NWSCC and PACRAT Elections June 21!

NWSCC OFFICER ELECTIONS - GET INVOLVED - WE NEED YOU!

Join the leadership of the Council – serving on the board of directors is a great way to get involved in club, council, and Far West Ski Association activities. The board is made up of members from different clubs in NWSCC -- bringing a variety of style and experience to the Council. All officer positions are open for one-year terms. The following officers will be voted upon at the June 21, 2017 meeting (location TBA). Each club has one vote, and each person can only vote on behalf of one club.

President: Head of the Council Executive Board; presides over meetings; assigns duties to Board members.

Vice President: Assumes duties of the president when needed and handles other duties as assigned.

Treasurer: Responsibility for Council financials.

Secretary: Records Council minutes and correspondence as needed; keeps corporate records.

At-Large Director (two positions): Duties as assigned by the President. [Other directors will be appointed by the elected Board to fill the slate.]

See the NWSCC bylaws (click HERE) for complete job descriptions.

Time involved: Quarterly Council meetings; a monthly board meeting; other duties as assigned or as you volunteer to work on.

If interested, please contact Sue Rimkeit (VicePres@nwskiers.org) for more information or to put your name on the ballot. We need your input and support, and want YOU to consider serving on the Board! PLEASE PASS THIS INFORMATION ON TO YOUR FELLOW CLUB MEMBERS.

 

PACRAT elections will also be held at the June 21 meeting; the following are elected positions for the PACRAT Board:

✶ President

✶ Vice President

✶ Secretary

✶ Treasurer

✶ Party Director

✶ Sponsorship Director

✶ Director of Results

✶ Director of Racing

✶ Director of Membership

Also on the Board, but NOT elected, is the Immediate Past President. Appointed Positions are Director at Large - Chief Rat Patrol and Director at Large - General.

If you are interested in running for a PACRAT Board position for 2017-2018, please contact Andy Hobart at president@pacrats.org. Please provide information on what position you would like to run for and why you are interested in doing so. He will be assembling the ballot. You will need to be at the meeting to say a few words about why you'd like to run and what you plan to do, or have someone else show up and speak on your behalf.

Who votes in PACRAT Elections?

The clubs must decide on who gets to vote for the club teams. Usually it is the Team Captains, but in cases where there are more teams than votes available, only the number of votes designated for that club may be cast. ALL team captains CAN be there to caucus, but your club can only cast the proper number of votes.

✶ Mountain High 5 votes

✶ Cascade 3 votes

✶ Skiyente 2 votes

✶ Schnee Vogeli 2 votes

✶ Bergfreunde 1 vote

2017 FWSA Convention will be in Boise!

Far West’s 85th Annual Convention:  The 85th Annual Far West Ski Association Convention will be held June 7-11, 2017, in beautiful Boise, Idaho, at the Grove Hotel and Boise Centre.  The theme is ”BOisE IS…”  with the event being co-hosted by Bogus Basin Ski Club and Intermountain Ski Council. Their Convention Committee has been hard at work planning activities and events to keep everyone busy for the four days we will be there.  The resort is located minutes from the airport, in the heart of downtown Boise, so there will be plenty to do, whether you are doing a Far West activity, or just want to take some free time to shop and see the town. 

Lodging at our group rate (single or double occupancy for $134 per night plus tax) is available at The Grove Hotel in Downtown Boise three days pre and post convention, based on availability.  Per our contract, we have NO RESORT FEES and Wi-Fi is FREE in the guest rooms. For room reservations, call the Grove Hotel at 888-961-5000 and refer to our group name: “Far West Ski Association.”  You can also register online at the FWSA room reservation site located HERE. 

Proposed optional activities include A Taste of Idaho (Wednesday); Rafting on the Payette River and a Wine Wobble & Pub Crawl (Thursday); and the 11th Annual Michael German Memorial Golf Tournament, A Day on the Mountain, Boise Greenbelt Biking, and a Fountain Party (Friday).  Friday night will be the annual Silent Auction & Dance, where you can bid on ski trips, tickets, and gear, which usually are sold at a fraction of their value!  

Registration will be available and payable via PayPal or snail mail using the PDF Registration Form on the FWSA website.  

For additional information, visit the FWSA website (www.fwsa.org).  Further information will be posted as it becomes available.  Don’t miss this wonderful opportunity to attend our FIRST-EVER Convention in Boise. Boise has cultural attractions like the Basque Block, Ballet Idaho, Trey McIntyre Project, the symphony, the opera and museums. Come early - stay late and enjoy all that Boise and its surrounding area has to offer.  

FWSA Individual and Club Recognition Awards

Every year at the FWSA Convention individuals are awarded prizes in special categories sponsored by partner ski areas and lodging properties.  The deadline to apply is March 26, 2017.  Individual awards (with prizes!) that are well worth entering are for the following:  

Far West Council's Man & Woman of the Year:  The FWSA Council Man and Woman of the Year are chosen by their peers based on their contributions to Clubs, Council, Race League, FWSA and nationally.  The award is presented to both an outstanding man and woman at the grassroots level. Selection criteria is based on each individual's involvement in skiing; club, council, regional and national activities; and knowledge and enthusiasm for the snowsports. Candidates should have awareness of Far West programs and, in particular, its public affairs involvement.  The Award covers the last five years only.  New last year, the Man and Woman of the Year candidate from each council will be reimbursed for one night at the FWSA convention hotel at the early bird convention rate.  The prize has been sponsored by Big White Ski Resort since 2001, and is a 5-day trip for two, including lodging, lifts, and rentals.  The 2016 FWSA Woman of the Year was our own Colleen Stroeder.  NWSCC Clubs need to provide the names of their own Man and Woman of the Year to the NWSCC Board by March 16, 2017.

