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Mark,
Thank you for your comments. Let’s talk more on this subject at the membership meeting tonight.John H DeRosaPresident, Sky Soaring Glider ClubOn Tuesday, February 23, 2021, 10:31:17 PM CST, Sky Soaring <webmaster@skysoaring.com> wrote:
Here is another short video of a student pilot running into a problem during the initial phase of an aerotow. The first half shows the event, the second half explains piece by piece what went on. While it was scary for the new pilot, it was VERY dangerous for the tow pilot.
What did you learn from watching this?
John DeRosa is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: Sky Soaring Membership Monthly Meeting
Time: Feb 24, 2021 07:30 PM Central Time (US and Canada)Join Zoom Meeting
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Passcode: 855893
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Meeting ID: 852 7900 3420
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Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kcQG9ugEYcBelow is our agenda for tonight’s meeting. I’m unsure if the dump from MS Word will mess up the formatting.
SSI Membership Meeting
February 24, 2021
<u>Agenda</u>
- Open Meeting
- Board Member Roll Call
- John DeRosa
- John Osborn
- Steve Snyder
- Jim Hopkins
- John Lincoln
- Don Grillo
- President – John DeRosa
- Meeting opening welcome
- Review/approval of meeting minutes (available on the SSI web site)
- Covid-19
- Hope everyone is well and will soon have their vaccine shot.
- We still require masks to be worn at all times while at Sky Soaring unless practicing social distancing. Hopefully this will change soon.
- Safety Initiatives Committee Report
- Created a report on what safety initiatives that we have going on and sent to Costello insurance
- Received positive feedback from Costello that this should help our insurance renewal.
- Chicagoland Glider Council Seminar – February 27<sup>th</sup>
- Scholarships – CLGC and SSA available
- Membership survey to be released during early March
- Volunteerism
- Vice President – John Osborn
- Finance sub-committee report
- Engine rebuild fund $20K.
- Promissory Note – $80K
- New Member Coordination
- Finance sub-committee report
- Finance – Steve Snyder
- Engine Rebuild Fund
- Goal: $33K-$35K
- Current: $21,714
- Donations and New Patron Memberships
- Audit
- Per the bylaws we need a yearly audit for the previous year (due between January 1st and the annual meeting in November)
- Last one performed – 2017
- Need a non-board member to assist with the audit
- Tow pilots and instructors
- Dues offset reduction to 50% earned in 2021 for dues payable in 2022
- SSA and CLGC dues ($85) to be paid
- Secretary – Jim Hopkins
- January’s membership meeting minutes are up on the SSI web site.
- Maintenance Chairman – John Lincoln
- Glider annuals
- Tow plane annual
- Other ongoing repair work
- Runway “widening” work
- Winch mule gas line repair
- New front gate lock
- Flight Chairman
- Blue Book
- Policies and Procedures manual updates
- Training syllabus
- Safety
- Safety reporting system
- Safety officer
- Winch Team Volunteer
- GSO
- Old Business
- None
- New Business
- Instructor and Tow Pilot’s dues offsets reduction – open comments.
- Close meeting
- Engine Rebuild Fund
Denny,
These are good questions. While I have not asked Pat Costello myself about our use of “Day Membership” rides, I do know that a previous board has asked these same questions. Nearly every glider club in the nation offers these types of rides as a money making activity. Because this activity is commercial-like in function Sky Soaring instituted maybe 8 or more years ago that only commercial rated glider pilots may take up day members. We also have each day member sign a carefully written liability release. As to non-SSI members remaining safe we must always ask them to not wander around, to stay on the deck, move away from gliders actively being launched, be aware of their surroundings, etc, and this needs to continue – and even more so for winching as there are fewer places for anyone, members and non-members alike, to stand safely during a launch and these safe areas need to be delineated.Thanks again.John H DeRosaPresident, Sky Soaring glider Club===============================
Please excuse a few typos in the previous email. Corrected below.
==================================
Winch Update January 24, 2021
Sky Soaring Members,
Please take the time to read this email in its entirety.
Below are some updates from your Sky Soaring Board on the topic of winch towing here at Sky Soaring.
This last week I spoke with the owner of Costello Insurance Associates, who handles the SSA group insurance policy for nearly all glider organizations in the US including for Sky Soaring. Lately Pat Costello (owner) has sent two messages to the Board on his concerns about our insurability. When I spoke with Pat we talked about the status of our safety committee’s report on initiatives, past, present, and future, to enhance our insurability. During this conversation the topic of winching came up and Pat gave me his perspective on how winching is doing across the nation.
Pat mentioned that about five years ago he worked to convince the insurance underwriters to cover winch towing liability as part of the SSA group policy at a premium rate which is considered to be in the “low risk” category by the underwriters. Pat told me that, while there have been some winching related claims, thus far winch use and premiums continues to be considered “low risk” by the underwriters. For reference the winch adds $413 to our total liability insurance costs of $1,561 (26%).
The Sky Soaring Board has weighed the comments of our membership who have voiced their pros, cons, and concerns of winch usage at Sky Soaring. The Board has also taken into consideration Pat Costello’s views of the risk associated with winch towing. The bottom line is that the Board feels that winch operations for the 2021 season can continue and can be safely operated.
The Board’s safety initiatives are ABSOLUTELY CRITICAL to our continued safe operations and insurability – and without insurance we simply cannot continue to operate. Having the safest possible operations is the primary driver towards this insurability goal and the policies and procedures that govern our operation must be followed by every member. So, on all fronts, for both winch and aero towing, there will be an increased safety drive by the Flight Committee and with the Board in general.
