Dear E-Scow Enthusiasts-
I keep looking at the calendar and it keeps moving towards May! This for me, and most of you, means the always welcome distraction of thinking about my 2013 E-Scow program.
There is exciting stuff happening with E-Scows:
1) Bill Wyman and regatta co-chairs Peter Strothman and Vincent Porter are busy planning for what will be a great national regatta on beautiful Lake Geneva, WI. Start making your plans now to join us for our national championship regatta in September. Sign up will be available soon.
2.) Lon & Donna Schoor have spent considerable time and effort getting our web site on a new platform. This website transition brings us numerous new features in an “off the shelf” platform that promises to be easier to update, access, and manage going forward. A big thank you to Lon and Donna for this big undertaking!
3) Memberships – With our shift to ownership based membership it is more important now to make sure we get sign ups as early as possible for 2013. Our goal is to get 100% participation of active E-Scow owners. If you have questions please contact me or Lon as your memberships are critical to us as an organization.
4.) The E-Scow keeps getting better. In a combination of efforts from Melges and our members new innovations keep coming to the boats we love to sail. If you haven’t tried a “chute launcher” or a one line tack/sprit extension I’d encourage trying these systems out. The retro-fits are proven at this point and if you like the change it can provide a fresh new feel to your boat without changing too much. If your crew tries it…watch out they are going to sell you on making some changes! New boats have these new innovations with same great performance, and new design in deck and cockpit – comfortable and enclosed which has some advantages.
We have a great boat and members who really care about sailing it which is a tough combination to beat in any activity based organization. Here comes my one request of you… we need your involvement! Different people obviously have different strengths and interests. If you have time and don’t mind being involved with us…we need you! As an association we are struggling with putting too much on too few which is unsustainable.
Specifically, as you probably have noticed, your REPORTER magazine has not shown up yet. Steve Anderson has decided to step away from producing the REPORTER magazine. Steve's first REPORTER magazine was the 2000 issue and he produced 12 beautifyul annual issues. We can’t thank Steve enough for his tireless efforts all these years! Jon & Jennifer Schloesser have stepped up big time this spring to get the 2012 REPORTER out. THANK YOU Jon and Jennifer. The REPORTER will be out soon.
Our most immediate need for help is a chairperson for the newly titled Media Committee. Also, new Media Committee members are needed to assist with gathering regatta updates, which involves making sure someone is designated to provide timely reports & pictures. Obviously this is also an area where we need to use new technologies with more video interviews and social media commentary. Let me or Lon know if you are interested in the NCESA Media Committee. This is a great opportunity to help promote the E-Scow that we are all passionate about.
On a larger scale we need our committee system to work better as well. If you want to help - again talk to Lon, me or anyone in our class leadership and we’ll try and help you make a difference in the NCESA.
Thank you,
Toby Sutherland