About the
SkiHawks
WHO
WE ARE:
Though
primarily a downhill ski club, SkiHawks remains active all year long. The membership is comprised of both singles
and couples with the full range of skill levels likely to be present on
anything we undertake. If you’ve been
around for a while and like being active, you’ll enjoy SkiHawks.
Our membership covers a wide area including King, Pierce, Thurston Counties plus other areas of
Washington as well as some out of state members. We are
approaching 200 total members. The club
has been active since the 1970’s.
WHAT
WE DO:
Several
annual events plus regular membership and social meetings serve as a
framework
for our calendar. The rest of what we do
in a given year depends on what the members choose to organize and
participate
in. Lately that has included a variety
of ski
trips, a snowshoe
outing, day
hikes, weekly
kayaking in the summer, bike
rides, 4th
of July outings, and trips to see the latest Warren Miller film or
share some kind of
festival
fun.
It
all depends on the membership.
Everything we do is organized by a member of the club – or
several. The Board of Directors sets the
dates for and
organizes the Annual Picnic, the Christmas party, the spring dance, and
the
election party. Members help with the
planning, decorating, etc. for each of these.
Beyond those events, it’s a matter of who steps up to what. That works well in terms of having
things
going on that the members are interested in.
And there’s usually plenty going on.
Several ski trips have
been offered for long enough they are
considered “regulars.” We usually have
trips to Reno/Lake Tahoe, Big Sky, Montana,
and Utah. Sun Peaks
in British Columbia
has been a great “season starter” for
several years. Ski trips are typically
opened for sign up at the Annual Picnic in the summer.
Some new trips occur on shorter notice and sometimes
there are cancellations. So let the
trip leader know if you are interested in a trip that’s “Full.” The Winter Activities Coordinator is the
Board member who keeps track of the whole roster of trips and helps
those
arranging them keep things organized and on target.
If you aren’t sure what makes sense to do,
talk to that person.
Day
trips such as hikes and kayaking are organized anywhere from a couple
weeks to
a day in advance. The Summer Activities
Coordinator usually knows what is in the offing so call that person if
you don’t
see what you want or aren’t sure of how
to find it. (You just might end up
leading the trip you wanted though…..)
WHEN
WE MEET:
Regular membership meetings
are on the second Tuesday of each month
and are currently being held at Elmer’s Restaurant on Hosmer just off 72nd Street
in Tacoma.
They
start at 7:00pm and typically include a speaker on some relevant topic,
information about upcoming events, and the opportunity to visit with
other
members. Monthly
social meetings are
held on the fourth Tuesday of each
month and vary in terms of the activity involved. Often
it’s dinner out together, but it could
also be wine-making, bowling, or a barbeque at a member’s home. We alternate social meetings between Olympia and Tacoma
since we have members in both areas.
HOW
IT WORKS:
Everyone
is encouraged to lead a trip eventually.
Traditional multi-day, out-of-state ski outings are offered by
members
who are willing to set them up. There
are companies and staff at resorts to help with the process, plus
members who
have already lead trips are great about
answering questions and adding insight if asked. Overnights
to bike or kayak have also been
fun. In addition, there is a wide range
of possibilities for what might happen on a day trip basis.
<>The
calendar on the website (www.skihawks.org) is your
best source of
information on what’s currently in the works.
Ski trips usually involve a sign up and deposit requirement
months in
advance of the trip because of the planning needs of the ski resorts. Other activities tend to be on
shorter
notice.
Anything
that’s being organized by the club will be mentioned on the calendar. One or more announcements about the event are
also typically sent out to the membership via e-mail.
If you aren’t getting e-mail, there is a
newsletter that can be received via regular mail, but it’s not as
timely. In
addition to the officially organized stuff, members sometimes invite
SkiHawks
to parties and other events they are planning that include more than
the
club. These are still announced via
e-mail but sometimes are on such short notice that putting them on the
calendar
doesn’t work.
HOW
TO MAKE THE MOST OF THE CLUB:
Don’t
wait until you’re sure you’re good at whatever we are planning before
you get
involved. You don’t have to qualify for
the Olympics to sign up for a ski trip, and you don’t have to be able
to ride Seattle to Portland
on a bike to sign up for a ride. True,
some of our members are really good at this stuff.
But there are a bunch of us who aren’t, so
don’t be shy. Take
a look at what’s happening, find something that looks interesting, and
call or
e-mail the person taking the lead to find out more.
The sooner you start to do things with the
club, the more people you meet and the
more familiar and fun it begins to feel.
Also,
volunteer to help when something needs to get done.
That’s a really quick way to feel like “one
of the gang.”
