| Countdown to Liftoff | By Melinda Hughes, Vice President of Trips |
It’s snowing in Vail as I am writing this article! Three inches of snow fell on the mountains last night and 8 to 10 inches are predicted for the next 24 hours. Check with the TC’s of the respective trips if you’re interested in hopping on a trip; there is room but not much! Don’t be surprised when the TC asks you for your birth date. TSC regulations require the birth date and gender of each person ticketed for air travel. Because our tickets are group, we cannot get tickets unless we have information from everyone. Also, the airlines have imposed a surcharge on the Aosta trip so don’t be surprised with the extra fees. Usually it is the international trips that are charged; however, domestic could also be affected. Finally, check the baggage fees with the airlines. Continental has given the group a discount on the Vail trip. I hope your holidays were fabulous and I’ll see you on the slopes. |
| From Mission Control | By Camille LaRoe, Space City Ski Club President |
Welcome to SCSC 2010! I hope everyone enjoyed a safe Holiday Season and I am hopeful this will prove to be a more prosperous year for everyone! Speaking of safety, I wanted to report that on the Vail trip I bet over 95% of the trip participants donned helmets for skiing! Yours truly included! If you don’t have one already you’re not in the “Smart Set” so be cool protect your noggin!
Remember the January General Meeting has been moved to January 18th to accommodate the Breckenridge TSC Traditional Trip. Join us to hear Dr. Jeffrey Ross, DPM, MD, Associate Clinical Professor Baylor College of Medicine, speak on Safety, Injury Prevention and proper Boot Fit.
We had a great attendance of 97 members at our December General Meeting featuring the Sunshine Kids Auction. Peggy Montgomery and her crew helped SCSC to raise over $4,500.00 for this very special cause. On behalf of the Sunshine Kids I want to sincerely thank all of you, whether you donated or purchased, for supporting this event. I also want to thank those people who volunteered their time to set up and particularly for picking up donated items. A hearty thanks to Leona Schroeder, Gary Butler, Marti Turner, Cheryl May, Mike Carr, Barbara Carr, Ellen Eastham, Jeff Sarff and Jerry Montgomery.
I hope everyone makes great trip memories in 2010 and don’t forget to pack the helmet! |
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WINNER “RECRUIT A NEW MEMBER” CONTEST
NANCY DUFRANE
Thanks to all of the members who participated in trying to recruit new members. We are presently at 520 members. Please continue
your efforts for the benefit of the Club. From August thru December we had a total of 51 new members. |
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Bidfest, Houston March 27-28th, HOUSTON
Hey Space City, Chuck your TSC rep. I wanted to update you on the upcoming Bidfest. Reserve your rooms early for the great rate of $89 per night in the Uptown Square area, West Loop Marriott. On Friday March 26th two optional activities are also planned: a golf tournament at Cinco Ranch and a wine tasting being coordinated by yours truly. Golf starts around noon and the wine tasting at 2pm. See TSC website for more info, SCSC website soon.
To keep the costs down, Wine tasting only $25, I\'m looking for some volunteers to join the wine tasting and agree to drive several other delegates to/from the hotel (about a 7 mi round trip).
We also will be looking for drivers for the golf outing. For those wanting to help but unable to attend either of these events, we also need volunteers to help with registration and also with the silent auction. Plan early and let’s get a lot of volunteers to make the first Houston Bidfest, the best Bidfest.
Chuck Penna |
| VAIL - December 2009 | By Judy Schiro, TC/Pete Mathieu, ATC |
 Remember last December when our short trip returned from Vail? – Houston had snow, ice and sleet. This year, not to be bested by that trip, on Friday, December 4, it snowed in Houston again. That did not dampen anyone’s spirits. 55 participants arrived at the airport early making sure they didn’t have any difficulty in getting to the airport. Our airline was delayed a little, but we all left Houston on Saturday, December 5 for Vail. We arrived in Denver, met our shadows, Cindy Moore, Ann Rogers, and Jason LaRosa and then we all got on the bus and headed for the grocery store and Apple Jack’s before heading out again for Vail. And, while we didn’t have all the snow we wanted and not all the runs were open, that did not deter anyone. Everyone had a great time skiing what was open. As the week progressed more runs opened. No one was bored.
Our accommodations were the best ever! We stayed at Lion Square Lodge, directly across from the Gondola. Some of our participants were so lucky to even be able to ski to their back door after a long day skiing. A few members took advantage of the hot tub just out the back of the Lodge. The staff were so accommodating to everyone. After a day or so word got around that there was a FREE continental breakfast. And, there was always, coffee, hot chocolate, tea and cookies to be found in the lobby. We all want to stay there again. As usual we had a couple of room confusions, but quickly got that taken care of and everyone settled in for the best trip ever!
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 We had one first time never ever skier, Suzy Kramer. She is Nancy DuFrane`s sister and Nancy talked her and Suzy`s son, Robert Kramer and Robert`s friend, Zack Harper into coming on the trip. They had such a good time they are already asking about next year`s line up of trips. We had two new SCSCmembers join us, Mark Wottlin, who wore the craziest cap, and a snow boarder, Kay Devloo, a friend of Michael Testa`s. They soon felt right at home with everyone getting to know them.
Ron Rambin headed up the puppy group along with Roberta Rambin, Roger Holzman, Ron Hayes, Carmin Mikhail, Judy Schiro and Andy Smith. Occasionally, Mark Wottlin would ski with us (we lost him a few times). Bob Olsen said he couldn`t keep up with the Big Dogs any longer and joined the group. Antonio Barrera skied with us one morning, but was so bored he soon left to do his own thing. David Gunn skied with us one day. I think he was hoping to impress Carmen – who wouldn`t? And, while we didn`t have any ski injuries, we did have a couple of mishaps. Suzy Kramer says she can fall in any position and thought she had broken a rib. They were just badly bruised. And, Judy Schiro`s ski binding broke sending her flying and left her with a ugly bruise on her hip. Betty Storms came on the trip even though she was unable to ski because of shoulder problems. She says she is coming on the trip next year and will ski!
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 On Sunday night we had a welcome party with drinks and appetizers enough for a meal. Almost all the participants joined in. Pat Piech, Marilyn Swanson, Bernie Clinton, Maureen Irwin, Jim Edwards, Larry Edmondson, Barry Caspar and Mary Jo and Tony Loverdi were a few seen chowing down.
Melinda Hughes and Sharon Simandl were having a contest with our famous photographer, Ron Hayes, to see who could take the most photos. Any guesses as to who won?
On Monday night Pete Mathieu set up the optional Club Dinner at Blu`s. Participants included, Kamron Kirkconnell, Jim Walker, Ross Baker, Janet McKenzie, Steve Slade, Tom Huzzey, Frank and Ellen Connelly, Chaille and Tom Hutcheson, David Eickhoff and Craig Campbell.
On Tuesday night Lion Square Lodge hosted a wine and cheese party for all of their clients. Sandy Wellhausen finally showed up. She was late joining the ski group because of back problems. She was not able to ski, but she still had a good time shopping and partying. Chuck Ratliff, Michael and Gin Knebel, Keith Kirkman, Camille LaRoe, Al and Steph Klimas, Gayle Dale, Brenda Herman, Marie Henry were all seen partying at the wine and cheese party
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 So, make plans to join us next year – second week of December 2010. It is the best trip and with the best participants. |
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