To: TVA Club Presidents and Board of Directors
From: Chuck Samus
Date: June, 26, 2002
Subject: TVA Newsletter
______________________________________________________________________________________
GREETINGS: Summer is here and weekend walking events have become more
difficult to find. I hope you were able to participate in many of the Spring events
conducted by various clubs. Don’t let this slow walking season and warm weather keep
you off the trail. There are many YRE’s out there that have shady routes. Who knows,
we may get lucky and have a couple cool days that allow you to get in an event or two.
Time flies by. It has been almost 4 years since I took office as TVA President. I have
enjoyed the privilege of representing you. There have been some trying moments, but
overall, you are a great group to work with. I find that most clubs know what to do and do
it well. That makes the job easier. I want to thank each of you for your hard work and
co-operation during my term as TVA President.
The TVA and the AVA have a full plate ahead of them. Although the TVA has no financial
problems, we do have participation problems. We must come up with a plan to increase
participation by attracting new walkers and then keep them coming to our events. This
problem is also an AVA problem. It is my sincere hope that our AVA Executive Council will
put aside the old thinking and develop a plan to keep our organization alive. We have a
new Executive Director at National Headquarters. The EC must give her a chance to make
things work. If not, we may all be doing what a former Texas club President told me as I
was trying to persuade him to keep his club going for another year. "If you want to
walk, get a pedometer and map and hit the streets". Unless we can solve our problems,
we may all be taking his advice.
TVA MEETING: The August TVA meeting will be in Plano, August 3, 2002. The Plano
Plodders Walking Club has planned 2 swim events and a walking event for your pleasure on
Sunday, August 4, 2002. I am enclosing a sheet that has the hotel and meeting information
and the event flyer with this newsletter. The TVA Meeting will be held at the Gladys
Harrington Library, 1501 18th Street in Plano. The Board meeting will start at 9:00 AM and
the General Meeting will be at 1:00 PM. We will conduct business as listed on the agenda.
The agenda is enclosed with this newsletter.
We will be electing officers to serve as President, Second Vice President, and
Secretary. The nominating committee has submitted their report and a copy was sent in the
last newsletter. We will be accepting nominations from the floor. I hope the membership
will reflect on these nominations and give folks a chance to place other names on the
docket before jumping to close the nominations. I firmly believe an organization will not
improve and grow unless there is a change in leadership. If someone in your club is
interested in serving as a TVA officer, please be prepared to enter their name for the
office when nominations are requested from the floor.
TVA NEWS: As of this date, we have 92 events sanctioned for 2002. At this
time last year we had 98 events sanctioned. There were 123 events sanctioned at this time
in 2000. There are 5 events sanctioned for 2003. Don’t wait till the last minute to
get your event sanctions submitted. We have several clubs that have not conducted an event
in over a year. I have contacted them and they all use lack of workers and time as reasons
for not sponsoring an event. This is a problem the new leadership must address. We need
every club to be active and conducting events. The organization will cease to exist if we
do not improve participation.
On a brighter note, I have received the paperwork to start a new club in College
Station. As soon as it is approved, the new TVA officers can start working with them to
put on an event.
YRE RENEWAL FORMS: The deadline for submission of paperwork for new or
renewed Year Round Events is August 1. I must have the paperwork in my hands by then so I
can process it and submit it to the National Office by September 1. Failure to get the
paperwork in on time to the AVA will mean the event cannot be started January 1, 2003. I
must have the following for each event: AVA Sanction Form 402Y(March 2001), TVA Sanction
Form and a $5 check to TVA, an event brochure, a route map, and route instructions.
Incomplete packages will be returned for correction.
Because a new TVA President will take over in August, I would like to have all of the
2003 sanctions completed and processed by the August 1 deadline. This will allow the new
President to get his feet on the ground without facing the monumental task of processing
YRE forms. I would appreciate having your forms to me by July 1 so I can have them
completed by August 1.
As of this date, over 1/2 of the clubs have responded to my request for early
submission of the YRE forms. I thank you for your co-operation. We will be holding firm on
the August 1 deadline. Do not allow this date to pass without submitting your paperwork.
Failure to meet the deadline will prevent your event from starting on January 1, 2003.
CLUB ITEM: I hope each club sponsoring a YRE has remembered to remove the +
from their event stamp. If you have not done this, please do it immediately. This is
another opportunity to be sure your box is clean and properly stocked. Just a reminder.
Each route must have a map to go with it as part of the instructions given to the
participant. I have received reports of YRE’s in Texas without maps. You all
submitted them with your sanction materials. They must be available for the participants.
TVA EVENT CALENDAR: Enclosed is the current TVA event calendar for your
use in planning future events. It is always best to avoid scheduling conflicts. Please
review the calendar and let me know of any needed corrections.
Thanks again to all of you for your support and hard work for the last 4 years. I am
sure you will work just as hard with the new TVA President to keep our sport alive and
well in Texas.
c.c. L. Clark - IVV Vice President
L. Ward - Southwest Regional Director
Enclosures:
TVA Calendar
TVA meeting information and Brochure
August 2002 Meeting Agenda
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