President's Message

The end of the winter season is rapidly approaching. Earlier this week Goeff reported that the grooming was still intact and skiable or good for snowshoeing. With the current weather we’re getting, there might be a chance that it may even last for another week or so.
Needless to say, it is that time of the year when the grooming will be discontinued and the gates will be opened or closed for the summer season. By the end of next week, or at least by the first of April, Forest Service Road 614 (Skywalker) will be open to motorized vehicles again and all the side roads will be closed. The crew will also be moving the grooming equipment into the summer storage. So get out and take advantage of the remaining snow while you can, as it won’t be long before we’re in to hiking, biking and horseback riding season at 4th of July.
A bit of good news. At the last Club meeting I’d mentioned that it may be necessary to look into finding a new venue for the club meetings next year. An inquiry was made with the current vendor for the 4th of July recreation area liability policy to see what it might cost to add the church. As it turns out the liability coverage for meeting at the church can be added with no additional expense. So, next Fall we will plan to continue meeting at the Community Methodist Church.
As a reminder, the April 4th club meeting (i.e. the last club meeting for this season) will be held at the Pizza Factory at 503 West Appleway Ave., Coeur d’Alene. The room is reserved from 6-8 PM. It is strongly suggested that you order in advance to minimize the wait time for your pizza.
There are two we hope to accomplish at this meeting. First, following a presentation by a member of the trails working group the Skip and Goeff participate on, there will be a membership vote to determine if our club should join other clubs’ collaboration for trail development/maintenance grants. Second, we will develop the summer activity list. Please come prepared to offer activity ideas that you’d like to try and get a group together for. Such as hikes, bike trips, float trips, barbecues, cider making, etc. We’ll put together a list just like we did for the winter activities.
To give potential volunteers time to consider it, the board is asking for volunteers to join us next Fall. The current board, being composed of members that have served or re-served as officers for many years means sometime in the future they will be stepping down. Before this occurs we think an opportunity for corporate knowledge to be shared needs to be offered. To be prepared for the future transitions, the objective is to allow time for new volunteers to become familiar with the details of maintaining and managing the area, and the current board members roles. The continued existence of the 4th of July Recreation Area is dependent on the future continuation of the club and its board. As such the continuity of the club board can’t be over stated. For the future of the 4th of July Recreation Area, the board asks you to consider joining us next Fall. If you would be interested, please let any of the current board members know. Thanks!
Hope to see a good turnout at April club meeting, with lots of ideas for summer activities. In closing, our first club meeting for the ’23-24 winter season will be on the first Tuesday of November. I encourage you to invite your friends and neighbors who might be interested in cross country skiing and
snowshoeing to come and join us. At the least help spread the word that the 4th of July Recreation Area exits and is open to the public to use.
This will be the final newsletter for this season. So have a good summer!
P.S. - If you are interested in participating, as soon as possible the Summer Activities list generated at Aprils club meeting will be posted on the WEB Site and sent out to the membership list