Announcement! – Page 27

Missing a Camera?

Armand has a camera that was left in his car after one of the canoe trips. If this is your camera, please contact Armand Martin @ 226-899-6339 or armandrmartin@gmail.com

Sept. 23rd Trip Cancelled

Due to insufficient numbers, the weather forecast for tomorrow and higher water levels from the rain, the trip tomorrow is cancelled.

Sept 21 & 23 Canoe Trips {changes & updates}

Below are the trips for the week of Sept. 20th. Please note the trip change for Thursday’s “Easy Breezy” due to low water levels……

Trip: Petrocan (Galt) to Birley Gates
Date: Sept 21, 2021
Time: Meet at the shed at 8:00 a.m. for a 8:15 departure
Trip Organizers: Doug Arthur and Bruce Williams
Tower: Armand Martin
Details: This is one of our favourite and longer paddles, with good moving water and a few rapids along the way. Good river reading skills are helpful to avoid shallow areas and rocks! An early start will allow for lunch at Glen Morris.
Skill Level: Experienced paddlers only
Shuttle: Yes
Trip fee: $6 (exact fee required in an envelope)

PLEASE CONTACT: Doug Arthur at djarthur29@gmail.com or 519-741-8641 or Bruce Williams at brucewms@yahoo.com 519-208-4356 if you plan on participating.

Trip: Grand River (Otterbein – Freeport)
Date: Sept 23, 2021
Time: Meet at the shed at 9:00 a.m. for a 9:15 departure
Trip Organizers: Alberta Piche and Mark Zelinka
Tower: Alberta Piche
Details: Easy Breezy (This trip has been substituted for the Moyer’s Landing to River’s Bluff trip) This is a nice paddle that should be enjoyed by all.
Skill Level: Everyone welcome
Shuttle: Yes
Trip fee: $6 (exact fee required in an envelope)

PLEASE CONTACT:

Mark Zelinka at 519-651-3186 or zelinkamd@gmail.com if you plan on participating.

Volunteers Needed!!!!

Volunteers are the lifeline of our club. We can’t operate without them. Trip Organizers, towers, etc., and especially the Board of Directors (BOD), all require volunteers for the Club to function properly and remain viable. The future of the Club depends on you!

TRIP ORGANIZERS

To date, we have NO Trip Organizers for the following trips:

Tuesday, Sept. 7th
Thursday, Sept 9th
Thursday, Sept. 16th

As a result, they will be cancelled unless someone steps forward to organize. There are resources to help anyone who wants to lead at trip. Anne has the trip sheets and travelling directions ready to send to anyone who volunteers to lead a trip.

Since it took us until the end of July to get started this season, and we’ve had to cancel a couple of our Tuesday trips, it would be a shame if we had to cancel our September trips because we have no volunteers to run them! The season would be essentially over at that point.

Thanks in advance for your assistance in keeping our 2021 season alive !!

Trip Organizing Resources

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

At this time, the BOD really needs a Secretary. We ask that you seriously consider this position. Your contribution would really be appreciated and the time commitment would be for our monthly BOD meetings (less July & December) and our annual general meeting. There are lots of resources available to help with the job.

We also have an opening for a new Web Administrator. This is a fun position for anyone who enjoys computers. Carol is willing to work with whoever volunteers for the job until they are comfortable. She is preparing a manual for the handover and will stay on in an advisory/techie support capacity.

Due to covid restrictions, we are not able to hold an AGM at this time, however, if anyone would like to become a member of the Board, please contact a current member to express your interest. Members of the BOD will work with their successors to ensure a smooth transition so the Club can continue operating.

Want to find out more? Please contact Carol Marion: caroline.milla4@gmail.com or 519-570-6250

YEAR END CLEAN UP

At the end of every season, a day is planned to do an end of season clean up of our canoes and equipment to get them ready for next season so we start out with clean canoes (especially important for our pool training in the Spring). A date is yet to be determined (depending on when our canoe season ends), but if you can help, please contact Armand Martin at armandrmartin@gmail.com or call 226-899-6339

Canoe Trip Details {Aug 17th & Aug 19th}

To cut down on emails, I will be posting trip details for the upcoming week in one email for easier planning. Please read carefully.

