How can you tell you are having a bad day? On Thursday June 20, 2002 I was
taking supplies to the TCC when I noticed my keys did not work. Frustration set in and I
contacted Riverview security to be let in. Boy, step down from being Zone president for
just a few weeks and they change your keys!
As I was waiting, I noted that the outside was a little dirtier than usual. Hmmm. I tried to
see inside and the windows were clouded. I finally found a place to look in and the
drapes were melted! Oops!
Security arrived and shared that there was a fire at 1 am Monday June 17. It was still
under investigation. I was FINALLY allowed to enter and my heart sank. The heat line, a
line of black soot, came down 3 feet from the ceiling in all the classrooms. Our annual
plaques were melted where they hung on the wall and the floor was strewn with all manner
of ceiling tiles and trash. It looked like the fire started in our training supplies area and
seems to have consumed our Annies, first aid training boxes, backboards, splints and our
coffee area. These pictures of the back classroom were taken through the back
windows
Some on hill equipment that was stored in the back classroom seems to have only been blackened by
soot. With a fair amount of trepidation I opened our warehouse where all our jackets,
radios, packs and computers were stored. Luckily the wall and door stood up to the
assault and everything was clean and dry. There MAY be a bit of smoke damage but
nothing that we cannot fix. BCBC tried to contact us but Brian, the primary contact was on vacation in Mexico at
the time. The jury is out as to weather the TCC will be fixed or if we have to hunt for a
new home. Discussions are underway with our insurance company. The bottom line is that
we are covered! There will be more info soon.
Thanks to everyone for a great season. And congratulations to the following
2002 GVZ Award Recipients at our Zone, Division and National levels. (Only the
highlights and GVZ relevant recipients are listed for Division and
National.)
The new Founders Award was presented to Denis Dion
in recognition of his ongoing efforts in support of Greater Vancouver
Zone. Denis was also presented with a framed photo by David Martin on
behalf of the Zone. I believe that this was the only time (that most of us
can recall) that Denis has been at a loss for words!
GVZ at the National Annual Conference, it's not all hard work
On May 10 through 12 2002 GVZ was represented by the largest contingent since we
hosted the National AC in Vancouver in 1994. Attending, in one capacity or another
representing GVZ or PSD, were Eric & Gail Waddell, Gavin & Jacke Palmer, Andy &
Sandy Boule, Don Milner, Stefanie McWatters, Cris Blair, Lindsay Pastro, Jeremy Nightingale,
Stephan Belanger, Drew Carter, Brain Olsen, Denis Dion, Dr. Michael Swangard and
even Annemarie Lauer who dropped in to say hi as she was in town. GVZ's impact was felt
throughout the annual conference. Calgary zone organized one of the best ACs ever with 4
streams running concurrently; operations, education, safety and leadership. I was there as
I couldn't stay away and yes I paid my way, food and registration but I DID sneak into
Gail & Eric's room after all it's a tradition! Calgary zone organized a Stampede
Olympics at Calgary Olympic Park for all attendees Friday evening. We were split into
teams of members from around the country and competed in events like calf roping, cow
chip throwing, bull riding and many many more it was a hoot!
Here Gail, Lindsay and
Don received their National Appreciation Awards amid hoots and howls from the LARGE
contingent of GVZ and PSD attendees.
Stef, Cris and Don were there representing Pacific South Division in the National
common ground first aid competition. They did GVZ and PSD proud!
Don, Jeremy, Drew, Stephan
and Lindsay participated in the PL leadership workshops where they worked through issues
with other patrol leaders from around the country. What a great idea! Brian participated in
the national ZP meetings and workshops and got a real eye opener. Eric Waddell participated in the education meetings while Gail, Denis, Andy and
the rest of the band participated in all the streams.
That afternoon, at the CSP luncheon, Andy Boule received his just desserts, CSP award
number 750! It was noted amid howls of laughter where Gavin Palmer asserted that Andy
was "A Man" followed by a pregnant pause the house cam down! Everyone had a great
time, Andy has some great memories and GVZ is proud to have another CSP recipient in
its ranks!
All of the GVZ crew helped put on a first ever GVZ sponsored "Stampede Breakfast".
You wouldn't think our crew could get out of bed after the excellent awards banquet on
Sunday (more below) but we had the breakfast set up ready to serve at 9:00 am. This
called for Denis and Cris starting at 5:30 am YUCK! A great time was had by all and
after 300 breakfasts had been served, we lost count!