Safety Person of The Year Award:  This yearly award honors the person who has done the most to promote safety consciousness within the association.  This can be done through a variety of methods including safety articles, on-mountain activities, presentations, public speaking, working ski patrol, creating posters or banners, and many other activities.  Sponsored by Telluride Ski Resort & Mountain Lodge Telluride since  – the winner is awarded a 5-night/4 day ski package for two in Telluride with lodging and lift tickets.  Last year's winner was our own NWSCC Vice President Sue Rimkeit, for her many safety tips, quips, and articles published by NWSCC.  
 
Western Ski Heritage Award:  The purpose of the Far West Western Ski Heritage program is to raise the awareness of skiers and non-skiers alike of the contributions made by individuals, groups, or companies to all aspects of skiing – competitive as well as outdoor winter recreation and fitness.  A parallel purpose of this award is to convey the positive role skiing has had in its contributions to the communities in the West.  The prize is open to an individual or a group leader (not restricted to FWSA members) and can be self-nominated or nominated by a club or club member.  The prize is awarded on the basis of a history product or a work in progress.  Sponsored by Steamboat Ski & Resort Corporation since 2000, the winner is awarded a five-day ski package for two in Steamboat with lodging, lift tickets, rentals, lesson, lunch, and more! 

Environment Award:  The Environment Award is designed to encourage good stewardship of our environment. We want to inspire and reward creative efforts to conserve and protect our environment. This award should recognize a special action that the applicant took, or something he or she put in place that made a difference. Some areas to consider are: Volunteering at the community level – particularly in some leadership role; conducting or arranging for an environmental oriented event(s) – either for club, council or public; writing a series of columns regarding environmental conservation, education or protection in your ski club or council newsletters; being proactive in environment protection.  Sponsored by Aspen/Snowmass, The Gant, and The Crestwood – the winner is awarded a 5-day ski package for two in Aspen/Snowmass with lodging split between The Gant in Aspen and The Crestwood Condominium Hotel in Snowmass, including lift tickets, rentals, and group lesson.

Charities and Community Service Recognition Program FWSA encourages all clubs and councils to get involved with charities and community service. The Charities and Community Service Recognition Program has been recognizing clubs for their charitable work at each convention for the past ten years.  The Charity Recognition Program has created two different levels of application for Clubs: the Diamond and Double Diamond awards. Any Club that has won first place in this wonderful recognition program in a past year will apply in the Double Diamond category. All other Clubs will be in the Diamond category.  The two separate levels will hopefully give all groups an added incentive to apply, and then to apply again. Each Club category will have a first and second place winner. The Council category will recognize a first-place winner.  FWSA has not yet determined how the winners will be recognized, but certainly, it will be special!  Please stay tuned.  The top two Clubs in each category and the winning Council will be invited to display a picture board at Convention.  All groups that apply will be recognized at Convention.  For any Charity & Community Service questions, contact Sigrid Noack at skisig@gmail.com.

Far West Club/Council History Recognition:  In 2008 Far West launched this program to develop club, league and council histories. The objective of the annual program is to capture important information about skiing from the skier’s perspective and especially that of the club skier.  Selection for the award is based on digital (preferable) or mailed presentation of club or council history according to a set of weighted criteria and judged by knowledgeable ski historians.

Far West Historic Ski Clubs:  Clubs with over 50 years of operation may be designated as a FWSA Historic Ski Club. The club must provide proof of operations with the request for this designation.  Proof may be articles of incorporation, minutes, press clippings or other significant historic evidence and may be 1 to 10 pages of copied material.  The applying club will be required to provide a reproducible logo.

NWSCC encourages ALL of our member clubs to consider entering these competitions!!  Go to the FWSA website under Awards for full details and application materials.  We want to see OUR clubs as winners at Convention!  

FWSA Outstanding Club, Communication, and Website Awards - Entry Instructions

NWSCC encourages all member clubs to enter your club into the FWSA Awards Competitions to recognize how great YOUR club is!  

The 2017 application procedures have been greatly simplified to encourage more club and council entries. Clubs and councils do not need to submit judges. Your council presidents have formed a committee of judges; however, we will happily accept volunteers. If you haven’t entered for a while, please look at this year’s procedures and consider entering your club or council.  Your deadline for entry is March 26, 2017, to enter your club for any of these awards.

Outstanding Club Award. The number of criteria to be addressed have been reduced. To apply, provide the information for your club under each of the criteria in the .pdf document HERE and email to Paul Vlasveld, pvlasveld@comcast.net.

Club and Council Newsletter Awards. Submit ONE* newsletter in any of the following forms: 1) Any electronic format such as .pdf file, link to newsletter on website, or Word document. Email to Paul Vlasveld, pvlasveld@comcast.net.  2) Hard copy mailed to Paul Vlasveld, 789 Daffodil Way, San Jose, CA 95117.  *Newsletters will be judged according to the criteria attached HERE. Submit what you think is the edition that is the best version that will match up with the criteria. You have until the submission due date (March 26, 2017) to make adjustments if you so desire.

Club and Council Website Award. Send link to your website to Paul Vlasveld, pvlasveld@comcast.net. Websites will be judged according to the criteria attached HERE.

Classes for Competition: Clubs submitting entries for the three above awards will be entered in the following classes for competition:
Novice: Clubs who either have never entered or haven’t placed for the past 4 years.
Advanced: Clubs who have won second and third place during the past 4 years.
Masters: Clubs who have won first place during the past 4 years.

Winners are given a seal for placement on website and/or in publications. Winners also receive a certificate fit for framing.