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To: TVA Club Presidents and Board of Directors
From: Karl Kittinger
Date: October 2002
Subject: TVA Newsletter

GREETINGS: First I want to take this opportunity to thank the TVA general membership for their having faith in me to guide the organization during the next few years. I will try to do my best to live up to your expectations.

It looks like we will end the year 2002 with a total of 98 sanctioned events. So far we have 20 events sanctioned for 2003. It is never to early to get the sanction requests submitted, in fact, the sooner the better. From what I have seen so far the paperwork being submitted has not created any problems. Just keep up the good work and you will make my job a lot easier. Speaking of making my job easier – starting the beginning of October 2002 I have designated Becky Lindig, TVA Secretary, as the individual who will be the approving authority for your event flyers. Becky’s address is on the attached TVA Officers Roster.

The easiest way to get in contact with me is by e-mail. I check my mail fairly regular and can respond to your requests. Since I am still working full time (this is scheduled to change end of May 2003) and have other commitments to attend to it is very hard to find me at home or available to take phone calls. This does not mean that I will not accept phone calls, it just means that most of the time you will probably end up talking to the answering machine. I will attempt to get back to you in a timely manner, most likely during the early evening (somewhere between 4 and 6 PM). I will not call after 10 PM or before 9 AM unless you specifically state that you will accept calls after or before those times, but please, give me a do not call after or before time. My address, telephone number, and e-mail address are on the attached TVA Officers Roster.

THANKS: A big Thank You goes to the Plano Plodders for the excellent job they did hosting the TVA semi-annual meeting in August. The facilities were great, the hospitality made everyone feel welcome, and all enjoyed the events on Sunday. The swim events really felt good after completing the walk. Another Thank You needs to go to Chuck Samus, past President, for his dedicated years of service to the TVA. I hope that each of you will personally thank Chuck for his work in helping to enhance Volkssporting in Texas.

AVA FEES: I am sure that by now all or most of you have heard that the AVA Executive Council has approved raising the Credit Only fee to a maximum of $3.00. In conjunction with this, the participation fee paid to the AVA has also been raised to $1.25 per participant (award, credit only, non-IVV participant [does not apply to TX], less free walkers). This price increase takes effect in January 2003. For those clubs that may have already printed flyers for 2003 events I do not expect you to reprint them. However, I do expect that you will make a pen & ink change to those flyers not already distributed. Needless to say, if you do have a requirement to reprint, that the appropriate change will be made prior to reprinting. It might be a good idea, particularly for those clubs holding events in January, February, and March, to post a notice at the start table informing walkers of the fee increase. I have already approved the flyer for the TVA Memorial Walk (31 December) and the Mid-night Walk (1 January 2003) showing the Credit Only Fee as $2.00 for each event. At the present time I do not intend to increase the fee to $3.00 for the Mid-night Walk even though we will be paying the AVA the increased participation fee. All this means is that the TVA will make $0.75 per paid walker rather than the $1.50 we previously collected.

AVA AWARDS: Don’t forget to recommend those deserving individuals from your club for AVA Awards that will be presented at the June 2003 AVA convention. Award forms are enclosed with your AVA Handbook or can be downloaded from the AVA web site. All award recommendations are due to the Regional Director no later than 1 November 2003. Award recommendations do not need to be submitted through me.

TVA EVENT INFORMATION FORM: The TVA Event Information Form has been revised and two copies are included with This mailing. Please make sure that one copy of the form is filed in the TVA handbook. The other copy can be used to make extra copies on an as needed basis. The form is also available on the TVA web site for download or can be filled in and then printed. I will continue accepting the old form for a short period of time. I would expect that any sanction requests submitted after 1 November 2002 will be submitted using the revised form.

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT: After reviewing the survey forms that were submitted a few months ago I found one particular comment appearing on responses from the clubs. The particular comment had to do with why they are not putting on regular sanctioned events. The comment dealt mostly with “lack of workers”. I would like to set up and publish a listing that would be made available to all clubs of those individuals within the TVA that would volunteer to assist the smaller clubs with their events. It would still be the responsibility of the club to set a date(s), obtain a suitable start/finish area, and submit the necessary paperwork. The volunteers would primarily assist the club on the day(s) of the event in whatever capacity would be needed. At this time it is just something to think about and possibly discuss at your next club meeting. Please give me some feedback on this and depending on your response I will determine if it will become an agenda item for the next TVA meeting. You can forward your comments via snail mail to my address as shown on the TVA Officers Roster or via email to walkabout@hot.rr.com.

cc: L. Clark, IVV Vice President
L. Ward, Southwest Regional Director

Enclosures:
TVA Calendar
TVA Officers Roster
TVA Event Information Form
TVA comments re: Event Listing in TAW

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