The tradition of excellence in GVZ was well represented and its future is bright.
That is the best present an outgoing President can wish for!
Denis Dion GVZ President 1997 2002
A Recap of the AC from our PSD President, Gavin Palmer
This year's Annual Conference coincided with Calgary Zone's 60th anniversary.
The event was well attended by PSD patrollers and some had substantial input into its
success.
Gord Marples (Ogopogo Zone) led the all day Instructor Trainer Seminar on Friday.
This was the introduction of the Instructor Development Program, which will be part of
the Education Program. This addition will assist us in achieving formal WCB and
government accreditation, which some Divisions are pursuing in order to get recognition
of CSPS skills and abilities. Gord, the guru of the Junior Patrol Program, also did a session on
the JPP and its successes.
Stephen Power (PSD VP Education, Thompson Zone) led the Strategic and Succession
Planning session. Discussion topics centered on the challenges of maintaining the leadership skill levels
currently achieved and how to pass those experiences on to the future leaders of our
system. As Steve will be moving up to National VP Education in 2003, he is fully aware of the
need to replace himself and was the ideal candidate to share his experiences.
Paul Druitt (PSD Bookkeeper, Ogopogo Zone) and Gordon Ritchie, led a session on
'The Future of Safety in the CSPS'.
Denis Dion (PSD VP Marketing, Greater Vancouver Zone) facilitated a National Zone
President's roundtable where issues from across Canada were shared, debated and,
in some cases, solutions were found.
Our little database is going "National". The database was presented at the National
Annual Conference in Calgary this May and was approved to go forward for production
starting August 1, 2002.
The database as it now runs will be loaded with data from all Zones and will be
considered "live" after that.
I've started working on a new improved version of the database which will be even more
up-to-date and hopefully easier to use that the one now in use. The new version is being
developed as a .NET system which will give us greater functionality and flexibility than
we now have. My plan is to have this available as an alternative interface by launch day.
What this means to the average patroller is that more accurate membership information
will be available within the entire CSPS system Zone, Division, and National. It also
means that we will finally be able to exercise our right to privacy using the 3rd Party
Marketing Opt-Out flag.
GVZ hosted the Pacific South Division Zone Presidents' meeting and Awards Banquet at
Manning Park Resort on June 1 & 2, 2002. GZV was represented by our new President,
Brain Olsen, who upheld our tradition of mutual support, thinking out of the box, and
professionalism. GVZ had its largest contingent ever at this event with over 24 of our
members attending. Patrol leaders and zone presidents were the focus of the meetings
and workshops. Pacific South Division's goal is to satisfy its customer the zones in
southern British Columbia. Mike Barker and his crew at Manning Park Resort out
did themselves with great meeting rooms and meals. We were honored to have the big guy
himself, Mike Barker the Mountain Manager join us at the Saturday awards banquet.
GVZ was well represented at the Awards Banquet through its Award recipients.
See above for the Pacific South
Division Award Recipients.
What a year we have had. We had to live without bingo income. We had to invest in our
SWAP. We had to increase our membership. We had to increase our instructor base and
provide even better service to our customers. I am delighted to share that this was all
accomplished in spades! The credit has to go to each of you! Without you nothing
happens. And without our excellent executive not much would be initiated. Going into
my last year as your President it was critical that GVZ have a strong experienced
executive. Each of you has given so much to the Zone; please accept my heart felt thanks.
Annemarie Lauer VP Administration One of the hardest jobs as she must manage
registrations, data entry and dissimulation, all registrations to PSD and national
functions, Non CSPS first aid provision and fundraising. Annemarie has done a stupendous job!
Gail Waddell VP Marketing What the heck is marketing? Marketing? Webster's
defines it as "an aggregate of functions involved in moving goods from producer to
consumer". Practically speaking in the retail environment marketing /
merchandising is the art of slowing the customer down long enough to notice your product period.
Our product is excellent first aid and rescue services and injury prevention. This is a
new way of looking at communications that in the past just included getting information "top down" to our members from the executive. Gail has taken on this
MUCH larger role where the more traditional communications functions must be done but to also include managing interactions with our customers, mountain
management, and the community at large. This is a function in transition so expect to
see lots in the coming years.
