Month: August 2023

Ever since childhood, Labour Day has indicated a change, a new season. While for most of us it is no longer a return to school, there is still a sense of renewal. Speaking of renewal, you should be receiving a message regarding renewing your HPSC membership shortly. This year our regular membership rate remains at $170 (plus HST).  However, if you renew by October 31 the rate is just $155 (plus HST).  

The coming weeks also represent a step up in club activities. September 8 is our next social event being held at The Swan in Bloor West.This is a free event and registration is open. The next day is the start of this season’s SkiFit program in High Park (registration opens September 5).  

Please also mark your calendar for the 2023 AGM on Tuesday, September 19 – we are again holding a hybrid meeting so you can be at the National Yacht Club in person or attend via Zoom. The official notice went out a couple of weeks ago and registration is open. Thank you for all those who have already registered. If you cannot attend in person or virtually, please fill out the proxy form and send to me prior to September 19. It is important that we achieve our quorum to ensure we are able to officially conduct the business of the club.   

The second of three Long Trip Sign up events was held on August 24 for the two Club Med trips. The Peisey Vallandry, France trip sold out within a couple of minutes, while there is still room on the end of season Charlevoix (Le Massif) trip. The remaining charter trips open for registration on Thursday, September 28, while the bus trips open on October 26.

One last thing, when you log into the HPSC website you will also notice a more streamlined setup. We hope that this new arrangement will be more intuitive for members and potential members. I want to thank our Director of Marketing, Rocco Romeo, for taking on this project, our new Director of IT, Peter Kovalchuk, for his expertise, and all of the other Directors for their input and comments. 

I am sincerely looking forward to seeing and speaking with members at our various activities this fall.  

Cheers!

Justin Graham

President, High Park Ski Club

It is hard to believe that the summer is already half over and soon we will be focusing on the upcoming ski season. In fact, even before membership opens for renewal on September 1, two of our trips open for registration (please see the article below).

As promised in the last SnoBiz, I want to share with you some of the highlights of the recent member survey. I first want to thank all of you who participated – your responses are very helpful in planning for the upcoming and future seasons. And I want to congratulate our two survey respondent draw winners, Joe Recupero and Don Williams.

I am happy to report that 97% of respondents say they are very (72%) or somewhat (25%) satisfied with their membership in High Park Ski Club!

This extremely positive result, however, does not mean that there are not areas where members did not suggest ways we could improve. One topic that came up in a lot of comments, was our mask mandate for last season. I am happy to announce that the board confirmed at our July meeting that the policy was only for the 2022/23 season, and barring any unforeseen public health emergencies, masks will be a personal choice during the upcoming season.

On another note, just to give you a heads up, our Annual General Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, September 19 at The National Yacht Club. Official notification will be sent out at the beginning of September (at which time the registration module will be open on our website). Once again, we plan on running a hybrid meeting, allowing for members to participate remotely.

As we get closer, I am becoming more and more excited about the upcoming season, and truly feel that it will be one of the best for the club, as we return, as they used to say on TV, “to our regularly scheduled programming”.

Cheers!

Justin Graham

President, High Park Ski Club

P.S. This is the last of our summertime SnoBiz newsletters. The next edition at the end of August will start our regular schedule of every two weeks.