The Birchleggings Club Inc Annual Meeting and Election of Officers - September 23, 2022

The Birchleggings Club Inc annual meeting with election of Board of Directors is scheduled for Friday, Sep 23, 2022. Time: 3:00pm, Location: Mosquito Brook Hut.  All members are invited to attend.

 

Timetable for Annual Board of Directors Election

    Aug 19, 2022 Non-incumbent nominations for Board of Directors due (to Dave Balsiger)

    Aug 26, 2022 Ballots will be mailed / emailed to all members

    Sep 13, 2022 Deadline for returning ballots by mail / email

    Sep 23, 2022 Birchleggings Club Inc annual meeting

 

The Birchleggings Club has been incorporated as a 501(3)(c) since 2013.  The club holds an annual election of Board of Directors.  As per our Bylaws, Board members are elected to three-year terms, with one-third of the nine Board positions up for election each year. The Board terms of current Directors Steve Carmazon, Bob Britz, and Dave Balsiger will end this year. All three incumbent Board members are running for re-election. However, nominations of other Birchlegger members to run for our Board are welcome. We encourage nominations of other Birchlegger members. Or if you know a Birchlegger member whom you think would be an asset to our organization, encourage them to be nominated. 

 

Nomination process for non-incumbent members to be elected to the Board of Directors

 

Non-incumbent nominations for the Board of Directors can be e-mailed or mailed, but must be received by the Nominating Committee by Aug 19, 2020.  The nomination must include the names of the nominee and the nominator, both must be a member, and five (5) other club members. The 5 supporting members should e-mail a note of their support to Dave Balsiger. The current list of Birchleggings Club members is posted on our website – birchleggings.com.  

 

Send or call any questions to Dave Balsiger.  dbalsiger@aol.com

 

E-Mail the nominations to: Dave Balsiger   dbalsiger@aol.com

Or Mail to: Dave Balsiger   5703 Lincoln Rd, Oregon WI 53575   608-835-8410

 

Ballots will be mailed / emailed to all members on Aug 26. Ballots must be returned by Sep 13. 

 

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Note from Birchleggings Club President Paul Thompson:

 

We hope all of you are having a great summer and preparing for Birkie 49. Our club is doing a lot of projects, fund-raising and planning for the upcoming Annual Meeting on Sept. 23, 3-6 pm at our Mosquito Brook Hut, and we’d like to see you there. Whether you are wanting to be a BL Board member, pay your dues or just come because you’re going to the Trail Run the following day (Sept 24), we need more engaged members. Participation is what makes the Birkie great, and our club is the heart and soul of the Birkie. You will be receiving our Summer Newsletter in August with many more details, but for now consider these 2 actions:

 

1. Attend our annual meeting 9/23 (business, program and picnic) and volunteer for the Trail Run the next day.

2. Consider volunteering at Birkie Week 2023. For example, you might ski the Open Track event on Wednesday and then help out at the Expo and other events on your non-race day, or vice versa. Or volunteer at Wednesday’s Open Track and take a turn on your non-race day ringing our Birchlegger Bell at the trail split.

 

Thanks for considering being an ACTIVE Birchlegger and congratulations on reaching that lofty status.

 

Paul

All Birchlegger Lists Have Been Updated!

 

All the Birchlegger Lists have been updated, including Member List, 20-30-40 Award Skiers, Alpha Roster, Rank Roster, and Demographics!

Go to the Birchlegger Lists Menu Option for all the lists.

American Birkebeiner 2022 - Another Great Year!

 

Birchleggings Booth - Friday, February 25, 2022

Another American Birkebeiner is in the books! What a great year with sunny days and excellent conditions for the new Open Track option on Wednesday, the Kortelopet on Friday, and the Birkie on Saturday. Our Birchleggings Booth was well attended, and we were able to raise lots of money and have Birchleggers sign up for committees. Thanks to all that worked shifts at the booth!

Steve Carmazon & Edward Eroe at the Birchleggings Booth

Cheryl Hiltibran's quilt with the bibs from her 41 Birkie Races was the big hit and attracted a number of visitors.

Paul Thompson, Birchleggings President

Paul Thompson & Edward Eroe

Paul Thompson, Mindy Ahler, and Edward Eroe went to the start on Saturday to ring the Birchleggings Club Bell, which is located where the Classic and Skate Trails split. It was very well received and a wonderful experience for skiers. We were only able to stay through Wave 2 Skate and Classic, so next year we will need to look at some shifts to cover all the waves, although getting to the bell is a bit challenging. Paul gave a nice speech about the bell, and you can watch it on the YouTube Video below. A special thanks to Dick Enz and Jim Tenorio from concept to reality on the Birchleggings Bell!

Dick Enz & Jim Tenorio

 For additional photographs from Birkie 2022, go to the Photographs Menu on this website.

We hope to be back to normal next year and have our Awards Breakfast where we can all connect again!

December 2022 Update Letter from the President!

Download the Letter in PDF Format with Active Links: December 2022 Update Letter from the President!

Birchleggings Club Supports Birkie Green!

 

The Birchleggings Club is committed to the Birkie Green initiative. The American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation community, the care for the Birkie trail and the health of winter itself are all essential elements of that commitment. See our Birkie Green Page on the menu or at this link:

https://www.birchleggings.com/p/birkie-green.html

New Birchlegger Awards for 20, 30, and 40 Year Finishers!

