Category: Blog Post

MEMBERSHIP RESPONSE REQUIRED

The board is meeting on Monday via Zoom to discuss the logistics of commencing with our season now that our region is in Stage 3 of the Covid-19 reopening as outlined by the Provincial Government.

However, it makes no sense to reopen our club, if the majority of our  members do not feel safe doing so and don’t plan on participating accordingly based on their own comfort levels. It also doesn’t make sense to open up if we don’t have members willing to help organize trips and tow the trailer.

To date, only a small handful of members have responded either in the comments section below the post **2020 OSSCC Season Opening-{Please Read!!}  by Eugene or via email. We hope this is not an indication that people don’t care and are leaving it up to the board to decide.

Therefore, again, we ask that those who haven’t responded, to please take the time to give us your feedback. Many thanks to those of you who have responded.  Your thoughtful comments are greatly appreciated and will be considered in any decisions that are made.

We have never faced this situation as a club before and are in unchartered territory. Since the board represents the membership and is trying to work in everyone’s best interest, it is important that any decisions made of this magnitude are done with input and suggestions from the membership.

Do you think we should reopen? (Why or why not?)

Do you plan on participating if we do open?

Which trips are you most interested in? (see Trip Schedule)
Is there a trip you would like to see substituted?  Why?

Trips can’t happen without someone to organize them. Are you willing to be a Trip Organizer? Please contact Anne Woolner to get your name on the schedule (membership list) 

Are you willing to be a Tower.…or car top a canoe if neccessary? Please contact Anne Woolner to get yourself on the schedule (membership list)

Do you have any ideas or suggestions that the board could utilize in their plan to ensure the safety of our members? 

After our meeting next week, there will be another post to let you know what the plan is moving forward and any guidelines that will need to be followed to keep our members safe.

CLUB INFO/ REMINDER

In case you missed it, an OSSCC newsletter was sent to registered Club members on March 27th with the latest information and news pertinent to the new season. If you haven’t read all the reports, please do so.

Many of you have already sent in your registration forms and fees, and some of you have let us know that you plan on renewing and will be sending in your registrations/fees as soon as you are able. Thank you very much! Your support and commitment to our club is much appreciated as we navigate through these uncharted times! We also have 3 new members that are joining us this year that I’d like to extend a warm welcome to on behalf of the Club!

To those of you who haven’t let us know your intentions yet, please do so ASAP.  Our membership is the ♥heart♥ of the club. We don’t exist without you!

So we can all stay connected as we distance ourselves socially and stay safe, we would like to put up a tentative new membership list (Ver. 1) by the end of the week. Only members who have renewed their memberships, or have let us know they plan on renewing will be on this list.

As noted in the President’s report, fees for this year have not changed.  They are still $40 per person. (See President’s Report)

**NEWSFLASH** We have been informed by Jaye Kuntz that Wing 404 will be closed at least until May 4th as per notice from the Waterloo Region.
We will continue to keep you updated as we receive new information.

If you have any questions, contact us through info@oldsaltsclub.com

**In Case you Missed it.….please read to get the latest updates!**
WORDS FROM THE PRESIDENT
OSSCC TRAINING NEWS
TRIP CO-ORDINATION
SOCIAL EVENTS
MEMBERSHIP EFFORTS
COMMUNICATION IS KEY!
IT’S IN THE PRINT!

RESOURCES FOR COVID-19

Government of Canada
City of Waterloo
City of Kitchener
City of Cambridge
Region of Waterloo

Fall Bondi is Back!

This year, our club is going to try to make our northern adventure trip to Bondi Village Lodge and Cottages happen  for interested members. The Bondi lodge is located on Lake of Bays, just minutes from the Algonquin Park west gate. Traditionally, this has been one of the highlights of the canoeing year. 

This trip is tentatively scheduled for the 3rd week in September from Monday September 14th until Friday September 18th (5 days, 4 nights). 

We will be spending most of our days paddling various lakes and rivers in and around Algonquin Park, enjoying the rugged, scenic beauty of this region, the wildlife and the beginning of Autumn colours. The mid-September weather usually allows us to enjoy some late afternoon swimming on the Bondi Lodge beach, when we return each day. Outside evening activities may include: a wolf howl (led by one of our hosts), star gazing, or a campfire one night. While relaxing in the lodge, activities may include: a ping pong tournament or a game of pool in the lower rec area, working on a jig saw puzzle, or playing cards. As well, Bondi has Internet access, for those in need (… but no 5G network yet.) 

Each person who registers for this trip will participate in an information and planning meeting, in late August or early September. 

The cost is $288.15/ person (including HST) – about $72.00 per night – plus your share of the *food costs of your group. (Participants will be divided into *meal prep groups at our Aug./Sept. meeting.) 

A commitment to participate in this trip, including a $100 down-payment, will be necessary by early June. 

Before then, any questions may be directed to the trip organizer, Mark Zelinka. 

E-mail Contact: zelinkamd@gmail.com or Phone Contact: 519-651-3186 

This Fall Bondi adventure is meant as a semi-wilderness experience and a time to practise the canoeing skills learned over the summer. Also, it’s a time just to relax, breathe in the fresh air, enjoy the rugged northern Ontario scenery, as well as just a break away from our busy lives back home. 

Club members interested in participating in this trip, please, e-mail or phone Mark leaving your name and e-mail address/phone #, so more detailed information and updates may be sent out to you, as the canoeing season progresses. 

