| From Mission Control | By Camille LaRoe, Space City Ski Club President |
Summer is here again and unfortunately most of us don’t get summer vacation like we did in our youth! What a shame! On the bright side we have lots of SCSC volunteers planning some great summer Happy Hours and Social Activities to help us endure those dog days! We will be running our toes through the sand at Sandcastle and playing water volleyball at Summer Meltdown and the next thing you know it will be September. It will be time to get back together and start making our ski trip plans. Melinda Hughes, VP of Trips, has almost completed her 2009/2010 schedule of trips for next year and is lining up her TC’s and ATC’s now. Please give Melinda a shout if you would like to get involved in any trips. Remember that SCSC is a not-for-profit organization that must rely on volunteers to exist. We must have volunteers to AC Activities, coordinate trips, Happy Hours, assist at the volunteer party and serve as ambassadors to our guests at meetings and happy hours. Getting involved in one of these events and just helping out is a great way to make new friends, have a great time and generates more interest in our club. Please contact any executive committee member, board member or ambassador for more information on ways to get involved. Expressing your interest in SCSC by volunteering is a great way to make our club stronger and larger. The more activities and trips we can present to our members makes us look that much better to prospective members. We must and have to retain our existing membership and add new members to the organization at the same time. Put SCSC on your summer calendar and come on out and get involved! Share the fun! |
| Countdown to Liftoff | By Melinda Hughes, Vice President of Trips |
Space City delegates and club participants are back from TSC’s Bidfest and we have an exciting TSC slate to frame ourclub trips this year. We had 20 participants who braved thestorm to get to Dallas in time to help out. Known, popular trips have been peppered with new and different places thisyear. Witness the Iditarod if you select Alyeska, Alaska and ski a volcano in Mt. Bachelor, Oregon for a change. Winter Park and Breckenridge are club favorites that made the cut. Aosta, Italy will be our winter expedition and cruising down the Nile in Egypt will help end the year.
Interspersed with the TSC trips, we have scheduled fantastic favorites. Vail will kick off the ski season followed by a trip to Telluride, a January a club preferred location. We will enjoy the Cottonwood Canyon resorts in Utah and stay in Salt Lake City to ski the canyons along with Park City. Beaver Creek and Heavenly will round out February with comfortable, convenient lodging. Big Mountain will be a family optional and conclude the ski season. To complement the 4 Vail Resorts that we are scheduling, the Epic Pass is offered at last year pricing. Check out the discount at epicpasspartners@vailresorts.com . You can use this pass at Vail, Breckenridge, Beaver Creek, and Heavenly.
We have TC’s for all of our trips except: Telluride, Big Mountain, and Heavenly. Help us have one of the most exciting, diverse seasons possible by becoming a Trip Coordinator. Contact me at vptrips@spacecityskiclub.org to let me know which trip you would like to help with.
The June 1 sign up special is being offered again this year. Pay the $150 deposit on any trip ($300 for Aosta, Italy and Egypt) and receive a full refund between June 1 and August 15 th if you change your mind. After the 15th, the usual club penalty applies.
The season would not be complete without our Directors of Trips! I cannot thank Bill Bomberger and Thuy Rocque enough for agreeing to help me this year. They are energetic, incredible, talented people who are generous with their time.
I look forward to working with each and everyone. See you on the slopes! |
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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 informationalblasts are reliably received in your in-box without your filtersmistakenly 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 Sandra McCunis, Vice President of Activities! |
After a great ski season and our last General Meeting, wehope to continue having a blast with some fun-filled activities.My goal is to plan two non-ski activities a month and a HappyHour so that we can continue to socialize with our friends andmake new friends also. We are looking for new activities and events that appeal to our members. Please let me know yourideas and if you would like to lead an activity.
Enjoy a great day of fun, sun and sand at the 23rd Annual AIA Sandcastle Competition on Galveston’s East Beach on Saturday, June 6th. Chip Stokes is organizing our 5th Annual Happy Hour & Pool Tournament at Fast Eddie’s on Thursday, June 25th. Registration to play pool begins at 5:30 P.M. and the tournament starts at 6:30 PM. Prizes will be awarded in each category: experienced, amateur and coed.
