WHAT?- First annual Glamis Earth Sand Cleanup
Where?- North Dunes Comp Hill Pit [Just South of Highway 78]
When?- Friday, April 22, 2005 8am till we drop
How? -Meet at Osborne Overlook or in the Comp Hill Pit
Why? -Because Competition Hill needs to be Cleaned Up.
Bring- Gloves/Rakes/Magnets/sifters/Clean sand ideas.
Lunch will be provided! Looking for someone to step up and buy Hot Dogs and
Trash Bags
E-mail me if you can help with Bar-B-Q or any other ideas you have!
Thanks!! --Steve [Obsessed] Brooks sdOBSESSED@CS.COM
During the past several weeks there have been activities in the South Dunes that warrant extra care and caution on behalf of dune visitors in the vicinity of Buttercup and the Plank Road. Extra care is encouraged in securing personal property to avoid theft. Illegal activities involving armed intruders have been experienced.
The meeting was well attended. The BOD met with Dr Phillips, ASA Botanical consultant on Friday afternoon to discuss future action related to the alternatives available to pursue delisting of the PMV. A plan of action was developed for the completion of the updated ASA PMV video. The panel discussion re rules and laws was very productive. The panel addressed the questions which were provided in advance. Their responses were recorded and will be summarized in the next newsletter and on the website. A similar panel discussion will be schedule for the Oct 22, 2005 in San Diego.
Board member and Treasurer Becky Hethcox has elected not to seek a third term when her term expires June 30, 2005. Becky will continue to serve as the AZ events coordinator and the Merchandise Committee Vice Chairman. During the April 11, 2005 conference call the BOD elected Dick Holliday to serve as the new treasurer. Don Johnson will serve as the secretary. This action was taken to provide adequate lead time for an effective transition of officer duties prior to the June 30, 2005 effective date.
The BOD is currently accepting nominations for the vacant BOD position and will make a selection during its May 9, 2005 conference call. The BOD has recently approved several Job Description for committee chairman and project coordinators. A three member Finance Committee will be established to develop a formal Financial Plan and to oversee all ASA fund raising activities. The Treasurer will chair this committee.
We now have a Strategic Plan thanks to all those that participated in the planning workshop last month. The Strategic Plan has been circulated to the participants for input and we have begun creating an organizational plan. The BOD adopted the following Mission statement at the April 2, 2005 Phoenix meeting;
"The American Sand Association is an association of environmentally conscious motorized sand sport enthusiasts dedicated to open access and the enhancement of family orientated recreation."
Thanks to the efforts of new BOD member Don Johnson we have begun integrating the plan into our communications and organizational efforts.
The ASA has joined a coalition of OHV organizations which have secured the dedicated services of Attorney Dave Hubbard. A Memorandum of Understanding will provide the foundation for the services to be rendered and the sharing of the associated cost. This arrangement will reduce the ASA legal expenses while assuring dedicated legal services. Grant George will be the ASA representative on the new coalition Eco Balance Board of Directors. Vince Brunasso will serve as the alternate representative.
Remember to use our sponsors for your parts and services, give back to those
that support YOU first. Use the quick "keyword" search on the website
to find what you need. New sponsors are needed, if you don't see the ASA "Proud
Sponsor" sign in their window, please ask them to join and support YOUR
sport.
http://www.americansandassociation.org/sponsors/
Over the weekend of March 27th our original ASA web server experienced a major hardware failure. This server was a 'homebuilt' style PC that has been in use since the ASA was founded. Our server is located at an Internet hosting company in Austin TX, and unfortunately there are no support people around during weekend hours. That caused us to be "off line" for most of the weekend and part of the following Monday while we diagnosed the failure.
Fortunately, the ASA had purchased a new computer to replace the old one back in December, and the Web Team Committee has been slowly installing and migrating applications and utilities over from the old server.
The failure event caused us to cutover to the new, incomplete server, without the benefit of full testing. We determined it would be faster to do that than to try and continue to diagnose and repair the old one.
The cutover was as smooth as we could expect, however we did lose several weeks of Bulletin Board System postings. The new server is over 100x faster, has vastly more memory and disk storage and (hopefully) will be more reliable than the old one since it is a commercial-quality web server. We also took the opportunity to upgrade as many of the supporting applications and operating system as we could so we had the benefit of the latest security and stability updates.
The following weekend, the hosting company experienced multiple power failures, spikes and brownouts as their local utility company was modifying the incoming power distribution lines. Our server sits in a rack by itself at their facility and the battery backup system on that rack had failed without anyone knowing. Those power spikes knocked our system off-line again until Monday. No damage was detected, and the hosting company is investigating the battery backup system to find out why it failed.
We are still working on bringing back the full capability we had under the old system, so please be patient with us. We have a long list of items that are still either missing or malfunctioning, and are trying to clear the list as quickly as we can.
This has been a huge job for our volunteers and we want to thank Jason Hitesman and Greg Gorman for their help in restoring our service.
BOD member Lloyd Misner plans to enhance the ASA volunteer recruitment and coordination. He intends to identify 3-5 members to help carry out this critical function. Arizona and California lead volunteers are needed. Please contact Lloyd if you are willing to help on this important project. 909 923 0679 or 909 273 9696
BOD member Mike Sommer is preparing a plan to implement Media Day activities on short notice in the event of a major news worthy event. The plan will include an alternate location outside of the dunes in the event of short lead time warranting prompt response. Consideration will be given to the use of a professional advisor similar to the 2004 Media Day program.
The BOD approved the purchase of 25,000 Duner Survival Kit bags for restocking of the supply and 50,000 Safety Bug stickers. A new T Shirt design is underway. All of this is in preparation for the 2005 Sand Sports Super Show. New store software is currently under consideration.
Sandy Grun represented ASA at Lobby Day in Sacramento, Ca on April 11, 2005.
Numerous contacts were made with several California Assembly members and their
staff.
Thanks to Sandy's effort ASA is a more visible advocate of open access to public
land.
BOD member Gary Jordan has started the planning process for the 2005 JRS Award. The award will be presented at the Sand Sports Super Show in Costa Mesa, Ca in September. Watch the next issue of the ASA Newsletter for the details. Please send in your nominations for the award.
Scott Swenka has assumed the leadership role for the Checkered Flag program.
He has arranged to provide a checkered flag to each of the participants in the
Mini Clean ups coordinated by Steve Brooks. Scott plans to conduct a major information
program in preparation for next season. Watch the magazines and the ASA Newsletter
to learn how you can help. He will also contact the law enforcement agencies
to provide them flags for their vehicles.
The American Sand Association
Unite, Inform and Mobilize