Alpine Education & Certification Committees Merge by Joan Heaton PSIA-E Education Committee Past Chair This past season, the work of the Education Committee began with the completion of the Alpine Ladder of Certification poster that is based on the article of the same name. The descriptive article can be found on pages 7-9 in the Early Fall 2002 SnowPro, and the poster can be found on the website in the Alpine Education section and the Snow Sports/ Alpine section. Chris Ericson from Belleayre Mountain, a member of our committee spearheaded this poster effort. The poster was distributed to all snowsports schools for display in their pro rooms. The poster continues to be available from the Albany office and will eventually be available from our website. The “beginning of the year” pledge of the Education Committee in 2002-03 was to continue to focus on improved communications. We are seeing excellent results through the PSIA-E Area Rep. Program. We continued our efforts to encourage the “preparation process” for instructors by encouraging members to devote time to improving their skiing and their teaching skills; and, with experience being the best teacher, we have encouraged - time on the job. Our goal has always been to prepare instructors to be the best skiers and the best teachers possible. Through the polling of the PSIA-E Area Reps, the Education Committee’s question, “What is Happening in our Terrain Parks?” exploded into a series of articles for the SnowPro. Your input on this subject continues to be welcome. Two of these articles appeared in the Winter 2003 SnowPro (pp. 10-12), and a third appears in this issue. An examination by the Education Committee of the comments from the Area Reps concerning general organizational procedures, consistency in exam scoring, upholding certification standards, clarification of reinstatement, students discounts, etc., seems to indicate that the messages and policies set forth by the Board of Directors often take more time to reach the ears of the “grass roots” instructor than what one might think – or desire. Therefore, it would seem that patience is required of all involved as the policy making process proceeds. Decisions need to be made carefully and with full analysis of the information available before alterations in existing policies are made. This can take time! For the past five years, the Alpine Education and Certification Committees have met together. The work of these two committees was so intertwined that it was thought to be both efficient and effective for them to join forces in the meeting process. Now, as a result of recent changes in the by-laws, these two committees have been merged into one - the Alpine Education & Certification Committee. Peter Howard, Chairperson of the Certification Committee, will chair this new committee, and one person will represent each Region on the new committee. Under this re-structuring of our organization, this will be my final report as Education Committee Chairperson. All information about the Education Committee concerning future projects has been forwarded to Peter as chairperson of the new committee. We wish Peter and the new committee the best as they begin work under this new structure. I thank our Board of Directors and the members of our organization for the opportunity to have served the membership as Education Chairperson. I look forward to continuing to serve, having been appointed to the new position of PSIA-E Area Representative Coordinator.◆◆
Who Is YOUR PSIA-E Area Rep? by Joan Heaton PSIA-E Area Representative Coordinator There are now 112 PSIA-E Area Representatives in our program, and the numbers continue to grow. Your very first responsibility this season should be to learn who is the PSIA-E Area Rep for your snowsports school. This person is serving in this program to serve as a critical line of communication for you to stay informed as to “happenings” in our association. Along with doing our normal job of helping to keep our instructors informed, last season we assisted with administering a Teen Survey. This pertinent data regarding “Teens” will be helpful in planning future events for this population. The Area Reps did an outstanding job in assisting with this Survey. Look for the reports in the SnowPro. Lots of polling was done by the Area Reps to assist with learning the wishes of the instructors in Regions 4 and 4S as to their staffs’ thoughts on creating a new Region 7. The information gathered made the Board of Directors’ initial positive vote on this proposal a very informed decision. All that awaits before the new Region 7 becomes a reality is final confirmation at the October, 2003 Board Meeting. The new Region 7 would include all snowsports schools and members south of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Members are asked to find the questionnaire in this issue of the newsletter and express their opinion of this proposed by-laws change. The Area Reps fielded questions from their staffs about reinstatement, student discounts, location of Regional Meetings, cost of in-house events, and certification. The answers to all the questions submitted by the Reps will be returned in a summary that he or she will share with you. If you do not see that summary posted in your snow sports school, ask your Area Rep about it. You need to know that there is someone right beside you on your staff that can help you get answers to questions you might have through the course of the season. Get acquainted with the person on your staff who is your Area Rep; and, if for some reason your school has not yet assigned an Area Rep, then take the initiative, speak with your director, and volunteer to be that Representative. Many requests have been received from the Reps asking for assistance in getting in touch with members who are going to various events so that carpooling and lodging can be more economically arranged. In this next season, if you inform your Area Rep that you are planning to go to an event, want to car pool, and/or to share lodging, we are going to try to coordinate a line of communication to accomplish this. Once again, you will need to be in touch with your Area Rep. M o s t importantly, you need to know the answer to ---WHO IS YOUR PSIA-E AREA REP?◆◆
SnowPro ◆ Early Fall 2003 ◆ Page 9