Join us at the Miller Outdoor Theatre on Saturday, July 18th for the performance of the “50’s Dance Party”. Commemorate the 50th anniversary of “the day the music died” with an incredible tribute to Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper! Contact Barbie Miller to sign up for this event. Don’t miss our Happy Hour on Thursday, July 23rd at Maggiano’s Little Italy. Mingle with your SCSC friends, meet new people and listen to the music of the popular band, Van-lang. Our Volunteer Party is on Saturday, July 25th at the home of Stan & Linda Kuper. Bring your swimsuits and relax by their pool. Robert Clemmens and Bruce Lowther will cook their award winning barbeque brisket and chicken. Please contact me if you would like to volunteer to help with the party.
We will be attending the Houston Astros versus Milwaukee Brewers game on Sunday, August 9th. Contact Jason LaRosa or Cindy Moore for information about this event. I am working to coordinate a Pool Party & Sailing with TASS at Portofino Yacht Club with a tentative date of Saturday, August 29th. This has been a popular event in previous years and I hope that we will be able to offer it again.
Other activities that are being planned for the fall include the TUTS performance of “Grease” with a cocktail party before the show, a Dart Tournament & Halloween Party, a Wine Tasting & Dinner Party and the Radio Music Theatre.
Please send me your suggestions so that we can continue to coordinate fun and exciting activities and events to complement our ski venues. I am looking forward to Having a Blast throughout the year and I hope you are too! |
| BRECKENRIDGE | By Patricia Finch |
What can I say about Breckenridge? It is a beautiful ski town at a very high altitude with beautiful weather. It wasalmost like Spring skiing. We all commented that we carried too may clothes. We had 33 participants on this trip- twelve of which were new members, with two first time skiers and one who hasn’t been skiing in a long time. We arrived on Saturday to a wine and cheese party with a Breckenridge Resorts representative providing us with information about the ski area. Many participants wanted to know about the Mountain Tour and signed up for it the first morning so they could navigate between the 4 peaks to ski, each having a wide range of skiing ability. On Sunday Steve Vigil, Leigh Peterman and Stuart Allen tried ski school before attacking the slopes. Leigh also took an additional day of lessons and says she is ready to go again. Stuart became ill with altitude sickness which made for a rough trip for him, but he was feeling much better when he got on the bus to come home to a lower altitude.
Keith Kirkman, Dennis Newell, Jim Hodges , Janet McKenzie, and Frank Adams did their usual “big dog” runs together. Frank is now a resident of Colorado and has skied most of the Colorado ski resorts. One of our new members Dawn Williamson is a very advanced skier and kept up with our regulars. Gretchen Van Beers and Michael Hotho enjoyed skiing the blue-blacks. We had a lovely couple Marian and Anna Baranowski who are originally from Poland and were looking forward to the Colorado ski trip. They were quite interested in the various peaks and carefully planned where they wanted to ski. Christine Marsh, Lori Gilliland and Leyla Ozkardesh tried to get in as many runs as possible in one day without killing themselves. Cimarron on Peak 10 was a favorite. Marsha Lutz would ski with them in the morning and join Louella Steller and others for lunch and skiing in the afternoon. The above mentioned threesome didn’t want to give up much skiing time so would forego the mountain dining experience. Christine and Lori finally decided to go to the Oxygen Bar to get an added lift for the next day.
Suzan Meaux, Steve Vigil, Mary Jo and Tony Loverdi were condo mates and also ski buddies. Suzan had not been skiing in awhile but caught on quickly. Steve Vigil took it easy and enjoyed the green runs on Peak 9, while the others searched for blue/black runs to conquer. They would meet at the end of the day and everyone was happy. |
Barbara Giesecke had not skied in some time so she also stayed on the greens. She traveled from Ruidoso, New Mexicoto join the club and then planned to stay and visit family in Houston after her trip. Ashok Moza and Nance Du Frane were busy skiing the blues and we couldn’t seem to find them until it was time to get on the bus to go home, but they were happy to have gotten so much skiing time. Mary Ellen Arbuckle tried skiing but became very tired and realized it was altitude sickness. She too had to get oxygen to feel better, but she did get some skiing in. Because Breck has the highest peak in North America, bottled and canned oxygen is available everywhere – from the clinics to bars to convenience stores!
