Category: Social

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A time to celebrate our HPSC Volunteers!

Volunteers are the backbone of our club.  Without the volunteer work done by your fellow members the club could not function. 

For this reason, once a year, the club treats our volunteers to a special invitation only event to say thank you and to announce the winners of the Volunteer of the Year Awards!

On October 12, we gathered at the Hot House Café to socialize, eat and celebrate.  A total of 11 awards were announced.

Lifetime Achievement Award: “Awarded to a long-time member for outstanding and long-term volunteering and leadership in the club.  A member can only receive this award once.” 

Awarded to Monica Sauer

Volunteer of the Year – Gold Award: “Awarded to a volunteer for outstanding and increasing volunteer contribution and leadership in a portfolio or the club over a number of years.” 

Awarded to Peg McPhedran

Volunteer of the Year – Silver Award: “Awarded to a volunteer for outstanding contribution to the club during the current season.”

Awarded to:

  • Ed Bezeau
  • David Flowers
  • Kerry Kupecz

Volunteer of the Year – Bronze Award: “Awarded to a volunteer for a high level of contribution to a portfolio during the current season.”

Awarded to:

  • Jeff Misumi
  • Mike Romano

Volunteer of the Year – Rookie Award: “Awarded to a first-year volunteer for a high level of contribution to a portfolio during the current season.”

Awarded to:

  • Andrea Palmy
  • Jason Tsang

Volunteer of the Year – Special Project: “Awarded to a member for any special project that is beneficial to the club or members.”   

Awarded to Janice Matheson

Volunteer of the Year – Special Team Award:  A special award to recognize the outstanding work done by the financial refunds team as a whole during a challenging season due to issues with our payment system and a high number of cancelled trips. 

This award recognizes the following members:

  • Hilary Childs
  • Lisa Philpott
  • Richard Kinread
  • Steve Jonjev

Congratulations to all the winners!

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What to do in Buffalo on a Saturday in July?

Darwin Martin House in Buffalo Photo by JK Graham

At the turn of the 20th Century, Buffalo was a very wealthy city with the highest number of millionaires per capita than any other American city.  One of these individuals was Darwin D. Martin of the Larkin Soap Company.  A company he had started with at the age of 12, rising to the position of company Secretary (equivalent to a CFO now).   After commissioning the up and coming Chicago architect Frank Lloyd Wright to design a new company headquarters, he also asked Wright to design a home for his own family.  The end result was something startlingly modern for 1905, and very different from the traditional homes in the Parkside neighbourhood of Buffalo. 

Dinning area in Graycliff Estate Photo by JK Graham

 

Greycliff Estate Photo by JK Graham

On Saturday July 22, HPSC ran a very successful daytrip to Buffalo to visit both the Darwin Martin House complex, as well as the Martin’s summer home, Greycliff Estate, situated just south of Buffalo on a 70 foot cliff overlooking Lake Erie.  Fifty-three members and guests received in-depth tours of both locations.

Reading Nook area in Graycliff Estate Photo by JK Graham

We followed up the tours with a dinner in the Lafayette Brewing Company located in the historic Hotel Lafayette (built in 1904).

Conservatory at Martin House Complex Photo by JK Graham

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President’s Message – Only 65 days!

Hi all!

While the fall seems so far away, for your Board of Directors it is actually very close. Membership renewal opens in just 65 days! The summer is the time we do a lot of planning and discussion for the coming season. And it’s the time we work on the budget for next year. Thinking about what we can do to add value or better serve our members. 

On that note, I would like to thank all of you who have responded to our Members Survey that was sent out last week. If you do not recall seeing the email, please check your junk folder or just click on this link. Your feedback is very valuable to the club. The survey is open until Thursday, July 13. As an added incentive, in addition to a draw for a free membership, we will also draw for one long trip/charter trip Front of the Line (FOTL), which allows the holder to pre-book one of the charter or long trips (along with a travel partner). I will provide some of the highlights of the research results later in the summer in SnoBiz and at the AGM in September.

