Hello {FIRST_NAME},

Resolutions and Rooting for the Rockies

By the Council Chair - Jacob Sciammas

Each year, after the holiday season passes, I feel a longing to keep the party going.  Appreciating family, friends, food and festivities shouldn't just be reserved for November and December.  I find it isn't until the first 2 weeks of January that I can finally rest enough to think about the passing year (and inevitably years) and what I want to applaud.  For that reason, I don't have my resolutions finalized until at least mid January.  Only after that process occurs can I effectively look ahead to the New Year with some new goals and a fresh perspective.

Especially in our region, there is a lot to still celebrate: 

A record setting attendance at our regional conference in Albuquerque, a truly "International" AEE conference in Montreal, the recent AEE Regional Arapahoe Basin Beach Party lead by our first Colorado State Rep-Dave Miller, Natalie Kurylko's new baby boy-August, Kirsten Kindt stepping in to the Rocky Mountain Region from the AEE Office, the AEE Networking Happy Hours in Boulder and the addition of David Farkas as the first Student Representative to the council.  In recognizing those successes I see how the process of planning, preparation and a little luck allowed them to reach fruition.  The steps were carefully considered and guided into place by the team of council members in the Rocky Mountain Region and the AEE Office in Boulder.  I couldn't imagine a more responsible, willing and driven group to represent the AEE membership in the Rockies and to call my colleagues and friends.  Thank you dearly, folks.

Regional Conference to have Strong Student Presence

by David Farkas, Student Representative

                The 2010 Rocky Mountain Regional conference in Lander, Wyoming will not only host a cornucopia of the region's professional and institutional talent, but promises to be a showcase for the region's student excellence as well.  In keeping with the conference theme of "Sharing the Summit," the Rocky Mountain Regional Council (RMRC) and area educators have taken big steps to encourage student attendance and participation. 

                In recognizing that students can frequently be unable to attend a conference due to financial constraints, the RMRC has started a scholarship fund that will assist students in covering the cost of travel and registration for AEE conferences.  The scholarship award process is based on financial need and a brief personal statement about how conference attendance will benefit the student's educational and professional goals.  Stay tuned to the Rocky Mountain Region's website for application details and deadlines. 

Read more...

Proud of our People! 
by Scott Robertshaw & Jacob Sciammas

The Rocky Mountain Region is proud to announce 3 new awards to recognize the amazing achievements of our members and organizations.  Please help us identify the exceptional contributions to AEE and the industry of experiential education by nominating others.  We hope that our simple process will encourage as many nominations as possible - don't hesitate to nominate several individuals or organizations.  Sharing some of the glowing feedback with award winners and all nominees is a pleasure for the Rocky Mountain Region Council and is an amazing gift that you can give to those that have positively impacted you.  It only takes a few minutes to nominate and the feedback can last a lifetime!  Find this information online at: http://rockymountain.aee.org/awards/

 Read more...

Lander here we come! - by Jacob Sciammas

I am excited to announce that I will be helping host the 2010 Association for Experiential Education (AEE) Rocky Mountain Regional Conference in gorgeous Lander, WY April 16-18^th, 2010.  The conference will be held at the Pronghorn Lodge and up and down Lander's Main Street where iconic outdoor education businesses, stores, and organizations co-exist.  At the foot of the Wind River Mountains and surrounded by whitewater, hiking, mountain biking, world-class climbing and skiing or snowboarding, April is an exciting time to see what Mother Nature brings.   We would love to have you attend or have your organization exhibit at the conference and we look forward to seeing you in Lander soon!

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From the Chair - continued

The rooting won't be calming down anytime soon, I am happy to report.  New goals and new faces on the council will help new Rocky Mountain Region resolutions reach greater heights of better serving our membership.  I believe we already have had more high quality leaders interested in the new position openings on the council than in all the previous years combined.  Those interested leaders will continue to bring more energy, ideas and enthusiasm to help grow the region.  Just watch.  They will be taking the baton for many new "first-evers" including Rocky Mountain Regional Awards to be presented in Lander, a Scholarship Program for Regional and International Conference assistance, a dynamic Facebook Site (join us at "AEE Rocky Mountain Region" now!), a Conference at Utah Valley State in Orem for 2011, and maybe even state-representative-led-events in EVERY state by 2012.  Those are lofty goals, but they are what our region deserves and has the potential to achieve with members like you. 