Trip: Saugeen River #3– Paisley (Access #10 – Hwy.17 bridge (Access #13) – left at Burgoyne
Date: August 17th
Time: Meet at the shed at 8:00 a.m. for a 8:15 a.m. departure
Trip Organizer: Anne Woolner annewoolner@hotmail.com
Tower: TBD
Details: This is a club favourite! Lots of challenges and plenty of opportunity to practice river reading skills. This is an all day trip so we can’t guarantee when we will be back so come prepared with lots of water, snacks and a lunch. After the trip, we will stop for a swim at Port Elgin and have a fish & chips supper at the Queen’s Hotel. We may even stop for icecream on the way back! So bring extra money.
Skill Level: Experienced paddlers only! There are sections with fast moving water that isn’t covered with basic training!
Shuttle: Yes
Trip Fee: $9 (Out of town trip more than 100 km)

For a quick review on “reading the river”, there is a section in the OSSCC Handbook on pg. 22 that talks about reading water which we learned in our intermediate training. There are hard copies of the manual available at the shed for $10 per copy. Just ask the Trip Organizer.

Trip: Flordale (part of Woolwich Reservoir) This trip was rescheduled from July 29th
Date: August 19th
Time: Meet at the shed at 9:00 a.m. for a 9:15 a.m. departure
Trip Organizer: Anne Woolner annewoolner@hotmail.com
Tower: TBD
Details: Easy Breezy – Open to all members. This is an easy flat water paddle. Great opportunity to reconnect with members you haven’t seen in a while, meet and welcome new members and just enjoy being outdoors and on the water! Good time to practice strokes as well.
Skill Level: Basic training required!
Shuttle: Yes
Trip Fee: $6

Canoe Trip Times and Pre-Trip Measures
What to Bring on a Canoe Excursion
What to do on Canoe Day

Please contact Anne Woolner at annewoolner@hotmail.com or call 519-743-2277 to save your spot for either trip. Spots will be saved on a first come, first served basis.

TRIP CANCELLATIONS FYI
We have been having wacky weather these last few weeks with constant threats of thunderstorms/lightning which contributed to trip cancellations. Trips will only be cancelled if there are thunderstorms/lightning imminent during our paddle time (we have paddled in the rain if there is no lightning danger), if not enough people sign up for a trip, if no one volunteers to tow, or if no one volunteers to organize a particular trip. Let’s hope next week brings good paddling weather.

We need Trip Organizers to organize and lead trips for both the Tuesday and Thursday outings, especially the ones that are blank on the Trip Schedule. Anne has her name beside most of the trips, but would love it if others would step up. If you volunteered on your membership form to be a Trip Organizer, please contact Anne and let her know which trip you’d like to organize (if you haven’t spoken already). We’ve added some of our favourite trips to the schedule, so if you can, consider volunteering or team up with a friend to help organize and lead. If we don’t get anyone to lead these trips, they will be cancelled.
Contact Anne Woolner at annewoolner@hotmail.com or call 519-743-2277 to sign up. If you want to know what organizing a trip entails, we have a trip organizing section on the Blog to help you out!

Opening Update!

Hello Old Salts!

We hope this message finds you all in good health and coping well with the Covid-19 challenges that have been presented to us as we round the corner to entering Stage 2 of reopening. These are unprecedented times that will generate many conversations down the road, but today, I would like to provide you with an update on the status of our Club and thank you for your continued patience in waiting to hear what the 2021 canoe season will look like.

The OSSCC Board of Directors has been meeting via Zoom regularly to monitor the Covid-19 situation and how it affects our Club. The BOD has decided that we will resume activities once the Region of Waterloo enters Stage 2 of reopening. With more people receiving their 2^nd vaccination and with less restrictions, the OSSCC will be operating on a limited schedule with measures that were put in place last season and possibly extending the season into the fall, weather permitting. This also means that social events will start as well.

With the Club resuming operations shortly and offering activities, we will also require members to complete membership renewal forms and pay their membership fees. The fee remains the same at $40 per person. The membership form has been tweaked to reflect current requirements and can be found here. (See below for more information). Since we don’t have access to Wing 404 to pick up mail, I ask that you either mail or drop off the form/fees to OSSCC, C/O 132 Kesselring Crt., Kitchener, ON N2E 2P2. If you have any questions about this, call me at 519-501-2078 for clarification.

The canoe schedule is ready to go and it will be published and available on the blog once we get the go-ahead that the region is entering Stage 2. Hopefully by this time most of our members will have received their 2^nd vaccination. With the safety measures we put in place last year and with the added protection of being fully vaccinated, members can still enjoy a fun canoe season and any social events that may happen. In the meantime, please submit your forms and fees to ensure the continued viability and success of our Club. The membership list will be adjusted accordingly and available at the end of July. For our new members from last year, we are working on a plan to provide basic canoe training (on a first come, first serve basis) so you can participate on some of our easier trips.