Marda Waters, Gayle Dale and Helen Kealey enjoyed the whole mountain experience from the skiing to dining to photographing all the beauty. We had excellent clear weather that allowed all with cameras to capture some very picturesque scenery – and a few funny ski moments.
Now, who knows where Marty Kaminsky, Craig Campbell, and Robert Tripp skied, but they were tired at the end of the day. Poor Marty was so sun burned that he did not ski the last day. Steve Slade was an early bird on the slopes but would end his day early afternoon to have time to relax on his vacation.
We had a pizza party in our condo on the last night and heard lots of stories about how much fun each had at Breckenridge - for which I am truly grateful.
In an ending note, everyone needs to ask Louella what she does with her watch each night when she cannot figure out how to turn off the alarm. BEWARE THE REFRIGERATOR!
Thanks Louella for the use of your lovely home for the Post-Trip Party. |
| BIG SKY, MONTANA | By Ann Rogers, ATC |
The TSC Final Showdown was held in Big Sky, Montana March 14 – 21 st. There were 34 of us that made the long journey to Big Sky. The Burk family (John, Nancy and Joey) road tripped from Houston by driving! The rest of the group flew either on their own or with the group. The trip was worth the time as the snow was fabulous for spring skiing!
We stayed at the Huntley Lodge which is a beautiful hotel on the base of the slope. Alex Bunsch was notified on the bus ride to Big Sky that he and his roommate, Mark Ehrlich, had been upgraded to a loft suite! One of the great things about the Huntley is the breakfast buffet. The buffet provides an opportunity for people to meet up and find someone to ski with. Saturday night some made it to Chet’s Bar in the Huntley to see the hysterical Crazy Austrian Brothers.
Sunday several people went to Yellowstone for a day of snowmobiling. The group included Cindy Moore, Jason LaRosa, the Burk family, Patricia and Isabelle Conner and Mark Ehrlich. They were 5 feet from a herd of 60 buffalo at one point. The Baker family (Ross, Diane, Matthew and Andrew) rode a snow coach through Yellowstone. They all had a great day and saw lots of wildlife and Old Faithful.
For those that did not go to Yellowstone, it was a day to hit the slopes and ski. Caryne and Kenny Prater skied with Kayleen Kill and John Rice. However, before they got started there was an issue with the Prater’s ski boots. Although Caryne and Kenny’s ski boots were 10 years old, they remarked these boots were the most comfortable they have ever had. Immediately thereafter they noticed pieces of black plastic on the floor and as Caryne took a step, another piece came off her boots. So it was off to the rental shop to get her some rental boots. As they walked to the rental shop, Kenny’s boots left trails of black plastic along the way. By the time they arrived at the rental shop, Kenny was walking in his liners! So much for the comfortable ski boots!
The TSC hosted a Welcome Party on Sunday night. It was a great chance for people to reconnect with members from the other clubs while sampling great Montana heavy appetizers. They had drawings for some door prizes and Nancy Burk and Jason La Rosa were the lucky winners from our club.
Monday was a perfect day for skiing; a beautiful, sunny day. Early birds Ed Freiter, Bob Debell, Bill Bomberger, and Sharon Simandl were at the lift when it opened. Other groups that skied together were Allan Smith and Bea Gomez and Nancy Burk, Mark Ehrlich and Vicki Gorske. Unfortunately, Mark Ehrlich was injured on Monday, his first day skiing. He broke a bone near his right ankle and had to be taken to Bozeman on
Tuesday, then flew back to Houston on Wednesday. We are happy to report that Mark had a pin placed in his ankle and is on the mend! Tuesday brought six inches of new snow to Big Sky and was a dream fulfilled for the powder ski lovers. Ed Freiter rented special skis for powder snow. Bob Debell was in heaven! However, powder skiing isn’t for everyone. The Prater’s and Kayleen and John Rice decided to go horseback riding. They said that horseback riding up and down the mountain was an incredible experience.
Our club dinner was Tuesday night at Whiskey Jack’s. The food was great and had something for everyone. It was also St. Patrick’s Day so everyone was wearing their green and celebrating. The band took the stage at 9:30 and then the party really started.