Kathy Swangard VP Finance If marketing is getting the product from producer to
the end user then Finance is the lion tamer with a whip and chair bringing order to
enthusiastic VPs wanting to jump through every hoop concurrently. Due to her unwavering focus on the bottom line I can delightedly report we are in FANTASTIC
shape. Kathy, you were the right person at the right time for our Zone. Thank you SO
much for your 5 years of effort as VP Finance.
Eric Waddell VP Education Education is one of the few departments whose
customer is primarily the members of the Zone rather than someone outside the CSPS.
If the customer is satisfied then we have a large on snow success rate. Over the years
this rate has been growing and I am happy to share that this year's has been the best
since I have been in this Zone and I believe ever. VP Education, this is new . What
is the difference between education and training? How would you like your teen daughter coming home after school and proudly share with you that she took part in
sex training! It may seem minor but think about it. Eric has always been an innovator
and cannot wait to break something that is working to implement something that is
new and improved. Some days we could choke him but every day we appreciate his enthusiasm and effort.
Brian Olsen VP Supplies Talk about a lot of seemingly unappreciated work.
Supplies and equipment is a lot of work and responsibility but Brian pulled all this off
through developing a great team and working closely with the rest of the executive to
ensure we have the proper items in the right place at the right time.
Chris Malcolm VP Safety Our perception in the community is largely based on
what we do in the community. It was Chris's task to build on the excellent efforts of
Rick McIsaac and Robyn Stewart with SnowSmart. This was carried on as time allowed but with a smaller team. The key with any CSPS member's input is that they
give of their time as they are able to. We appreciate all our members' efforts.
SnowSmart in GVZ is alive and well and will be expanded in the coming year.
Don Milner VP Operations Operations is where the rubber meets the road. It is
where the day to day work gets done for our customer, Mountain management. Thanks to our patrol leaders, Vlad Mikler at Mount Seymour, Lindsay Pastro at
Hemlock Valley resort, Bill Dingwall at Manning Park and Tanya Rosenberg our Zone's excellent Jr. Patrol Leader.
Lindsay Pastro Chairperson of the GVZ Board Though not a member of the
Zone "Executive" Lindsay's role as chair of the board is very important to our Zone. The
board oversees the actions of the executive to assure that the member's finances are
appropriately managed, policy is being correctly applied and that Zone policies are
appropriate, up to date and effective. I'll let Lindsay go into detail in his article rather
than stealing his thunder here.
Greater Vancouver has always been a "Great" Zone, so much so that it was incorporated
into our moniker. I am delighted to pass the torch to a team that will de able to do even
more for you our members and our customers. As I have often said Zone Presidency
should be like a sprint relay race rather than a marathon. If I was better at my job I could
have been able to step down earlier. Members that have a passion for improvement have
to get in and get out by handing the baton over to a team even more passionate and vital
than yours. I feel that Brian and his team are just that.
I wish the new executive team every success and will be there in support of them as a
director for another few years and as a hard working member of one of Canada's greatest
Zones, Greater Vancouver!
Denis Dion President Greater Vancouver Zone 1997 - 2002
Talk about "trial by fire"!! Little did I know that when I took
over as GVZ President I would be subjected to such a literal version of that
saying. I was on vacation in Mexico when the fire struck and it was quite a
shock to learn of it when I got back. Thanks to Denis for taking care of our
initial response.
Unfortunately the way the world works is that *%#& happens. To add to
that, the way the world also works is that *%#& gets taken care of. My point
is this isn't the end of the world. I predict we will be able to fully recover
from the TCC fire by the time the snow flies. Some hard work will be required
but it's not as bad as we might have previously thought. With some creative
thinking we will be able to proceed with our fall training with little or no
disruption as well. Here's a brief rundown on our fire losses and our plans for
recovery:
Destroyed:
Training Equipment: Splints, backboards, 1 clamshell, half of training kits,
CPR Dolls, blankets, future Manning radio repeater, Microwave, coffee equipment.
Awards plaques/trophies
Recovery plan - loss amounts to approximately $20,000. Insurance will cover
approximately $10,000. Remainder we will replace with contingency funds in
budget or use rented equipment and defer replacement until next year. All awards
will be recreated. The originals are still legible.
Damaged:
8 toboggans suffered major smoke damage. Jackets radios, packs, computers,
misc. stores room items suffered very minor smoke damage. Recovery plan: all
damaged items are cleanable and except for one computer and some misc. supplies
all are fully insured.
