Greetings!
Spring is in the air!
As I write this, my final president’s message, the sun is setting on what was seemingly the warmest, sunniest Sunday we have had in months. March can certainly bring days that make us honestly believe spring is in the air. Springtime means annual meeting time for CVOA. Unlike the current POTUS - I am not running for reelection - and therefore my term as president is up on
March 28 at our Annual Meeting. You can read more about the event in this newsletter. Due to our big 20
th Anniversary Celebration in January, our format will be different than in past years – join us for a social time followed by our annual meeting to elect the new slate of officers.
I have really enjoyed the last 20 months as president, and working with other great officers and directors on CVOA business. If you have ever been on a CVOA trip or attended a CVOA function, then you know that all of our activities, all of our business, in fact all of our history, is totally dependent on the time devoted by volunteers to make everything happen. We are grateful for our outgoing officers and directors and for the people stepping up to fill open positions for the coming year. We have even more people who have expressed interest in becoming involved in the near future – just not this next year. Our future is dependent on all these people willing to fulfill any vital role for the continued growth and success of CVOA. Thank you!
At this writing, we are finalizing our 2020-21 slate of officers and directors. One thing we can count on is that Mark Curtis is slated to be moving up from VP to take on the role of CVOA President.
Mark grew up in Marblehead, Massachusetts and attended school there until coming to Maine to attend Colby College. After graduating from Colby, Mark went on to receive his MBA from Thomas College. He worked for CMP for 21 years and then formed a start-up fiber cable construction company with CMP; Mark retired in 2017.
Mark and Diane, his wife of 43 years, live in Manchester, Maine. They have two daughters and four grandchildren. Mark loves to ski and play golf. He has been a Sugarloafer since 1968 and was on the Ambassador Patrol from 1995-2005. Mark has served on the CVOA board since 2015 and this past year as VP.
We are fortunate to have Mark taking on the role of CVOA President! Join us on the 28
th to welcome Mark and vote in the rest of our officers and directors.
Happy Spring!
Bonnie Farrar
~ Outgoing CVOA President
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Thank you for joining or renewing for 2020.
Your membership is valid through Dec. 31, 2020.
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- CVOA Social at Shipyard
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- Post-Ski-Trip Dessert Party
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- Sky Lodge of Moose River
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- President Bonnie Farrar: 207.735.3984: cvoa.president@gmail.com
- Vice President Mark Curtis: 207.441.9532: cvoa.vicepresident@gmail.com
- Treasurer Mary Frank: 207.778.4695: cvoa.treasurership@gmail.com
- Secretary Cindy Foster: 207.829.6110: cvoa.secretary@gmail.com
- Adventure Coordinator Patti Johnston: 207.745.5815: cvoa.adventures@gmail.com
- Range Officers Neal Trask: 235-2732; and Diane Stone: 240-4752; OR both at: cvoa.range@gmail.com
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Future Events & Adventures
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CVOA Bowling
Most every Sunday at 3:00
March 1, 8, 15, 22, 29
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All members, whether bowling newbies or old pros, are welcome. The cost for CVOA members for the two hour session is just $10, which includes shoes.
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BOWLING PARTY!
Sunday, March 15, 3:00
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An ample selection of the SugarBowl’s pizza and appetizers will be provided by CVOA. There are 4 lanes reserved for us. Bowling is $10 including shoe rental.
Prizes will be awarded to the afternoon’s bowlers!
Come bowl, eat and cheer for the bowlers...another fun CVOA activity! All members are welcome!
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A NEW Social Event for your Calendar!
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Thursday, March 19, 4:30-6:00
Shipyard
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Member and founder Don Fowler recently asked “Why doesn’t CVOA have a monthly social like other mountain organizations?” The reply was “Why did it take so long for that suggestion to be made!?” The idea was immediately supported and endorsed by CVOA.
The first such social is scheduled at Shipyard on Thursday, March 19th from 4:30-6:00. Appetizers will be provided by CVOA, and there will be a cash bar.
Going forward, the socials will be held on the 3rd Thursday of the months of December, January, February and March.
Thank you, Don Fowler, for your suggestions. Members . . . bring forth your suggestions! This is how we turn your ideas and suggestions into fun times with friends.
~ Jeannette Parker
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Annual Meeting and Social
Saturday, March 28, 4:30
Sugarloaf Hotel
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Our Annual Meeting will be held on Saturday, March 28, 2020 at the Sugarloaf Hotel Conference Room.
At 4:30pm, a social hour will begin, with appetizers provided by CVOA. Beer and wine may be purchased at the cash bar. (NO BYOB at this event.)
At 5:30, our Annual Meeting will be called to order. Reports on the slate of CVOA will be presented, followed by election of our 2020-21 officers and directors.
Bruce Miles, from the Sugarloaf Ski Club, will speak about their King’s Kids program and mission.
