Thank you!

Mon, 11 Jul 2011 08:44:40 -0400

Dear Cross Country Skiing Enthusiast,

When we created the Central New England Nordic Council (CNENC), it was in response to news from Al and Irene Jenks that they had decided to retire and were looking for someone to carry on the skiing tradition at Windblown Cross Country Ski area. We are delighted that Al Jenks has announced that he will be running Windblown next year (2011-12), and will be looking for ways that his son Andy can take over after that. It is great that Windblown will continue to be a resource for New England cross country skiers!

As you may know, CNENC undertook a capital campaign to acquire Windblown and to modify the trail system to make it amenable to snowmaking, which we believe to be essential in this region for long term viability given global climate change. Despite the headwinds of the recession, our campaign made considerable progress. We are deeply grateful to the hundreds of enthusiasts who made a pledge to CNENC. In addition to these pledges, our efforts benefited from the help of dozens of volunteers.

We are particularly heartened that volunteers and financial pledges came from all corners of our community: from touring backcountry skiers, from families with small children, and from committed racers. It was great to see everyone working together towards a common goal.

Although the impetus for creating CNENC came from Windblown, our experience over the past 18 months has demonstrated the incredible potential of this community to work together to foster the sport of cross country skiing. To that end, CNENC will remain active as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation with the goals of furthering cross country skiing in the region and nationally through supporting youth and junior ski education, recreational cross country skiing, and training for competition.

We hope to see you at Windblown next year and thereafter.

Sincerely,

Jim Stock
Chair, Board of Directors, CNENC, on behalf of the Board of Directors, CNENC