Over a decade ago Space City Ski Club began supporting the Snshine Kids, a charity that supports children with cancer. Through auctions, pledges and donations we have raised through the years well over $50000 and once again this year we plan to add to that total. We are going to hold our annual Sunshine Kids auction at our upcoming December meeting to be held on the 8th at Dave & Busters in the Showroom. As mentioned last month Cheryl May will head up the committee running the auction so if you want to contribute an item please contact Cheryl at 713-983-8866 or at camaysfa@aol.com.

Bring your checkbooks or a wad of cash to the auction and be prepared to help yourself to great auction items and at the same time you will make a charitable contribution to the Sunshine Kids.

By the time you read this our first ski trip should be back in town so the ski season has officially started. We still have spots available on most trips so tell your friends and family to join the club and hit the slopes. It’s time to break out the snow dance and get the slopes covered. Think snow.

I want to express a big “Thank You” to our members that have volunteered to coordinate activities for us over the last couple of months! In October, Ann Dorn hosted a fantastic wine tasting for 44 SCSC members and friends and plied us with some sensational food and wine while Laura Carmin put a lot of effort into rounding up a great group for our now annual Dart Tournament. We feasted on some great treats brought by all and battled to the end for the winner’s title grabbed by Larry Longbottom and the best Halloween costume snagged by Marilyn Swanson.

If you didn’t join us for the St. Arnold’s Brewery Tour you truly missed a blast! Larry Christie was a volunteer bartender the day we attended and kept us all in suds! I would love to do this again any Saturday. Ike hit us once again and forced the relocation of the Holiday Gala to Sambuca! That didn’t faze AC Janice Harris and 63 other Gala attendees as we still had a festive night with great food and the music of Ezra Charles! Rounding out November our never tireless, Ellen Eastman, organized volunteers for the Thanksgiving Day Parade and Feast. It was a great way to give back to Houston after so many challenges for our city since September. Peggy Shillinger has also been a much appreciated volunteer organizing our Happy Hours every month. Happy Hour, December
18th at Howl at the Moon in Midtown, will be a great place to celebrate our friendships and the Holiday Season together. Thanks again to Ann, Laura, Larry, Janice, Ellen and Peggy for organizing these great times!

Kicking off 2009, I am in the process of getting approval for a bowling activity January 10 or 11th and a trip to the Rodeo with AC Craig Campbell March 7th. Steve Giesler and Rick Jaeger will AC/AAC Mardi Gras Galveston February 21st, so be sure and mark this date on your calendar. This is another great opportunity to support our neighbors and your participation could sincerely help a community rebuild. Stay tuned for updates from Chuck Pena for this year’s TSC Bid Fest to be held in Dallas, April 17th to 19th. Discount room rates are available until January 31st. Keep your fingers crossed for the Sandcastle Competition in Galveston in May of 2009. I am currently looking for an AC for this great fun, sun and suds activity. Our 2009 season will conclude with our Annual Volunteer Party in June so volunteer and volunteer often to make sure you are one of those Having a Blast!

Check out our Calendar of Events

It’s the holidays! Hope you had a Happy Thanksgiving. Our Winter Park trip surely did as they got to work off the big meal by skiing. Those of us left behind made plans to get in shape for the ski season – even though that is an ominous goal during the holiday season!

If you haven’t picked out a fun trip for this season, now is the time! Most trips have a couple or more openings, but we are at the point where we have to either get one or two participants to fill a condo or see if we can get 2 or 4 more people so we can add 1 more hotel room or condo. Don’t worry if it is past the posted final payment date. We had to set that date to make payments to vendors, but if a spot is available we can still add you once you pay in full. In some cases as we get closer to the trip, there may be only land packages available, but you can probably still get your own airline ticket and join the group.

By the time you get this Vail will be preparing to leave so you will probably have to wait for another year to make that destination – but if you are interested check just in case. But how about Steamboat where the total travel time from the Houston airport to the condo is less than 5 hours. And we still have a few places for those wanting overseas adventures – one across the Atlantic in France and the other across the Pacific in Japan. These trips offer great skiing and fun day excursions as well as great pre and post trip destinations. Our other “foreign” trip is in friendly Alberta, Canada at the most beautiful Lake
Louise. If you haven’t stayed at the Chateau Lake Louise you have missed a wonderful experience.

Back in the USA –we are offering a new type of adventure for the true skier traveler to Powder Mountain/Snow Basin Utah. Lots of skier camaraderie is planned. Snowmass/Aspen is always a
great place to ski, shop and dine – there is such variety in all of those activities in the area! We have a spectacular price for Breckenridge – a really popular quaint ski town with lots of skiing terrain. Finally – our last trip of the season is to Big Sky, MT – staying in the fabulous Huntley Lodge. Since it is one of the most northern resorts there is still plenty of snow and cold weather in mid March. And for the post –ski season, we have the Summer Expedition to Panama. Look in next month’s Sitzmarke for an article or contact Vicki Faulkner now for more information.

So there it is. Give yourself a really nice Christmas or Hanukkah present. And start singing “Let It Snow, Let It Snow!”