LATE BREAKING NEWS: Regarding our Awards Program, CONGRATULATIONS go out to:

Transcription

1 Sweep Newsletter ion g e R l a Centrsion h t u o S l Div Centra Summer 2015 REGION DIRECTOR S REPORT Our Spring Awards Banquet on May 2, sponsored by Section Chief Paul Fuchs and the members of Section 1, and graciously hosted by the Ausblick Ski Patrol & Ski Club, had over 125 members and guests attending on a wonderful spring evening. Also joining us that evening was John Thomas the Central Division Director. On June 5th I had the opportunity to join the Alpine Valley West Ski Patrol in celebrating their 50th Anniversary during their Spring Patrol Banquet. During this event I had the pleasure of presenting a National Ski Patrol, Patrollers Cross to John Wagner. Congratulations to John and to the entire Alpine Valley patrol for your many years of service to Alpine Valley and its guests! LATE BREAKING NEWS: Regarding our Awards Program, CONGRATULATIONS go out to: RON PLUMER SUMMER 2015 For most of us the season ended abruptly around the middle of March, despite the weather s inability to change for the better. Looking back, this past season leaves me with memories of a well attended Patrol Representatives meeting in October, and very successful program growth at the Region level in our Instructor Development, Avalanche, Senior Outdoor Emergency Care, Senior Ski/Snowboard & Toboggan, Women s Clinic, Alumni, and SWEEP Newsletter Programs. Our new Historian, Jon Hering continues to collect and collate the reports and materials resulting from these activities for future reference. The Devil s Head Ski Patrol, Jim Hubing Patrol Representative, on having been selected as the Central Division Outstanding Large Alpine Ski Patrol for the season, and to Lynn Thornton (newly elected Patrol Representative at Cascade Mountain) for being selected as the First Runner Up for the Central Division Outstanding Patroller Award. As a Region, we have worked hard to meet a number of goals set out last fall including: 1. Communication We met our goal of putting accurate and timely information regarding Region programs, staff and events in the hands of members by publishing and mailing a hard copy of the SWEEP news letter to every member and concurrently posting each issue on the Region s website. This effort was made possible with the dedicated support of all Region staff submitting informative articles and calendars throughout the season. 2. Planning We encouraged ownership in program quality and accountability by directly engaging Region staff in the development and planning of program budgets and events. 3. Management As a Board, we challenged ourselves to actively participate in guiding and evaluating region programs through regular prepared participation at every meeting. 4. Governance The Board met its responsibility to establish organizational guidance documents by adopting a set of Region Bylaws and Policies & Procedures to serve as a road map for both the current and future Region Board and staff members. This action will ensure an informed playing field for all region members moving forward. During the upcoming year, we will be working to develop 2 additional programs to better assist new Patrol officers (PDs/PRs) and Region staff to be even more successful in their new roles. A lot of events have occurred since we last spoke so here is what has been happening during the past couple of months

