Dear Clubmembers:

Yesterday, on our last official meeting of the season, I made a little speech (text below) of advocating a donation to the AHC (Algoma Highlands Conservancy or "Stokely"). You voted for the proposal, and if I may speak for the Conservancy, the AHC is indeed honored by this $ 500 gift, as the Club and its members are honored by supporting such an exceptional organization. I can't begin to explain (at least on this page) the sweat, tears, and labor - and vision, tenacity, and commitment - that it took to rescue and retain the Stokely lands for xc skiing. Besides raising funds for Norm's, the AHC still owes big money on that one!

Some members expressed the wish for an opportunity to personally contribute to "Norm's Campaign". If you too are so inclined (....and I urge you to be so inclined :-), here is my suggestion: Send your check, say $100 or whatever ** to our Chair (Steu White) who will bundle and forward it together with the Club gift. You would get recognition ..... even get a tax break! I think that such combined organizational / individual gift would get considerable attention and admiration. Anyway, on to that little advocacy below.(So, what's that stuff above? I can't help it - in my and many other's mind Stokely is without question one of N.America's best, if not THE best, xc ski area!)

** like higher, $200 to $2000: the AHC then would even name some well-defined Stokely acre for you, for example the top of King Mountain - a bargain!

--Dieter

As you may know, I am on the Board of the "Algoma Highlands Conservancy" (AHC) which owns much of the land we know as "Stokely". Included in that is "Norm's", a place of great fame for tea, cookies, colorful stories, and trails that many, if not most of us, have been delighted to ski on.

Well, Norm's cabin has aged as Norm himself has. Sadly, neither can be restored BUT .... Norm's cabin can and will be rebuilt from scratch. Where now is an empty hole (see photo I took last Friday) the AHC, with generous help from the Lodge and several grants, has started to rebuild.

The cost will be around $200K, of which $100k are from the Ontario Trillium Foundation and a matching grant of $25k from the Canadian EJLB Foundation (see below). At this point we are about $5k short of getting the $25k from EJLB.

The WSTC, like the Northstar Club of Minneapolis, has a long history with Stokely - from the beginning with Chuck Peterson in the late 1970's (Lexanne Creitz, Mary Underwood, Linda Lutzeier, Ron Sell, Gary Oak, among others) to the present. It is this close relationship that continues today and that encourages me to ask our Club to help in whittling down the remaining $5k to match the EJLB grant. The Club and individual members have made previous contributions that were honored by inclusion of the WSTC logo on the AHC website "Friends". Even if it were a nominal contribution to the total, say $500, I know the gesture would be greatly appreciated and remembered. I do not know the present state of our Club's finances but would like to ask the Board to act favorably as far as possible. [At the 2013 Annual Business Meeting members voted to give $500 to AHC.]