GLACE BAY, SUNDAY 22 MAY 2005

The rain that was forecast for todays walk held off and the 31 walkers from The Island Hoppers didn't seem to mind the slightly cold breeze coming off the North Atlantic as we made our way along the Glace Bay coastline.
The weather conditions improved as we continued on into the harbour area and through Renwick Brook and Queen Elizabeth Parks.
We made several stops to view some of the highlights of the walk such as the bird sanctuary at the end of South Street, a group photo in the Renwick Brook area and a quick view of the McLauchlin Memorial at the corner of Brookside and Commercial Streets.
After the walk event we enjoyed a dinner with light and fun conversation at the Glace Bay Miner's Restaurant.
Everyone seemed to enjoy their meals and the staff at the restaurant should be commended for their patience and professionalism in the manner in which we were served.
Several members of the club commented that we should be doing this more often after our walk events and I certainly will agree to this as well.

During the Dinner

I asked the Members if they would support my efforts to bring the CVF Convention to Cape Breton and/or should I persue the matter while in Quebec City during this years convention!

There is still some reluctance or hesitation from the membership to commit to bringing the 2008 Canadian Volkssport Federation's Annual General Meeting/ Convention to the Island; with this in mind I will be going to Quebec City for the 2005 convention and will try to bring back as much information as I possibly can and in the meantime I will start developing a presentation to present to you the members explaining the requirements of a convention. I will not committ the club to this event unless we have an official vote on the matter at our own General Meeting later this year; The conventions for 06 and 07 are already committed, Vancouver and St Alberts so I believe their is plenty of time for further planning.

It was also a great day to welcome back Bill and Shirley Boutilier also in attendance were Kathi and Phil Rice our clubs only international members. What a day to start walking again!!

Hope to see you all on the trail again on SATURDAY, JUNE 04 at 10 AM, Old Branch Road/Trail North Sydney.

Glace Bay Walk, RAIN or SUNSHINE:

The restaurant is booked, the staff are waiting, the trail has been selected, the trail/walk leader is anxious to get going and all is ready for your arrival on Sunday 22 May,2005


Just a friendlly reminder that the Walk in Glace Bay Starts and Ends at The Glace Bay Miners Museum off South Street, Birkely to Museum Street.

Please Use The parking lot on the Right off Birkely Street

Registration begins at 1:30pm, walk starts at 2:00pm

This is a new IVV stamp for this occassion and is a 10K event, we will be using portions of our Glace Bay YRE.

After the walk event I would like a few minutes to talk about the AGM/convention in Quebec City and a possible future plan to bring the convention to CBRM in 2008.

The Dinner begins at 5:00pm, the Miners Restaurant is located in the Miners Village next door to the museum.

If you have not registered and would like to do so, please contact me by email or leave a message with my answering service. There is limited space availability and as of this message there are 34 registered for the dinner and walk.

If you have any suggestions, questions or concerns about the club please talk to me on the trail or anytime.

Walking for the health of it!

Sunday April 24th 2005

Our Walk Leader Phil Irons introduced us to his new route for our Year Round Event in Sydney. Phil, has combined parts of the old route, taken some suggestions from the members, tossed them all into the mix and came up with an almost entirely new walk event.

The highlight of this walk is the use of the entire outer perimeter of the Baille Ard Nature Trail. Phil kept the boardwalk as part of the trail and of course we ended up with a group photo at the "big fiddle" at the Sydney Marina.

There were 28 participants at this event, 6 new members, plus 2 former members who intend to get back to walking on a regular basis and to continue to participate on future walks with the club.

After the Kings Road and pedway at Wentworth Park are completed there will be more improvements to our Sydney (YRE) Year Round Event.

The YRE walk in Glace Bay has had substantial changes over the last two seasons, the new Start Point is The Co Op Gas Bar, 99 Reserve Street, and Robin and Isabel Grant have been exploring the possibilities of changing or improving the YRE in North Sydney as well. The Start Point for North Sydney continues to be The Clansman Motel off Peppett and Baird Streets.


Port Hawkesbury, Glace Bay Walk Events and Club Dinner

our next walk is SATURDAY May, 7th 2005 in Port Hawkesbury, please check the schedule for details.

Why Not Check with other members and car pool, save gas & money; "travelling with friends can be fun".

Then were off to Glace Bay:

Glace Bay Miners Museum Walk Event and Club Dinner

SUNDAY, MAY 22nd at 2:00pm (1400Hrs) REG:1:30pm (1330Hrs)

This will be a new event stamp and not the YRE stamp!

We would like to have as many club members and friends attend a dinner at the Miners Restaurant as possible, this would take place at approx. 5:00pm.

I would like to book the room or tables asap; if you have not done so already, please email or phone me if you will or will not be attending the dinner. at this time I have 20 members signed up, why not join us for a day of Fun and friendship, good conversation etc. and a little exercise.

We will order off the menu, though it has been suggested that the restaurant has at least 2-4 specials on each day at $9.95 each.

This wiil be an informal dinner/MEETING prior to my departure for the CVF convention in Quebec City.

As the club president I need to know if you the members would support bringing the Canadian Volkssport Convention and General Meeting to CBRM (Sydney) in 2008.

During the convention in Quebec City I will be meeting with this years convention organizers and the CVF President Graham Fawcett and our area director Lynda Kanne to discuss the feasability of bringing the General Meeting to Cape Breton in 2008.

There are 300 volkssporters registered for Quebec City as of this past weekend, they will be spending a fair amount of money in Quebec, Why not bring that money and fun to our Island.

Over the next few weeks I want to hear from you the members about this proposal, the executive cannot hold such a meeting or bring it to CAPE BRETON ISLAND without your sole cooperation and approval. There will be a formal vote during our clubs General Meeting in November, however I need to get a general idea now on how the members feel about bringing a General Convention to Cape Breton.

Your approval yes or no will not deter me nor the executive in continuing to promote volkssporting as a healthy experience on our island and we will continue to do our best to provide an island wide walking schedule,(albeit a limited island wide schedule for for 2006 if the price of gas continues to soar) for the foreseeable future.