One item that comes up regularly is the desire for more overnight and charter trips. This year we have attempted to provide for just that. However, one of the constraints to running more trips is having qualified and experienced leaders. During COVID a number of regular leaders chose to step back or retire from the club, and we only had a few members step forward. If you are interested in being a trip leader or train as a trip leader for the future, please read the article below.  

Just as a reminder, the final deadline to register for the upcoming Frank Lloyd Wright day trip to Buffalo on July 22 is TOMORROW (July 6).  There are still about a dozen spots available. I have to confirm the numbers and pay for our tour tickets on Friday. Please ensure your passport is up to date with at least 6 months remaining on it. We will do a passport check before leaving Toronto but will not be able to delay departure from Toronto.   

On a personal note, for those who have asked, I received great news from my surgeon last week.  He said, barring any unexpected findings from a final ultrasound on my knee, there is no reason I will not be able to ski this coming season!!  As well, he cleared me to start riding my bicycle in the next week or so. I want to thank all of you who have reached out and supported me over the last 18 months since I initially tore my quad tendon. 

Looking forward to seeing many of you at our pub night this Friday at Pauper’s on Bloor!

Cheers!

Justin Graham

President, High Park Ski Club

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Special Frank Lloyd Wright Day Trip: Deadline to register is July 6

Frank Lloyd Wright was one of the 20th century’s premier architects, designing such iconic buildings as Fallingwater near Pittsburgh and the Guggenheim Museum in New York City. While those are absolute must sees for any architecture buff, they are, unfortunately, a far distance from our homes here in Toronto, while two of his landmarks are just a few hours away in the Buffalo area.

For all of you HPSC architecture buffs who have not seen FLW’s Buffalo masterpieces, this is your chance to do so. HPSC has arranged for a day trip on Saturday, July 22 to visit and tour both the Darwin Martin House complex and Graycliff just outside of Buffalo on the shores of Lake Erie.

The cost of this day trip is only $145 Canadian (which covers the club for the ticket costs and exchange rate as well as our credit card fees) and also includes a boxed lunch provided by the café on the grounds of the Darwin Martin House.

Attridge Coachlines, our bus company, is providing the bus free of charge as a thank you to HPSC as a loyal client, so there are is no minimum number of participants to achieve. Therefore the trip is guaranteed to run. 

Since we have to confirm the numbers with the Martin House on July 7, the hard deadline to register is Thursday, July 6.  This trip is open to non-members and guests, so if you know anybody who would be interested please let them know. 

For full details and to register please click here

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Summer Social Events

Historic East End Walk

On June 17 from 9:30 am to 2:00 pm, join your HPSC friends for some fun in the sun viewing murals and places of historic interest in the end end with a lunch stop at Messini Greek Restaurant on the Danforth. Lunch is at your own cost. The walk will be approximately 2.5 to 3 hours and will be led by Dave Flowers. Register here.

Pub Night at Paupers Pub

On July 7, drop in anytime from 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm to join your HPSC friends for a casual pub night at Paupers Pub! Food and drinks are at your own cost. Guests are more than welcome. If you have an HPSC shirt, we recommend wearing it so you can help fellow members locate the HPSC group. In order to accommodate numbers, please register here.

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President’s Message – Enjoying the Summer!

It seems like just yesterday we were at the National Yacht Club for election night. But that was almost six weeks ago! While we took a short break in May from SnoBiz, your Board has been busy in other ways. We are currently working on a variety of things for next season and on ways to attract even more members. 

One item that I am personally working on is a Members’ survey to help with planning for next year – please look for the survey invite sometime later this month. Your responses are of great value to the club. 

Over the summer while you are enjoying other activities, we are hoping that you will still want to keep in touch with your fellow HPSC members. In the next month we are having a holding a couple of social events including a historic walk of the Danforth area (June 17), as well as a drop-in pub night at Paupers Pub (Bloor/Bathurst area) on July 7. In addition, there is the special Frank Lloyd Wright day trip to Buffalo (July 22).

