~ Armand Gutierrez, Da Prez ~ 

Are thoughts of snow and skiing entering your mindspace yet? Well, it IS September and the annual Snow Bomb Ski & Snow Festival is all ready getting ready for their festivities at AT&T Park on 9-10 November and in San Jose on 23-24 November. Volunteer sign-ups will be coming soon. So farm Karen Soo is planning on attending the ATT festival and I’m planning on attending the San Jose festival. If you’re interested in attending then send a note to either Karen (tripdirector@niseiskiclub.org) or me (president@niseiskiclub.org). 

Got your dancin’ shoes ready? The Mountain View Buddhist Temple wants to thank the NSC Obon Festival volunteers for contributing to its success and has invited the NSC membership to their “Oh What A Night” Dance, to be held on October 19th.  There will be live 60’s and 70’s music provided by Somethin’ Else. Details are provided in the flyer. 

We’re closing in on the September 15th deadline for the Sun Peaks ski week trip. We currently have 19 people on board and there’s still plenty of room for signups so what are you waiting for?

In Memorium

Normally these President’s Messages are not too difficult to write with discussions on volunteer events, ski topics, and our updates on the weekend and weeklong ski trips. However, this month’s message had the added dimension of informing the membership of the passing of Tatsuo Sumida on August 14th. “Tats”, as he was affectionately called, passed away peacefully at the age of 85. For many of the newer members not familiar with the history of NSC, Tats and Hi Fujii were co-founders of the Nisei Ski Club, which was an offshoot of the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) in the 1950s. Unfortunately, the board and other members of NSC learned of his passing too late to inform the membership to attend his service, which was held on August 24th. For additional information please read the thoughtful write-up by Hoyt Nelson and former president, April Shiro’s recounting of Tats being honoured at NSC’s 40th anniversary.

Membership + Sun Peaks Ski Week Report

  1. Membership Activity

The month of August saw an uptick in memberships with six signups, three of which were new members and this brings us to a total of 43 members.  These three new members can be attributed to their signing up for the Sun Peaks ski week trip. The deadline for the Sun Peaks ski week trip is September 15th so there’s still time for new/returning members to join.

  1. Sun Peaks Ski Week

Currently we have 19 members signed up for the Sun Peaks ski week trip, and I’m hopeful that we’ll get our minimum of 20 in order to reap the benefits of lodging and lift ticket discounts. By the end of September flight reservations will have to be released for unfilled seats. So, if you’ve never been to Sun Peaks don’t miss out on this opportunity to ski someplace different.