Minutes – PVS ExCom Meeting – January 27, 2015

MEETING ATTENDEES: The meeting was held at the home of Ellie Thayer. In attendance were: Nancy McKinley, John Holt, Marianne Soponis, Maryann Rozzell, Inge Lesjak, Dave Warthen, Ray McKinley, Rosemary Schwartzbard, Jan Marx, Carolyn DeVilbiss, and Ellie Thayer. President, Nancy McKinley, chaired the meeting.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Secretary, Ellie Thayer, submitted the minutes of the December 9, 2014 meeting electronically. The minutes were approved and filed.

TREASURER’S REPORT: Treasurer, Dick Laeser, submitted the Treasurer’s Report electronically. The report was filed. The Treasury amount is $12,066.55. The amount, which is lower than last month, reflects the payment of the facility and catering deposits for the 50^th Anniversary Gala in November.

MEMBERSHIP RECORDS REPORT: Membership chair, Dave Warthen, submitted the Membership Records Report electronically. The report was filed. Dave noted that one member recently died and now the club has 183 members. To offset that, there are four new applicant members, most resulting from the Snowmass ski trip. Next month Dave will inform ExCom of the status of all applicant members in view of the upcoming annual April meeting.

EVENTS AND MEETINGS REPORT: Events and meetings chair, Ray McKinley, gave a status report on upcoming events and meetings.

February 15, 2015 – monthly meeting to be hosted by Maryann Rozzell at 2:00PM.

February 15, 2015 – information session, headed by Inge Lesjak, regarding the Austrian trip to be held in conjunction with the meeting.

February 24, 2015 – ExCom to be hosted by Jan Marx at 7:30PM.

March 22, 2015 – monthly meeting to be hosted by Melissa Fitzgerald at 2PM.*

*This information was provided the day after the ExCom meeting.

April 21, 2015 – annual meeting to be held in party room in Reg Heitchue’s condo at 7:30PM.

November 1, 2015 – 50^th Anniversary Gala at Top of the Town, Rosslyn, VA.

SKI TRIP COMMITTEE REPORT: Ski Trip Committee Chair, Rosemary Schwartzbard, reported on the 2015 ski trips. She noted that the January Snowmass ski trip led by Marianne Soponis was a smashing success. Marianne reported that the trip was successful and fun with only one injury. Marianne said that the trip at Snowmass itself went smoothly, but the airport portion created challenges and obstacles – all overcome. Carolyn DeVilbiss thanked Marianne for taking the reins for this favorite PVS trip and Rosemary thanked her for agreeing to lead the trip next year. Skiers going on the Mt. Bachelor trip leave in a few days. Inge reported that the final trip of the season, to Austria on March 6, is on track with 32 participants. Inge plans to incorporate an information session for participants at the February meeting.

Rosemary presented ExCom with two ski trip proposals for 2016.

1. January 13 – 20, 2016 – Snowmass to be led by Marianne and co-leader, Nancy Pigman. The proposal anticipates again staying at the Mountain Chalet at Snowmass. ExCom enthusiastically endorsed this trip. John Holt moved to accept the Snowmass trip proposal. The motion was seconded and there was unanimous consent. Rosemary noted that early approval is important so that the leaders can block rooms at the popular Mountain Chalet.

2. January 30 – February 6, 2016 – BRSC sponsored trip to Snowbird, Utah; PVS contingent to be led by Mike and Eloise Strand. The proposal anticipates staying at Cliff House. Ellie moved to accept the Snowbird proposal. Marianne seconded the motion. It was unanimously approved. As with Snowmass, Rosemary noted that early approval is important so that PVS can stay at its first choice of lodging, i.e., Cliff House. The club has 10 rooms reserved at this time. The Strands are familiar with Snowbird based on research done for an earlier trip that did not materialize.

TOOT REPORT: TOOT Coordinator, Ellie Thayer, reported that Dave Warthen is the February editor and Jan Marx is the March editor. All articles have been submitted for the February issue except one, which is expected soon.

OLD BUSINESS: There were three items of old business.

PVS 50^th Anniversary Status: The gala committee consists of Rosemary Schwartzbard (chair), Nancy McKinley, Ray McKinley, Eloise Strand, Marianne Soponis, Jan Marx, and Carolyn DeVilbiss. Rachel Abraham serves as a consultant. The committee has scheduled a planning luncheon in February. Rosemary stated that the target goal is 100 attendees.

Nominating Committee Slate of Officers: Nancy thanked the Committee for its hard work. The committee consisted of Bob Knopes (chair), John Brunelli, Jan Marx, Ray McKinley, Don Vierimaa, and Inge Lesjak. The slate of officers is: Carolyn DeVilbiss (president), Bob Kramer (vice president), Herb Bennett (ExCom), Marna Blanchette (ExCom), Celia Chen (ExCom), and Reg Heitchue (1-year term on ExCom). The slate will be voted on at the April 2015 annual meeting.

Telephone Tree: Inge reported that the CGS had used a telephone tree to communicate with its members about important upcoming events. A lead person would call 10 people, who in turn would each call 10 people, and so on. The question presented was whether PVS wished to try a similar system to contact its membership about meetings and events. There was wide-ranging discussion about whether such a system was needed in view of email notification, whether its use would increase attendance because of the personal contact, whether it would facilitate carpooling, and whether there were too many members (many not involved) to be workable. It was decided that the system would be tried for the annual meeting in April when the election of officers and voting on applicants is held. Inge and Carolyn agreed to spearhead the effort. Dave will assist them in identifying groups by zip codes or city locations.

NEW BUSINESS: There were two items of new business.

PVS Helmet Policy: Rosemary proposed to include in her February Ski Talk for TOOT:

We all recognize the need for wearing helmets and the wisdom for doing so. Yet surprisingly not all skiers (even in PVS) are wearing helmets. Some clubs will not allow anyone to participate in skiing events unless they are wearing helmets. In fact, I read somewhere they are mandatory in Canada and New Jersey! PVS certainly agrees that everyone should wear a helmet when skiing but takes a slightly different approach. PVS trusts the common sense and good judgment of its members and believes they all recognize the wisdom of never skiing without a helmet. The club leadership does not want to set up any new rules to enforce this so let’s make sure we are all on board with regard to this very important safety procedure.

Before going to print, Rosemary sought approval from ExCom on the policy that she expressed in her article. There were no objections and complete agreement with the expressed policy.

February ExCom Date/Location: Jan Marx volunteered to host ExCom on February 24, 2015.

ADJOURNMENT: A motion was made and seconded to adjourn the meeting. The meeting was adjourned at 9:10PM.

Minutes submitted by the secretary, Ellie Thayer.