Future of TCC:
We are currently homeless. It is very unlikely that Riverview will restore
the damaged building. All damaged and salvageable equipment is currently being
stored at no charge in a secure warehouse at Cromwell Restoration Inc. We will be
obtaining a mini storage unit soon and will take possession of the restored and
salvageable items at that time. We are looking at options for a new TCC.
Riverview has mentioned there are a couple houses coming vacant that might be
suitable. We will eventually find a new TCC but it may take some time. If you
have any suggestions please email me. We will still be able to function
reasonably well without the TCC but it may be a little less convenient to pick
up supplies in the interim.
On a different note now, there have been some big changes in GVZ since last
year. Denis Dion has finally stepped down as GVZ pres and turned over the reins
of power to yours truly. Recently Denis was the recipient of several special
zone awards and these only begin to express our appreciation for all he has done
over the past 6 years. Thanks Denis for always going above and beyond!
Presently, GVZ is in great shape, other than the fire. Our finances are healthy
thanks to all our members fundraising efforts and to Kathy Swangard's fine work
as VP finance. Wade Walters will be taking over as Kathy has decided its time to
focus on other priorities in her life including working to support her recently
retired husband (Doc) at a standard of living he is accustomed to. Seriously
though, a big thank you goes out to Kathy for all she has done over the many
years she was our VP Finance.
Since our finances are in excellent shape we had planned on having a fairly
aggressive spending plan for the 02-03 season. The TCC fire may result in some
expenditures being deferred to next year but don't count on it - we should be
able to stick to our plan. Plans include a new boot room for Seymour similar to
what we put in place at hemlock last season. Plans for this are proceeding
slowly. Space is at a premium in the Seymour base area so there may be some
hurdles to jump before a site is secured. We will not be purchasing an AED
(Automated Electronic Defibrillator) as was originally planned because we have
confirmed that we can get training units from the manufacturers free of charge.
We still plan to have all our members certified in AED use by the time the snow
flies. Our budgeting also includes setting aside significant contingency funds
for ARC maintenance and to cushion possible future revenue decreases. We may use
some of these contingencies to replace critical equipment lost in the TCC fire.
Our goals for the next season are still being developed but in the big
picture we are going to be looking at ways to reduce the costs of patrolling,
streamlining and further refining our training programs and continuing to work
closely with our client mountains to ensure our relationships are strong and
everyone is happy. Other than one minor setback, things are going great in GVZ.
One final note, remember, GVZ always welcomes visiting patrollers at any of
our mountains. I would like to urge all our GVZ members to roll out the red
carpet to visiting patrollers. I have put out a challenge to other Zones to do
the same. I had the opportunity to guest patrol at both Big White and Kicking
Horse last season and can attest that guest patrolling is a great way to meet
people and get the inside track on the best skiing at our various CSPS
mountains. Many thanks to both Big White and Kicking Horse for their excellent
hospitality and skiing conditions. I am a firm believer that one of the greatest
benefits of being a CSPS member is the opportunity to be a guest patroller at
other mountains. If you are interested in guest patrolling at any other CSPS
mountains please contact the Zone President of the respective Zone. Generally, a
recommendation letter is required from your Zone President or Patrol Leader to
provide proof to the host mountain that you are qualified and a member in good standing.
Matt Brown, a Chilliwack resident, represents the CSPS-GVZ at the Chilliwack Bingo every Sunday between 10 p.m. and 1 a.m. In
this photo, taken August 11, 2002, Matt is flanked by CSPS-GVZ handout material
which explains what we do with the funds raised, what services we provide and recruiting info. Matt as been an
Affiliate Member for about 4 years and plays pick up hockey, enjoys the great outdoors, and
SKIS at Manning Park Resort and Hemlock Valley Resort. His summer duties include checking up on our Manning and Hemlock
Alpine Rescue Centers each week.
During the course of his tenure with the CSPS-GVZ he has given away prizes totaling over $68,000.00! These bingos have raised over $150,000.00 for GVZ over the last 4 years and we are expecting to raise about $62,000.00 this year (2002/2003). Funds raised have to be used for training in BC, phone lines and equipment. They cannot be used for meals, building maintenance or out of province training or conferences.
Thanks Matt, the CSPS needs more Affiliate Members like you.
