Message from the President
Mike Berriochoa
May 2008
Dear CPCOA members:
It has been a very long winter and I know we are all looking forward to using our cabins a lot more as the snow recedes. As we look toward improved weather and being able to spend more time outdoors, the Chinook Pass Cabin Owners Association Board of Directors held its spring meeting to plan our 2008 activities and I’m happy to report that we have a number of interesting and exciting events planned.
Mark your calendars for June 21 for our summer picnic. It will be held at Jim Sprick Park on Highway 410 starting at noon. It’s a pot-luck so bring a main dish and a salad or dessert to share. The association will provide drinks and table service. Speakers are still being arranged and we will update you when we get confirmation. In addition, we thought we could try something new this year and would encourage all of you to bring photograph albums, pictures and any other cabin memorabilia that you may wish to share so we can all remember how it used to be.
Field trips are being planned by Carl Buchholz and we will be sharing the information with you soon. One will include the history of the dam on the Bumping River. Other topics under discussion include a geology trip. Watch this web site for details.
We are also proposing something new this year. One of our members, Joce Berriochoa, is a certified instructor for the American Association of Retired Persons Safe Driving Program and is willing to present the course on the weekend of July 12 or 19 in our cabin area if there is enough interest. The class can be presented in a single 8-hour class or be divided into two 4-hour sessions. Many of you have taken this class in your home areas and already know the benefits. One of the chief benefits is a reduction in your auto insurance rates. The State of Washington requires auto insurance companies doing business in this state to offer discounts to anyone over 55 who takes the class. If you are interested, please send an email to jberriochoa@aol.com If there is enough interest you will be notified when and where the class will be held.
Dues for 2008 are due and should be sent to our treasurer, Jim Lundeen at 5100 Manor Drive Yakima, WA 98901 Dues are unchanged at $50.00 for full membership and $30.00 for associate membership and represent one of the best bargains around. As always, $35.00 of your full membership dues will enroll you as a member of the national association allowing them to continue to work on our behalf. The remainder stays with the CPCOA to fund our projects. For associate members, $20.00 will go to the national organization and the balance remains with the CPCOA.
In case you don’t know, cabin appraisals are now beginning within the national forests of the United States and cabin associations all over the country are keeping a close watch on the process to ensure it is administered fairly. This is one of the benefits of belonging to an association that works hard for its members. Your CPCOA and your National Forest Homeowners Association are doing all they can by working with the Forest Service and Congress to prevent these appraisals from creating an economic crisis for many of us. We urge you to remain vigilant, continue your strong support for your cabin association and urge your fellow cabin owners to join and give their voice in support of fair appraisals.
A report from the National Forest Homeowners Association Convention is now on our web site. We’re fortunate to have two representatives from Washington State sitting on the board of directors of the National Forest Homeowners Association. I encourage you to go to our web site and read Al Pollmar’s report from the convention.
New this year will be a membership directory listing owners of all of the cabins along Chinook Pass. This will be a tremendous asset whenever we need to reach members as well as non-members. Secretary Reva Bunnell is putting this together and we really appreciate her efforts. It’s a big job.
The CPCOA is actively looking for volunteers to serve on our Board of Directors. We are looking for someone who would like to become our secretary. Duties include keeping minutes of the spring and fall meetings of the board, providing input to the summer picnic and the fall meeting, maintaining mailing lists and producing and mailing the twice-yearly news letter. A complete position description can be found here. Reva has done an outstanding job on our behalf and we appreciate all she has done for us.
We are also looking for members of our Board of Directors to represent two different cabin groups within our association. Vacancies exist for a director to represent the American Forks, Bumping Lake and Edgewater cabin groups, and another to represent the Cliffdell, Crag Group, Stillwater, Hawks Nest, Idlewild, and Cedar Springs cabin groups. Duties include attending two board meetings each year, and providing input to the summer picnic and fall meeting and serving as a conduit between the association and the cabin groups.
Again, mark your calendars for June 21. We’ll provide more details to you later. We will also be posting updates on this web site. Check back often!
See you all at the picnic.
Mike Berriochoa, President
Chinook Pass Cabin Owners Association