2 SPRING DIVISION MEETING The Spring Central Division Meeting was held on April in Chicago, Illinois, hosted by the Southern Region. Minutes of this meeting are posted out on the Central Division website (under Members/Board Meeting) for your review. A couple of highlights that were discussed during the meeting included: The Central Division Board approved the budget for the The Accredited Senior Evaluator Program will be continued with the addition of requirements for continuing education and tracking of teaching activity using the NSP Activity Log form. Jim Woodrum reported on the National Board: Ed McNamara was re elected National Chair. A new Chair Evacuation Committee was formed to look into development of a credentialed program. NSP has hired a new Education Director, Sheila Summers. Powderfall was a huge success despite the marginal snow conditions. Due to the large amount of staff time required to develop this event, NSP may look into hiring an outside firm to organize and conduct future Powderfall programs. John Thomas (Division Director) reported: The Division registered approximately 5,900 members this season. Western Michigan will host the Fall Central Division Meeting in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Sue Hayes will be taking over the OEC Supervisor role at the Division from Karen Hadden effective July 1, John and other Division staff continue to work with the MidWest Ski Area Association (MSAA) on aligning area needs and concerns with NSP programs. The Division s Young Adult Patroller (YAP) Program remains under development. Discussion continues regarding the use of, and accounting for, sub unit assets, including ensuring that funds raised under the NSP name be used only to support the training and education of members and the community. Again, a complete set of meeting minutes have been posted for member review on the Central Division Website. Spring South Central Region Board of Governor s Meeting Was held on April 21. Actions at the meeting included: Reviewed and approved the 3rd quarter budget report. Reviewed the remaining calendar of events for the season. Discussed and launched the budget process for the upcoming season. Discussed progress on patrol registration issues. Set the next Board of Governor s Meeting for June 16, 2015 Discussed issues to be included in the Leadership Development and New Patrol Officer/Staff Orientation Programs. ELECTIONS Results of the elections for Section Chief in Sections 1 and 4 are in. VACANT POSITIONS We continue to have opportunities for members who would be interested in supporting their fellow patrollers at the Region level in the following areas: ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT working with the Region Director and Region Board of Governors AVALANCHE, and ADAPTIVE ADVISORS, working with Bill Bailey, ARD Programs. If you are interested in learning more about what these positions would be responsible for, please contact either Bill Bailey or myself for more information. Speaking of Region Staff, this Region continues to be blessed with a core cadre of concerned and skilled members who have stepped forward to manage and implement programs. Please join me in saying THANK YOU to them when you get the chance. PROGRAM ARTICLES Please take a moment and review the articles from Region staff and Program Advisors regarding their plans and schedules for the upcoming season that are contained in this edition of SWEEP. While we continue to look forward to warm summer days, there is no time like the present to begin thinking about getting involved in the Senior Program, Women s Clinic, a Ski or Toboggan Enhancement Seminar, or even becoming a program instructor! Section 1 Paul Fuchs, Alpine Valley, will continue as Section 1 Section Chief. Section 4 Steve Paladini, Nordic Mountain will take over as Section Chief, Section 4 from Steve Stormer who is retiring. POSITION CHANGES Moe Minor has stepped down as our Region Outdoor Emergency Care Advisor. Taking over will be David Kleinschmidt of the Ausblick Ski Patrol. AWARDS Tom Wright, Region Awards Advisor, has included an article announcing South Central Region Award winners for the season. Please look it over and join me in extending congratulations to our fellow members for their hard work and dedicated efforts! National, Division, Regional, and awards all recognize the outstanding efforts and years of service of our many members. As always, if no one prepares them no one receives them.

3 If you are considering preparing award(s) and have any questions, be sure to talk with your Section Chief and/or Tom on what facts to include in the nomination, what to emphasize, and how to write a successful nomination. ANGEL/SUPER ANGEL AWARD The Angel Award is an NSP award presented to non patroller spouses of NSP members who support the participation of their patroller spouse as a ski patroller. This award is appropriate for presentation after 5 8 years of membership of the patroller spouse. While the Super Angel Award has been removed from the NSP Awards Program, South Central Region has re started the presentation of these awards with the following guidelines. This award: is appropriate after 15 or more years of patroller participation support May be presented to both a non patroller or patroller spouse and, May be presented at the patrol level once approved by the Region Director, at the local patrol s expense. Without the proactive support of spouses, significant others, and others who enable continued NSP member participation we would all be pulling more shifts! Remember to say THANKS when you get the chance. AND SO THE SEASON ENDS The paperwork is just about finished and the snow sliding is over. I wish you many carefree warm and sunny days. As always, I ask you to remember that: YOU ARE THE NATIONAL SKI PATROL! See you in the fall! Assistant Region Director Proficiency Jason Erdmann Another great season is in the books, and it s time to look forward to the next one! Regardless of the weather or time of year, there is always something going on in the ski patrol world! Refresher workbooks are on their way, and OEC basic courses are gearing up. If you think you might be interested in trying the Senior program next season, this is a great time to get some extra OEC practice by helping out at a basic class. And speaking of helping out, most classes are always looking for more instructors. Instructor Development classes will be running this summer, which is the first step in becoming an instructor. Helping train the next generation of patrollers, and helping at refreshers is always a rewarding experience. It s the summer edition of the Sweep, so I ll keep it short. Even when you re hanging out by the grill, you can still think snow! Tom Merritt, Ron Plumer, Tim Weinand socializing on the patio Region Alumni Advisor Deb Stone Hello...just a short reminder for those of you who may be thinking about retiring from the National Ski Patrol. Please consider becoming an alum patroller. The alumni membership includes many of the perks you now enjoy as well as keeping you in touch with NSP. Any patroller who is interested can google NSP Alumni and have access to the Alumni Patrol Handbook. The handbook contains all the information that they will need to make a decision including the application.

