General Meeting and Election Minutes from October 19th, 2020

We are currently taking in donations for the SwaterSki event on December 5th,  and all proceeds to that event tll go to the National Brain Tumor Society in memory of Christine (Repsys) Menard, mother of Keith Menard (friend of the collective).

The Minutes and Treasurers report was accepted with no objections.

It was announced that Joe was backing out from running for a director position.    No further nominations came from those in attendance or via email prior to the vote.      A vote was taken and the following officers were elected for the 2021 season (Jan->December)

President:   Ryan DesRoches
VP:   Nicholas Cioffi
Secretary:   Heather Smith-Svoboda
Treasurer:   Linda Candela
Director:  Carrie Wolfe

Since we did not have a majority of members at the meeting,  these elections won’t become official until November 26th to allow for any objections to be heard.     If an objection is submitted (via email or mail), it would be heard at the next meeting.   If no objections are submitted, the election will stand.  (per club bylaws).

Congratulations to those elected.  

3)  New Purchases/Equipment 

Since the last meeting, the collective has received numerous donations of gear,  including new combo skis, new kids trainer skis,  some Adult Slalom skis,   a Swivel Ski and a inflatable kids trainer/EZ Ski.       

In addition, we also purchased/won at auction a brand new Obrien 66″ Slalom ski that should be a great ski for our younger members whom are starting to advance to course level.   

We agreed that for the most part, we should be fine with equipment for the 2021 season starting.     We will always be on the lookout for good deals on gear – but we feel that we have most of what we need right now.       We do have a wakeboard (new) that does need bindings and we will look into getting some for that.  

Ropes were then discussed and we had a discussion on the pros/cons of making our own ropes vs purchasing them premade.       A cost analysis was presented.      A vote was taken to make our own ropes, but to purchase premade handles. 

Ryan then asked for a budget of $300 for rope handles and an additional $270 for a trick release.     The trick release would be used for any “trick acts” and also for our adaptive ski days and will be club property to be used on multiple boats if necessary.     Since not all ski pylons are the same diameter, we went with a 2″ release since it should cover most modern boats made since the mid 1990s.   

We also agreed to buy some pyramid braids – as we had some people interested in learning to climb.     Kevin Kuzdzal also agreed to donate a braid he had as well.

UPDATE:    Ryan has purchased the trick release,  6 braided handles, and 3 pyramid braids via Lake Elmo.    We also now have an account at Lake Elmo that is given a club discount on most products from Lake Elmo. 

Bill Michalson has agreed to make the ropes for the handles.   This should give us a total of 6 ropes and 4 braided lines.

4)  Survey Results

Ryan read through the list of comments we received at the end of the year surveys over what we can improve on.     Overall –  the “ski list” was the thing seemed to the the thing most in need of improvement.

With that said,   “Ready skiers” on the dock will not get bumped for someone coming late.   The late comer will need to wait until all skiers with gear on (waiting) gets their run in and then they can proceed to get their fiist run in.

On Weekends,   people that had been at the site since the 7am hour will be allowed to ski second runs AHEAD of people that show up later than 9am.    (So get there early if you want multiple runs).

We all agreed that having a speciality boat for one-on-one/group training should alleviate some of the list concerns.     But for night skiing, we will still continue to utilize the first and second run list as we have been.     We will keep an eye on it and make adjustments as needed.

Non-Member “Drop Ins” will also be limited to weekends at a specified time so we focus on members first.   

5)   General Rules document/Membership kits

The general rules document that Ryan had passed around after the last meeting was voted on and accepted.     This along with other informational material will be part of a “new member kit” that will be handed out next season that will detail basic ski information, such as our general rules,    hand signals,   contact info,  etc.   

6) Shack Improvements/Point Breeze:      Ryan, Linda and Nick had a meeting with AJ from point Breeze the Thursday prior to the meeting.      We have confirmation that we will be back next season at Point Breeze, and AJ is very happy with us over there.     

As part of our discussion,  AJ is allowing us to make improvements to the site/shack.   We plan on adding lights and electrical outlets to the back room.      We will pull permits and Linda’s boyfriend  Dave will be assisting with pulling the permits and doing the work (he is a licenced electrician).       We will be also adding some organization to the back room as well to best clean up the skis/jackets off the floor.   

We also discussed improving the dock situation as well, and AJ is fine with us adjusting the docks to make them more handicaped accessible for next season if we can find it in the budget.     AJ also offered the use of a floating dock (condition unknown) that we can utilize as well.   

Purchasing a ladder for the docks was also discussed and recommended, may need to be a temporary ladder due to boat traffic at the docks.   

Ryan did suggest moving to the “North End”  as a starting and landing spot next season instead of the gas docks.      Kevin suggested adding a buoy  out from the docks as a “landing spot”  in order to avoid congestion at the dock site.  

The Pontoon boat was also discussed and the plan is to remove the decking for the boat this fall and see if we can replace/expand it before the winter.     If not, the push will be on to get it done early next spring so it can hit the water early in the season.    This will allow us to do specialized “group skiing” next year which should give skiers more runs, keep things less congested and allow for more one-on-one coaching.   

7)   Junior Board of Directors Bylaw change –  This was discussed only briefly, as Ryan has put together some changes, but we did not go into detail in this meeting.    

8) 2021 Events

a)  Swaterski!   December 5th – We will be doing the inaugural “Swaterski” event on December 5th at Point Breeze.     This event will be a “polar plunge” type activity where participants will pay a registration fee and are allowed to collect their own sponsors.     Waterskiing to begin at 11am and then at 4:30 we will head to Wachusett to snow ski.      More details about the event are available on our website and facebook page.     All proceeds to benefit the National Brain Tumor Society.       The Collective will be the host club, but this is really the Menard’s family’s event and we are just helping to support them the best we can.       

b)  Safety Training –   Ryan has reached out to Pat – the regional safety instructor for USA Water Ski in the East.      Pat is willing to do a off-season training session with us, but it might be a combined event with the Holland Aqua Riders team as they are looking to do a session as well (and we’re close by).

c)  Drivers Training –  Kevin and Nick will work with the drivers for a safety training/evaluation next spring.     Any interested drivers should contact Nick to get the ball rolling on the paperwork and written test aspects of the class. 

d)  Adaptive Ski Day – We will be doing at least one Adaptive Ski Day next summer, the dates are TBD.

e) Learn to Ski Days  – We will do at least one Learn to Ski at Glen Echo and one in Webster next season –  probably in early June.    Unknown if we would want to sprinkle in others.

f)  Pool Practices – Once ropes are made we will schedule a pool practice for anyone interested in climbing.     We will also use the time to train people on Spotting and what being a good spotter is all about.    If we have good feedback and participation – there is no reason why we can’t do more off-season practices.  

g)  Partnering with other clubs/Tournaments/Shows/etc –   It would be nice to do something as a “ski event” next year either a fun tournament or an show/exhibition where parents/grandparents/family can see the progress the skiers have all made.       

We will be reaching out to some other clubs and see if we can potentially partner on some “fun” activities next year.     Ryan has put out some feelers to some other local clubs.