The Flurries New Members

Transcription

1 The Flurries New Members Our Mission: Special Edition for New Members SkiMeisters is an organization of exceptional, active adults, 55 and older, who have joined together for the joy of downhill skiing with like-minded individuals. Our goal is to provide a skiing experience where members are able to ski with those of similar abilities. In addition, other activities, such as cross-country skiing, hiking and biking, are offered to maintain fitness and social contacts throughout the year. "Since we are all going downhill, we want to help you enjoy it!" Welcome to SkiMeisters! Congratulations on joining the wonderful world of activities enjoyed by the SkiMeisters. We believe this is the finest and most unique ski club for mature adults in the Front Range area. We are the only group that is organized as a non-profit corporation dedicated to return, in the form of benefits, all of the dues that we collect from you. Information available to you as a Full New Member or as an Associate Downhill Member (ADM) The Flurries This publication is made available to all members, including Associate Downhill Members (ADMs) via the Members Only section of our website and provides official information for SkiMeisters. Current and up-coming events, as well as schedules for the many different activities of SkiMeisters, are published at appropriate times. When reservations and/or costs are required, a coupon is provided at the end of the Flurries to use for signing up for the special activity. In order to know what is going on in the club, be sure to read (and keep) the information in the bi-monthly Flurries. Flurries are in PDF electronic form and can be opened with the Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you do not have this software, it is available, at no cost, from Adobe. Instructions for downloading Adobe Reader are contained in the note transmitting the latest Flurries or on the SkiMeisters Website. The current, as well as some previous editions, of the Flurries are available on the SkiMeisters Website. Once you have the Flurries opened on your screen you may SAVE it to your hard drive or PRINT it. The Flurries is usually published six times per year, following the every-other-month Board of Directors meeting in Jan, Mar, May, July, Sept and Nov. SkiMeisters Website provides information pertinent to members and non members. The first screen is a public one. Members and ADMs would then click on the Members Only 10/29/15 1

2 selection at the top right. A screen will appear that will ask for a User Name; that is your address. The password is 55+skiers. BOTH MUST BE IN LOWER CASE. This will get you into the Members Only part of the SkiMeisters website. Place your cursor on any of the choices at the top. A drop-down menu appears under each. Please do not give this website address, user name or password to any non-skimeisters. Do explore the variety of information available in both the public & the Members Only sections. You can find past editions of the Flurries, a history of SkiMeisters, the after-ski party schedule, and other information made available by the Board, Staff, or leaders of each of the activities. For faster finding, once in the Members Only section, click on Home/Site Map. When you see what you want, select it and you will be taken directly there. There is also a search box at the top. Open the current edition of the Flurries, September s, to get an overview of our activities. The November issue comes out later in the month. There is also a photo section that will help you with names & faces of our members. One of the first uses of the website for new full members (but not ADMs) is to pay your first year s annual dues. Remember that you have paid only the $125 per person one-time initiation fee which is not your annual dues. After receiving your notice on November 1 st each year, in the Members Only area, put your cursor on Sign-Up and click Renew Membership. You will be guided to check the contact information we have on file for you and to pay dues using your Paypal account or major credit card. To get a roster of all the full members or ADMs go to Contacts/Rosters and select the roster desired. Check that your information has been entered correctly. Send any corrections to mem.skimeisters@gmail.com. You may print it or save it in your personal electronic device. But rosters and members personal information is not to be used in any way that will compromise their privacy; it s for the members use only. Under the Resources tab there are Blogs where many activities will be described. This information should be more up to date than that in the Flurries which could be a month or two old. Official SkiMeisters Notices and Distribution List The use of by the SkiMeisters Club is intended to relay activities information. You have provided an address to the Club that will be used for sending out these SkiMeisters official notices. Your address will also be published in the SkiMeisters Roster or the Associate Downhill Members (ADM) Roster. SkiMeisters requires that every member and those on the Wait List have signed a form titled Authorization form so that official mailings will not be treated as spam. A limited number of SkiMeisters officials have the ability to send using the official distribution list. The sending mechanism provides for 1) A member seeing only a single addressee in each note sent and 2) protection against spreading of computer viruses. Notes will contain official SkiMeisters business only, no jokes, no items for sale, no important non-skimeisters information that everyone should know (in someone s opinion), no inspirational messages, etc. Each SkiMeister may only use 1 address. Each week, during ski season, the Director of Downhill Skiing sends out a note containing pertinent information concerning the downhill program and the location of the current After-Ski party. As appropriate, a note will be sent advising those on the distribution list of the serious injury, illness or death of a member. 10/29/15 2