Registration
2001-02
Hemlock
23
Manning
29
Seymour
43
Not rostered
18
Blue River
32
Total members
145
Junior Patrollers
8
2002-03
Returnees
29
new recruits
12
registered and on-hill trained
Total
41
others
6
not registered, ski level 5 or higher
Deadline for Registration Sept. 19, with registration evenings being held Sept. 11 and 19. Please note registrations after Sept. 19th will be
subject to a Late Registration fee of $22.
Summer First Aid Events
2001 - 2002: We had fun in the sun, (oh, and provided first aid, too)
at the Five Peaks Trail Running Series again, and expanded to include a section
of the Sea2Summit Challenge and the Vancouver MS Bike Ride. Thanks go to Tanja
Kranz (5 events), Alan Milner (2 events), Denis Dion (2 events), Don Milner,
Dave Martin, Rob Martin, Karen Zacharias, Lisa Byrne, Oscar Garcia, Barb Logan,
Taylor Schmidt (Junior), Stephan Belanger, Heather Couper and Heather Macintosh.
2002 - 2003: This years season has begun and while Golden Ears was a
little on the wet side we were well compensated with the beautiful day we had at
Mt. Seymour. Thanks to Steve Gunderson, James Clark, Cris Blair, Sarah Langley
who have helped at both races, and Scott Burgess, Janine Orlando, Jeremy
Nightingale, Cheryl Nelson, Chris Nichols, Alison Clarke, Lawrence Sandve, Brent
Gilmore, and Lisa Petrie who have each helped at one of the 2. Remember to check
the BTW for dates on other races and contact Annemarie Lauer or the designated
Team Leader for the event. If you are wondering what actually goes on, contact
myself or one of the people above for a thumbnail, but the comments from some of
our 5 Peaks newcomers at Seymour were about how fun it was and they were glad
they had checked it out.
And THANKS to the organizers of the 5 Peaks Trail Running Series who provide
us with a donation to CSPS-GVZ for each race!!!!!!!
"In 2001 we saw Extreme crowds, Extreme sales,
felt Extreme satisfaction and
Extreme exhaustion ;-)
If Winter Extreme 2000 was an on ramp to the freeway of financial stability, the 2001
edition of our show saw us roaring down the autobahn. Our committee and zone members are now firing on all cylinders. This year's show was a hair straight back, wind
fluttering under your eyelids, supersonic ride that none of us will soon forget.
It was determined early that the swap required a phased system upgrade to meet our
long term goals. This year's portion would be $10,000.00! We had to plan to raise this
money in ADDITION to our budgeted goal. We turned to our community business partners
and especially Randy Blair, and his team from the Abbotsford News. Randy worked with
the swap committee to come up with a small attendance fee that turned into a HUGE success
story.
The new 2.00 fee was sold in our advertising so effectively that out of over 8000
attendees we only received 2 complaints and one of them was "Why did you wait so
long to implement an entry fee?" WOW!
Gone were any slow times during the show to catch your breath. This year's edition of
Winter Extreme saw our highest sales, in ALL areas tags, booths, and equipment. Attendance records were shattered once again. But one traditional thing WAS
missing a huge line up at our tills. Our Swap committee has implemented step one of
our MIS upgrade plan. Don Milner's excellent swap program was now supported by 4
new desktop computer systems. One of the finest upgrades was the move to 8 thermal
receipt printers, like you see on gas pumps. Fast, efficient and no moving parts! All of
our cashiers missed wading through numerous copies of receipts and re-threading those
antique impact printers NOT! This sped up our customer handling to professional
levels.
Our (Don's) system is becoming widely known and sought after. We have helped Thompson zone implement the program to rave reviews. Inquiries have come in from
across the country, literally. Patrols from as far away as Michigan, Calgary, Toronto have
come in and as near as VANCOUVER! That is correct; the Vancouver Ski Swap attended our show, took notes and is VERY interested in acquiring our software. The
swap committee will be putting together a response early in the new-year but as I stated
earlier, and MANY times, it is our goal to contract out the brains of our industry leading
show for a percentage of their total sales. More later on that exciting development.
I feel we have finally struck the right balance. We have successfully implemented an
attendance fee to our show. This can only get better and more profitable. It was
understood and roundly supported by the public. We are analyzing our marketing strategy. The posters and show passes
worked out great, but our radio advertising we could have done without. As we grow, we learn.