New to Big Sky this year was the Zip Line. It was open on three days so people could take advantage of this thrilling experience. Cindy Moore elected to snow shoe up to the zip line and said snowshoeing uphill was a workout!! Others who rode the zip line included, Jason LaRosa, Kayleen Kill, John Rice, the Baker Family and Ann Rogers. There are three lines that you ride on; zipping between the trees and one line is above one of the ski runs. It was a great time.
Wednesday was the TSC Scavenger Hunt/Poker Run. This was a charity event with the money going to the Texas Youth Foundation. Cindy Moore and Ann Rogers participated in this event and had fun deciphering the clues although they didn`t win. Winners were awarded for best hand, worst hand and first to finish. |
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Thursday was race day and Bill Bomberger did a great job coordinating the races for our Space City racers. Space City had 17 racers and won 12 medals. Among the racers were Phillip Vice, Ed and Mim Freiter, Sharon Simandl, Caryne and Kenny Prater and several others.
Taking the tram up to the top of Lone Peak Mountain is a highlight of Big Sky. For those brave and experienced skiers, you can ski down from the top of Lone Peak. Ed Freiter, Bob DeBell and a few others did just that. For those who are not so experienced, you can ride up and then back down on the tram. Chuck Pena, John and Nancy Burk and Vicki Gorske rode the tram and got some great pictures from the top. Thursday night was the TSC Dinner and the food was fabulous and plentiful! Patricia Conner and Cindy Moore had on their dancing shoes. Ed Freiter, Chuck Pena and a few others moved and grooved on the dance floor. While the adults enjoyed their party, the kids were having their own pizza party and movie night. Isabelle Conner, Matthew and Andrew Baker enjoyed the pizza and movie.
Moonlight Basin was the hidden paradise to ski and Thayer and Challie Hutcheson skied there everyday. The runs are groomed and there was even less people at Moonlight Basin. It Joyce Holcombe became a “puppy” as she skied with the Big Dogs on Wednesday. Bill Bomberger reported that she passed the first test on her way to becoming a Big Dog. She was able to keep up with them on all the black runs. Way to go Joyce!!!
Xena Murugappan took snowboarding lessons for three days and then skied. Her Dad, Basker, enjoyed the skiing but keptreceiving phone calls from his office when he was on theslopes!!
The award ceremony was held Friday evening in the Huntley Dining Room. Isabelle Conner received a medal forbeing a first time skier. She did great and had lots of fun skiing with her Mom, Patricia.
Saturday morning was quiet as 18 boarded the early morning bus to Billings with their box breakfasts. Then camethe hardest part; saying our sad farewells and contemplatinggetting back to work or school. Thanks to all who came on thetrip! We had a blast! |
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YOUR MEMBERSHIP HAS EXPIRED
On April 30, all 2008 - 2009 memberships expired. There was a grace period until May 31 to renew and also still receive the June Sitzmarke. As of JUNE 30, 2009, persons who have not renewed their membership will be deactivated from the mailing list. If you have already renewed, thanks for your promptness. If you have not yet renewed, please read the followinginformation in order not to lose access to your membership privileges, such as the Sitzmarke and participating in early ski trip sign-ups.
Fees: As of June 1, 2009, the fee for single membership renewal will be $40.00 ($60.00 for dual memberships). If you fail to renew by July 1, 2009, you will not have the access necessary information for trip sign-ups and will not receive your Sitzmarke.
You can download an application by going to www.spacecityskiclub.org and clicking on the membership tab where you will find a link: “click here to download a membership application form”. Just print, fill it out and send it in with your payment.
The quickest and easiest way to renew is online:
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Go to www.spacecityskiclub.org and click on the “My SCSC” tab.
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Log in with your username and password. The light blue print above “Here are your member-only features” verifies your membership expiration date.
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Click on “Update My Membership Profile” and check all information for accuracy, including your e-mail address. Save any changes.
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Click on the “Renew My Membership” button. Decide if you want a single year membership (through 4/10) or multiyearmembership, so you don’t have to renew each year.
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Proceed through PayPal to complete your payment.Click on the “My SCSC” tab and then ck on the “SCSC members may request an account herelink. You will need your member number which can be found on a Sitzmarke label.
Please contact Patti Finch at membership@spacecityskiclub.org if you have any additional questions or need to verify your member number. |
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