Highlights of Aug. 27 Board Meeting
The CCA Board met virtually Aug. 27. The full minutes have been posted on the CCA website (Members Only > Documents > Meeting Minutes). Here are some highlights, from minutes taken by Secretary Jen Sass:
Present: David (Cotton) Cottingham (Chair), Jen Sass (Secretary), Lynn Miller, Rolando Arrieta, Barb Brown, Hildy Ferraiolo, Ryan Morrow, Susan Sherrod, Tim Lapham, Alf Cooley, Marilyn Jones, John Snitzer, Laura Kurup
Chair's report – Cotton
The National Park Service and the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park has requested our help with gathering input from the river paddling community to identify areas that are priorities for boater access to the river. Cotton will convene a group to help coordinate this.
Via email Aug. 6-7, the Board approved a contribution of $250 to the West Virginia Rivers Coalition (WV Rivers) in support of their outstanding work to protect rivers and their 35th Anniversary celebration.
Please let Cotton know if you know someone with the time and qualifications to help with the annual audit of our finances.
Treasurer's Report – Marilyn
As of Aug. 25, income has been $19,086.36, and expenses have been $18,783.74.
Marilyn has not heard from anyone with QuickBooks experience, following the item in the Cruiser. Please reach out to Treasurer@canoecruisers.org if you can help or have a referral.
Marilyn asked the Board to approve upgrading our Club Express subscription from Basic back to Premium. We recently downgraded to Basic to see if it would work, but it doesn't perform many of the functions that Marilyn needs. The Board was in unanimous agreement. Webmaster Susan and Marilyn will make it happen.
Instruction Committee Report – Gary Steinberg (in absentia)
Risa led four clinics for "Women Over ___" who are re-igniting their kayaking "true lioness." Tom and Rolo led "Step Up" trips for paddlers moving up to paddle the Stony and Upper Youghiogheny for the first time. A Cheat trip was foiled by high water. Peter facilitated five "Paddlers Helping Each Other" sessions on Tuesdays at the Feeder Canal and at the Chutes; he reports that there was great camaraderie, and the activities and training focus were decided upon by the group. Peter is interested in making this a regular Tuesday event including having coordinators sign up in advance, similar to how the Thursday trips are organized.
The Club collaborated with Calleva to sponsor Lower Yough Canoe and Kayak clinics with Jordan Taylor of Paddlesport Institute. Both the canoeing (Aug. 18) and kayak (Aug. 22) clinics went well. All the feedback I have received is very positive. The canoe clinic had three participants and was led by Jordan assisted by Laura, who volunteered as part of her instruction certification process. The kayak clinic, with seven participants, was led by Jordan assisted by volunteers Risa and Gary.
A Potomac canoe clinic was held June 9, with four participants and also led by Jordan assisted by Laura.
CCA paid Jordan $1,500 for the three clinics. CCA received $1,400 in fees ($100 per participant), plus $30 for one new member (who signed up to be eligible for the canoe clinic).
We co-hosted with Calleva a successful Soul Trak session in July, with 19 participants. At least two of the people in last year's Soul Trak classes joined Calleva's "zero to hero" course this year, an impressive level of skill and engagement.
We have had some discussion about how to better publicize any future canoe clinics.
River Access Committee Report – Alf and Gordy
Alf reported that logs that had been blocking river access from Fisherman's Eddy on the Virginia side of the Potomac below Great Falls have now been cleared by the NPS. Thanks to Eric Lloyd for alerting us about the blockage.
John Snitzer highlighted the need for two sets of steps at Blockhouse Point (between Violettes Lock and Pennyfield Lock) using large stacked flat stone slabs. John calculated a rough budget of around $3,860 with volunteer labor. The Board agreed that Cotton and John will approach the NPS to try to get this project permitted and approved. If that goes well, we will discuss next steps, hopefully including getting the project funded and then completed.
Safety Committee Report – Rolo and Tim
Rolo is going to step down as safety chair, and Tim Lapham will pick up the reins. Cotton and others expressed their gratitude to Rolo for all the amazing work he has done to introduce safety courses to CCA members and our river paddling community more broadly.
Tim introduced himself and was warmly (and gratefully) welcomed as our new head of the Safety Committee. Tim is a skilled swiftwater rescue instructor; we are lucky and happy to have him on board. See a Fairfax County Times story about Tim and his son conducting a real-life rescue.
Trips Committee Report – Gary and Ginny Q.
Gary provided the following trip report summary a few days after the meeting, for the minutes:
Category: Trips, Participants (attendees per trip, totaled):
• Weekend: 4 trips, 25 participants
• Sunday: 21 trips, 322 participants
• Thursday: 48 trips, 375 participants
• Pickup: 8 trips, 57 participants
• Wednesday: 8 trips, 49 participants
• Family: 1 trip, 28 participants
• Other: 9 trips, 22 participants
2025 total: 99 trips, 878 participants
Next meeting – Thursday, Oct. 16, online.