The new Birchleggings Club Awards have been completed and will be ready for those receiving awards in 2022!

The new awards were requested by the board of directors. Working with Louise Droessler, Birkie Enterprises Retail Manager, the board relayed their desire for a crystal-look award that would grow progressively larger from 20 to 30 to 40 years. Louise worked with Apple Awards of Hayward and these designs were approved by the board after some input. Thanks to board member, Jim Tenorio for his assistance in coordinating these beautiful new awards. Note: Bob Bennett's name on the award was used for showing how the name plate would look.

New Birchleggings Logo and Banners!

We have a new Birchleggings Logo and Banner to use. A big thanks to the following on both projects!

Logo:

Kate Barido, Marketing and Communications Director at ABSF, initiated the design revisions for our logo. Jim Tenorio provided about 20 idea sketches to assist in the development. The creation of the working design files was done by Blair Flickinger, ABSF Marketing and Communications Coordinator. Each of several renditions made by Blair were reviewed by Gale Otterholt, Jim Tenorio, and Paul Thompson of Birchleggings Club before going to the club board of directors for final approval.

 

 

 

Banner:

Using the existing Birchleggings Club banner as a starting point, Jim Tenorio updated the design with the new club logo and a fresh photo of the newly-stained Mosquito Brook Hut. The wording on the banner was also updated with input from the club board of directors and from Kate Barido at the ABSF. The new banners will be used for the Birchleggings Club booth at the Birkie Expo and will be displayed on the Mosquito Brook Hut during the Birkie-week races. We have both small and large versions.

Thank You to Gale Otterholt!

A huge thanks to Gale Otterholt, who has served as the President of the Birchleggings Club since 2012. Gale stepped down at the January 14, 2022, board meeting but will remain on the board through September 2024. Paul Thompson was elected the new president, and he will be joined by Bob Britz, as Vice President, Jim Tenorio, as Secretary, and Dave Balsiger, as our continuing Treasurer.

Gale has served as the President since the club was incorporated and has been the guiding force through a number of exciting new projects for the club, as well as serving as the liaison with the American Birkebeiner Foundation! Thank you, Gale!

Birchleggings Club Mosquito Brook Hut Receives New Exterior Stain!

 

A huge thanks to Birchleggings Board Member, Connie Meek, for staining the exterior of the Birchlegging Club Mosquito Brook Hut this October! Great job Connie, and the hut has never looked better and ready for the American Birkebeiner in February 2022!

Birchleggings Club Annual Meeting and New Board Members!

The Annual Meeting of the Birchleggings Club was held at the Birchleggings Mosquito Brook Warming Hut on September 24, 2021, on the Birkie Trail. Before the Meeting Jim Tenorio, with help from Steve Carmazon, Edward Eroe, and Paul Thompson installed three sets of cross country skis in the ceiling and wall. Two of the pairs of skis were from our deceased board member Cheryl Hiltibran to honor her memory. The third pair was from current board member Paul Thompson, in honor of his recent 40th Birkie. Also, before the meeting started, much admiration and appreciation was extended to board member Connie Meek, for her incredible solo progress in staining the exterior walls of the hut a beautiful light blue again. Thank you, Connie!

Those present were President Gale Otterholt, newly elected Vice President James Tenorio, Webmaster & Social Media Coordinator Edward Eroe, Secretary Steve Carmazon, Connie Meek, and Paul Thompson. Missing was newly elected board member Ralph Bovard. Treasurer Dave Balsiger, and newly appointed replacement for the last year of Cheryl Hiltibran tenure, was Bob Britz, both of whom attended virtually. Special guests were Birchleggings Club Founder John Kotar, and American Birkebeiner Foundation COO Joe Vadeboncoeur and Development Director Andrew Wall.

The discussion with Joe and Andrew was centered around a Trademark Licensing Agreement between the American Birkebeiner Foundation and the Birchleggings Club spelling out the use of the American Birkebeiner name on the Birchlegger Awards and other duties and responsibilities of both parties. After much discussion the document was formally signed by Joe on behalf of the American Birkebeiner Foundation and Gale on behalf of the Birchleggings Club. Joe and Andrew also updated some initiatives of the Foundation. They include Telemark Development, extending the Birkie Brand for Ski, Bike, Run, and Live, the Birkie One initiative around equity, diversity, inclusivity, gender, race, and underserved populations, Birkie Green initiatives including new Birkie Bibs made of recycled plastic bottles and new solar arrays.

The recent Birchleggings Club Board of Directors election was officially announced, as well as a special appointment to the board, which has resulted in a change of membership on the board. Per the bylaws of the club, one third of the nine directors are elected each year. This year, re-elected to the board were two incumbent board members - Jim Tenoria and Gale Otterhold, and also a non-incumbent member - Ralph Bovard. Ralph is a veteran of 24 Birkies and was our first lifetime member. A big thanks to Tom Rowley, who is leaving the board after having served as a board member, and vice president, since 2013. In a special appointment, Bob Britz will join the board left vacant by the passing of Cheryl Hiltebran last March. Cheryl was first elected in 2019.