AVA Convention – Sacramento, CA
June 2007
By Phil Hait – Northeast Region Director
National elections for the AVA were held with 234 clubs voting either by being in attendance or having a proxy. The following were elected:
- President: Curt Myron
- Vice President: John Ferguson
- Secretary: Pat Lucero
- Treasurer: Ed Tod
Additionally of the 10 Regional Directors elected, 5 new faces will be joining the Executive Committee.
The AVA will be sponsoring a booth at the AARP Convention in Boston, MA this September 6 – 8. John McClellan, the Vice President for the Walk ‘n Mass Volkssport Club has agreed to be the AVA point of contact. John will be needing volunteers to help out at the booth to explain our sport to the conventioneers. Please don’t let this opportunity to have fun and meet people from all over the country to pass you by.
John can be reached at: j.mcclellan@neu.edu
Please let him know when you will be available for a two hour shift.
Attached are a couple of photo’s from the Northeast Region booth in Sacramento.
The booth was initially sponsored by Walk ‘n Mass, but subsequently received contributions from the West Point, Empire State & Southern Maine clubs. We then procured brochures from other clubs in the region and tourist info as well. Quite a number of region volunteers helped out staffing the booth during the three days it was open. A big thank you from the new “NERD”. We had a great time meeting walkers that came by for information. Many had visited the region previously but wanted to come back again to sample our unique hospitality and terrific scenery. We take for granted much of what we have that others don’t! The West Point Club brought a t-shirt & hat to be raffled off. Ginny Drumm from Cincinnati won the prize. The gummy lobsters from Maine were a delicious treat. Thanks SMVC.
Meritorious Service Awards were announced for the following in the Northeast Region:
- Margo Craven
- Herman Day
- Verna L. DeVine
- Betty Foley
- Barbara Stafford.
Certificate of Service Awards were announced for the following:
- Don Bolin
- Emily Goyette
- Paul Graveline
- Beate & Phil Hait
- Agnes Laviolette
- Carol Leiter
- Chris & Chuck Lipson
- Joan & Roland Melcher
- Don & Polly Meltzer
- Dave & Sue Robertson
- Dick Rossi
- Myrtle & Sid Walker.
Congratulations & thanks to all.
In the Publicity category:
- Seacoast Striders won first place for the Keene, NH Pumpkin Festival brochure.
- Walk ‘n Mass took fourth place for the Holliston, MA Soup Walk brochure.
- Walk ‘n Mass won honorable mention for it’s club Logo and also for it’s newsletter.
Future conventions:
- the 2009 AVA convention will be in Richardson, TX.
- The 2009 IVV convention will be in Japan in the Fuji Five Lakes Region.
- The 2011 AVA convention will be in Des Moines, Iowa.
This is a request from the California Convention Committee!
Just when you thought you were done with those slackers in California, we’ve created some web pages that you might want to take a look at www.2007AVAConvention.org
- Evaluation Page: Please use this page to send us your thoughts on what went right, what went wrong, and suggestions you’d like us to pass on to the 2009 and 2011 Convention Committees.
- Your Photo Galleries: View photo galleries already submitted by attendees and send us the link to your photo gallery of the 2007 Convention.
- Workshops Page: Download materials used by the presenters at the workshops.
- Lost and Found: Did you loose that hat (or whatever) with incalculable sentimental value? See if it was found and email the Help Desk from this page.
The 2007 AVA Convention Committee would like to thank all those who attended the Convention and others who helped support our efforts. It was great seeing you all here in Sacramento and we thank you for bringing us moderate weather for the week – it’s hot now.
Miscellaneous Convention tidbits:
- The AVA Museum being organized in San Antonio is looking for suitable donations .
- The AVA benefits from the internet search engine ( Goodsearch.com) . Be sure to check it out.
- A new publicity “grabber” will be made available in the near future. Future “start cards” will be printed by The Walking Company in a new national agreement.
- The new “Club Officer Update” sheet now requires number of club members. This information will help AVA receive new vendor commitments.