| From Mission Control | By Gary Butler, Space City Ski Club President |
I hope everyone got through Hurricane Ike healthy with many interesting stories to tell. Since some of us still don’t have power putting together the Sitzmarke is a challenge that I hope you will let pass this month. I hope with the city slowly getting back on it’s feet, businesses reopening and houses repaired that everything will go back to normal in October so we can start looking forward to hitting the slopes this year.
So far Dave & Busters looks like a hit with our members as a general meeting location. Everyone seems happy with the facilities, the bar and the help. The October 13th meeting will feature Richard Davidson president of Ski Europe as our speaker talking about his favorite travel topics. Be sure to come and sign-up for trips, activities, gab with your friends and listen to Richard’s presentation. Afterwards stick around and have dinner at D&B or play the games.
Cheryl May is in the process of putting together our Sunshine Kids auction for the December meeting so if you have any items to add to the auction or want to help give Cheryl a shout at camaysfa@aol.com. |
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Back by Popular Demand
The 2008 “Recruit a New Member and Win” Contest!
It is common knowledge that communication by word of mouth works! A recommendation from a friend, family member or colleague holds more credibility than most any form of advertising. So we are asking you to help us find more great members, just like you! Recruit a new member to the Space City Ski Club and they will thank you for introducing them to all that our club has to offer. And we will thank you with the opportunity to win up to $200 towards a Space City ski trip!
The Rules
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Members will have two ways to win:
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The member who recruits the most new members is eligible to win a $200 credit towards the cost of a Space City Ski Club ski trip during the 2008-2009 season. If the trip fee has already been paid in full, the credit will be reimbursed to the winning member.
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Two members will each be eligible to win a $100 credit applicable to the cost of a Space City Ski Club ski trip during the 2008-2009 season by having their names drawn in a lottery. For each new member recruited, the referring member will have their name placed in the drawing. If they recruit two new members they will receive two chances to win. If they recruit twelve new members, they will receive a dozen chances to win, etc. The more people recruited the better the probability of winning.
The contest begins September 1, 2008 and ends December 1, 2008. Winners will be announced at the December 2008 general meeting.
Winners must be members in good standing at the time of award.
A member may only win one of the three prizes.
If there is a tie in the greatest number of new members recruited, there will be a separate drawing to determine the winner of the $200 credit.
A "new member" means an individual who has not previously been a member of Space City Ski Club. Dual memberships will count as two members; however a member will not receive credit for recruiting their spouse.
The new member’s membership application must be completed and approved by the Executive Committee, with all fees paid, as of December 1, 2008. The new member must indicate who referred them on their membership application. If more than one member is listed as a recruiter on the application, only the first listed name will be entered in the contest for that new member. If the new member signed up after September 1, 2008, but before you knew about this contest, let us know. Credit will be received for your recruiting efforts once confirmed by the person recruited.
Any SCSC member who already receives a trip reimbursement is not eligible to win the monetary credit towards a ski trip. |
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WE WANT YOU
To Reliably Receive Your Sitzmarke!
You want to find out what exciting trips and fun activities that your club has to offer by continuing to get your Sitzmarke by print and by email.
1. Make sure your mailing and email addresses are current by updating your online membership profile. PLEASE CORRECT YOUR EMAIL ADDRESSES!!!
2. Make sure that our email newsletters and email informational blasts are reliably received in your in-box without your filters mistakenly blocking them as “bulk” or “spam”.
Please add these email addresses to your computer’s email contact list:
You may also need to do this at your internet service provider’s webmail.
Thank you! |
| Having A Blast! | By Camille LaRoe, Vice President of Activities |
SCSC is kicking off the fall with a great variety of activities in October! You won’t want to miss the October 23 rd, Happy Hour/Dart Tournament at BJ’s Sports Pub which has become an annual event AC’d by Laura Carmin. This year we will not only have the much anticipated Dart Tournament but will also be incorporating a Halloween Party complete with cash prizes for the best darts and costumes. Bring your favorite covered dish or appetizer and enjoy a tried and true great activity.
Fall is one of the best times to enjoy great weather, great food and great wine with your SCSC friends. Ann Dorn is hosting a Wine Tasting complete with a dinner buffet and wine pairings at her home in Sugar Land on Saturday, October 18th. Please check the website for Ann’s payment information as this event closes October 13th.
Just a note, we did have Ky Griffin’s Dam to Dam bike ride scheduled for October 25th but Ike has forced a reschedule of that event. We will let you know the new date because I think this will still be a great event.
Touching on November, I can’t pass up the opportunity to again make sure you don’t miss out on the Annual Gala at Magic Island November 15th! If you heard they had a fire during Ike not to worry, it was apparently small and they expect to have been up and running in only a couple of weeks. Final payment for this event is October 27th so please contact AC: Janice Harris early or consult the website for payment information.