Most importantly, I praise you, our Rocky Mountain Region membership, for your help, support and continued investment in AEE.  Being a member and keeping your membership current is the most important step to help us achieve our goals of advocating for experiential educators, so don't take it lightly.  We don't take your effort to be a member lightly at all.  Even if at times we avoid the conversation of money and membership, it is something we need to address more often in order to keep AEE alive and well.  If you haven't checked lately, go to the website (http://www.aee.org/membership/benefits) to see all of the benefits that you receive as a member.  I am always surprised by something new when I look there.  However, try not to be surprised and try to be open when someone asks you about being a member and contributing to AEE financially. 

With the successes we are all enjoying in AEE (especially recently and despite the tough economy) you can see why your membership is something WELL worth rooting for! 

Finally, let's root together, in Lander, WY from April 16^th-18^th 2010 at the Rocky Mountain Regional conference, because the city and people are ready for us to command a learning celebration together.  Register NOW!!!

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Sarah's savvy ski tuning tips - continued

Supplies:  It is fairly easy to acquire what you need to tune your own skis or board.  Many ski shops have pre-made kits for tuning, or sell supplies individually.  Here are some things I find to be extremely handy:

• Iron (Goodwill or a ski-specific iron if you know any Nordies) 
• Edge-sharpener
• Wax- I use a universal wax but there are base waxes for specific temperatures
• Scraper
• Nail file or stone
• Finishing brush
• Base cleaner- base cleaning is an optional step if your bases are really grungy.

Step 1: Sharpening

1. Set your sharpener to the correct angle and orient yourself with the direction of travel arrow.  Standard bevel is 1 degree (some manufacturer's specs are different). 
2. Figure out a way to hold down your boards.  If you're lucky, your coworker has fashioned a handsome device and drilled it into a work bench.  If not, there are custom ski vice grips or you can fashion your own.
3. Use a marker to mark your edges so you know if you have sharpened the whole length evenly. 
   
4. 
   
   
   4. Sharpen the base first then the side.  Make sure you follow the arrow and go the right direction, as indicated by your sharpener.  After sharpening, use the nail file or stone to get any burrs off (secret racer head trick).
5. Detune the tip(s): optional.  Having super sharp edges at your tips can mess with your turn initiation.  I like to detune, or dull, my edges to about where they will come into contact with the snow, or in from there about a cm. 
6. Be careful- don't slice your pinky off with your super sharp edges!  (It could happen...)

Step 2: Wax

1. While you are sharpening your boards, you can start your iron a-heatin.  Most universal waxes iron on at 125 degrees.  If you're not sure what temp your iron is, make it just hot enough to melt the wax.
2. Hold the iron at an angle and drip wax onto your ski bases.  Then go back over the bases with the flat iron to evenly wax the base.  
3. Let the wax cool until hard before the next step.... Or if you are stashing your boards until next winter, leave the wax nice and thick for summer storage.

Step 3: Scrape and buff

1. Scrape excess wax off your skis from tip to tail.  If you're a dirtbag, you can keep this wax and remelt it the next time you wax!
2. Take your brush and use a short, brisk motion from tip to tail, to buff your skis until you can see your reflection (or at least they look n feel smooth).  You can finish with long, ski length strokes. 

Good luck with the boards!  May many powder days grace your late winter and spring, and may self-sufficiency be yours! 

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 Student notes - continued

 Regional educators have encouraged student involvement in AEE by incorporating conference attendance into their educational curriculums.  Dr.  Brooke Moran, from Western State College in Gunnison, Colorado, has piloted a van full of her highly passionate and motivated students to many regional conferences over the years, and has also helped them in submitting numerous workshop proposals.  In Durango, Colorado, Dr. Bob Stremba designs regional conference attendance into his Organization and Administration of Adventure Education class, and requires that each student submit a workshop proposal as part of their coursework.  Incorporating conference attendance into educational curriculum allows students to be mentored in a structured and focused way, and also relieves some of the financial burden of attending.  While van car-pooling saves on gas and vehicle expenses, conference registration and hotel fees can be included in a course fee, which allows many students to use their school financial aid or other financial support to cover the cost of these expenses.

