Information for All to Know!

     This site is for all, be they AVA Club Officers, walkers who have not yet joined a Club, brand new volkssporters, or even AVA NEC Members!  Use of the site is FREE and registration is in no way required to view or make comment to it.  With that in mind and because my intent is to communicate to everyone and anyone interested in learning about Volkssporting, the South Central Region of the American Volkssport Association, or the AVA itself, please feel free to visit this Blog at http://avascrd.blogspot.com/ as frequently as you like; you and your opinions, expressed in an appropriately civil manner, are welcome!

WHAT IS AN EVENT STAMP? -  New volkssporters have often been caught in the quandary of “if there is an Event Stamp, what of a Distance Stamp?”  We old-timers know what we mean when we say Event Stamp, but do you realize the confusion?  Seeing the truth in that question, the AVA has chosen to follow the example of the IVV and call that stamp the “IVV Certification Stamp” or the “AVA Certification Stamp” or even the “Certification Stamp.”  So when you see that terminology, don’t you old-timers become confused.

CLUB REPORTS -  Member Clubs approved for IRC 50l(C)(3) status under the AVA Group Exemption must submit to the AVA National Headquarters the reports listed below (failure to submit the required information will jeopardize the club's 501(C)(3) status and the club's ability to sanction events):  

           

           1.  Club Officer Information Update.

Every club must submit the officer/club information report within thirty days of the change of an officer or any officer/club information and at least once annually between January 1 and November 15. Information required and procedures for submitting this report are shown in the official section of the AVA web site. If the report is not received by November 15, a late fee of $10.00 will be assessed. Failure to make an annual report before December 31 will place the club in “not good standing”. 

2.  Annual Financial Report for 501(C)(3) Organizations.

Every club under the AVA 501(C)(3) umbrella must submit an annual financial report between July 1 and November 15. Information required and procedure for submitting this report is shown in the official section of the AVA web site. If the report is not received by November 15, a late fee of $10.00 will be assessed. Failure to make an annual report before December 31 will place the club in “not good standing”.

3. IRS Form 990, Return of Organizations Exempt from Income Tax.

            A Member Club must file this form with the IRS

    1) at the end of the first year it is under the AVA Group Exemption;

    2) if it has annual gross receipts of $25,000 or more; and/or

    3) in any year in which the IRS sends it an IRS Form 990 for completion.

{NOTE - Clubs relying on IRC 501(C)(3) status must annually submit an IRS E-postcard, Form 990EZ}

Ken

THE GREAT, GREAT SOUTH CENTRAL REGION!

LOOKING FOR A SOURCE FOR LOW COST CLUB SHIRTS?  -  Check out Queensboro at www.queensboro.com/WP181  or at 800-847-4478. First polo is $2.95 (free basic logo set-up and embroidery, and free shipping), plus various types of shirts and other items at discounted prices and low minimums  This recommendation comes from another Region and I cannot stand behind it in any way.  I therefore recommend placing a minimum order (to try them out) initially.

NEXT NATIONAL EXECUTIVE COUNCIL MEETING  - The next NEC Meeting will be held in Schertz, Texas, on January 20, 21 and 22 (Sunday if necessary), 2012. Details will be posted BY THE ava when they become available.





THE AVA BY-LAWS COMMITTEE - At the most recent NEC Meeting, I was selected to Chair the AVA By-Laws Committee.  In that capacity, I have been charged with selecting members to serve on the Committee until July 1, 2013.  To complete that requirement and to give more volksporters in the South Central Region the opportunity to contribute to the operation of the AVA, I am seeking nominations of dedicated and diligent volkssporters for the AVA By-Laws Committee.  Nominees need not be experienced in the field, nor should they expect to be required to devote tremendous amounts of time or to travel to meetings.  A large part of the Committee activity will be accomplished by electronic communications.  Please sumit the name(s) of nominee(s), with their mailing address, telephone number, and E-mail address (if available) to me at one of the contact locations indicated below.

Volkssporting With God's Help,

  E-mail:  ava.scrd@hotmail.com

Ken

Kenneth G. ("Ken") Miles

South Central Region Director

3613 East 55th Street

Tulsa, OK   74135-3811

Home:  918.745.0212

Mobile:  918.706.6063

THE GREAT SOUTH CENTRAL REGION!

MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND, 2012 -   For the first time ever 5 clubs in the midwest will be hosting a Memorial Day Weekend event in 2012. The weekend will consist of of two walks Saturday, May 26th,  two walks Sunday, May 27th, and one walk Monday, May 28th, with a possible swim and bike during the Weekend. These events are being sponsored by the Clay-Platte Trackers of Kansas City, the Illinois Trekkers, the Pace Setters, the St Louis-Stuttgart VM Club and the Dogwood Trailblazers, Joplin.  These events will be in the Booneville/Columbia/Rocheporte/Katy Trail area of Mssouri. Four out of the five walks are brand new with one being updated from an old walk not sanctioned in many years.  Just some of what you will see are historic towns, winery/vineyard, limestone bluffs, river, pedestrian bridges, tunnels and woods.  This will be a one time only set of events. 

      The participating clubs would like to provide the opportunity to collect as many "SNOB Stamps" as possible.  Invitations to these events have been sent to each of the National Officers and the 10 Regional Directors on the AVA NEC.  Because of the uniqueness of the weekend and the efforts by NEC members to make those stamps available, at least seven have already communicated their desire and efforts to attend and participate.  THIS WILL BE A WEEKEND TO REMEMBER!


THE KS JAYWALKERS HAVE A NEW FACEBOOK PAGE -  If you are or would like to become a Facebook user, the Club asks you to go to their page and "like" it, so that they can we can get a more accurate and concise address to use on our flyers and advertising for club events.  This will be a great way to get the word out about our upcoming events and group walks.

   

Please share the address with your family and friends:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kansas-Jaywalkers/112547758840372

OUR EXPRESSION OF PRIDE IS IMPORTANT! -  Too many Americans let it up to someone else to display pride in America and her institutions and values.  Don't be one of those individuals; think about what is important to you, and then realize that you wouldn't be in the position to experience most of those things or even to think about them were it not for the Americans who have served to protect that and our many other rights and traditions.  If you can, fly the American Flag, learn and deliver it the respect it deserves, visit a memorial or cemetary and remember the ones who are honored there, take the time to pass on the lessons and values of America to youth, be they young relatives, Scouts, or even young volkssporters.  I promise, you will come away proud!




Remember
Billy Hanks, South Carolina
The Flag that flew against the sky
that fateful September day
was ragged, burned and bloodied
But not defeated in any way.

The people who rallied around her colors
They fought and died and saved
many trapped inside the falling building
o'er which the flag still waved.

So remember, people, give thanks today
to our heroes everywhere.
All who risk all that they have
just to show they care.


In Gratitude to ALL of GOD'S Guardforce,

Ken

September!!!!

Tell Us Where You Walked on Labor Day Weekend  -  An exciting, a beautiful, a special event?  Jot down and post a comment concerning it for us.  Feel free to point out what was unusual and good about an event, but don't be afraid to tell us what disturbed you.  Perhaps you have some recommendations that could help improve a YRE.  Your ideas could result in preventing the "failure" and cancellation of that event.   If you chose to post a comment, you recognize that it is subject to being edited for form or content.

     It is encouraging to see that other RD's on the AVA NEC have taken up the goal of communications with and keeping the volkssporters in their Regions informed.  Recognizing that, I have read a few of those communications recently.  The following information, important also to volkssporters in the South Central Region, has been plagiarized from the Southwest Region Director's "News and Views":

.   .   .   .

Two actions destined to assist the [new AVA] Director of Marketing:

In response to a request by Bob Morrison, the president directed the IT committee chair to recruit the committee members for approval and appointment and [to] develop a proposal for a pass-word protected section of the AVA website for Associate [and Lifetime] Members with an implementation plan for consideration at the NEC meeting in January.

In response to another request by Bob Morrison, the president directed the Publicity committee chair to recruit the committee members for approval and appointment and [to] study the concept of a speaker bureau with “Volkssporters reaching out in their communities with an enthusiastic, well organized, professionally designed message about our sport”.

.   .   .   .

[Having given much of his "News and Views" to reporting on the recent NEC Training and Meeting at Schertz, Texas, Bill Hamilton, South West RD, closed with  .  .  .  ]

In conclusion, I was convinced that one of my primary personal goals for the NEC was off to a grand start, with no credit to me and much to our new national officers.  I would characterize the atmosphere of the gathering, in session and out, with four alliterative adjectives – courteous, congenial, conscientious and cooperative.  Halleluiah!

[I could not agree more with Bill; the EC/NEC Meetings that were the subject of his communication were, in fact, very beneficial for those of us who participated, but more, they served to benefit the AVA.  I feel strongly that the AVA can look forward to overcoming all of its past shortfalls and to a strong move into the future!]

           Ken 
            Kenneth G. ("Ken") Miles
            AVA South Central Region Director
            3613 East 55th Street

  Tulsa, OK  74135-3811

   Tele:  918.745.0212

Your AVA Staff Has Been Laboring

TAW Deadline  for the December/January issue of The American Wanderer is October 25. All articles and photographs should be submitted directly to Laurel Parrott, Editor, at taw@bhi.com or by mail to 3526 Humboldt Ave. N., Minneapolis, MN 55412.  Be sure to include "TAW" in the subject line if emailing.