3 Some members have an Spam Blocking service that only allows notes from certain senders. If you have this type of protection for messages, add the following five address contacts in your address book. The first 3 addresses are for mass mailing to large groups of members: admin@skimeisters.org, membership@skimeisters.org and admprogram@skimeisters.org. In addition, to individuals or small groups may come from mem.skimeisters@gmail.com (membership issues). For updates on this and other issues, please look at the Important Information page on the SkiMeisters website Public area at Guidelines/General/Important Info. Communication with the SkiMeisters Club If you wish to contact the SkiMeisters Club: Mail - You may send USPS mail to SkiMeisters, 6066 Queen St. Arvada, CO Contacting a Board Member - You may contact any of the Board of Directors, Staff or the Activity Leaders directly by phone or by going to click on Members Only to enter the members area by entering your address and password 55+skiers, then click CONTACTS/OFFICIALS then click BOARD, STAFF & ACTIVITY LEADERS. Also, in the Member Roster the Voting Board have a ** by their name. The Membership Administrator person identified in BOARD, STAFF & LEADERS document maintains the Full Member Roster and the Associate Downhill Member (ADM) Roster. Both rosters are provided for the convenience of SkiMeisters only. Any other use is strictly prohibited unless approval is obtained from the SkiMeisters Board of Directors. No member shall make either list available to any person who is not a member. Notify mem.skimeisters@gmail.com of any changes to your contact as soon as you can. Rosters are updated on the web site every 7-10 days. SkiMeisters Activities SkiMeisters offers a number of different activities in which you may want to participate. Watch for s and see the calendar on the website at Members Only/Resources/Calendar. The following are suggestions on the SkiMeisters major activities: Downhill Skiing Full and ADM members. To learn about the Downhill Skiing activity: o Read the Downhill Skiing information on the SkiMeisters website. Included is information you will need to know for your first day skiing with the SkiMeisters. If you are unable to do this, contact the Director of Downhill Skiing listed in the Board-Staff-Activity Leaders document. o Read the information in the fall (November) edition of the Flurries, available on the website, for the downhill skiing schedule, list of special events, discounts available to members, and the after-ski party schedule. o Read and be familiar with the skiing levels and rules for SkiMeisters skiing. These are available on the website on the Downhill Skiing page. o Read the weekly s sent by the Director of Downhill Skiing. These messages contain information specific to that week. o Each September an Associate Downhill Member (ADM) membership will be offered to most of those on the Wait List as of 9/1 not high enough up to receive an invitation for full, regular membership. Those offered this special category of membership will receive acceptance notification at the end of September or early October. Membership begins November 1 of each year. o Helmets are now mandatory for downhill. 10/29/15 3

4 o Any person who is not a full member or ADM may only attend 2 times per season as a guest of a full member and, if not on the wait list, must sign a liability release. o DOWNHILL SKI DATES FOR SKI SEASON: SkiMeisters ski at Winter Park on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays. Ski season for club activity is Dec. 2 Dec. 17 and Jan. 6 March 23, You are responsible for obtaining your own ski pass. Helmets are mandatory. o ORIENTATION FOR NEW MEMBERS An orientation for new members will be held the first day of downhill skiing on Wednesday, December 2, at the West Portal building at Winter Park. It is primarily intended for members to get familiar with our downhill routine who were not ADMs previously and have not yet skied with the club. It will take place at about 9 AM and will include several hours of skiing with our guides. Lynn Kessler, Director of Downhill Skiing, will be sending all of you an with information about the first ski day as well as an outline of additional very useful information he has compiled. Cross Country Skiing and Snow Shoeing Full members only. If you are interested in Cross Country Skiing or Snow Shoeing, you should: o Contact the Head of SkiMeisters Cross Country Skiing at the phone number or address listed in the Board-Staff-Activity Leaders document. o Be able to view information on the SkiMeisters Website. If you are unable to do this, tell the Head of SkiMeisters Cross Country Skiing listed in the Board-Staff-Activity Leaders document. o Obtain the November Flurries edition that contains the seasonal information about Cross Country Skiing. It is available on the website under the Flurries Header (usually middle of the month). The Flurries tells you: The Cross Country Schedule When and where to meet for each Cross Country trip. Who to call if you are going to go on a specific day trip (The trip Host(s)). The difficulty of the trip member and must have a signed liability release on file. Biking Full members only. SkiMeisters Biking occurs in both the summer and winter. Winter biking is weather permitting. Summer biking trips are pre-scheduled. If you are interested in SkiMeisters Biking, you should: o Contact the Head of SkiMeisters Biking at the phone number or address listed in the Board-Staff-Activity Leaders document. o Obtain the Flurries edition that has the current pertinent information about biking, summer or winter. Since it occurs year-round, biking information is contained in multiple editions of the Flurries. The Head of Biking will direct you to the appropriate Flurries editions that are available on the website on the Flurries page. o Understand the SkiMeisters Biking Policies. These policies are available on the website on the Biking page. member must have a signed liability release on file. Hiking - Full members only. If you are interested in SkiMeisters Hiking: o SkiMeisters Hiking usually begins in May and the schedule is usually published in the May Flurries. You can view and / or download the Flurries from the Members Only part of the 10/29/15 4

5 website under the Header Flurries. It will have the current pertinent information about hiking. There are specific rules for hiking with SkiMeisters. This page tells you: The rules for hiking with SkiMeisters The Hiking Schedule When and where to meet for each Hiking trip. Who to call if you are going to go a specific day trip (The trip Host(s)). The difficulty of the trip. o Call or the Host of any hike you wish to take a couple of days before the hike is scheduled. member and must have a signed liability release on file. There are other events, activities and services. These are described, as they are scheduled, in the Flurries. If you have particular interests, you may look at the past year s editions of the Flurries, available on the SkiMeisters website, or you may contact one of the Board Members or other members. SkiMeisters Handbook There is a SkiMeisters Handbook, which was originally published in the spring of It contains some history of the SkiMeisters Club and its programs. Of course since the handbook was written some of the information is out of date. 2 additional docs were created in 2011 to augment the original handbook s information. If you would like to read or download any of these documents, you can find them on the website: Public/About Our Club/History Volunteering - SkiMeisters is the active club that it is due to its members attitude towards volunteering either for an individual activity or as a board member. Individual activities require volunteers as hosts, guides and Activity Leaders. It is one of the best ways to get to know other club members and become involved. Those who get involved have the most fun. Name tags A pin-on and a chain necklace name tag are provided in November when you first become an ADM [or a full member if you were not one]. They will be mailed to the primary address you entered on your New Member application form. They are not replaced annually but when you need a replacement send an to jpigman41@gmail.com asking for the style you need. Please wear your name tags to all events. It enables members to connect a face to a name and accelerates your entry into the group. Keep this special Flurries as a reference to check back to in the future. 10/29/15 5