Minutes – PVS Excom Meeting – April 28, 2009
The meeting was held at the home of Carolyn Maurer- DeVilbiss and Dave DeVilbiss. Present were Mary Beale, David Callaway, Kerry Hines, Cara Jablon, Dick Laeser, Sue Lyon, Ray McKinley, Rosemary Schwartzbard, John Seabold, Ellie Thayer, and Dottie Villers.
The March 24 Excom Minutes were approved as revised.
Dick Laeser reported that after two quiet months, he had written 9 checks from the Club’s checking account. Members had begun submitting receipts from earlier expenditures (BRSC May meeting attendance, 2 yr website renewal registration, TOOT postage and copy fees, 2 conference call fees, membership sign-in supplies , funeral flowers for M. Hatanaka, and photo album/CD/mailing costs incurred from tribute to M. Hatanaka). Dick transferred $1000 from the Savings to the Checking account to avoid a minimum balance service charge. The combined Savings and Checking account balance is $11,024.74.
Membership Carolyn had some questions about the Membership Committee. She and Dave DeVilbiss and Dave Warthen comprise the committee. Dave W. has asked Carolyn and Dave D. to continue to work on the committee. Carolyn said that it was hard for one person to be in charge of everything the committee does but that Dave W. has just done a fantastic job. Although Carolyn and Dave D. are listed on the club website, inquiries from potential members generally come through Dave W. or Club webmaster Dave Lerner. Dottie said that she would talk with Carolyn and the two Daves to see how things might work going forward.
Events & Meetings
May 1 Ski Trip Expo (North Bethesda) June 16 Monthly Meeting – Ilse Keel
May 2 BRSC Meeting (Best Western, Fairfax) June 23 Excom Meeting
May 19 Monthly Meeting – Pat Vagonis July 28 Excom Meeting – Ellie Thayer
May 20 Lake Accotink Hike-Sue Lyon August 19 Summer at Wolf Trap-Dottie Villers
May 26 Excom Meeting – Dottie Villers
At least 17 PVSers will be attending the Ski Trip Expo in N. Bethesda on May 1st from 6:30 to 9:30. Local and established ski resorts will have representatives there.
Four from PVS (Dave Lerner, Dottie, Rosemary, and Charlie Huggins) will be going to the May 2nd BRSC spring meeting. It is hosted by PVS this year. Dave Lerner has been the principle organizer.
Ray was asked if he had decided not to have an All Trips party this year. “Oh no, I forgot,”said Ray. Although questions have been raised about its ability to bring in additional trip participants, there was general agreement that the event should be held. At the least, members learn more about the trips. It has a social value as well. Cara Jablon volunteered to hold it at her home. A tentative date for July 12th at 2 pm was set.
Sail-Trip Status The Tahiti cruise is scheduled to launch on May 28th running through June 12th. There will be 10 people representing PVS. The clipper has accommodations for 170 passengers.
Ski-Trip Committee Rosemary distributed the two more recent ski trip proposals to Excom prior to the meeting. Dick Comerford has volunteered to lead a PVS contingent to BRSC’s Euro fest which will be in Bormio, Italy (3/6/10-3/14/10). Accommodations will be at the 4 star Baita dei Pini hotel in Bormio. The town hosted the Alpine World Skiing Championships in ’85 and ’05. “There are great side trips to go on,” said Rosemary. “There will probably be add ons. There will be many activities, dinners, and parties arranged by BRSC. The PVS group will be doing some activities with BRSC and some with just PVS. Dick has led many trips.” The estimated cost is $1995 double occupancy. Excom approved the trip by a unanimous vote.
Dottie Villers and Marty Rine have put together a ski trip to popular Jackson Hole. All arrangements are being made through Dan Ellis of Winter Ski and Sport. Mr. Ellis helped Liz Warren-Boulton and Joe Jevcak arrange the Club’s 2009 Taos trip. The tentative dates are 2/18/10-2/25/10. Guests will be staying slope side at the Alpenhof Lodge in Teton Village. There will be a day trip and a dinner in Jackson Hole. Jackson Hole is a wonderful western town with much to offer including art galleries (it’s known for its western art), restaurants, and shops. There is public transportation from Teton Village to Jackson Hole which is free for those over 65. Jackson Hole’s Mangy Moose Salon (ranked as one of the best après ski bars in the entire country) is one of the venues Dottie and Marty will be considering for the group dinner. They’re also looking into a day trip to the Grand Targhee Ski area which is known for its exceptionally good powder skiing. The estimated cost is $1750. The proposal was approved unanimously. Dottie and Marty will be going to Jackson Hole in May to scout things out.
Carolyn said that the final cost of the 2010 Snowmass trip (1/13/10-1/20/10) is just a little higher than last year. “We’re going to lock in with United,” she said.
“It will be a good season,” said Rosemary. “We’re ahead of time with our trips. It just all sounds good.”
TOOT The May TOOT deadline is April 30th. Kerry Hines has volunteered to be editor again. Carolyn and Dave D. have kindly offered to assume the copying and mailing chores for still another month. Dave W. will be the June editor. Marvin Hass will be editor of a combined July/August issue as well as the September TOOT (to be published early on August 27th). Sue Lyon will take charge of the copying and mailing of the June and July/August issues.
Sixth Excom Member Kerry’s recent election to Vice President has left a vacancy on Excom. Dottie proposed that Mary Beale finish out his term (1 year). The recommendation was approved.
Website Excom has been discussing certain website issues in recent meetings: BRSC’s request to provide a link to the BRSC trip page, the lack of MetaNames (keywords for search engines), and photo links that don’t seem to connect to photos. Dottie said that there is a BRSC link on the website now. She would like to postpone discussion on the other topics for a meeting when the webmaster can attend.
Financial problems at JTM Tours BRSC recently sent word out that one of the member clubs (SCWDC) had had to cover $120,000 of hotel and air fees that JTM Tours had defaulted on. Trip participants learned of the problem 36 hours before departure. SCWDC was able to cover the outstanding bills because of a large reserve fund. Trip expenses were essentially paid for twice. Dick Laeser asked what would happen if one of the tour operators that PVS used defaulted. Ray said that the issue of liability has been a matter of discussion in Excom repeatedly over the years. Concerns over liability were influential in changing the Club’s corporate licensure from DC to Virginia in 2005. There is more protection for Club officials under Virginia law. For years trip participants have signed trip waivers essentially agreeing not to hold PVS or trip leaders responsible for problems associated with trips. Partcipants have been encouraged to insure themselves if they are concerned. Cara and Ellie, both lawyers, volunteered to review the contracts in the Club’s By-Laws and the Ski Trip Guidelines regarding liability. “We need to have language to protect the trip leader,” said Cara.
Minutes submitted by Mary Beale, secretary