AVA CHECKPOINT

Official Voice of the American Volkssport Association
1001 Pat Booker Road * Universal City, TX 78148-4147
phone: 210-659-2112 fax: 210-659-1212

FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S DESK

What a way to start off the New Year. You receive an update to AVA Policy Manual and it is wrong! Well, I was overcome by galloping technology and not quite quick enough to realize what was happening until it was too late. Your technologically challenged Executive Director did not consider the fact that new printers attached to your computer sometimes causes the format of a document to change. Sooooo -- when I worked on the changes to the Policy Manual I did not realize that I was changing the page breaks on the pages to be inserted and, as a result, some of the changes you received did not work in your books. My fault, not the staff's fault. I have been duly harassed for my senior moment when I did this work, and we are going to fix it. With the February CHECKPOINT, each club and state organization will receive a new Policy Manual which will include the latest changes plus all of the updated AVA Forms.

The Executive Council will hold its next meeting on February 16, 2001, at the Quality Inn Beachside, in Gulf Shores, Alabama. The regular meeting is scheduled to begin at 8:00 a.m. The agenda and related New Business Agenda Items are included with this mailing. There is also an agenda for the Executive Session that is scheduled during this time. While this particular session is a closed session, you will at least know the topics to be discussed.

One of the most important enclosures in this month packet is the Delegate Selection and Proxy Designation Form for the Biennial Convention. This is a new, multi-copy form which includes a "Verification" section. Once you have completed the form, all copies are to be returned to the AVA Headquarters. Once the eligibility of the Club and the appointed/designated individuals are verified, two copies will be sent back to the club. The delegate or proxy should bring one copy of the form to the credentialling table to receive his or her voting credential. The original copy will be on file at the credentialling table if the delegate or proxy has lost or forgets the copy. I realize that the Convention Registration Packets have not been mailed at this time and that the delegate or proxy must be registered to be credentialed. Please do not worry about that. The packet will be mailed shortly and we will match the form with the registration. Please remember that in order for a club to be eligible to vote, the club must be "in good standing" on May 14, 2001. This means that there can be no event after-action reports or Year Round/Seasonal Quarterly Participation reports that are past due nor any financial payment that is past due.

We are moving into an exciting year for the AVA and your Headquarters staff looks forward to working with all of you as we continue our work to renew The Spirit of Walking while we celebrate the twenty-fifth year of volkssporting in the United States.

Along the Trail

From Brandi Deemer, National Special Projects Coordinator-- Volkssporters, it is important to keep in mind the eight-week deadline when sending in Sponsorship Request Forms. I continue to receive these forms after the eight-week deadline. It may be helpful, if I explain this process so that members recognize why the eight-week deadline is relevant to our system. The forms arrive at the AVA headquarters, next they are logged in and sent to New Balance headquarters for processing. Then these forms are sent back to headquarters so that certificates and promotional give-away items can be assembled and sent to the clubs for their event. It is imperative that we have enough time to handle this process, so that we can avoid costly shipping. We have a generous sponsor however, we need to be good stewards of our resources. Thank you very much for your cooperation. If you have any questions or comments please E-mail me at AVABDEEMER@AOL.COM

Look for these--Enclosed, you will find the following: Upcoming Executive Council meeting agenda; certificate of insurance; Delegate Selection Proxy Designation form; revised EC roster and revised Event Kit Refill order form.

Some important notes from Director of Operations, Jackie Wilson--Please do not damage or mark the wooden handles of the stamps in any way. They have to be reused and it is impossible to remove writing, carving, etc. Clubs that continue to damage the stamps will have to be charged for replacement. If anyone knows of a source to purchase metric measuring wheels or other needed walk-event equipment, please let me know. I am in the process of compiling a list of vendors so that all the clubs will have it available. Convention registration packages will be sent to Volkssports Associate members, multi copies will be sent to clubs and individual forms will be sent to all who have requested them. We only have two of each year-round stamp number. We are unable to honor requests for more than two stamps per number.

From Candace Purcell, Director of Finance--We are legally obligated to notify everyone of a credit balance, regardless of the amount. The same holds true for converting the balance into a donation. Unfortunately, this must happen even if the credit balance is less than the postage required to notify you! Thank you for cooperation.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

The billing address for a club may not be changed without the submission of the proper form, an officer's update. Invoices and other billing records will not be forwarded to new officers unless these forms are in hand.

Articles for The American Wanderer must be received at headquarters on the date of each paper's deadline: February--12/28; April--02/25; June--04/25; August--06/25; October--08/25 and December--10/25.

Please inform your members that address corrections or new memberships must be submitted 15 days prior to the TAW deadline in order for them to take place in that edition.

Some Great NewThings Will Soon Be Coming From Headquarters and New Balance Athletic Shoe!

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