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For those long-time members of NEOC who remember the Plants (Jim died a few years ago), here is an update.
We visited Mil Plant (now 91 years old) last month at her cozy home in Clark, Colorado – a few miles north of Steamboat Springs. Mil has a lovely cabin, a few yards from her daughter's home (Barb, and husband Charlie). It is surrounded by trees, very quiet and secluded. I took this photograph of Mil when she and Barb visited us at our campsite in Steamboat Lake State Park. A side benefit of our trip was to enjoy the beautiful golden aspen, at peak color in the high country of Colorado. Mil is in good spirits and good health, except for chronic balance problems necessitating the use of a cane.
Mil would surely appreciate hearing from her long-ago New England friends. Let me know if you would like her address.
Valerie (and Cameron) Murray
In today's New York Times, a profile Thierry Gueorgiou, twelve-time world orienteering champion.
The article includes a video with lots of footage from NEOC's 2014 Troll Cup. Alex Jospe and Peter Gagarin are featured, and many familiar faces (and voices) can be spotted.
Courses from White through Green will be offered, with starts from 10 – 11:30 AM. Note earlier-than-usual cut-off time! Courses will close at 1 PM. Details of the meet are here.
A charcoal grill will be available starting at 12:30. NEOC will provide plates, flatware, cups, punch, and cookies. Bring something for the grill or a prepared dish for yourself and your family, plus a potluck item to share with everyone.
If your last name begins with A–M, bring a dessert; last name N–Z, a salad / side dish.
Lawn chairs and bug repellent are also recommended. For the supermarket-challenged we will have some extra hamburgers and hotdogs, $3 and $2 respectively.
The Meeting starts at 1:30pm. That’s about the right time to settle down with some yummy desserts. There will be the usual short reports from the officers, a question and answer period, (time to bring up those suggestions for running the club), and election of board members.
If you can’t make it to the meeting you can still vote by using a proxy form. The form has directions for how to use it and make your vote count.
Below are the bios of the four candidates.
Jim Crawford
I've been orienteering with NEOC for over 35 years, participating in many different facets of the sport, most recently by making new maps, directing meets, handling club membership, and serving on the Board of Directors. I think the club has made great strides recently with Epunching, RouteGadget, on-line membership renewal, the NEOC web site, no-meet-fees for members, and an increase in meets. But we need to improve by hosting more A meets, upgrading our maps, and offering more variety such as Trail-O's, Bike-O's, and relays.
Bud O'Leary
I am relatively new to orienteering, just approaching 5 years. I was introduced to the sport at the annual Fall Scout-O at Nobscot. My son and I were both struck by the mental aspect and the fun of the search for the controls. I now run in the M-60 class and often walk more than run. I am a former Scoutmaster and now actively involved with the administration side of Scouting. I would like to involve Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts in orienteering. To that end, I hope to bring orienteering courses to active Scout camps. I would like to have orienteering available to visiting troops as part of the scout programs at the camps.
My wife, Janet, and my son, Dan, also enjoy orienteering. We have traveled to national and international meets. We all agree that orienteering has brought us to places we would never have visited and seen sights that we only would have read about.
Jim Paschetto
I joined the Board of Directors in 2005. In 2010 I worked with Harriet Cohen to redesign NEOC's Web site, and have maintained the site since that time. I can be found at the results computer at most meets.
Joanne Sankus
I started orienteering in 1976 at Nobscot in Sudbury. After finding that first control I was hooked. Over the years I have been meet director, course setter and have volunteered for all the various jobs at events. After being invited to join the board (and being elected in the ‘80’s) I have served in most all the positions. Presently I am the VP of Administration, Clerk (for purposes of our MA corp. status), and the newsletter editor, and still enjoy finding those controls.
Each year, every new board has the chance to reinvent itself, maybe as the board that really “grew the sport”, or the board that got the fullest schedule of events going, or maybe the board that brought back the old glory of two A-Meets every year. (Yes, NEOC used to do that!) Quite often a single board member will have the vision and drive to push forward on one of these themes. As a member of the board I will support wholeheartedly the efforts of the “visionaries”, and expect to receive the same support in turn. I look to involve more women, (young, old, and in-between :), in enjoying orienteering and having a greater voice and impact on the sport.
The inaugural Boston Sprint camp is offering four days of training and racing in Newton, Cambridge, and Boston, with training events in the morning and timed races in the evening, designed by National Team coach Erin Schirm. Lunch is included for three of the four days, featuring local and delicious eateries. All venues are accessible via public transit, eliminating the need for a rental car.
The final day features two OUSA sanctioned sprints at the historic Boston Common: Qualifier and Final. The qualifier will count as an OUSA ranking participation day, and the Final will provide full ranking points. The Qualifier will be run as heats, and used for seeding in the Final.
See the details on the Sprint Camp webpage.
Space is limited! Register online.
If you are interested in serving on the NEOC Board of Directors, please contact the chair of the Nominating Committee, Peter Frykman, for more information. The election will be held at the Annual General Meeting, June 14, 2015.
Bring your ideas for improvement and offers to help to a Board member or Meet Director.
NEOC reimburses expenses, but the time and energy come from people who love orienteering!
NEOC is an all-volunteer organization.