WING 404 CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE

Hello all,

We were previously notified that Waterloo facilities would be closed until April 6th. The City of Waterloo has now updated their website to state that all city facilities will be closed until further notice, which means that Wing 404 will  be closed as well. We don’t know when they will reopen.

Therefore, please DO NOT send membership registrations to Wing 404 as we will not be able to pick up mail. We are waiting to hear back from Jaye Kuntz to find out what is being done with mail sent to Wing 404.

In the meantime, please follow the instructions in my previous post:

Membership Update

Please send any questions or concerns to info@oldsaltsclub.com

Carol Marion
Web Admin

RESOURCES FOR COVID-19

Government of Canada
City of Waterloo
City of Kitchener
City of Cambridge
Region of Waterloo

MEMBERSHIP UPDATE

 

Hello Members,

Hope this post finds everyone in continued good health and weathering this COVID-19 outbreak in safety, and good humour!

Unfortunately, no one knows how this pandemic is going to play out or how long it will take to get back to “normal” (whatever that will be). To that end, we will proceed as best we can.  One thing we do know is that our Old Salts community is pretty tight knit and will make it through this!

I’m sure you’ll all agree that much has happened in the last few weeks that we never could have anticipated.  As a club, we are in uncharted territory since we’ve never experienced something like this before.  After all, we are also a social club and enjoy getting together, be it for our canoe outings, hiking, bowling, etc., so we will take things as they come and carry on accordingly.

To that end, since we weren’t able to have our Membership Drive, we will have to do things very differently this season to keep the club functioning.

Membership Renewal

If you do plan on renewing your membership, please let us know your intention either by email: info@oldsaltsclub.com, or in the “Leave a Reply” section below this post by April 1st, which is when the new season actually starts. We would like to get an idea of what our membership will be so we can plan accordingly.

We ask that you review the current membership list found here and let us know if there are any updates to your information. At least this way we can get started on a new membership list for the 2020-2021 season and stay in touch. For privacy reasons, the current list will be taken down April 2nd. When you are able, send in or drop off your membership renewals in the mailbox at the following address: (to maintain social distancing protocols)

OSSCC
C/O 132 Kesselring Court
Kitchener, ON  N2E 2P2

**Wing 404 is closed until further notice so we can’t pick up mail.

Non Renewal

If you don’t plan on renewing your membership (we will really hate to lose you 😥 ), please let us know by either unsubscribing from receiving further emails  (see the footer at the bottom of the email notification)  or let the Membership Chair know via info@oldsaltsclub.com  by March 31st so you won’t continue receiving unwanted email notifications regarding club news. Please note that this will also stop your access to the blog. If you think you may want to rejoin next year, let us know and we can place you on a mailing list for next year. If you have any questions or concerns, contact Eugene Marion, President at 519-579-1360

Privacy

To comply with privacy concerns, if we don’t hear from you either way, we will assume that you are not interested or unavailable and will suspend your account until you let us know your intentions.

New Members

Of course the COVID-19  crisis will impact our new member registration. To date, no registrations for new members have been received and considering the uncertainty we are facing, this is not unexpected.  We are taking a wait & see approach.

Conclusion

The reports for the Membership Drive are being compiled and should be posted soon. We will update you as required!

Stay safe!

RESOURCES FOR COVID-19

Government of Canada
City of Waterloo
City of Kitchener
City of Cambridge
Region of Waterloo

 

 

 

 

 

TUES MORNING WALKS TO RESUME AT A LATER DATE

Hello OSSCC member,

In keeping with recommendations with the Waterloo Region Public Health and Health Canada, we will be suspending “organized” Tuesday morning club walks until further notice.

Members who wish to continue walking can use their own discretion to organize walks amongst themselves. Please stay safe and healthy by following the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations:  Stay home if unwell (coughing, sore throat or fever), or if you have been travelling and been in an airport in the past 14 days.  Maintain a safe distance with the other walkers (at least one metre is recommended and no physical contact).

These are interesting times we live in now. Take care!

In case you missed it:

COVID-19 / MEMBERSHIP DRIVE UPDATE **IMPORTANT-MUST READ**

Tuesday, March 10th walk

For the walk on Tuesday please meet at 10 a.m. in the parking lot for the Walter Bean Grand River Trail near the corner of Shirley Drive and Victoria St. N., Kitchener. The trail follows the Grand River towards Bingeman Park. We’ll walk for approximately 30-45 minutes and at that point we can continue or turn around and return to the parking lot. Afterwards there are a myriad of restaurants on Victoria North for anyone who wants to go for lunch!
Doug Arthur
519-741-8641

TUESDAY WALK

Meet in the Observer parking lot at 10AM. Drive thru Elmira and the Observer is on the left hand side as you exit Elmira heading north.  This is a bike trail that many of us have done. It is an out and back walk so we will walk for an hour out then come back. Lunch afterwards.

Pat Aiken

TUES MORNING WALK {Feb 25th}

Dear Members,

The proposed walk for Tomorrow is a lovely area in Blair, behind Langdon Hall.

The walk is approximately 3km, it should be just the right length so we will have time for lunch before going bowling. Meet at 10 a.m. in the parking lot of the Blair roundabout, just as you pass the Fountain Street bridge over the Grand River. See attached map.

Please be prepared for weather and trail conditions as tomorrow there is a chance of rain. Trail might be icy, wearing icers on your boots and carrying walking stick is recommended.

Check your email in the morning, in case of cancellation due to weather.

Any question? 519-893-9249, pinit@sentex.ca

Pina