Commodore's Message

DSA-Alberta’s 16th (sixteenth) season has come and gone. Again the summer programs went smoothly. We were fortunate in this time of high employment in Calgary and Alberta to find staff to work as Program Coordinators. Marj Babuik our Business Manager used some of her magic to find staff.

Our Community Partners made great use of the Sonar (our day cruiser). The Sonar is so popular, that at the end of July when I tried to book some August sailing dates, the Sonar was fully booked. DSA-Alberta is considering purchasing a second Sonar. It is my understanding that Sonars are in short supply in Canada, but if we find one available our programs would definitely benefit from its addition.

Success for our summer program is contingent on the availability of volunteers and, as in past seasons, our volunteers were more than solid and very reliable. It is difficult to mention a few volunteers because as soon as a few volunteers are mentioned, many deserving of the recognition will be missed. So, I apologize to those who are missed, but I am sure they will agree the volunteers mentioned are worthy of the recognition. I will start with some Board Members who I believe have gone beyond the call of duty to make DSA-Alberta a sustainable and successful organization.

Dave Heiland, Vice Commodore, is always working in the background, but in his quiet manner continually makes vital contributions. Kathy Burns, Treasurer, picks up some of the Business Manager’s duties while she is away on vacation. Katie Gerke, Past Commodore, has given an extraordinary effort in taking on the Secretarial duties and in working on the Fund Raising Committee. Cam Warren, Fleet Captain, continually strives to have time to work on the boats, and has been instrumental in moving the boats to storage for the winter, and back to the Reservoir in the spring. Cam was away a lot this summer with his job, but still was an immense help to the organization. Steve Alvey, an original founder of DSA-Alberta continues to support DSA-Alberta in many ways. Steve is always available when extra help is needed in working with the boats, and shipping them to Mobility Cup. Steve originally negotiated the contract with CN to provide free transportation for the boats from across Canada to Mobility Cup each year. I would like to thank all volunteers who work with DSA-Alberta for their valuable contribution.

DSA-Alberta continues to develop top notch racers on the Glenmore Reservoir. Long time member Robb Lawrence won the Gold Fleet at Mobility Cup in Halifax this year, and this put him in the same category as Merle Hickey who was a past winner of Mobility Cup. Congratulations to Robb and our other sailors who attended Mobility Cup this year.

Keith J. Stephens
Commodore