                Whether you are a student or an educator, keep your eye on the Rocky Mountain Region's website for scholarship details, and please come to the region's inaugural student meeting in Lander to celebrate and expand AEE's emerging student presence! back to top

Criteria:  Each award is open to current AEE Rocky Mountain Region Individual Members or someone who is included under an Organizational Membership. Each award recipient will receive a certificate or plaque and a regional membership for one year.

1. Rising Star - for an emerging leader in the field of experiential education.
2. Organizational - for an organization in the region that has contributed to the success of the region or in the industry of Experiential Education 
3. "Experiential Leader Award" - in recognition of his or her servant leadership or exemplary practitioner achievements in the Rocky Mountain Region.  Award is presented by the previous years award winner

Nomination process:

• Write a narrative that specifically demonstrates to the Rocky Mountain Region Awards Committee how the nominee meets the criteria. Include name of the nominee, address, phone and email.
• Tell us about yourself as the nominator. Include: Your name, relationship to nominee, your address, phone, email.
• Submit by email to Scott A. Robertshaw scott.robertshaw@colostate-pueblo.edu
• Deadline to submit by email by March 31, 2010

Person to contact for more information: 

Scott A. Robertshaw at scott.robertshaw@colostate-pueblo.edu

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Whether you are familiar with AEE or not, this conference is a great way to connect with local educators of the Rocky Mountain Region (Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, & Arizona).  Challenge course facilitators, classroom teachers, environmental educators, outdoor instructors, university students and camping services administrators will all converge at this intimate conference (typically 200 persons or less) to share best practices, skills and a lot of down-home fun.  As the administration of our country shifts and the US economic health needs great attention, this local and inexpensive conference has helped me refocus and re-energize each year.  I hope you can make it and encourage other educators you know to attend as well. PASS IT OR FORWARD IT ON!

The theme for this year's conference is "Sharing the Summit" highlights the importance of group effort.   From our workshops to our community kick-off dinner, every aspect of our 2010 Conference emphasizes the benefits of professional collaboration and community involvement.   We will also be offering several Pre-Conference Workshops, including a Leave No Trace Trainers Course and a tour of the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS), as well as a diverse selection of workshops during the three-day conference.  This year's keynote speakers are longtime climbing partners Mike Lilygren and Steve Bechtel who will draw from their expedition rock-climbing experiences to demonstrate the mindset and qualities necessary for team cohesion and real success.  For more conference details, please see our website: http://rockymountain.aee.org/conferences/.  The conference brochure can be found there and online REGISTRATION IS NOW AVAILABLE 

Having an exhibit is a great opportunity to educate and/or reach out to the members and conference attendees at this year's Rocky Mountain Regional AEE Conference. This year we are continuing last year's successful arrangement to encourage more exhibitors and make exhibiting a more accessible option for programs: the Exhibit fee, $200, will include one complimentary conference registration (a $160-170 value). Exhibitors will be highlighted in the Conference Program and attendees will be oriented toward your exhibit space during the conference opening.  Several people have also asked what they can do if they cannot attend.  Donating items to our conference auction is a great opportunity to expose others to your organization/business or just to contribute to the cause - please contact me if you have something in mind.

If you have any questions regarding the conference, AEE or are interested in exhibiting please contact me (303) 877-9570 or Sarah Councell, at sarah_councell@yahoo.com  or (505) 858-8865. Our website, which has more information about the conference and venue, is at http://rockymountain.aee.org/conferences/.

Thanks for your time and I look forward to hearing from you...and please, as a favor to me, take a second and FORWARD IT ON!  If you are an organization with an email list serve, please consider forwarding this on there.

Wishing you the best, Jake
Jacob Sciammas
Incoming Chair - Rocky Mountain Region AEE

We would love to connect with our Rocky Mountain Region members like you on Facebook!  Subscribe by searching for:  AEE Rocky Mountain Region

Did you see the NEW Rocky Mountain Regional Conference brochure?  Check out the latest updates and additions to the conference April 16-18th, 2010 in Lander, WY at:  http://rockymountain.aee.org/conferences/brouchures/