Happy Wanderers Club History Report 2016

Happy Wanderers Club History Report – 2016 by John McClellan, President

The Happy Wanderers marked their 25th Anniversary year in 2016, after being founded as the “Pierson Happy Wanderers” in 1991. Throughout the year, we conducted several events to mark this milestone.

Calendar Year 2016 opened with 95 membership renewals after an ending membership of 115 in 2015. (Attrition of -20; Retention of 82.6%) These losses are consistent with the club’s numbers for the past few years. Most of those not returning gave no specific reason, and follow-ups were made throughout the spring. Members joined the Mid-Florida Milers on 1 Jan for their traditional New Year’s Day walk in Orlando, at Universal Studios. A few days later we started our normal schedule of Wednesday night “fun walks” and Sunday group walks of club year-round trails with the DeLand YRE.

On January 7th, the first General Membership meeting of the year was held. Opening balance was $ 3,658.00 Our new club T-shirts were available for sale and our webmaster, Mr. David McCarthy, gave a well-received presentation on the features and use of our re- vamped website including the printable calendar, search and event volunteer sign-ups and RSVP functions. In January the club also renewed our 501.c. Incorporation with the state (Florida) Department of revenue, via the online process – receiving the annual certificate. Throughout 2016, club members joined in our 25th Anniversary “special book” program – complete 25 walks (including Fun Walks and sanctioned events) and receive a special prize of a club Visor that matches the club T-shirt. An anniversary “stamp” was used at the fun walks. 24 members purchased the special book. The club held our 25th Anniversary Luncheon on Sunday, 28 February at 1 pm. at the Lakeside Community Center in Port Orange. Former co-presidents, Alan & Elaine Brayton, headed up the planning committee for the fabulous event that included close to 100 current and former Happy Wanderers in attendance along with special guests(s) including Drew Bastion – Council Member and former Happy Wanderer, representing the City of Port Orange and a representative from the office of Dorothy Hukill, our Florida State Senator for Volusia County. (NOTE: Fees for use of the center were waived by the Port Orange City Council after President John McClellan appeared w/the organizers in front of the Council to request it.) Several former Presidents spoke about the club and the room was decorated with pictures and memorabilia spanning the club’s 25 years.

At the General Membership meeting in March, the club had a presentation on various aspects of walking fitness by Ms. Amy Pope, a personal trainer & sports medicine specialist from Anytime Fitness here in Port Orange. A new feature to start in April was approved – rotating activities at our “fun walks” will now include: Boutique (Specialties) Sales each first week of the month; Wear Your Club Apparel – 2d week; Bring a Friend – the 3rd week; and a 50/50 Raffle -- the 4th week. Raffle donations will be used to help the club fund major events like WAF or our annual Holiday Party. A process for club members to nominate local charities for “designated” giving in selected month(s) was also discussed. We held our first traditional event on Sunday 6 March in Palatka at the annual Azalea Festival - utilizing our previous YRE routes there to include the Ravine Gardens State Park 2 grounds. 54 walkers attended the event. For the first time in several years, the club undertook a bus trip for a weekend of events from 11-13 March in Savannah, GA. The club used Smart Travel here in Port Orange to assist with the bookings of a bus company, hotel and restaurant for a group dinner. The trip was opened to AVA clubs across Florida. In all, 42 people participated with 29 Happy Wanderers as well as attendees from Mid-Florida Milers and Suncoast Sandpipers. Walks included our Savannah YRE, the YRE in Beaufort, SC and the YRE in St. Mary’s, GA .

In April, the club supported a special effort by the Florida Volkssport Association’s (FVA) Walk Florida State Park Program (WFSP) at Hontoon Island – an FVA YRE that Happy Wanderers are the POC for. President John McClellan conducted extensive coordination with the Park Manager to replace several of the FVA signposts and arrows with new posts and adding arrows for the 5km route, which developed long after the original signposts were installed. The park agreed to fund all the signage, while FVA would purchase the treated 4x4 posts. On April 30th, a joint walk event with Mid-Florida Milers and FVA leaders was held. An “Adopt a Post” campaign collected donations from participants to fund the cost of the lumber, and volunteers formed work crews to install the new signs. (A smaller group of volunteers met in the park days before to remove old posts and prepare pre-dug holes for the new ones.) The project was a big success – both in forming a renewed partnership with State Parks as well as in repairing the trail and demonstrating “value- added” of the FVA. Our May General Membership meeting consisted of mostly regular announcements and routine business. Membership stood at 115. Summer “ice cream” walks will start again on Wednesday nights at 7 p.m. in June and continue through August. As we will be hosting Walk Around Florida in 2017, the need to determine a location was discussed. Locations under consideration included Daytona Beach, Palm Beach, and St. Augustine. On Sunday 8 May the club celebrated IVV World Walking Day at our Daytona Beach YRE. IVV Certificates went to the first 10 participants who requested one. On Thursday night 26 May, the club once again met for a Daytona Tortugas baseball game at Jackie Robinson field in Daytona Beach. Members enjoyed the catered picnic area and the game that followed. For the second consecutive year, the club Traditional Event on National Trails Day – Saturday 4 June in Palm Coast. Both a walk and a bike event were offered, with 29 walkers and 12 bikers attending. Both events will be reinstated as YREs in Palm Coast for 2017. Later that month, President John McClellan attended the 40th Anniversary of the first IVV volksmarch (1976) in Fredericksburg, TX along with the AVA National Executive Council (NEC) summer meeting. At our General Membership meeting in July, Vice President Dan Spink reported an average of 23 walkers at Wednesday night “fun walks” in May and June. As a result of his efforts, the club had by this time filled some of our volunteer vacancies – including finding a new Boutique manager in Maureen Higgins. Member-at-Large and YRE Coordinator, Gloria Pratt, reported that our start point in St. Augustine would move to the Double Tree by Hilton – across the street from the Shrine. The club had been looking for a suitable location to move our box out of the Shrine Gift Shop, due to their limited hours and frequent closings. Volunteer requirements for the upcoming Port Orange Family Days and 2 the annual Christmas Party were also discussed. Following the end of the 2015 fiscal year (30 June), the club submitted our annual IRS 990E electronic postcard. On Saturday 6 August, the club held a 2017 Planning Meeting to consider programs and ideas for next year. New members Isabella and Ed Marshall attended along with the Executive Council (minus Robert and Marie Priest), Russ and Barbara Anderson, and Sheila McClellan. President John McClellan presented analysis of the club’s 2015 participation and financial performance and then the planning committee reviewed proposals for the coming year and roughed-out a calendar. Among the highlights, the club’s traditional New Year’s Eve walk will be cancelled this year in favor of participating in a multi-event weekend with the FVA on Martin Luther King weekend in January, 2017. At the September General Membership meeting the club stood at 129 members. Updates from the Planning meeting were presented and the members decided to go with St. Augustine for our WAF27 location. Volunteers signed-up for Family Days in October, and registration for WAF26 in Tampa 4-6 Nov, was discussed.

