President's Message

Greetings! Hope all had a great Thanksgiving, and we can all look forward to Christmas.
A white Christmas looks like it has a fair chance of happening, at least for the moment. Snow has certainly arrived, and based on the prediction more is on the way this week. As such, Goeff and Skip are going to be looking for help to finish getting the shelters covered and grooming equipment in place. Not to mention getting gates closed, signs up and snow packing started. In addition, yesterdays wind storm probably brought down a few new trees across the trails. But at least we can thank Scott for his solo efforts at cutting some out a couple of weeks ago. It will definitely make it a little easier on the grooming crew the first time out this season.
To reiterate last month’s message regarding the club meeting location. It will be held at the “Community United Methodist Church”. Which is located at the intersection of Hanley and Ramsey in Coeur d’Alene (Address: 1470 W Hanley). To show our appreciation for free use of the facility, the club has made a $100 donation.
Also, as a remainder, the meeting will be held on the first Tuesday of the December (12/6/2022). We will start at 7:00 PM. Goeff and Skip plan to give us a presentation about the book they recently completed and had published about the 4th of July recreation area history. It should be informative, and might even be inspirational enough to convince some to add it to their libraries. So, be ready to get a history lesson.
This meeting is also the annual cookie exchange event. Otherwise, don’t forget to BRING COOKIES to the meeting. Any that are not eaten will be donated to the IDT folks to thank them for keeping the ski area access and parking area open.
At the last meeting we did a pretty good job of creating a list of activities for the winter, but we still have some work to do. For starters, we still need to get some of the dates finalized. It would be great if the activity leaders that volunteered at the last meeting would be prepared to establish the dates for their activity. Dates are needed for Methow Valley/Winthrop, Palouse Divide, Pine street Woods and the Nordman activities (See the attached list).
We also need to talk about an alternative for Fernan Saddle (Ski/Shoe). Due to a recent development, the road to Fernan Saddle may not be plowed this season. If this occurs we certainly will not be able to reach the route of the proposed activity, by vehicle anyway. The alternative being considered is at Newman Lake, “Mckenzie Conservation Area”. So, if there are any other ideas feel free to share them next Tuesday.
At the last meeting the idea of having a public relations person join the board was raised. In short we are looking for someone who would like to take on the role of coordinating the clubs’ promotional activities for the purpose of recruiting new members. If anyone has thought about it, and would be interested please let one of the board members, or me know. We can give you more details about what we’re looking for.
FYI-The board has started working on preparations for the “Best Hand Ski/Shoe” event. Sign-up sheets will be available for volunteers to help out with registering, handing out cards and/or logistical support. Mike Zagar has graciously taken on the role of trying to get volunteers signed up. Especially for the card
hand out stations and registration. If you can’t find the sign-up sheets, let Mike know you’re interested. He will be able to get you on a sign-up sheet.
If you’ve already signed in to the WEB site and renewed your membership the board wants to thank you. If you haven’t got around to it yet, as a reminder, you are encouraged to do so as soon as you can! The sooner your renewals are taken care of, the earlier a membership list for the year can be completed.
Remember, trying to renew at club meetings is not a good option. Please renew and pay dues via the WEB site. Using the WEB site is much more efficient and it makes it a lot easier to enter information into the membership list.
See you at the club meeting December 6th. 7PM, Community Untied Methodist Church.