley. The winners were: 2004 – Aspen / Snowmass; 2005 – Breckenridge; 2006 – Sun Valley.

Molly Hochman, Crabtowne Ski Club, motioned and Harry Gaskin, SCWDC, seconded to select a resort for Eurofest for 2004. The motion passed and Cortina was elected to be the resort.

Wayne Homens, BRSC president, recounted a work adventure on an ISP (Internet Service Provider) going out of business and closing down with little notice. Disaster was averted, only because there was a back-up. Which raises a question for the clubs – Do you have a back up for your web site? Build a little redundancy into your operations. If a club would like to, they can run a mirror site with BRSC. BRSC is also capable of adding a page to our Web site for your club. Forwarding e-mail can also be provided. Just contact Wayne for information.

A nominating committee composed of a chairman and at least one other member shall be designated by the executive committee at the Fall meeting in concert with our new By-law revisions. Wayne Homens, President BRSC, requested persons interested in being on the nominating committee notify members of the executive committee. The position nominations are sought for is President.

The meeting was adjourned at approximately 4:00p.m. I have not a clue who made the motion or seconded it, but it was approved.

Respectfully submitted,

Harry T. Gaskin

SCWDC Representative

Acting BRSC Secretary

October 9, 2001