Please read the articles in today’s SnoBiz to get further information on what the club is up to during the summer. 

Cheers!

Justin Graham

President, High Park Ski Club

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HPSC Summer Outing – Day trip to see Frank Lloyd Wright’s Darwin Martin House and Graycliff

Frank Lloyd Wright was one of the 20th century’s premier architects, designing such iconic buildings as Fallingwater near Pittsburgh and the Guggenheim Museum in New York City. While those are absolute must sees for any architecture buff, they are, unfortunately, a far distance from our homes here in Toronto.  However, two of his landmarks are just a few hours away in the Buffalo area.

For all of you HPSC architecture buffs who have not seen FLW’s Buffalo masterpieces, this is your chance to do so. HPSC has arranged for a day trip on Saturday July 22 to visit and tour both the Darwin Martin House complex and Graycliff just outside of Buffalo on the shores of Lake Erie. The cost of this day trip is $145 which includes a boxed lunch provided by the café on the grounds of the Darwin Martin House as well as roundtrip transportation. 

Non-members and guests are also welcome.

For full details and to register please click here.

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President’s Message – Spring is here

As it does every year, spring has arrived.  And with it a slight sadness since it also means the end of our active ski season. The conditions in March were some of the best of the season after a slow start. I want to congratulate our Director of Downhill Daytrips, Amy Lam, and our Director of Cross-Country and Snowshoeing, Heather Steel, for running successful seasons.  

Seeing all of the pictures from our recent club trips to Pragelato Club Med in Italy, Jasper, Tremblant, and for the first time the new Charlevoix Club Med in Quebec, I admit to being a bit jealous. Thank you to Kim Wiebe, our Director of Long Trips and her Long Trips Committee for planning and executing such a fantastic collection of trips.  Looking forward to seeing what is being planned for next season!

The end of our season also signals the club Election night when new Directors are elected.  Election night this year is April 26 and we will again be conducting a hybrid meeting, in person at the National Yacht Club and online via Zoom.  The bios of those running for the open spots will be published in the next SnoBiz. The official notice will be sent out in the next couple of weeks.

I want to acknowledge and congratulate some outstanding recent achievements by members of our Snow School.  David Manning, our current Director of Snow School, achieved a long-time goal of obtaining his Level 3 Instructor certification. Laura Shepherd, successfully achieved her Level 3 Teaching certification.  And Kerry Kupecz received her Level 2 certification.  Congratulations to all of you!  And to all of our members of the Snow School and cross-country instructors for doing such a great job teaching our members.

And finally, it was also a pleasure meeting and talking with so many members at our St. Patrick’s Day event at the Quail and Firkin.  Thank you for coming out and supporting the club social events.  In my view it is one of the things that binds together the various parts of our club!  I want to thank our Social Director, Jennifer Beatty for organizing such a successful event.  

Justin Graham

President, High Park Ski Club

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Honouring Our HPSC Volunteers!

Without our volunteers HPSC could not function!

On September 29th we were very happy to host our volunteers at the reinstated Volunteer Dinner at The Hot House Café.  The purpose of the event is to honour our volunteers as well as build excitement for the upcoming season. 

As part of the evening I was very please and excited to present our Volunteer of the Year awards to the following members:

Rookie

Sheila Moshomas – For taking on the role of Monday daytrip co-ordinator

Bronze level

Apolonija Battiston – For work on the Long Trips Committee (LTC) and leading the Snow School Instructor uniform committee

Fran Burgess – For work as the Wednesday Daytrip co-ordinator during a difficult season

Paul Dover – For extensive work for the Cross-country portfolio during a difficult season

Caroline Thompson – For work as the Downhill daytrips Bus Captain co-ordinator

Silver level

Michael Hardke – For work as the Sunday downhill Daytrips co-ordinator and for training Sheila as the new Monday daytrips co-ordinator

Lisa Philpott -For work as the bus company co-ordinator

Lisa Ziegler – For work programming the downhill daytrip events and making on-going changes as procedures were revised

