Yesterday we had the 2nd Annual Geezer Skiers Luncheon at the new conference facilities at Greek Peak Mountain Resort. Now that we have had the second event we can claim to have an ongoing tradition. Although the attendance was down from last year's inaugural event, those that did come enjoyed the fine food, camaraderie and excellent program including a briefing by Wes Kryger.
Prior to the luncheon many of the geezers were interviewed by the Cortland Standard reporter Katie Hall. A story about our group is to appear this coming Monday in the Cortland Standard along with photos taken by Bob Ellis. We look forward to her interpretation of the comments we made.
Once again Larry Monheim served as MC welcoming all to the event and guiding us through our program. Pat Ryan gave us an identification quiz for the gag nick names of the geezers that frequently appear on the hill. Geezers tend to have certain idiosyncrasies so it was reasonably easy for us to connect the person with Pat's nick names. Naturally my nick name was "Fritter" since my morning routine always includes consuming a gigantic apple fritter obtained from the Price Chopper in Cortland. Pat Ryan concluded his stint at the podium by sorting the attendees by age starting with having all of us stand then having the youngest to sit down first until we identified the most senior skier in our group. In doing this effort in five year intervals we had to get to 95 and younger to leave our good colleague Pret Goslee as the last person standing. It was our pleasure to present Pret and trophy recognizing his status as the oldest active skier at Greek Peak! Thanks to the generosity of Greek Peak, Pret also received a complimentary season pass for the 2012-2013 season.
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Pret Goslee our Senior Skier |
I had the opportunity to lead the recognition of our skier friends that had passed away over the years we had been skiing at Greek Peak. A brief memorial prayer paid our respects and also gave us the opportunity to be thankful for the blessing of being able to ski in our geezerhood.
The geezers skiers also awarded Greek Peak an Appreciation Award. The award presented to Wes Kryger was a laser engraved glass rectangle with the statement,
Geezer Skiers
Appreciation Award
2011-2012
Greek Peak Mountain Resort
Snow Making & Grooming
We especially wanted to recognize Greek Peak's effort to keep the slopes in good condition during the difficult winter season of 2011-2012.
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Larry Monheim and Wes Kryger |
Wes Kryger presented an interesting and informative discussion of the processes and costs involved in snow making and grooming. I was surprised to learn about all the variables that go into successfully grooming the slopes and also to make good quality snow at a reasonable cost. Following a question and answer session we adjourned to wrap up conversations and farewells. All in all an enjoyable afternoon. (For more photos of the event go to my Facebook album). http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.309427569113126.77622.100001376573863&type=1
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Andy, Frank, Roger and Nancy |
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A happy group! |
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Bunny and Tony |
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The Tom Tom's |