Please stay tuned to the blog…..another update will be posted with the date of the first canoe trip of the season being announced!

Eugene Marion, President
Old Salts Seniors Canoe Club
eugene.marion@gmail.com

Membership Renewal Form changes……

You can find the Membership Renewal form here.

As per several requests from some of our members, I have created a “fillable” PDF form that can be completed via desk top computer or laptop using the free Adobe Reader DC software, and then saved and printed. This can also be done on tablets or cell phones that have an app that can read and edit PDF forms. Of course, the form can be printed and filled out by hand, as has been the case in previous years….something for everyone! – Carol

OSSCC Reminders & Requests!

Thanks to everyone who responded to the last email to let us know that you wish to remain a member of our Club. (If you didn’t see the post, you can find it here.) Unfortunately, there are still stragglers who have not let us know their intentions. We are not asking for forms or fees at this time. Just let us know whether you want to stay a member and if there are any changes to your contact information by April 15th. The membership list will then be updated. Due to privacy concerns, if we don’t hear from you by then, further emails and access to the blog will be suspended until you do contact us.

Please contact Eugene Marion: eugene.marion@gmail.com or call
519-501-2078.

Please contact Anne Woolner: annewoolner@hotmail.com or call
519-743-2277.

Want to find out more? Please contact Carol Marion: caroline.milla4@gmail.com or 519-570-6250

2021 Canoe Season Update

Hello Fellow OSSCC Members!

It’s hard to believe 2020 has come and gone. It’s already March 2021 and we are faced with the same dilemma that we faced a year ago during the initial stages of the Covid-19 pandemic. On behalf of the Board of Directors, I would like to thank everyone for their support during a very difficult 2020, whether you decided to canoe last season or not.

The OSSCC Board of Directors has been meeting via Zoom regularly to monitor the Covid-19 situation and how it affects our Club activities. The recommendation by the Ontario Chief Medical Officer of Health is to discontinue any large gatherings to keep our community safe and stop the spread of the virus. As such all OSSCC activities have been suspended until further notice. This includes canoeing, training and all social activities.

With our 2021 Membership Drive cancelled, your Board of Directors would like everyone who wishes to remain an OSSCC member, to notify us either by phone or email so we can continue to keep you on the membership list. Rather than have everyone fill out a new 2021 membership application/waiver, we are going to extend the 2020 form to apply to 2021 for your convenience. We will not be collecting any membership fees at this time as long as no club activity takes place i.e. canoeing, training. etc. We ask that you check the current members hip list on the Blog and let us know if any of your information has changed. Please call (519) 501-2078 or email me at eugene.marion@gmail.com

Our Board of Directors will continue to meet via Zoom to try to navigate through this COVID 19 crisis with the hope that we can have another great canoe season. Thank you for your cooperation. We will be in touch when the situation changes and we are ready to resume our scheduled events. In the meantime, we wish you well. Stay healthy!

Eugene Marion,

President, OSSCC

eugene.marion@gmail.com

Res: 519-579-1360

Cell: 519-501-2078

———————————————–

As you confirm your membership, please think about the following:

There are some vacancies on the Board that still need to be filled. Please consider the following positions:

Secretary

Web Administration

You can find the job descriptions here

Secretary needed for the Board of Directors

We need a secretary for our Board of Directors. If you want to be actively involved in the decision making of the Old Salts Seniors Canoe Club, this is your great opportunity!!

The job description is listed below. If you are interested, contact Anne Woolner: annewoolner@hotmail.com or 519-743-2277.

Secretary

a. To deal with all correspondence on club matters (incoming and outgoing) i. The Secretary should be given a copy of all correspondence generated by other Board members.

b. To record the minutes of all General meetings and Board meetings held by the club. If it is not possible to attend a meeting, the Secretary will ask one of the other members to do this.

c. To retain copies of all forms which are necessary for club membership.

d. To see to it that the Articles and By-laws of the constitution are followed and keep these up-todate when necessary.

e. To keep general records of the club.

f. To prepare an agenda, in consultation with the President, for each meeting, and inform members of the time and date for that meeting.

g. To provide minutes of Board meetings to City of Waterloo as per contractual agreement.