Words From the President

This message is much different than the one I was going to give at the Membership Drive. Much has changed in the last two weeks that directly impacts our Club so I would like to address these issues. I direct this message to our  members who currently have access to our Blog.

First, I hope this message finds you all in good health and coping well with the social distancing challenges that have been presented to us. These are unprecedented times that will generate many conversations down the road.  In the meantime, please stay positive, keep in touch with each other and above all stay safe as we all look forward to sunny days ahead and getting back on the water!

I’m sure you have all received and read the MEMBERSHIP UPDATE announcement that Carol posted on Monday. If you haven’t read it, please do. This post outlines how we are supposed to renew our memberships this year in light of the current COVID-19 situation.

To clarify some questions that have been raised, please note that the membership fees have not changed: the fee is still $40 per person.  The Alumni membership (members for 20+ years) is still $25 per person. Cheques should be made out to : Old Salts Seniors Canoe Club

A notice was also sent out with regards to WING 404.  The City of Waterloo has closed all its facilities until further notice, which includes Wing 404. Therefore, to avoid confusion, I ask that you ignore the address stated on the form (Wing 404) and send/or drop off your membership renewal and fee to my home address. I am fortunate to still get home delivery, so it will be placed in my mail box. The same goes if you prefer to drop it off personally.

OSSCC
c/o 132 Kesselring Court
Kitchener, ON  N2E 2P2

We have been told that any membership renewals that were sent to Wing 404 will be held once received by Jaye Kuntz. (Manager at Wing 404)

For more information on “membership”, please refer to the Membership Report.

This will be an interesting year for us as there are so many unknowns that we have never dealt with as a club. It’s not a question of WILL we get on the water this year, it’s WHEN we get on the water. The Trip Coordinating Committee , lead by Anne Woolner, got together in the off season and planned some great trips. Some are new and others are our old favourites. Fingers crossed that we will get to do them, barring COVID-19 restrictions or inclement weather! Check out the schedule here: 2020-2021 Training and Trip Schedule. For more information, check out the Trip Co-Ordinator Report.

I also ask that any of our members who have been around for more than a year, to please consider volunteering to be a “Trip Organizer” for our canoe trips this year. We have a whole resource section on this blog dedicated to making this easy to do with lots of information, including a specific “how-to” detailing exactly how to organize a trip as well as a check list to simplify the process. You can find that here: Trip Organizing
Many thanks to Dianne Wagner, Lynn Warmington and Anne Woolner for putting this together and updating!

Finally, I’d like to thank you for your continued support of our Club.  Our board was told quite recently at one of our meetings how important our club is to the city.  As active members we not only participate in physical exercise but also have a positive contribution toward our emotional fitness and mental health by keeping connected and caring for each other.  Life has a tendency to provide us with some challenges along the way.  All we can do is to deal with them as best we can by staying calm, positive and know that we will get through this together as a club.

Respectively,

Eugene Marion, President
OSSCC