Official Voice of the American Volkssport Association
1001 Pat Booker Road * Universal City, TX 78148-4147
phone: 210-659-2112 fax: 210-659-1212

VOLUME 9, NUMBER 4 April 2001

FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S DESK

This is an extremely important issue of CHECKPOINT because it includes two important items related to our 12th Biennial Convention in Bellevue, Washington from June 26 through June 29. The first important item is the proposed revision to our Bylaws. This revision reflects the results of an extensive review by the Bylaws Committee. This review produced a realignment of some of the responsibilities of the National Officers to the National Headquarters based on the actual operations of the Association. An extensive review by a Registered Professional Parliamentarian, who specializes in bylaws, and our corporate attorney produced some structure, procedural and editorial changes. Please do not be discouraged by the size of the document. Even though there are substantial changes to only a few Articles, we had to provide the entire document because of the renumbering and re-lettering changes that had to be made.

The second convention related item is the call for agenda items that might be considered during the membership meeting. If any club has an issue that they would like considered for the agenda, they must be sent to me no later than May 15. It is important to remember that the mere submission of an item does not guarantee that it will appear on the agenda. The final decision on items to be included on the agenda is made by the President in coordination with the Executive Director. Please see the formal call for agenda items that appears in this issue.

I hope to see many of you at the convention and join you in celebrating the twenty-fifth anniversary of volkssporting in the United States. Thank you for all of your efforts as we work to renew The Spirit of Walking across the country.

WHAT DID THAT POLICY SAY???

Did you know that a volkssporter can only walk the same trail twice on the same start card if that individual is walking a short distance trail twice to fulfill the requirement that we have a medium distance walk? This also means that the two short distance segments must be done on the same day. That's right. AVA Policy 5.01, II, 1 says "Sponsoring clubs must offer at least one short and one medium distance at an event. Instead of a medium distance, clubs may allow participants to walk the same trail twice at no additional charge. And, AVA Policy 5.01, I defines a short distance walk as "... a minimum of 10 kilometers (km) and a maximum of 19 km in length" and a medium distance walk as "... a minimum of 20 km and a maximum of 30 km in length."

Call for Convention Agenda Items. Any Regular Member Club or State Organization desiring to submit an item for consideration for inclusion in the agenda of the membership meeting to be conducted at the 12th Biennial Convention in Bellevue, Washington from June 26 through June 29 must submit that proposed agenda item in writing to the National Executive Director no later than May 15, 2001. Each proposed agenda item must include

1. the name of the Regular Member Club or State Organization submitting the item,
2. the subject of the agenda item,
3. a summary of the proposed agenda item,
4. a recommendation/motion for consideration, and
5. all backup materials to support the recommendation/motion.