On the first weekend in October, (1-2 Oct) Happy Wanderers re-engaged in the Port Orange “Family Days” weekend after an absence dating back several years. The club purchased a booth on the YMCA side of the City Center and held a “volkssporting Triathlon” of events – walk, bike and swim, in-conjunction with the festival. 11 people completed the triathlon and received an “A Award” neck medal – including a couple from Germany who are IVV members and were traveling in Florida. Overall there were 26 walkers (over 2 days) and 18 bikers on the Saturday “group bike.” The information booth raised awareness with several hundred tri-folds handed out, but the events were not well-attended outside our own members. A decision on future Family Days participation will have to be made.

We welcomed back some of our winter “snowbirds” at the November General Membership meeting. Discussion included our annual Holiday food drive, the club Christmas Party, and planning for the events to be held next January on MLK Weekend, with the Florida Volkssport Association (FVA). Early mention was made of elections in 2017, as we have a vacancy at Secretary now, and our current Treasurer has stated that she will not be running again next year. Walk Around Florida 26 was held 4-6 November at the Barrymore Hotel in Tampa, with the Suncoast Sandpipers as the lead club. Overall participation in WAF26 was roughly the same as 2015 at just over 100, with at least 18 Happy Wanderers coming over to enjoy the “Tampa Trails and Havana Nights.” Our club tasks included the Sunday walk and picnic lunch in Gadsden Park and overall coordination of the volunteers needed for the event this year. Happy Wanderers will be the lead club in 2017 and announced St. Augustine, FL as the destination for next year’s WAF27 at the Saturday night banquet. On 11/11, the club held our traditional Veteran’s Day evening guided walk from the City Center in Port Orange. Once again, members paused at the Memorial Grove to offer personal remembrances of veterans in their lives. For the 2d year in a row, the event was staged as a fackelwanderung – a torch walk. 27 walkers participated and Veterans were invited to walk without cost, with the club covering their AVA fees.

For the third straight year the club held its annual Christmas Party in the Banquet Room at VFW Post #3282. The event was planned by new member, Isabella Marshall. 53 members and guests attended a enjoyable evening including conversation, games, dinner and singing/dancing. The club’s holiday food drive in association with the Presbyterian Church of Port Orange was featured and members donated generously this year. The year ended on a sad note with the passing of former club President, Larry Middleton, from stomach cancer on 18 December. On 26 December, the Suncoast Sandpipers lost their Treasurer, Jim Lawrence, after a long battle with cancer. Jim was husband of Sandpiper President, Alice Lawrence. Larry and Jim will be sorely missed. We ended the year with club membership up to 138 – the second straight year with positive growth. Total participants for all YRE were 1,279 (including a small number of “free” walkers) and TE were 166, for an overall total of 1,445. This number is slightly down from 2015. After a successful 25th Anniversary year, the Happy Wanderers are well postured for continued success in 2017.

Attachments:

1 – 2016 Walk #s 2 – 2015/16 Financial Summary 3 – 2016 New Members

4 2016 Happy Wanderer Event Participant #s:

Traditional Events

54 Palatka (Azalea Festival); 3/06 29 Palm Coast – Walk; 6/4 12 Palm Coast – Bike; 6/4 26 Port Orange “Family Days” – Walk 10/1-10/2 18 Port Orange “Family Days” – Bike 10/1 27 Port Orange, FL – Veteran’s Day “Fackelwanderung”; 11/11 ______166 participants; Ave. Walk = 34; Ave. Bike = 15

Year-Round Events

106 Cocoa Beach (YR 634) 112 Daytona Beach (YR 1134) 81 Deland (YR 440) 101 Flagler Beach (YR 1904) 99 Mt. Dora (YR 726) 80 New Smyrna Beach (YR 1129) 78 Ormond Beach (YR 977) 125 Ponce Inlet (YR 725) #2 85 Port Orange (YR 1132) 27 Port Orange Swim (YR 1351) new 124 St. Augustine (YR1128) #3 96 Sanford (YR 1510) 151 Savannah, GA (YR 1366) #1 ______1,265 participants; Ave. Walk: 103