The AVA Museum Committee  is in need of missing convention items to complete the museum set. Please send only the requested donations below to the AVA Headquarters, Attention: Joanne Forinash. Please call (210).872.2743 before sending any donations, as there is no space for duplicates.

 
     Needed: Convention Patches for 1979, 1981, 1983, 1999 and 2003.
        Needed: Conv. Pins for 1979, 1983, 1993, 2001, 2007 and 2009.                      
           Needed: Convention Event Awards for 2001, 2005 and 2007.


 FINANCIAL -  $8000.00 was approved to be added to the AVA budget for the upgrade of the furniture and physical plant of the HQ. The staff has done a great job in clearing out  space so the landlord can make necessary repairs. Once this is done, the HQ will be repainted, floors redone as necessary, and necessary new furniture and fixtures bought. The final result should be a HQ that all Volkssporters can be proud of and shows us in a much better light to visitors. If clubs or individuals wish to help defray the costs by donating funds specifically for the upgrade, they can do so. Such donations would be tax deductible and would reduce the budgeted amount.

Ken

Have You Been Keeping Up?

The AVA Delegation to the IVV Olympiad in Turkey   will be headed by Dave Johnston.  The remainder of the delegation will be Claudia Johnston, Dale Boone, and Kevin Ross.

AVA Committee Assignments   for the period from 2011 to 2013 are as follows:

1. Audit – Fred Sheets
2. Standards & Evaluations – Dennis Michele
3. By Laws – Ken Miles
4. Awards & Recognition – Phyllis Olson
5. Training Development – Sam Korff
6. Youth Program – Nancy Wittenberg
7. IT – Holly Pelking
8. History – Liaison – Bill Hamilton
9. Publicity – Bob Morrison

             If you would like to serve on any of the above committees, let me know so I can provide you with an email contact.

Coming AVA Conventions:   The 2013 AVA Convention  will be in Orlando, FL, on April 22, 23, 24, 25, and 26.  For the 2015 Convention there have been informal bids from Alexandria, VA, and from Billings, MT.  For the 2017 Convention Oregon is considering a bid.

NEC Meetings:  San Antonio will be the primary location for upcoming NEC meetings.  The next NEC will be on 20, 21, and 22 (if needed) January 2012.  Clubs will have the opportunity to submit agenda items.  An announcement will be made sufficiently in advance that we will observe the requisite 60 days for clubs to consider all motions. 

A volksmarcher asked how to replace the 100 IVV Event patch she had lost.  The AVA Policy Manual states: “Individuals may purchase additional award elements (pin, patch and/or certificate) for any level achieved. To receive additional awards, an individual must send a written request to the AVA National Headquarters. The request must identify the award element wanted and the individual's AVA Registration Number found on the Record of Achievement Card. Individuals who want to order additional awards should contact the AVA National Headquarters for ordering information.”   Replacement patches and pins cost less than $4.00 each.

Ken 
  Kenneth G. ("Ken") Miles
  AVA South Central Region Director
  3613 East 55th Street

  Tulsa, OK  74135-3811

  Tele:  918.745.0212

Home From San Antonio

From the NEC Training Workshop & Meeting -  At the National Executive Council (NEC) it was decided to hire a Director of Marketing to implement our vision statement that we are the Premier Walking Association of America.  In this regard, the NEC has determined that the Interim Executive Director should be designated as the Acting Executive Director.  Further, the hiring of an Executive Director will be considered at a later date.  The Executive Committee, in concert with the Acting Executive Director, will develop a job description for the Director of Marketing. The Executive Committee, with approval of the NEC, will hire the Director of Marketing.  It is expected that the new Director of Marketing will be on board no later than February 28, 2012.

Club Officer Information Update - Every club must submit the officer/club information report within thirty days of the change of an officer or any officer/club information and at least once annually between 1 January and 15 November. Information required and procedures for submitting this report are shown in the official section of the AVA webpage. If the report is not received by 15 November, a late fee of $10.00 will be assessed.  Failure to make an annual report before 31 December will place the club in “not good standing”.

Annual Financial Report for 501(c)(3) Organizations - Every club under the AVA 501(c)(3) umbrella must submit an annual financial report between 1 July and 15 November.  Information required and procedures for submitting this report are shown in the official section of the AVA website. If the report is not received by 15 November, a late fee of $10.00 will be assessed. Failure to make an annual report before 31 December will place the club in “not good standing”.

 

Ken