Please join us for this no-charge event! CVOA looks forward to your participation.
RSVPs would be
very much appreciated
so we can plan accordingly for food and seats. Please click on one button:
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Post-Ski-Trip Dessert Party
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Add this to your calendar: this year’s Friday evening post-ski-trip dessert party! April 3 at 7:00 at the Adaptive Outdoor Education Center yurt (on the road to the Outdoor Center). All members who have been on ski trips or are interested in ski trips are welcome to attend.
There will be a slide show of photos from this year’s trips
IF someone volunteers to put one together
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For 2021 trips, we are working on proposals for Big Sky, Snowbird/Alta and Aspen/Snowmass. If you have another place in mind, or would like to be a trip leader, get in touch with Bonnie Farrar (cvoa.president@gmail.com) right away and we will see where we are in the process.
Desserts will be provided by CVOA, and as usual, BYOB.
~ Mike Parker and Bonnie Farrar
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Sky Lodge of Moose River
June 22 - 25
Deposits due April 25
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Monday dinner through Thursday breakfast at Sky Lodge. CVOAers may chose a 2 or 3 night stay. 12 to perhaps 20 CVOAers will be fortunate enough to stay at Sky Lodge in Moose River Maine again this year.
CVOA has been given a reduced non-profit group rate. We enjoy exclusively the 1929 authentically restored Main Lodge. Wealthy traveled from near and far to stay at the luxurious Lodge to hunt and fish, party, play games, hike, swim, boat & experience the North Woods.
Guests may bring their own watercraft to paddle, fish or explore nearby ponds and waterways. Canoes and kayaks are available for rent nearby. Use the lodge as a base to explore nearby: Mount Kineo, white water rafting at the Forks, Greenville (Katahdin Cruises & B52 crash site), Moxie Falls, Sally Mountain and many other hiking trails. Some guests also go for a day trip to Quebec City!
Cost: $75 per person per night (no single supplement fee added) with private room & bath and all meals included! You must book for either 2 or 3 nights.
To reserve your room with private bath:
- Mail a check no later than April 25 (The balance is due at Sky Lodge upon your arrival.)
- Written to “Sky Lodge” for 1/2 of your payment
- Mail it to Mary Berger, 163 Fogler Road, Bremen, ME 04551
- Questions? Email: cvoa.adventures@gmail.com (note Sky Lodge in the subject line) or call Mary’s mobile: 781-248-0152.
- Spaces will be filled in the order payments are postmarked.
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If you recently renewed your CVOA and Range membership, or just joined, you might wonder about your range tag. The combination for the gate lock is the same as in 2019. In mid-May, 2020 range badges will be mailed to range members, and the new gate code will be printed on the badge.
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Our shooting season for 5 Stand and Trap has come to a close . . . However:
Our Pistol and Rifle Ranges will remain open throughout the winter season
. Our hours of operation are sunrise to sunset. Please note, our law enforcement officers may need use of the Range for training. That training may be after sunset, and may require full use of the Range. Your understanding is appreciated.
Also note, ours is a passive Range and it is your responsibility to follow all posted rules unless otherwise approved by a Range Officer.
If you use the range, please replace the padlock UNDER the rubber flap to keep the lock dry.
Diane Stone, Range Secretary
CVOA.range@gmail.com
207-240-4752
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CVOA Website - now up and running
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Hooray! Our new web site is up and running, and we hope you find the new format more useful. The content is much more static than in the past, which means it can be kept up to date with minimal volunteer time. The calendar of events and details about upcoming events will be accessed via links to the latest newsletters.
If you find any errors, omissions or broken links, please let me know so I can make the necessary changes. The same goes if there is other content you would like to see included.
There are no provisions at this time for a photo gallery. Would you like to see photos on our site? We’d love to have a photo manager, and will teach you how to be our photo-master.
The updated Range site is still in progress, and will be up and running before the range season begins.
~ Cindy Foster
or 829-6110
ps. If you can offer suggestions on the mobile site, please get in touch.
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Officer and Board positions
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CVOA still has a need for volunteers to serve on the Board, so if you have an interest in helping direct our organization please contact Steve Smith at
golfski@maine.rr.com
or 207-776-4003.
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Past Events and Adventures
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What do you get when you have 46 CVOA skiers, 2 nights in Milan and a week in Val Gardena? Add blue skies, 750 miles of trails, over 400 lifts, 400 on mountain huttes with excellent food (and wine) and breathtaking scenery.
The answer is . . . . one GREAT time! That is a short summation of our CVOA Val Gardena ski trip.
Everyone had fun exploring the beautiful city of Milan and its many historical sites and experiencing its many restaurants. Our pretrip stay gave everyone an opportunity to shake the cobwebs of the long travel day and get our bodies in sync for the week of skiing.