Our current plan is to have Don Milner and I attend Canada's largest ski show and swap,
the Toronto Ski Show. This is specifically to compare notes with the Central Zone
organizing committee, share ideas and make both of our shows more successful.
A big thank you has to go to all of you but especially to our 2001 Winter Extreme Swap
committee Eric & Gail Waddell (website & cash), Bill Dingwall (Vendor check in /
out), Gayle Brady (Human resources), Chris Kehler (front end), Cris Blair (set up),
Lindsay Pastro (MIS), Don Milner (MIS) Nancy Larkin (ideas) and Kathy & Dr. Michael Swangard (Cash & Public check in / out) chaired by Denis
Dion.
This past year, we saw procedures tighten up within the Training Department. Part of this
was a result of getting a lot of our records computerized; but most of this was a result of
improving our record keeping.
The major change to our curriculum was the adoption of the new CPR techniques.
Because the CSPS First Aid manual was now up-to-date, we were able to streamline our
instructor loads by teaching according to CSPS standards. It turned out that there never
was a policy that CPR Instructors had to have outside certification, so we were able to
use our own people. This was fortunate as Heart and Stroke, for whatever reason,
is no longer training CPR Instructors. Otherwise, we could have been in the lurch.
This year's First Aid training went very smoothly. Under the leadership of Tim
Lockwood, GVZ's First Aid Training Officer, the First Aid Training team took on a batch
of new recruits with a lower than usual drop-out rate, fewer re-tests, and higher
overall marks. The four-weekend format for the fall course has proven that it works well.
Attendance for this Spring's Top Gun was a little disappointing. The idea is to shift
returning patrollers away from the September-October First Aid classes to the Spring. We
were expecting more attendees at Top Gun. We'll have to find out what we can do to entice better attendance next Spring.
We were very pleased with how well both On-hill training sessions went this year.
On-Hill Training Officer, Sheldon Marche, reorganized the marking system and made improvements in our record keeping. Now that our data is up-to-date, we will be able to
properly track all patrollers' mandatory ski evaluations and should be able to go back to
holding evaluations every three years instead of two.
Throughout the season, Tuesday-Night Training proved to be a modest success. Although never attracting a large crowd, we managed to set a curriculum through
January, February, and into March with diverse topics such as ski improvement, knots,
belays, and snow caving.
Looking forward we will see even more changes in the coming year.
To reflect this, the Training portfolio has been renamed Education. This underscores the
CSPS mandate, to not only train our own members, but also to educate the public. More
on this at a later date.
As for changes affecting our members, you'll be seeing our standards coming up to par
with Occupational First Aid Level III. Airways are not just a nice-to-have
anymore, but a mandatory skill. We'll be adding Sager Splints to our repertoire as well as training on the
use of Automatic External Defibrillators (AEDs).
There's a new 64-page Student Workbook on the CD-ROM. We'll make extensive use of
that as a teaching aid. We are also going to eliminate most of those boring lectures,
leaving topics such as Anatomy, Poisons, and Hypothermia to the student to learn on their own.
This will give us more time for developing hands-on treatment skills.
Be prepared to see big changes when it comes time to do your practical exam! Gone is
the verbal diarrhea, "I'm looking for Deformity, Contusions, Abrasions, Penetrations "
There's a de-emphasis on being able to memorize lists of key phrases and more on
actually diagnosing the patient. Also gone is the practical exam as we know it with
patient assessment followed by one, maybe two, treatments. The exam has been modularized. There is a Diagnostic exam that takes everything up to the end of the
assessment. Then, there are a series of seven separate skill exams whereby you'll be
asked to perform a treatment. Because of this radical departure, we've delayed exams for
the Top Gun students until September.
Also gone are numeric marks you either Pass or you Fail. Adopting the national
standard, for the written exam, a pass is 75%. For the practical exams, you must perform
at least 75% of the procedures plus 100% of the mandatory procedures. For example,
checking distal pulse is a mandatory procedure for splinting. You must demonstrate that
to pass.
Our instructors won't escape change either. We've adopted the "Instructor Weekend"
system used in a number of other zones. Dave Gunby, brings his knowledge from Western Zone in Ontario to make this happen. This weekend, scheduled the week before
the Fall First Aid class, will see all instructors brought up-to-date, certified, and given a
teaching refresher.