Last, Ellen Eastham can always find more ways for us to have a blast! Volunteer with Ellen, fellow SCSC’ers and Houstonians to help HEB and Houston put on the best Thanksgiving Day Parade ever! This is a great way to promote Space City Ski Club in the community and perhaps get yourself and SCSC on TV!
A big thanks to all who have volunteered to AC these great October and November activities. I need even more volunteers to help coordinate activities for the coming months so please email me at claroe@abm.com so we can keep on HAVING A BLAST! |
| Countdown to Liftoff | By Marsha Lutz, Vice President of Trips |
I hope that Hurricane Ike did not create too much havoc for you. I really do feel for those that had losses. We all suffer some inconveniences when we don’t have the creature comforts we take for granted, but that is minor compared to significant loss of property or life. By the time you read this, recovery from Ike’s effects should be pretty far along for most, so hopefully we can talk about something more fun for awhile.
The Summer Meltdown will have occurred when this newsletter arrives in your mail box. I am sure those that went enjoyed spending time on a beach not much affected by Ike. Speaking of summer trips, stay tuned for more info on Panama 2009. We should have the trip price in October – hopefully at the General Meeting.
At the time I write this, all the trips have openings, but if you are considering a trip, don’t delay signing up any longer. The final payment dates are set so that we can make decisions on releasing unsold air and lodging before vendor penalties set in. We will keep a few extra spaces so we have something to offer new members or late deciders, but once we release airline seats we cannot get them back. The best way to insure you get on a specific trip is to sign up before the final payment date – but if that is passed still check with the TC as there may still be openings.
We have some great news on Breckenridge. We were able to secure revised air pricing at a significantly lower price than originally contracted and the trip price has been reduced by about $130 for the full packages! New prices for this really great value trip are:
Contact the TC or ATC if you need more info to help you decide which trip to go on – whether in Colorado, Utah, Montana, Canada, Japan or France! Any of the locales is sure to provide great skiing, beautiful scenery and wonderful camaraderie. |
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Are you PayPal Challenged? You’re not alone!
During this past membership renewal period, we received many “constructive” comments from members who struggled with the online renewal process. Many navigated the website and PayPal without a hitch - there were 400 PayPal transactions successfully executed during the year - yet some of you found the process infuriating. In fact, it was suggested that we abandon the service altogether.
However, PayPal does provide the members of Space City a valuable service. First of all, it should be a more convenient way to renew your membership or sign up for trips. It is also a secure way to execute these transactions since no one at Space City can access your credit card information. And, believe it or not, PayPal is one of the more mature and stable payment services available, with a good track record. Many of us already use it to make purchases over the internet.
In most cases, frustrations are generated by individual computer security set-ups and email providers who refuse to deliver automated messages sent out from SCSC. We hope that the following information helps you more easily navigate the renewal and trip sign-up processes. You might even want to save this “cheat sheet” for the next time you need to complete a transaction online.
I’d like extend my appreciation to Lesly Van Dame for chasing down a human at PayPal to obtain some of this information for us!
Don’t have a SCSC on-line account?
Click on the “My SCSC” tab and then click on the "SCSC members may request an account here" link. You will need your member number which can be found on a Sitzmarke label. Alternatively, you may e-mail the VP of membership at vpmembership@spacecityskiclub.org and request your member number. After you submit the information requested, the system will email your Username and Password to the email address on record within a day. Check your spam or bulk folders as many email providers intercept these system messages and tag them as “junk”.
Have an SCSC on-line account but forgot your Username and Password?
Click on the “My SCSC” tab and then click on the “Lost Your Password?” link. Enter your Username, member number or email address on record and the system will email your Username and Password within a day. If you don’t receive it, check your spam or bulk folders as many email providers intercept these system messages and tag them as “junk”.
It is a good idea to use the “Change Password” feature after you sign on, to alter your password to one that is more convenient to remember.
Alternatively, you can always set up your account again, as if it is a new one, and the system will provide you with your original Password.
Having trouble with PayPal?
To avoid problems with PayPal, you must have your computer settings set correctly.
While in your browser, go to
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TOOLS =>INTERNET OPTIONS
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Click on the ADVANCED Tab and scroll down to the bottom of the list to ensure the “Use SSL 2.0”, “Use SSL 3.0”, and “Use TSL 1.0” boxes are all checked
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Click on the PRIVACY Tab and ensure the level is set at Medium or lower
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Click on the SECURITY Tab and click on the "Trusted Sites" icon. Add https:\\*.PayPal.com to the list
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Click on the GENERAL Tab and check to delete the cookies in the Temporary Internet Files
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REBOOT
Did you get the "Your session has timed out" message when trying to complete the PayPal process? Don’t worry - it’s just a browser cookie setting. Go back to the payment page. Below the PayPal button there is a link to a help page to get that all straight. |
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Financial
Reports
have been prepared by
David Cone, Treasurer
and mailed to each member with the October, 2008 Sitzmarke |
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