GREETINGS: The AVA Convention is now in the history books. Texas
was well represented in Muncie and the Texas folks brought home their share of awards.
(TEXAS probably had the largest number of folks present, and all but 5 TVA clubs
represented on the Convention Floor either in person or by proxy) The TVA booth was the
best booth in the exhibit area. Attendees enjoyed visiting the booth and registering to
win one of the door prizes. Anna Cottrill was the booth chairperson and did a great job
rounding up all that was needed for the booth. Thanks to all of you that worked the booth.
The TVA passed out an embroidered 1 inch stick on patch in the shape of TEXAS for folks to
wear on their convention name tags. It was nice to see TEXAS almost everywhere you looked.
The following TEXAS folks were honored at the convention with AVA recognition awards:
Distinguished Service - Anna Cottrill Ft. Worth
Meritorious Service - Carolyn Ernst - Grapevine, Elaine Samus - Wichita Falls,
Chuck Samus - Wichita Falls
Certificate of Service - Margaret Aldridge - Wichita Falls, Darwin White - Denton,
Temple Pouncey - Dallas
Texas also had 10 clubs get the Star Awards. A complete list of these clubs is
attached.
In the Publicity contest, newsletter awards, Dallas Trekkers took first place and Texas
Wanderers took second place. In the brochure category Texas Wanderers received honorable
mention for their Camp Bullis and River Walk brochures. Finally, TEXAS clubs were
recognized for their Web Sites. The following received the Gold Medal Site award: Texas
Volkssport Association, Plano Plodders, and Dallas Trekkers.
The following received the Seal of Approval for their Web Sites: Amigo Amblers,
Chisholm Trail Blazers, Colorado River Walkers, and Star Trekkers.
The first awards for the AVA Master Walker Program were given out. Helene Fennesey of
Corpus Christi was a recipient for completing 12 walks with her granddaughter in a 12
month period.
Congratulations to all for their well deserved awards.
Last, but not least, Thank You goes to all the clubs that donated items for the Silent
Auction. The AVA raised over $8000 from this auction. Special thanks goes to Charlene
Forester for making the vest from neckties. This vest went for over $400 and the lucky
bidder was Lyn Ward. Elaine looked very nice in it.
Remember, our TVA summer meeting will be August 7 in Waco. The TVA board meeting will
be at 9 AM, and the General Meeting will be at 1 PM. The location is the Women’s
Resource Center Annex on the Texas State Technical College Campus in Waco. We will have
elections for first vice president and treasurer. The nominating committee has submitted
the following names for consideration: For first vice president - Phyllis Egan and Robert
Theiss. For treasurer, Suzanne Markgraf. We will also take nominations from the floor. Be
sure to mark your calendar and be there to represent your club. We will be selecting the
site for the February, 2000 meeting. If your club is interested, let me know. There will
be a walk and 2 swims on Sunday, August 8. Plan to be there.
2000 YRE/SEASONAL EVENTS: The deadline for submitting your sanction
requests for renewal or new Year Round and Seasonal events is approaching. All requests
must be submitted to me by August 1. I must have all of them into AVA Headquarters by
September 1. Please do not wait till the deadline to submit your sanctions. I have
received a few already and some of them are not complete. You must include a route map,
route directions, and updated brochure as well as the sanction forms in order to get the
request processed. If you do not plan to renew a YRE, please let me know.
CLUB OPERATIONS TOPIC: In last month’s newsletter, I discussed the
condition of your Year Round Start Box. Have you checked yours yet??? Also, have you
removed the + from your event stamps? Did you remove the + from the start box?
This month I want to review an item that hopefully you will never need to use. It is
form 4031R (February, 1998) Incident Report Form. Copies of this form should be
present at each regular event held. It should also be available to the person designated
POC for your Year Round Events. This form must be filled out for any injury that occurs at
your event, no matter how minor. Minor injuries can turn into something serious. This form
documents the accident while all details are fresh in your mind. It also gives you the
opportunity to get information from witnesses. The instructions for the report are at the
bottom of the page. Be sure to attach the individual’s start card and waiver sheet
along with the brochure. Submit the report to National Headquarters. Please be sure to
copy the TVA President on all correspondence. I am attaching a copy of the form with this
newsletter.
One last item about operations. I have received several documents submitted by the
clubs directly to the National Office. The only documents that go directly to the National
Office are the After Action Reports and the IRS 501 c.3 form. All other forms must be
submitted directly to the TVA President for processing before sending them to the National
Office. Failure to follow this causes extra work for the National Office folks and delays
getting your forms processed and returned to you. If you have a question about where to
send a form, call or email me. If all else fails, send it to me and I will forward it to
the proper location.
TVA EVENT CALENDAR: Enclosed is the current TVA event calendar for your
use in planning future events. It is always best to avoid scheduling conflicts. Please
review the calendar and let me know of any needed corrections.
I appreciate all the hard work you do to provide quality events to those who choose to
walk in TEXAS. Keep up the good job.
cc: L. Clark - IVV Vice President
L. Ward - Southwest Regional Director
Texas Volkssport
Association 