Gold level

Christine Bellerose – For work as liaison between Snow School and the Downhill daytrips team

Linda Lavallee – For work as the long-term head of the HPSC New Member Ambassador program

Monica Sauer – For work within the cross-country team and as the cross-country representative on the Long Trips Committee

Special Projects

Kevin Chabot – For work on finding a new east end parking location for long trips

Ephraim Fernandez – For extensive work creating a Long Trips COVID protocol

Russ Harding – For work researching COVID testing options on long trips to fulfill the Canadian government’s requirement of a PCR test prior to returning to Canada. And for work investigating the co-ordinating our Ikon group sales program.

Jeff Stainsby – For extensive work as part of the cross-country team

Lifetime Achievement

Bishu Basuroy – For his long time contributions to the club in a multiple roles over the years

Catherine Basuroy – For her long time contribution in responding to emails to Downhill daytrips portfolio

Bill Bates – For his long time role as Director of Long Trips.

In addition to a certificate each winner also receives a dollar credit on their HPSC account in appreciation of all of their work.

Congratulations and thank you to all of the winners!

And again thank you to all of our volunteers! 

Justin Graham

President, High Park Ski Club

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President’s Message – The Dog Days of August

August 17, 2022

Growing up mid-August was always a bit exciting for me. The CNE was about to open, which meant visits to Toronto by my aunts, uncles and cousins; the weather would start to turn a little more comfortable (I really hate hot humid weather); and the last two weeks before Labour Day were always my Dad’s vacation period.  Labour Day has always represented a new year for me.  As a member of High Park Ski Club, mid-August also means we are starting to gear up for the upcoming season.  For example, this week’s edition begins our regular two-week cycle of SnoBiz until the end of next April.

Over the next few week’s, you will be receiving information on renewing your club membership for the upcoming season.  The good news is that we are keeping membership fees at the same level as last year  – early bird rate until October 31st of $150 (+tax); after November 1st the fee increases to $170 (+tax).  New member rate is $150 (+tax) for the entire season. 

As you will read below, something new this year, we have a number of our charter trips going on sale next week.  As long as you are a valid member for the 2021/22 season (or have renewed your membership early) you can sign up; however, you have up to September 15th to renew your membership to keep your spot.  Please read the Long Trip article in SnoBiz carefully.

Regarding our planned COVID protocols for the upcoming season. As mentioned in the last SnoBiz, the club will still require members to wear masks while on buses for all trips.  However, moving with current public health guidelines, we will no longer require proof of vaccination to participate in any club activity.   The caveat of course is that if public health rules change, HPSC will need to adjust protocols.  As well, as noted in the Long Trips article in SnoBiz, members will need to still follow all vaccination requirements and rules for the locations travelling to.  For example, vaccination proof is still currently needed for non-US citizens entering the United States.  While we are not requiring vaccination proofs this year we still encourage all members to do whatever they can to stay healthy. 

On a different topic, If you have ever thought of becoming an HPSC Ski or Snowboard instructor, now is the time.  The club is currently recruiting for new instructors.  If you are interested, please contact our Director of Snow School, David Manning at downhillsnowschool@hpsc.ca . Due to the planning required for the season, applications need to be received by August 28th.   

September also kicks off a number of club activities – SkiFit will begin as usual on the first Saturday after Labour Day (September 10th).  As in the past couple of years registration will open each week on the Tuesday prior to that week’s session.  This year we will also be able to revive our weekly brunch after SkiFit at The Grenadier Café.

We are planning a Social event in early September (details to come in the next SnoBiz). 

And finally, please mark September 20th on your calendars for the club’s Annual General Meeting.  The AGM will be held in person at the National Yacht Club with an online Zoom option as we did for the Election night last April.  The official announcement will be sent in the next couple of weeks.

I am really looking forward to chatting with as many members over the next coming months as we prepare for what we all hope will be a fantastic year on the snow!

Cheers!

Justin Graham, President

High Park Ski Club

President@HPSC.ca