June 2016 Club Meeting Minutes

CFW Club Meeting 6/14/16

Membership Report:

We currently have 42 members and 13 prospective members.

Treasurer’s Report:

Don advised Christie that as of 5/25, we had $3730.83 in checking.

Land Use:

No local updates, but it was noted that China Wall is in pretty good shape as of the last trail run.

Christmas for Kids:

Over $500 was made during the Customer Appreciation raffle held by R&R Offroad! They also collected $120 in donations for food for the club.

Christie and Chrystie will be getting the ball rolling on some meetings to plan further fundraisers. Meeting date and location tbd.

Completed Trip Reports:

5/14: China Wall Cleanup run: Tony Cobb and Heather Bartlet ran the trail with 11 members, 2 prospective members, and one guest.

5/21: RNR Customer Appreciation: They had over 50 rigs and had a great time. They were also able to make a good Forest Service contact, and are looking to “adopt” the playground area of Mini Moab to cleanup.

Upcoming Trail Runs and Events:

6/11: Trail cleanup with Colorado Christian: We have about 18 members signed up to help. Numbers have been turned in to CSC4W for lunches.

6/18: Poker run and campout weekend: Two group members who are meeting up at Rudy’s need to lead groups of participants up to the poker run location. One group to leave at 8:15-8:30, and a second group to leave around 8:40. Check in begins at 9:30.

Extreme Terrain will be donating goodie bags for all participants, a $100 gift card, and stickers. Other raffle prizes have been obtained, and more may come.

Last chance to register for the poker run will be 6/14/16.

6/26/16: Meet N Greet for breakfast, 7 am Western Omelette. Possible trail run to follow depending on what everyone wants to do.

7/9: China Wall Cleanup run led by Christie and Heather. Meet 8 am at Safeway on West Colorado, roll out around 8:30 am.

7/24: Wheeler Lake- led by Tony. Meet up at 7am for breakfast at Western Omelette, roll out at 8:30.

7/30: WOW run to Chinamen’s Gulch, led by Chrystie and Heather. Meet at Rudy’s at 7:30am, roll out at 8am.

8/14: WOW run to Mini Moab to play; there will be a grill and food available for donation to Christmas for Kids. Meet up 8am at Safeway on W. Colorado, roll out at 8:30.

8/20: Slide Lake and Mosquito Pass led by Jon and Heather. Meet at Safeway on W. Colorado 6:00am, roll out at 6:30am.

9/10: Radical Hill & Red Cone- info tbd.

There will also be some fun non-trail runs planned, such as shooting, paintball, mini-golf, go-carts, laser tag, race day, and demolition derby day.

Club Store:

The club store has $62 on hand, as well as a lot of shirts, a few hats, stickers, and eyebrow decals.

Old Business:

None.

New Business:

Extreme Terrain will be sponsoring us in exchange for their logo being on the website as well as us putting up a banner at events.

Web site looks good, everyone is appearing to be pleased with the changes. Looking forward to having access to add to the calendar, etc.

In April, 2015, Colorado Four Wheelers decided to host a poker run as a Christmas for Kids fundraiser. It snowed nearly two feet in a lot of areas the night before, and as I led the group up to the poker run from Rudy's that morning, we were sliding on icy roads and then enveloped by fog. Despite the weather, we had a great turnout and a very fun day. Everyone had a great time, so we decided to do it again this year. Except we thought that we would try a bit later in the year to lessen the chance for snow. We waited with bated breath to see what the weather would do, as we had snow,  rain, and sunshine in the weeks and days before our 2016 event.

On June 18th, the Colorado Four Wheelers hosted our second poker run to raise funds for Christmas for Kids. We set up in a large camping area off of Cedar Mountain Road, just outside of Divide, CO. Participants pre-registered this year, and their registration fees covered one trail run and a hand of poker, plus lunch. We gave them the option to run Hackett, Metberry, or Longwater gulches. Co-drivers were also able to play a poker hand. We had 38 vehicles and 61 participants.

Trip leaders Tony Cobb, Brendan Ruggles, and James Marden led the trails, with the assistance of Robert Blohm, Steve Houston, and Robert Stoermer. Everyone had a good time, with only one issue of breakage on the trail.

Back at base camp, volunteers got lunch of hamburgers, hot dogs, cookies, chips, and drinks ready. We also got ready for the raffle. We had prizes donated by Frank with Bighorn Automotive in Parker, R&R Offroad in Colorado Springs, and Extreme Terrain, as well as prizes donated by CFW club members.

Between the raffle, registration fees, and food donations, the fundraiser was very successful, bringing in $1407 for the Christmas for Kids charity.

Christmas for Kids is a group of southern Colorado four wheel drive community members who come together every year to partner with our local Department of Human Services. Our goal is to provide Christmas gifts for children in the DHS system who would not otherwise get any gifts. Not only do club members get wish lists from the children and shop for specific kids, but we raise money to provide extra presents that DHS personnel can distribute to families, based on need. We are one of the only organizations that help children who have been emancipated; these children often need the basics of everyday life, such as pots and pans, bedding, or even winter clothing. In 2015, we were able to raise $4693.00 and we sponsored 178 children!With our fantastic start to 2016, we hope to be able to do even more to help children in need in our area!

If you want to help out with Christmas for Kids, please look at the Christmas for Kids Facebook page or email at christmasforkids@gmail.com