Dear Member,

At the annual general meeting in October 2010, the membership approved the financing for a new quad chairlift to replace the existing 38 year old triple chair on the North Run. We are pleased to inform you that the chair has been ordered. The installation of the chair will begin in May 2011 for use in winter December 2011.

The chair comes at a cost of $1.5 million of which we were able to secure financing for $1m from a financial institution. The balance will come from a $450,000 reserve which we have been building over the last two years and our operating budgets. The ability of securing financing was reflective to the Club building these reserves.

We are also excited to announce that we are in the process of planning our ongoing fund raising activities to assist in financing this lift (as well as other required infrastructure enhancements in our 10-year strategic plan).  In the near future, we will be addressing the second lift replacement as announced at the AGM - the Sugar Bowl chairlift that will be discussed once financing is secured.

We do want to acknowledge our thanks to the membership and to the outstanding support from the many visitors who purchase lift tickets, rent our equipment, register in programs or make use of our food & beverage operation year round to make this happen.

We are also pleased to advise you as part of our loyalty program we will not be increasing our prices of memberships or lift tickets for 2011/12 winter season.

Moving forward, the Board and the Management Team have been working on the execution of a strategic plan that will continue enhancing our aging infrastructure while also building for the future. The importance of the plan is to ensure the financial implication of these changes can be addressed by raising new sources of funding. This will be accomplished through a comprehensive capital campaign consisting of sponsorships, personal donations, fund raising events through to a corporate campaign. It is our goal to have this implemented within the next four to six months as additional infrastructure enhancements need to be addressed.

In closing, we are all proud of our facility here at Chicopee. By working together, we will enhance our infrastructure and ensure our future viability for many more generations to enjoy and appreciate.

Yours truly,

Richard Parent
President, Chicopee Ski Club

We are preparing for an exciting summer with our programs, facility rental and full catering services. We trust we can count on you to visit us and tell your friends about this great facility.

A new reality impacting Chicopee quickly is the development of homes in our neighborhood. We plan to work closely with them to ensure they take full advantage of what we have to offer. Contrary to a public park that is provided free by municipal governments, Chicopee leases its property from the GRCA. The governance of the property from a liability issue is restricted to Chicopee products and services. It is our intention to dialogue with the neighbourhood to see how we can maintain a great relationship.

Lift replacement plans are underway, exploring the possibilities of financing and replacing two chair lifts. The North Chair which is the main carrier to the top of the hill is 35 years old and the Sugar Bowl Chair is 38 years old. The target date for this project to begin is next summer, with at least one chair being installed. Our commitment to purchase the chair will be considered in November based on available financing.  We will be launching a fund raising campaign in the near future hoping we can secure enough cash to undertake both chairs. The projected cost for this to happen is $3.5 million.

As the Region and neighbourhood continue to evolve, Chicopee will have to refocus its operations to ensure it meets this changing environment. We will be calling on the corporate sector and the various levels of government for their help in making this existing gem within our Region much more appealing.

At the present time, Chicopee Ski Club pays a lease of approximately $100,000 per year, pays property taxes of $90,000 per year. These are important facts as we are often confronted why people have to pay to play on the property. We receive no financial assistance from our governments. We are a self-sustaining operation that reinvests its profits in maintaining the property. This we are proud of. The future brings a need for financial assistance with injection of infrastructure dollars to help us maintain and expand the property. We trust for can count on the people in the Region to get involved in keeping Chicopee a vibrant facility that contributes to healthy lifestyles of so many.

In closing, to all of our existing members, program participants and facility users we do want to say “thank you” for making Chicopee such as great place.

Summer is nearing an end and we review our summer with great success in the growth of our summer camps and overall usage of the facility. For you who have discovered the great programs we now offer in the summer thank you for your business. I do want to compliment our staff who demonstrated a significant commitment to Chicopee by providing quality programs and service for our customers. The effort put in by everyone to ensure our facility and grounds always were neat and well kept was refreshing to see.

Fall is just around the corner and we are offering unique after school and weekend programs for all ages. Check these out on our website. We already have numerous schools scheduled in to come experience what we offer in the fall. The corporate community also discovered our uniqueness with some of their staff social and/or meeting space with full catering services. We do have a number of special events worth checking out on our website which is maintained on a daily basis.

Let the 75th Anniversary celebrations begin! A team of staff and Board members have been working on getting our events planned throughout the year for everyone to enjoy. To those individuals, thank you and to the membership please do come out and join the festivities.

We receive many compliments from our customers on the high quality grooming that occurs at Chicopee. In fact, we are often told this is why people choose our facilities over others.  We are fortunate to have highly skilled staff that has been doing this at Chicopee for a number of years. We are pleased to announce that we have purchased a new groomer this summer to ensure we provide our team with the best tools for them to do their job.

We are in the researching and planning stages to replace the Sugar Bowl Chairlift within the next two years. The projected cost is $1.3 million. It is our intention to keep all our customers aware of our progress as we explore the financing options to follow through with this major expenditure.

As always we look forward to your continued support of Chicopee. Better yet make sure you tell your friends to discover what you’ve been enjoying already for many years.