4 South Central Region Awards Tom Wright This year s South Central Region Awards Banquet was held May 2, 2015 at the Ausblick Ski Area. The event was hosted by Section 1 and its Section Chief Paul Fuchs. I want to compliment Paul and his staff on their organization and success of the banquet. We had an excellent turnout and numerous patrollers and others received their due recognition. The following awards were presented by the South Central Region. If you see any of these individuals be sure to congradulate then for their hard work. Lynn Thornton South Central Region Outstanding Ski Patroller Samantha Fuchs South Central Region Certificate of Appreciation Cody Jones South Central Region Outstanding On Hill Instructor

5 Super Angels Patty Schreiber, Sue Wright, JoAnne Stormer, Julie Erdmann, Autumn Poser Senior Certificate Dani McPherson, Larry Golding, Mike Wood, Pete Curtis, Tim Theisen

6 Rick Wayne Region Director Award Mike Husar Region Director Award Once again if you see any of these individuals please take the time to congratulate them on their accomplishments. Jennifer Thompson Region Director Award Anne Blaedow Region Director Award

7 Moe Minor Region Director Award Tim Weinand Region Director Award Jason Erdmann Region Director Award Paul Fuchs Distinguished Service Award Thom Rabaglia Distinguished Service Award Jim Hubing Distinguished Service Award

8 Jason Erdmann National Appointment Devil's Head South Central Region Outstanding Large Alpine Patrol Thomas Weinand Service Recognition Award, 60 years Daniel Valen National Appointment Jacob Knaub South Central Region Young Adult Patroller Eric Haugen Patrollers Cross

9 Peggy Butler Central Division Certificate of Appreciation Don and Sue McKay National Certificate of Appreciation Patrick Lamb Purple Merit Star Lynn Thornton Yellow Merit Star Tom Wright preparing awards

10 Instructor Development Rick Wayne It s hard to give up what you re good at. For instance, I m pretty puffed up about my sideslip/snowpl ow/sideslip transitions: constant speed, straight down the fall line, shoulders like they re on rails...poetry in motion, I tell you. Wait, what? Pivot slips? You gotta be kidding me! The thing is, though, transitions aren t an end, they re a means. And pivot slips just get patients down the hill better. Something pretty similar is happening in our teaching. If you re an NSP instructor, especially in one of the more bookish disciplines like OEC, you ve doubtless worked long and hard on your lecturing skills. (Sometimes I think we ve shortchanged new OEC instructors, in fact, leaning so hard on immaculate PowerPoints that we give short shrift to other methods of teaching. And mind that you rehearse that word for word delivery till it sounds as smooth as an Apple product demo!) But guess what: Bullet point and lecture to a passive class is going the way of the Siberian tiger. It ain t extinct, but sightings are getting rarer. With the advent of online courses for core NSP disciplines like OEC, fewer and fewer of us will be prepping and delivering lectures. And that s good! Sponge mode, sitting and listening to a lecture, does have its place. But if candidates choose their own schedule for lectures (and can review them at will), we save precious face to face class time for proven high retention learning modes: discussion, active querying, and hands on exercises. My advice? Embrace the change. Sure, in your heart you know you lecture better than some video guy. (My snowplow sideslip transitions are second to none, man!) But the goal isn t to have the best lecture the goal is to have the best prepared candidates, and as a talented instructor, you can have an even bigger impact by delivering high quality exercises, discussions, scenarios, and the like. You might wonder how the move to hybrid courses will affect instructor (re)certification how can you become an OEC instructor, say, without an hour long lecture on a chapter? The answer is that nothing has really changed the standards are still set by the discipline Advisor and enforced by their Instructor Trainers. But the goal is to see you plan and execute an effective lesson, not to rate your PowerPoint skills. If the content delivery part of your six pack is largely an NSP online lecture, well, my counsel to your evaluating IT is that you ve demonstrated an efficient use of resources yay you! Having said that, now it s Irony Time: If you want an Instructor Development class, the online course won t be an option until next year. The national ID program is redoing the online class, and decided to take the out of date materials off the Web in June. The new stuff should be up in January until then, the first step in becoming an NSP instructor is to take the classic, in person Instructor Development class. Now, the South Central ID team tries hard to avoid snooze inducing straight up lectures, I promise: personally I m always looking for new hands on exercises. And I run as much of the remainder as I can in discussion mode. Speaking of those classes, we re moving into prime time for recruiting new instructors, and recertifying old ones. There will be at least one Instructor Development class in Madison, likely in late June see the Region website for details. We can also hold classes pretty much anywhere in the Region for people who are interested get half a dozen or more people together and we ll work something out. (I d be willing to bet that you know a patroller who d make a good instructor give em a push!) Likewise, remember that instructors have to attend continuing ed clinics every three years, we ll be putting up a schedule for those within the next few weeks. See you in class, or on the hill. (I ll be the one on the black diamond, practicing my transitions AFTER I ve perfected my pivot slips.) Summer season. Off season Learning season! by Anne Blaedow While we enjoy the warmer weather, the new patrol cycle is beginning all over the region as OEC classes roll into gear. It s a chance for everyone to take a step back into the classroom and see the world of the ski patrol through fresh eyes. The incoming patrol candidate has a new perspective on everything related to our organization. The way we conduct our classes will set a tone for who we are as an organization in the future. Be sure to welcome the new blood and help them feel at home as quickly as possible because it is the personal attachments that keep us all eager to come back for more every year. Along with helping our new candidates feel welcomed, the OEC programs are our biggest opportunity to sharpen our own saw! If you don t use it, you lose it! When is the last time you thought about a traction splint or a multi patient situation? Helping with the candidate