As for on-hill, there will be changes coming over the coming year, but they have yet to be
fleshed out at the zone level. We're safe for now. I mentioned above that Sheldon has
been doing a stellar job of bringing our records up-to-date. He will be contacting all
patrollers whose ski evaluations are over three years old and you will be required to
evaluate in December. We must be diligent on this from a Risk management perspective.
Eric Waddell - VP Education, Greater Vancouver Zone
After being absent from Patrol and patrolling for almost a year, and having
left the VP Administration position in the capable hands of Annemarie Lauer, ZP
Denis offered me the VP Communications position in November 2001. My duties
consisted of shepherding the BTWs for our individual Patrols and the Zone. Then,
a couple of months ago, Denis decided to conform his executive to the National
and Division format. Suddenly my position became VP Marketing, not my strong
suit. Offers of help, which I appreciate, came from Kathy Swangard, Caroline
Campbell and Stephan Belanger. But, a more pressing issue needed to be addressed
- the Leaf & Cross.
BTW
This year saw full use of the BTW for the Zone and our three Patrols at
Hemlock Valley, Manning Park and Mount Seymour. Over 75% of our members have
e-mail access and a few are taking advantage of our e-mail-to-fax service. The
Patrol BTWs have been suspended for the Summer, but the Zone BTW is being used
throughout the Summer. If you wish to have an item posted to the Zone BTW,
please contact a member of your executive or send the item to the
GVZ VP Communications.
Leaf & Cross
This is the web version of the Leaf & Cross. It will be printed
at the end of July in a newsletter format to be mailed to our members who do not
have Internet access and to our non-member supporters. Currently, most of the photos are on the
WEBSHOTS web-site. As there is no link back to the Leaf & Cross from
WEBSHOTS, I would suggest that you add the Leaf & Cross to your favourites
list so that you can view the photos and return to finish reading the articles.
Marketing
As this is a very recent addition to the Marketing portfolio, there is little
to report. Kathy, Caroline, Stephan and myself will have more to report in the
Fall after we have had a chance to figure out what we need to do for
'Marketing'.
Looking back, we had a
great season with good operations. My thanks to Bill, Lindsay, and Vlad for
all the hard work this last season, as well as thanks to the Team Leaders:
Randy, Konrad, Jeremy, Stephan, Graham, Wade, Cris and Drew.
Looking forward, there
will be little change in the team for next year. Andy Carter will be taking
over as the new PL for Manning Park. Steve Gunderson will be moving up to take
over as one of the TL's at Hemlock as well as welcoming Joanna Dubowska as an
ATL at Hemlock.
ARC fees for guests will
also be increasing for the next season. Fees will be $10 / night. Spouse /
Family will have a maximum of $30 / person for the season. Friends will not
have a limit.
Well another season has ended. I must say it has been filled with many great moments in my time as New Patroller
Liaison. This season of New Patrollers was one of many talents and characters. I was very pleased to help teach and
coach many, if not all of you. It was not only a great experience, but also a great way
to create a bond between us all. It was special to walk into class, or visit on-hill, and talk to any of
you as if we were friends for years.
I would like to congratulate all the New Patrollers of the Year, Chris
Mussell (Seymour) Mark Allerdyce (Hemlock) and Sarah Langley (Manning). Also, a big congratulations to Sarah for
receiving the Pete Schubert Award. I would also like to pass on my appreciation to all the New Patrollers for a great
job this season.
To Denis Dion - Thanks for all the great work you have done, not only as Zone
President, but for all you have done for each and everyone in the patrol. Your heart is one of great strength and
caring. Just stay the way you are.
To Brian Olson - Congratulations on becoming our new Zone President. I'm looking
forward to working with you in the years to come.
I would also like to welcome into the office of New Patroller Liaison, Ms Tanja
Kranz. Tanja will be working closely with me as my co-liaison. Then, in the near
future, she will be taking over my job as I move onto a new one. With her enthusiasm and my
experience, we shall strive to make all the New Patrollers as comfortable as possible.
I have not received many of the questionnaires back. So, those of you who have
them, or who don't, please phone or e-mail me so we can work it out. These questionnaires are very important to the
Zone, as they tell us where we are and where we are going, and if we need to
change anything.
Thanks again. I hope I did all I could for you all and I hope to do more in the
future. Hope to see you all next season.
New Patroller Liaison
M. Lawrence Sandve
CSPS - GVZ
E-Mail:
GVZ VP Communications