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From our president: SPEAK OUT, CHC MEMBERS! “Have I got a job for you!” When I was about 13 years old and attending St. John’s High School in Ashtabula, Ohio, a nun stopped me in the hallway one day and said, “Mr. Richards, have I got a job for you.” In those days, we lived in fear of the nuns that taught us. So when they “asked” you to do something, you usually had no choice. In this particular case, this nun asked me to be the writer for a column in the local Ashtabula Star Beacon for our school. Each month I would have to write a column for the newspaper regarding events at the school. I am having déjà vu of that right now! I am a strong believer that if you want to know how things really are, you have to ask the people who are involved. Well, on Saturday, February 4, at our quarterly general meeting, attendees will have the opportunity to participate in small group discussions surrounding the key services of the CHC. This discussion will enable you to put forth ideas, assessments, and comments regarding how we can make the CHC better at what we do. My experience tells me that no matter how good you “think” you are, you always have room for improvement. Thus, please plan to attend our February 4 General Meeting at the Garfield Park Nature Center. I promise you a good time will be had by all! The way this will work is as follows: attendees will be randomly broken out into 6 groups that will discuss the following topics: (1) Camp & Trails; (2) Communication (including Newsteps, Web, and Directory); (3) Hikes & Safety; (4) Membership; (5) Outreach and Association with Other Groups; and (6) Social. Each group will be led by either a committee chair in the area to be discussed or a member of the Board. Each person will be given a survey with several questions on each topic. Each group will start with its assigned area for discussion so that all topics will be covered. If a group completes its discussion on its assigned topic during the allotted time, the group can switch to another topic of the members’ choosing. Club members not attending the General Meeting will be given the opportunity to submit responses to the survey via our website. Results will be summarized and discussed with the Board and reported back to the membership in the April Newsteps. My goal is to have several key initiatives that we can undertake this year based on cost and time to implement. At our February 4 meeting, we will also be hearing about our parking lot project, a recommendation to change the date for our May General Meeting to accommodate the 40 mile hike, and several other key items which should be of interest to our general membership. Be safe out there! !

 

Safety and Health Notes from Cleo Current

Updated December 2011 with advice for winter hiking safety.

 

Club News

2/3/12
President Dave Richards wants to know what you think about our club.  Here is what he says:

CHC MEMBERS SPEAK OUT: During the month of February we are conducting a membership survey to provide our Board and Committees input on topics of interest to our members. You can download the survey form as a document you can edit in Microsoft Word or as a document you can print out. Please take a few minutes to complete the form and send it back so we can know what your opinions and suggestions are. You can download the survey and complete it electronically and then e-mail it to me at drichards0901@gmail.com or you can download the survey, print it, provide your responses, and mail it to me at the address printed at the end of the survey. Be sure you complete this process before the end of February. Results of the survey will be provided to the Board at their March 6 meeting and a summary will be provided to members as part of my monthly column in our April Newsteps. We look forward to your input.


1/27/12
New photos have been added, showing the winners from the 2011 CHC Photo Contest. Thanks to Matt Collings for sending these in. Take a look on the Photos page.


1/21/12
Bob Shroy has assembled photos and memories of Lee Shainker that were sent in by club members. Take a look here.


1/19/12
The February issue of Newsteps has been posted on the Newsteps page.

Peter Carlsson has put together a wonderful assortment of photos in memory of Lee Shainker on the Photos page.

12/20/11
The January and February formatted schedules have been posted on the Schedules page. 

12/16/11
The January Newsteps has been posted here. It includes details on a newly-approved excursion to the Arctic Circle and other goodies. 

11/18/11
The December Newsteps has been posted here. 

11/8/11
As announced at the November general meeting, the club election results are in. Check them out here. 
Many thanks are due to those who were willing to help our club by running for office.

10/22/11
Barb Siegel reports from the 2011 Chili Cook-Off (including pictures) here. 

10/18/11
Four new excursions have been posted to the excursions page.  Note that the excursions to the Grand Canyon and to Northern California have sign-up dates that are approaching quickly (this month), so don't delay if you are interested in one of them.

10/17/11
The November Newsteps has been posted here.  Also we have posted November and December unformatted schedules.

10/03/11
Denise Tobiasz has provided information on ordering CHC Fall 2011 Merchandise. Details on the new Merchandise page - linked to on the page Committes under About Us - Committees.

9/26/11
Matt Collings has given us information about the upcoming CHC photo contest. The deadline for submissions is Nov 7. Check out the details on the events web page.

8/29/11

Lee Schiemann tells us that there are errors in the published directions to get to his Swine Creek hike on Sept 28.

Correct directions to the hike are:
Take SR 87 east through Middlefield. Two and one half miles east of the junction of SRs 87 and 528, turn RIGHT onto Hayes Rd. Proceed south on Hayes to the first entrance for Swine Creek Reservation which you encounter. Meet at the Lodge Parking area. The hike will include trails which are a part of the Geauga Park District’s 50th Anniversary, 50 mile challenge.

8/21/11
The final schedules for September and October are now on the website.

8/17/11
Unformatted schedules for September and October are now on the website.
The September Newsteps is now on the website in the Members Only section.
Look on Page 11 of Newsteps to see more information on the Chili-Cookoff coming in October.  This includes the entry form.
Check out the Photo section for the latest additions.

8/12/11
It sounds like there was a lively meeting of the Cleveland Metroparks Board last night, when use of mountain bikes in the parks was discussed. Our VP, Matt Collings was there to express views from a hiker perspective. Thanks to Matt for making the effort to attend the meeting. Check out the Plain Dealer article.



8/7/11
The Cleveland MetroParks Board is considering a proposal regarding mountain bike trails in the parks at a meeting this week. Several CHC board members have expressed the idea that it would be good to have hikers, like you, attend this meeting. Our board members are not opposed to mountain biking in the parks, but feel that all users should be represented if decisions are to be made. If you can, please attend this meeting and let your opinions be known. The meeting is at 4101 Fulton Parkway, in the MetroParks offices beside the zoo, at 9:00 AM on Thursday, August 11.

6/23/11
Hike Schedules for July and August are now on the website.

The July 2011 Newsteps is now on the Members Only section of the website.

The Historic Warehouse DIstrict is once again sponsoring historic walking tours of downtown Cleveland.  These are not CHC affiliated hikes and do not count for miles, but many members have gone on these and speak highly of the walks. More details are here.

6/12/11
There is an interesting article in Cleveland Magazine on the new superintendant of the CVNP, Stan Austin.

Fran Jacobs brought to our attention an article in the Cleveland Jewish News that features members of the hiking club. You can see it in the Members only section under Hike Data.

New photos have been posted on the Photos page.
The Members Only Events page has been updated.

5/23/11
Lynn Schreiber, a member of the club for over 29 years, passed away on May 19 in the Hospice of the Western Reserve in Olmsted Township, Ohio. An active hiker, she logged over 26,000 miles with the club. Her obituary is here in the Plain Dealer. Her brother Glenn said that she died very peacefully without pain.

5/23/11
The CHC Pathfinder Committee has writen "The Attributes of a Good Hike Leader." Check them out on the Hike Leader Info page.

5/20/11
The June 2011 issue of Newsteps is now in the Members Only section of the website.

5/16/11
New information on excursions is available. Denise and Dave Tobiasz have more details on their trip to Colorado. Matt Collings has more details on his trip to the Appalachian Trail. And a new excurion to France is listed, with details in the June Newsteps. Check them out at the Excursions page by clicking on one of the images there.

4/27/11
The Directiona and Map for the 40 mile hike is now on the website on the Hike Schedule page.

4/23/11
The formatted hike schedules for May and June 2011 are now on the website.

4/23/11
   Long time member, Marsha Linert passed away on April 22.  Her cousin, Jeff Jaster, will write an article about her for the June Newsteps.  Marsha hiked over 28,000 miles with the club and many of us fondly remember lively conversations with Jan and Marsha on the frequent hikes they did together. The services will be private. The obituary is in today's Plain Dealer.

4/19/11
The May 2011 issue of Newsteps is now in the Members Only section of the website.

When you receive your printed copy of the May Newsteps look on the bottom of page 6 for the new password for the Members Only section of the website. (The password is not given in the Newsteps that is online). The new password will be changed on or around May 15. If you have opted out of receiving the printed version of Newsteps, you can contact Tim Mendelsohn to receive the new password.

4/19/11
Plain Dealer columnist, Regina Brett, has given very good coverage to our club. Last Thursday she had a show on WKSU radio and included on the panel is our own Ken Howard.  Ken did a great job of representing the club.  You can listen to the show by going to the WKSU site and clicking on the audio link..

Regina also wrote an Earth Day column in Sunday's PD in which the Cleveland Hiking Club was prominently mentioned.  Here is the link for the column. 

 

4/14/11
Hike schedules for May and June are now on the website. These are the unformatted schedules.

4/11/11
Ken Howard will be representing the Cleveland Hiking Club on the Regina Brett show on WKSU (89.7) this Wednesday, April 13, from 7 to 8pm to discuss the best places to hike in Northeast Ohio. Please listen in to this program.

4/11/11
Cleveland Metroparks is hosting a series of three openhouses in early May. Their purpose is to encourage suggestions from the public about planning for the centennial of the park system. 
Look at the flyer here.

4/11/11
Jim and Pat Spoth have a new Appalachian Trail excursion scheduled for September. Check in the Members Only section here.

4/11/11
One of the great things about the Cleveland Hiking Club are our fellow hikers who are role models for us.  Here is a photo taken by Suzanne McCarthy on a hike in Hinckley on a late March hike.  These two wonderful ladies are 90 years old and active hikers!  Jytte Hansen still leads leisure hikes and Betty Green is back hiking after recovering from injuries in a fall.

 

3/23/11
The April 2011 issue of Newsteps is now posted on the Members Only section of the website.

New CHC Merchandise can now be ordered.  You can see merchandise descriptions with colors and photos here. Here are descriptions and the order form.

The photo contest rules and entry form are now on the website in the Photos section.

Maps for the 20 and 26 mile hikes are now posted on the site.  The 40 mile map will be forthcoming shortly.

3/9/11
The Events page has been updated.  It is here in the Members Only section.
The Excursions pahe has also been updated.  It is here in the Members Only section.

2/23/11
The final, formatted schedules for March and April 2011 are on the website now.

2/17/11
The March 2011 issue of Newsteps is now online in the Members Only section.

2/17/11
Finalized but unformatted copies of the March and April 2011 schedules are now on the site.

2/17/11
A document is now on the Members Only portion of the website with a link on the Contacts Page.  This goes into some detail about the pros and cons of cenverting the CHC into a 501(c)3 charitable organization.  The committee has done a very thorough analysis of this topic.