The Pico Ski Club has been a successful organization for more than 60 years because members volunteer for numerous activities and events, such as the annual Ski Swap, Social Activities, Club Maintenance, Race Crew, etc.

Additionally, membership dues are affordable because everyone is pitching in. Every year when you renew your membership, you’re asked to indicate which event and/or activities you would be willing to assist. Unfortunately though, many members have failed to fulfill their volunteer commitments when called upon by the various committee chairs. The failure of the membership to lend a hand increases the time commitment and pressure for those that do volunteer on a regular basis. 

Without volunteer support from the membership, the Pico Ski Club may ultimately have to reduce the benefits afforded to the membership. This could mean fewer Social Events, overall reduction in Ski Swap hours and dates, and deferred maintenance projects that in the long run could end up costing the club thousands of dollars. 

We had a work morning November 30th with the intent of building five new picnic tables for the ski club. But as a result of 15 members showing up – we got a WHOLE lot more accomplished. Maintenance volunteers Adam Loffredo, Bruce Bentley, Mike Roussel, Bill Canfield, Fabio Rosi, Mike O’Hare, Barry Cupoli, Dan Nelson, John McClallen, Mike Brady, Rich Westburg, Jeff Lockwood, Kevin Vest, Alden Franzoni and I had a very productive morning. It’s always great to see new members jumping in to help the veterans. The cross section of skills enabled us to tackle projects upstairs, downstairs as well as outside.

A reminder to all members who signed up for club maintenance in your membership renewal – we’ll hold a 30 minute organizational meeting December 14th in the basement of the ski club at 2 p.m..  

As a result of a growing membership and successful race program, we’re expecting many busy weekends in the club. For this reason we’ve added (6) tables downstairs with plans to install shelves for boot bags/coats, improved lighting/heating and more. We hope to see this area used by all members should the main floor be crowded.

Martha Congdon, a long time Pico Ski Club member was honored at our General Meeting on Nov. 2 by being inducted as a Honorary Member of the Pico Ski Club.

Martha’s parents, Lawrence and Helena Culver operated the Ski Shop here at Pico in the early years and were responsible for starting the Jr. Instruction Program. Martha volunteered her time as an instructor in the Program, has worked countless races, has been part of the Spring Fling Crew for years, served on the Board of Directors eventually becoming President of the Club.

Most importantly Martha was Chairman of the Membership Committee for more than 20 years. Because of her dedication to this position the Ski Club is what it is today. Martha made sure members were not forgotten when they may have failed to register. Martha would call on these members to remind them to re-up . She was aware that the Club needed diversity between Race and Social members and based on written recommendations, chose wisely. This selection was not done solely by Martha, she selected members who shared the same vision and purpose on which the Club was founded to help her make the these decisions.

So I thank Martha for her time served and her dedication to the Pico Ski Club. When you see Martha, congratulate her on this achievement.

Barry Cupoli

The Pico Ski Club Racing Program is reevaluating the Performance Camps for the 2016-17 season. If you are interested in attending a camp this season please contact Lori McClallen, Program Director at lori.mcclallen@gmail.com

The Pico Ski Club Racing Program may offer two Performance Camps during the 2016-17 season. These camps are designed to provide Pico athletes an opportunity to gain additional on-snow training, video analysis and conditioning in a small focused group.

In conjunction with the skiing component, athletes attending the Pico Performance Camps (PPC) will maintain their academic lessons Monday through Thursday with tutorial support. The academic block will be conducted at the Andrea Mead Lawrence Lodge, where there is free Wi-Fi access and computers for those who do not have their own laptop.  No academic block is scheduled on Fridays to allow for a full day of on-hill training. (Note: Athletes who have not completed all their academic assignments will not be allowed to train on Friday until all work is completed and reviewed).