After a scenic bus ride from Milan to Val Gardena we settled into our two hotels, Digon and Rodes, for the week. As is typical of CVOA skiers, we got an early start each day and skied well into the afternoon. Of course we took advantage, at every opportunity, of the many on mountain huttes for outstanding lunches and drinks.
One of the highlights was to ski the Sella Ronda, a 25+ mile, all day ski circuit that includes in excess of 20 lifts of all types (pomas, double chairs, quads, six packs, gondolas and trams). The views and skiing were exceptional!
Unfortunately we had to return home. And that, a bus ride to Munich and a flight to Boston, went just as well as our previous travels. Thanks to everyone for making the trip so successful!
~ Mike Parker
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On Saturday, February 8, the skies were clear, and the Full Moon rose at 5:15 PM to kick off our Stew/Shoe/Skate/Ski event at the Outdoor Center. About 55 ‘CVOA-ers enjoyed gathering together and tasting 18 crock pots of soups, and lots of extras!
Though a frosty night, 20 adventurous folks snowshoed around Moose Pond, and some others did a XC trek. The Outdoor Center staff and ambassadors welcomed us with open arms, and it was a happy, fun evening!
~ Barb Briggs and Jan Mildram
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February 10 - 14
Pete Weston writes:
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My 99-year-old mother Teddy Weston lives at the Ross Manor assisted living home in Bangor. She still uses her iPad to read and send emails, so when we travel, I do regular updates. Here is an abbreviated version of what I sent her:
Judy and I drove to Quebec City on Monday, February 10. There was about 4” of new light snow at Carrabassett Valley, and we drove through some light snow off and on. We stopped in St. George to buy appetizers and wine for our evening get togethers. Our hotel room wasn’t ready, so we went for a walk around the city to check out the Winter Carnival. Back to the hotel (Hotel Manoir Victoria), we settled into our room, then worked on setting up happy hour for the 23 of us on the trip. The hotel provided us a large function room for our evening happy hours all four nights. There was a refrigerator where we kept drinks and appetizers. The first night I handed out the lift tickets, directions to ski areas and $25C to each person as spending money.
After happy hour, Jan, Duff, Judy and I walked to the Portofino Italian restaurant for dinner. There was some concern we would have a tough time getting into restaurants because of the Winter Carnival, but we’ve had no problems. Our dinner was excellent. The hotel was fantastic. Beautiful, quiet rooms, very comfortable beds, an excellent breakfast buffet (included), and valet parking. And the location was perfect. It’s easy to drive into and out of the city, and there were a multitude of restaurants nearby.
Tuesday, we skied at Mount St. Anne, 35 minutes from the City. The weather was off and on fog, especially at the top. This area received a big dump of snow last week, so the skiing was excellent. We met up with the rest of the group at the Summit restaurant for lunch. My legs were pretty tired from skiing the bump trails and glades, so I quit at 2:30. After another happy hour at the hotel, we went to St. Patrick’s Pub for dinner, a very good meal. Mark and Diane Curtis joined Jan, Duff, Judy and me.
Wednesday, we skied at Le Massif, about an hour east of here and right on the St. Lawrence River. The “base” lodge and the parking are at the top of the mountain and you ski down towards the river. The views were stunning as it was sunny all day, and in the 20s. There was a bit of a hiccup as the tickets I had been given didn’t work and everyone had to exchange them. The other hiccup was we had planned to meet at the restaurant at the bottom of the mountain for lunch, but it was closed! Again, people figured it out. These CVOA’rs are a pretty sharp bunch!
On Thursday, we had a good day at the Stoneham Ski Resort. There was about 2” of new snow when we started skiing and it snowed hard later in the morning. Stoneham is a relatively small ski area with 3 connected hills. The terrain varies between easy groomers to steep bump trails and glades. We all enjoyed the place and will definitely go back.
We skied till 1 pm, had lunch at the lodge, then headed back to the City. Judy and I spent an hour walking around the old city checking out the ice sculptures. Our group gathered for our last happy hour, then went our separate ways for dinner. We had dinner at the Bouley Restaurant which is here in the hotel. It was a great meal, although expensive.
On Friday morning, we enjoyed our last excellent buffet breakfast, then packed up and headed back to Carrabassett Valley. It was really cold out that morning, so we didn’t take time to walk around the city.
~ Peter Weston
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Snowshoe Hike to 'Yonder Knoll'
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Our Yonder Knoll snowshoe trip on Saturday February 22 was a nice trip! We had five snowshoers, and the weather was partly sunny and nice. The six inches of fresh snow were soft under our feet but the base was great, as was the 'always wonderful' 270 degree view! This trail is easy to find all the way up, now, as there is orange tape in view all the way to the top! The trip takes less than two hours!
~ Jan Mildram
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Click the image for more information about the event.
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Carrabassett Valley Outdoor Association
Valley Crossing #6
Carrabassett Valley, ME 04947
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