Joel has made a number of changes and I plan on continuing his improvements.  Board meetings used to take five hours and I used to call them Bored Meetings.  Joel was able to cut down the board meetings to less than two hours.  This year, I’ve decided to eliminate the monthly board meetings and use electronic communication as a method for club business.  We have already passed the 2010-2011 budget, voted in Karen Soo as a Board Member, and approved Karen’s Oakland Pixar event.  (Actually, Karen Soo did get write-in votes, but the Board certified the election before she accepted the position, so the Board had to vote her in separately).

In an effort to not cancel any of our bus trips, due to lack of sign ups, we gave a special discount to first time bus riders.  We approached BAC (www.bac.org) and told them of this special discount.  The result was we didn’t cancel any of our bus trips, and a good number of people who tried our bus trips came back for again — at our member price.  (Thank you, Monterey Ski and Social Club. www.montereyski.org Hope to see you guys and gals this ski season).  The only issue was that some members thought it wasn’t fair that they had to pay more for their seat than a non-member.  To help rectify this, the Board voted to give a non-transferable, $20 credit for a single 2011 weekend bus trip to every 2010-2011 NSC member.

This year, I also do not want to cancel any of our ski trips.  For those who don’t know, NSC is a non-profit volunteer organization.  All of our trips are below cost.  We subsidize all of our trips from fund raisers like Nikkei Matsuri and we try to price all of our trips at cost minus the subsidy.  But if we don’t fill the bus, we lose even more money due to the fixed cost of the bus.  We can do this for a while, but not indefinitely.

By looking at past membership numbers and buses that went, I discovered that about 20% of the membership goes on each bus trip.  Last year, there were 116 members, that’s 23 people, so not enough to fill our 42 seat bus.  The best way to fill our buses is to increase our membership back to about 200.  But before that happens, we need to fill our buses with co-workers, friends, and other ski clubs.  Through experience, we found that people who go on our trips enjoy them and eventually become members.

This year, we will again approach BAC with a first time bus rider discount.  Also, once we get our ski schedule nailed down in the next month or so, I’d like our members who have access to their work bulletin boards (electronic and/or physical) to post our ski trips.

I will also not post a monthly message, but only post on a as-needed basis.

See you at a summer event or better yet, on one of our ski trips.  If you’re a member, take advantage of our member rates and your one time $20 credit for a single 2011 weekend bus trip.  If this member promotion is successful, we may continue doing this every year.

Mtn. View Obon Festival  July 17, 18  We need help for the ever-popular beer booth on Saturday from 4-6 & 6-8PM & on Sunday from 12-2, 2-4 & 6-8PM.  (How can you pass this sweet job up?)

Palo Alto Obon Festival, Louis Rd. Palo Alto Obon July 31, Aug 1:  We still need help on Sat 4:15-7:30 and on Sun from 5:15-8:15PM for help with corn and ribs.

For this month, remember those calendars with 2 cubes that are positioned adjacent each other so that the sides facing you show the day of the month: 1—31? Without looking at one, what are the digits on each of the 6 sides that are required to show 1 through 31?

The 2010 Nikkei Matsuri that the NSC participated in this past April 24-25, was yet another rousing success as a fund raiser.  Thank you to the Nikkei Matsuri committee of Alice Horio, Hoyt Nelson, David Tom, and Hi Fujii.  These hard working board members really led the effort of this great activity.  Also, thank you to all of you members that helped out at the Saturday preparation at the Mountain View Buddhist Temple as well as the Sunday festival itself.

Allen Hu led a small band of NSC brothers and sisters on a Hike at Almaden Quicksilver Park on Sunday, April 11, 2010.  Thank you to Allen for leading the hike despite inclement weather conditions.

On May 8, 2010, Brian Lee led a good sized group of NSC hikers and friends on an exploration of the waterfalls in Uvas Canyon County Park in South San Jose.  Thanks to Brian for leading this event.

Our 2010 Post Season Event will be a picnic at Cuesta Park in Mountain View on Sunday, June 27^th. We will hold a brief General Meeting and then try to get a Bocce Ball game going while lunch is being prepared by yours truly.  The outgoing 2010 Board will be lauded and the incoming 2011 Board will be introduced at the General Meeting.  I want to emphasize that this picnic is NOT a potluck!  We have budgeted for a great spread of food as well as a good amount of spirits.  Please refer to the Picnic flyer for details.  This year, the postseason will be combined with our annual “Volunteer Thank You Picnic (VTYP).”  In the past, the VTYP was an invitation-only event where volunteers during the previous year would be treated to a free picnic.  This year, the Board decided to let everyone attend but give it free to volunteers.  So this picnic is another reason to help at the Nikkei Matsuri chicken salad sell-off!  Volunteers will be contacted soon.

The 2011 NSC Board election and yearly member survey will be held this month so please make sure to vote when you get your email.

One traditional NSC summer event is to help at the Mountain View Buddhist Temple Obon Festival, July 17-18, 2010 (SAT & SUN).  The festival is a great way to spend a day sampling Japanese culture and food.  The NSC has committed to 24 3-hour volunteer time shifts so please sign up early as this effort is understandably very popular with most members.  Email me at to sign up.

Also, the NSC annually helps out at the Palo Alto Buddhist Temple Obon Festival, August 7-8,  (SAT & SUN).  The PABT is the site of the monthly NSC Board meetings so the NSC is asked by the temple to help out.  Stay tuned for more details in June.

Finally, the Board approved a significant perk for members for the 2010-2011 year.  Every NSC member will receive a non-transferable $20 credit for a Tahoe area weekend NSC bus trip to be used during the 2010-2011 membership year.  The credit cannot be used on the long-weekend or weeklong trips or non-ski events.  If a member renews during the early renewal period ending June 30, 2010, the weekend bus credit will almost offset the cost of NSC membership for this upcoming year.  So take advantage of the early renewal period right now!

The Board discussed some summer events in the April meeting.  Hoyt Nelson is organizing a Curling event so drop him a line at if you are intrigued by this Winter Olympic sport.  Also, Hi Fujii is looking into a possible fishing event –BBQ.  Look for more details in the next two months.

In the fall, we will most likely reprise the Horse Racing, Bocce Ball, and Bunco events.  As 2010 Trip Director will re-up next year, look to even more new ideas for our weekend Tahoe Bus Trips.  As I will be Ex-Officio, I will lead the 2011 Weeklong trip.  Also, it looks like we will be going to Mammoth for the 2011 Long Weekend Trip.  More activities are in the planning stage now so look for more details in the next few months.

So see you at the Post Season Picnic on Sunday, June 27, 2010 at Cuesta Park in Mountain View!