CHANGES IN THE CLUB’S LEADERSHIP:
Some of the people who have given much of their time and effort over the past several years have recently turned over the “reins” to others. Many thanks to Jane Hardy, Teresa Boli, and Gilbert Siegel for serving the kayak community here, and we are grateful to them. They will still be involved in club activities where they can. Jane will continue to lead some advanced skills sessions, and we will see Gilbert and Teresa on the water also.
NEW PEOPLE ADDED TO LEADERSHIP ROLES:
Debbie Van Martin has become our new “Social Events Coordinator”, and will be announcing some events in the future to bring people together in fun ways. She is high energy, a great cook, very interesting to talk to, and a lot of fun to be around.
Dave Beckmann has been leading a “Meet Up” group on Wednesday nights for several years, and will now be doing that for the club also. Dave is skilled in kayaking (you can see him performing a snappy “roll” on our website in Skills), and has experienced some interesting paddles back east. Come paddle with him and others each Wednesday at 5:30pm (launch at 6pm). Boat rentals are available through Aqua Adventures at a special rate of $15 for these paddles.
You can check out Debbie’s and Dave’s “Bio” on our website: http://www.sdkc.org/club-contacts/
CLUB HATS ARE BACK AT AQUA ADVENTURES:
Starting December 14th our cool club hats (in Kaki, Chrome, and Black) will be on sale again at Aqua Adventures (AA) for $20. The hat sales proceeds will be used to pay for lessons and activities to foster club growth and events, so help us in this effort by purchasing a few. They make great gifts and will help the club in many ways. We do not have any membership dues, so this is the way we will pay for things. Please help support our club in this promotional effort. It’s a win-win: you get a new hat, the club gets a new member, and someone gets a free introductory lesson.
FREE BEGINNER’S LESSONS TO CLUB MEMBERS:
In order to help the club grow, each hat sale will provide one free lesson to someone wanting to experience an introduction to kayaking. In a joint effort with AA, once we have at least 6 hats sold, and 6 people signed up (and signed up as new club members), we will have a Beginner’s Lesson at AA, lasting for an hour or so. AA will provide the equipment and dock help (that the club pays for), and the club will provide instructors. The lesson will go over just the basics, allowing a person to get in a kayak and learn a few paddle strokes and basic boat handling. More advanced skills lessons will then be available through AA for those who want to pursue this sport. We need club volunteers to help teach the Beginner’s Lessons, so please reply to me if you can assist in this. It would be great to have a ratio of one-on-one. This would also help new people make friends with those already in the club. Mentoring is the way to grow our club.
YOUR HELP IS NEEDED FOR FUTURE PADDLES, TRIPS, WEB ARTICLES, AND ACTIVITIES:
We need people to help lead paddles, teach the Beginner’s Lessons, and assist with social events. Let Debbie or me know what you can do to help foster our club’s events. If you are a young person, we especially want you to help lead the club’s future with the next generation, passing on this great sport to others. Anyone is welcome to contribute an article on kayaking on our club website.
AQUARIUS BAR AND GRILL TO OPEN THIS SPRING NEXT TO AA:
Debi Nolan is now preparing the space where the deli was for years, with plans to open sometime in April or May. There will be live entertainment on weekends and others times and will be open during extended hours. I have already discussed with Debi having a club party there, which should be very fun. Having this next to AA should bring more people to paddling, and is exciting news for everyone. She already has a cart out front to sell some food and beverage, so stop by and meet her. I don’t know if she paddles, but we will get her in a boat… J
SEVERAL KAYAKS TO RENT AT AQUA ADVENTURES:
AA has a good variety of decked and SOT boats to rent. You can find their website by the link on the club’s home web page for their shop info. They are committed to stocking more kayak items, so stop in to give any suggestions you want to see them carry. Congrats and many thanks to Craig and Ashleigh for their beautifully renovated shop, and all the hours they put in to grow the sport of paddling. We value the club’s partnership with them, and are grateful they are doing so much for us, TRR, and other worthy organizations in this area.