11 training is an excellent way to pull your own personal knowledge up from the far reaches of your memory and refresh your own skills in a much deeper way than by simply attending the fall refresher. The call to leadership often comes as a quiet voice in your own head that urges you to move beyond the status quo and make a change within yourself. The act of training other, is a step in the leadership direction. I urge you all to get involved in your OEC basic program. it s the best thing you can do for your own skills! When people ask about joining the Senior Program, every trainer and evaluator will tell you to help teach the basic OEC class! Be there and look at each class through your lens of experience and gain a deeper understanding of the material. (Those who can do. Those who want to do it better. teach others!). We will be starting the Senior OEC training program up in Late November with practice sessions and mentoring. That is about the time the Basic OEC classes are holding their final evaluations. One naturally leads into the other, so dive in and sharpen your basic skills and carry them right into the next season's Senior Program. Region Toboggan Advisor Tom Merritt Hello all and hope your summer is off to a good start. Last season we touched a lot of toboggan handlers. Among Senior Training, the Women s Clinic and TES s along with other events we introduced techniques, training methods and the up to date ideas from the region and division. Now all these patrollers will take this information home and start training more patrollers. The cycle continues and I look forward to starting the cycle over next year. Proficiency Update Timothy Weinand A few days ago, I received my refresher study guide from NSP. My first thought was wow the ski season is starting soon! Wait, it just ended didn t it? Well, this shows that being a patroller really is a year round commitment. OEC candidate classes are starting soon or have started already. That means it s not too soon to start thinking about what you might want to accomplish next season. Are you willing to expand your skills? Are you thinking about possibly going for Senior? The Senior program in the season was wildly successful. We had six members fulfill all the components of Senior and many more complete individual modules. One of my goals as Proficiency Advisor was to expand our staff. The first step in doing that was to expand the number of Seniors in the region. We are getting there and I am thrilled! If you have started the Senior journey, please continue. If you have not yet started, please think about it. You will be a better patroller for it. If you are not quite ready for the Senior challenge, there will be another opportunity for skill development in the form of a region wide ski/snowboard enhancement seminar. Location and dates TBA. Region Insurance Advisor Jim Stein You know? Insurance can be pretty boring, until you need it. Whether it is Auto or Home or Health or whatever, it is a necessary evil you d rather not spend a dime on. What the heck does this have to do with patrolling and being covered? Well, if you re sued, your Home Insurance (Renters Insurance for you who rent) should cover and defend you. Make sure. If you read your NSPS magazine, with the refresher material in it, you likely saw page 47 about patrollers on bikes. Non ski season for some has meant no vacation but more opportunities to perform first aid and CPR. Rock climbing areas mean more patrolling activity. You don t shelve your skills when you stow away your ski/board gear until next winter. Then, if you re hurt, you have Health Insurance, right? Enjoy paying the high deductible you chose. You can buy down your high deductible with an Accident Medical plan. Ask your agent about that and the cost. Finally, are your skis/boards and bicycle covered if damaged or lost? Here, too, ask your agent. Jim Hubing and Peggy Butler

12 Ron Plumer presents Mike Husar an award Tom and Sue Wright John Thomas Central Division Director Our host, Paul Fuchs raffling off door prizes.

13

14 SWEEP NEWSLETTER NATIONAL SKI PATROL CENTRAL DIVSION SOUTH CENTRAL REGION 6711 SANDSTONE CIR MIDDLETON, WI South Central Region Banquet