Over the course of the next 60 days – leading up to our mandatory membership Spring Safety Meeting on March 20th – the board will do several things: work to increase every member’s awareness of the policies and procedures that we all must follow – survey the membership about our operations – and help everyone commit to the enhanced safety culture of our club.
Thank you,
John DeRosa
President
Sky Soaring Glider Club
John L,
Right back at YOU with a big thank YOU to YOU too. During last Sunday;s work you JOHN L helped JOHN P and me, JOHN D, with finishing up the plumbing work. [Its not very often I can work three YOUs into a single sentence, not to mention adding in three Johns to the mix]We were also able to re-plumb the long dormant shower with a new valve, shower head, etc. This will be handy next summer if you want to cool off after some HOT soaring! Remember to bring a towel. The shower does need a good scrubbing before its next use.John D==========================================On Wednesday, January 20, 2021, 12:37:06 PM CST, Sky Soaring <webmaster@skysoaring.com> wrote:
It appears that I cannot attach an Excel document directly to a forum email.
So please go to http://skysoaring.com/2021-financial-budget-pdf/ to download the PDF version of the 2021 proposed budget spreadsheet. Login is required.
Thank you,
John DeRosa
President, Sky Soaring Glider Club
Attached to this email is the proposed Sky Soaring budget for 2021. It is also located at http://skysoaring.com/ssidownloads/categories/financials/.This will be discussed in the January membership meeting. Details of the meeting are below.John H DeRosaPresident, Sky Soaring Glider ClubOn Friday, January 15, 2021, 3:30:10 PM CST, Sky Soaring <webmaster@skysoaring.com> wrote:
Reminder of the membership Zoom-only meeting at **10AM** tomorrow morning. The Zoom meeting details are shown below.
A little later today I will forward Steve Snyder’s (SSI Treasurer) report on our 2021 balanced budget. Unfortunately he will be unable to attend.
Also below my signature is an outline for a simple meeting agenda we will follow.
See You Then, John DeRosa
President, Sky Soaring Glider Club
===================
Topic: Sky Soaring Monthly Membership Meeting Jan 16 10AM
Time: Jan 16, 2021 10:00 AM Central Time (US and Canada)Join Zoom Meeting
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Passcode: 973836
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Meeting ID: 853 2832 1217
Passcode: 973836
Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kemJR8PfLL=============
Membership Meeting Agenda
January 16, 2021
Board Member Reports
President
Opening of the meeting and welcome
Board Roll Call
Opening comments
Communications
General topics
SSA Scholarships
Lark insurance claim
Safety sub-committee
Vice President
Finance sub-committee
Finance
Review of the 2021 budget
Maintenance
Annuals
Repair work
Runway “widening” work
Flight Chair
Blue Book
Policies and Procedures manual
Training syllabus
Safety
Safety reporting system
Safety officer
Secretary – Absent
Old Business
None
New Business
Chicagoland Glider Council Seminar
Future growth of our fleet
Winch
Other topics
Closure of the meeting
I’d like to add my own big thank you to all of the above that John L. mentioned. Not to mention to John himself for coordinating all of these activities.
John will give a more detailed maintenance report tomorrow at the membership meeting.
Thanks,
John DeRosa
President, Sky Soaring Glider Club
I will take a bullet on this mistake of mine.I must admit, and admitted this to Larry last evening at our board meeting, that I was unaware that the past president was entitled to attend the open board meetings. In the past I have been lucky enough to be Acting President, Vice President, Secretary and Maintenance Chair of our club, but until this term I have never been president so this never come up before for me. I will certainly invite Larry to the next board’s monthly open meeting.I
am a great believer in communicating to the membership about what the
board is doing. Thus the reason that I am putting out a monthly
“Message from the President” and also some one-off emails from time to time. You can always review the board’s open
meeting minutes at http://skysoaring.com/ssidownloads/categories/meetingminutes/.As Larry mentions the Sky Soaring Constitution and By Laws section 2.1 (found at http://skysoaring.com/ssi-constitution-and-bylaws/ [login required]) covers the topic of past presidents activities;Section 2.1 – The person who has served as President of the Club immediately prior to an annual meeting of the members of the Club or another meeting of the members called for the purpose of election and who is replaced as President by a vote of the members at that meeting shall become the Immediate Past President of the Club and shall also become an informal, non-voting member of the Board of Directors and entitled to attend meetings of the Board until a new President is elected at a subsequent annual meeting or at another meeting of the members called for the purpose of election.I have been a member of several boards of other organizations and know of other boards that friends are part of. All these boards (commercial, civic, homeowners, private, etc) obviously have routine meetings to discuss matters – some of these board meetings are open and some are closed. If you would like to attend the next open board meeting simply let me know and I will get you invited but please be aware that you will be in listen only mode as the place for club members to raise questions, make comments, or propose resolutions, is at our monthly membership meetings on the 3rd Saturday of each month. You may well find that what your board talks about in the open board meetings is a repeat of what’s said at the membership meeting. As to email communications between board members, these will continue to remain private.Thank you.John H DeRosaPresident, Sky Soaring Glider ClubOn Wednesday, January 13, 2021, 8:30:15 PM CST, Sky Soaring <webmaster@skysoaring.com> wrote:
