December, 2014 Page 1 EMARI Newsletter

Volume 13, Issue 1 December 28, 2014

EMARI Regional Director’s News

By Calvin Goldsmith

Hey – it’s Winter, and we're skiing again! The season is underway, and with a little help from the weather, all of our areas

should be open soon - hopefully by the time this is published. The OEC training side of

the Senior program is in progress, with the test scheduled for January 3rd, at Nashoba

Valley. It is another large class this year. The dedication of these students is remarka-ble. 11 of them showed up at Bradford to

run scenarios all day in the rain on Saturday, December 6th, and then 11 again showed up

the very next Saturday at Ski Ward. Thanks to both PD’s, Dennis Gauvin, and Tom Flynn, for their wonderful hospitality. Thanks also

to Wachusett for hosting Wednesday night clinics, and to Nashoba Valley for hosting

Monday night clinics and the test. Good luck to all the Senior candi-

Topic Pg # Topic Pg #

Alumni 4 Nashoba Valley Safety Team 3

Certified Program Update 3 NSP Booth at Boston Show 5

EMARI Communications 4 Regional Director’s Report 1

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Cont’d on next page... R.D. Cal Goldsmith. Photo submitted by C.G.

December, 2014 Page 2 EMARI Newsletter

dates taking the test!

The election results are in, and they are ex-

cellent for the Eastern Division! Chris Prin-gle of Bradford was elected to the National Board of Directors. His presence on the

Board will make it much easier for him to help get control of the computer IT issues

that National is wrestling with. The NBOD and the National Office staff have been mak-ing steady progress on IT issues, including

improving the integrity of reports and rec-ords. This is important for all of us, but es-

pecially for those regional program directors trying to do their jobs. So, things continue

to improve in the world of IT at the National level, but, there is still plenty of work left to do.

In addition to Chris Pringle, Rick Knight, for-

mer CT Region Director, was also successful in the election. This bodes well for the fi-

nancial health of NSP as Rick is an accom-plished financial manager who will be ex-tremely valuable on the Board. Keith Cassi-

dy, too, was successful in his re-election ef-fort, which means he will continue his very

effective role as Assistant National Director, helping Ed McNamara manage the NBOD and continue to fix the problems this team

inherited.

Keith, Rick, and Chris were the top vote-getters in the National election, (in that or-

der), and although I haven't seen the num-bers, I have to believe that once again EMARI did their part in getting out the vote.

Thank you to everyone who voted. We've given our EMARI NBOD members Ed

McNamara and Dave Walker some valuable help in their efforts to improve NSP. Expect

that to pay dividends for the NSP - I certain-ly do.

...Cont’d from page 1; EMARI Regional Director’s News.

Don't forget that the Senior Ski and Tobog-gan clinics will be starting in January. Be

sure to check the EMARI website [www.emari.org] for the clinic schedule.

Contact Tracy Dowd if you are interested in joining the program; His contact informa-tion is also shown on the EMARI website.

I hope all of you have a great season. Ski/

snowboard well, be careful out on the hill, and do well what you've trained to do. To that end, I'll leave you with an OEC tip: If

you have a question in your mind about how to do something, pick up the OEC 5th Edi-

tion, and look it up. The OEC 5th Edition should be used as an on-going reference

manual. Keep yourself sharp. You never know what you might run into on the hill.

Cal Goldsmith EMARI Region Director

Do you have a program update, an article,

or some photos that you’d like placed in the

next EMARI Newsletter?

If so, email submissions to Newsletter Editor

Ingrid Shuttleworth at ishuttle@aol.com.

We’ll print or post any news, calendar items,

or other noteworthy items for your

fellow EMARI patrollers to view and read!

The newsletter is emailed to patrollers, and is

also posted online at www.EMARI.org.

Contact EMARI Webmaster John Laitala at

webmaster@emari.org regarding submittal

of any items for posting online!

Call for Submissions

December, 2014 Page 3 EMARI Newsletter

2013-14 Certified Report

Joe Greenwood cert680@verizon.net People often wonder what is involved in the Certified program. They think it is too much work, I don’t have time, I don’t know enough, etc… Those are the same thoughts that I had, and about 10 years ago I passed achieving Certified #680. We are fortunate to have a lot of talented Patrollers in EMARI and the Eastern Divi-sion. These people have helped me in my journey as well as many others. There are too many of these patrollers to name in this article. The funny thing is many of these Patrollers that I learned from are not Certi-fied, some are not even Patrollers. There are many components to the Certified program that encompasses all the different programs that the NSP offers. OEC, Ava-lanche, Chair lift Evacuation, Low angle res-cue, Risk Management, Hill Safety, Skiing and Toboggan handling. Through your can-didate training, annual training and Senior Patroller training these topics are all cov-ered, individually. The Certified program takes those individual topics and combines them into one program. This program offers Patrollers of all levels an opportunity for training. Whether or not they are interested in taking the Certified ex-am, or just being involved - learning, and helping others learn. It is a great way to hone your skills and learn how other Ski Ar-eas and other Patrollers operate. If you are interested in becoming a Certified Patroller, honing your skills, or just being involved, get in touch with me; I can answer your ques-

CERTIFIED 2014 - 2015

tions and tell you how to get involved. The EMARI and Division Website has a cal-endar of events including the Certified events. The test is at Smugglers Notch this year, March 19-22. We are always looking for help, if you want to see the exam, let me know. You can volunteer as a patient and see first hand what it is about. There are also Intro to Certified/Pre-tests at Sunday River, ME, Hunter MT, NY, Windham, NY, and Smugglers Notch. Look at the Division Calendar or contact me for details. The Certified team can arrange to come to your area or offer training somewhere in the middle. Take that first step…

Nashoba Safety Team

Nashoba Valley Ski Area is once again gearing up to promote safe skiing and riding.

Last year all our patrollers got into the fun with great enthusiasm. We all enjoyed talk-ing with our customers about the Skiers Code and the importance of helmet use.

We are excited again this season to have fun games and incentives to help promote safety awareness.

January is dedicated to promoting safety, as it’s National Skier & Rider Safety Awareness month at ski resorts all across the country.

Safety Month is designed to help educate skiers and snowboarders about being safe and using common sense on the slopes. Submitted by Betsey Reeves, Patrol Director, Nashoba Valley

December, 2014 Page 4 EMARI Newsletter

Radio Communications Dennis Gauvin Communications Advisor, EMARI

As we start our 2014/2015 ski season, now

is the time to be checking the operation of your radio equipment. Some things you

should be looking at are the following: Is the battery holding a charge to last your complete shift? Are the other patrollers

hearing you clearly and without static? Is the antenna cracked or broken? If so, this

will impact the transmission and reception on your radio.

If you are planning on purchasing your own radio, check first with your Patrol Director to

see if they will give you permission to use your own radio. Remember, you will be op-

erating on their FCC License. Also make sure you have the correct Frequencies and PLL Tones. Without these, you will not be

able to communicate with others. Also be aware that some Patrols may use a Repeat-

er system, if that is the case you will need to have both a Transmit and Receive Fre-

quency. All FCC License’s should be operat-ing on Narrow Band, make sure the radio you purchase is capable of being used on

Narrow Band.

The NSP web page offers a direct link to Powerwerk.com for special prices on porta-ble radios suitable for use during Ski Patrol

activities.

If you are a Program Advisor and wish to use the EMARI radios, please contact me to

THE SQUELCH make arrangements to get them prior to

your immediate need. We have both VHF and UHF sets available.

If you need help or have any questions in

regards to portable radios, please feel free to contact me at 508-523-6072. Have a safe ski season!

EMARI ALUMNI

The EMARI Alums will plan to meet as usu-al, the first Monday in February - that's Feb.

2nd - at beautiful Wachusett Mountain, for a day of FREE skiing, lunch, and seeing old

(and new) friends.

A notice will come out after the first of the

year to get a count, so save the date. We hope to see many of you there.

Contact me, or send any new email ad-dresses I may not have.

Your Alumni Advisor,

Carolyn Nally

cnally@mail.uri.edu

Attention EMARI Alumni!

EMARI Alumni Apres Ski. Photo submitted

by C. Nally.

December, 2014 Page 5 EMARI Newsletter

spaces wide, and the NSP sponsor Subaru was well represented, with one of it’s vehi-cles being displayed there.

The past couple of years, NSP booth volun-teers spent much time rolling up posters and handing them out. Those posters were very popular - especially with young skiers and boarders. This year, in place of post-ers, bandanas, lip balm, and hot/cold packs were the ‘giveaway’ items. Text on the packaging of the hot/cold pack instructs recipients to ‘Text PATROL ICE to 50555 to give $10.00 to the NSP’. An ad-dress where online donations can be made is also listed on the packaging.

NSP BOOTH AT BOSTON 2014 SNOWSPORT EXPO

The 2014-2015 snow-sport season annual Boston Ski and Snowboard Expo.took place Thursday, November 13 through Sunday, November 16, 2014. EMARI Region Wa-chusett Patroller Bernie Vallee again coordi-nated the NSP booth at the event. Over 30 patrollers from the Eastern Division helped out with set-up, staffing, and break-down of the booth. Many of those patrollers have been staffing the booth for years. Their main task is to interact with the public, representing the National Ski Patrol, and disseminating information about NSP to show attendees. The photo below, taken by Irene Walszak (on Ingrid’s camera) shows the booth with Blue Hills patroller Ingrid Shuttleworth, and Bernie Vallee [L-R] at the booth. (Irene and Ingrid were two of the volunteers ’on duty’ at the booth at the time.)

The display at the NSP booth has evolved over the decades that EMARI has been staffing it. This year, NSP’s space was two

Ingrid Shuttleworth and Bernie Vallee staffing NSP booth at the 2014 show. Photo submitted by I. Shuttleworth..

Cont’d next page...

Visitor at booth views film, “Ski Sentinels”. Photo

by I. Shuttleworth

Hot/Cold pack - give-away item at the NSP booth. Photo by I. Shuttleworth.

December, 2014 Page 6 EMARI Newsletter

vision newsletter]. Stay tuned to this news-letter for an article about EMARI’s involve-ment in the Boston ski show! *

There was lots of entertainment at the Expo, including live bands, trampoline and skill demonstrations, and even a ‘runway fashion show’! There were sightings of ski celebri-ties, like world-renowned ski celebrity Glen Plake with his signature mowhawk. In the photo below, Glen Plake is shown [from the rear!], meeting with show attendees, and signing autographs.

Many of you have seen an article about the NSP booth at the ski show in the most re-cent edition of Trail Sweep [the Eastern Di

During a promotional appearance, ski star Glen

Plake converses with Expo attendees and signs au-

tographs. Photo by I. Shuttleworth.

...Cont’d from pg. 5.

‘Know the Code’ bandana - ‘give-away’ item at NSP booth. Photo by

I. Shuttleworth.

You can keep up to date on EMARI events with your smartphone when you sync to the EMARI Calendar via Google Calendar.

You can also follow EMARI on Twitter at twitter.com/NSP_EMARI, and “like” EMA-RI on Facebook, at www.facebook.com/emari.nsp.

Contact EMARI webmaster John Laitala at webmaster@emari.org for further info.

EMARI ONLINE

* Editor’s Note:

There is expressed interest in compiling a histo-ry of NSP’s involvement in the Boston Ski (& snowboard) show. Please contact the EMARI Newsletter Editor if you would like to work on this project, or if you have any information or photos to submit.