The Vancouver chapter of the Canadian Hostelling Association (CHA), wanting to establish a Victoria chapter, holds a meeting in Victoria with slides of Nepal. Matthew Nicoll, who had recently returned from traveling, attends the meeting and is elected chairman of the new Victoria chapter of the CHA. The Pack and Boot Shops, an outdoor recreation equipment supply store sponsored by the CHA, is established in Victoria and becomes the local CHA information centre.
In January, Matthew Nicoll leads a small group on the first outdoor event: a cross-country ski trip to Whistler (this is prior to the development of the Whistler and Blackcomb Ski Complex). Monthly "general" meetings are held to announce up-coming events and to obtain feedback. Each meeting features a slide show on some aspect of traveling and/or the outdoors. Many outdoor events, including those to Whistler, take advantage of CHA shelters as a base camp. Dave Cotter emerges as the bicycle trip "specialist", Linda Priestley shows leadership in canoe trips, and Matthew becomes the ski trip "leader". The first executive is elected at the May 10th meeting and the first Annual General Meeting is held in December.
| President: | Matthew Nicoll |
| Norm Tandberg | |
| Gill Tandberg | |
| Dave Cotter | |
| Felicity Page | |
| Eugene Evans (age 16) |
The number of events expands to a day trip or a weekend trip just about every week. A collection of "regular" destinations and activities begins to emerge. They include Whistler, East Sooke Park, Strathcona Park, Long Beach, West Coast beaches, and Sooke area mountains. Emphasis is on backpacking trips with day hikes as "fill-in" activities. First annual Halloween Party held at Norm and Gill Tandberg's.
| President: | Matthew Nicoll |
| Norm Tandberg | |
| Gill Tandberg | |
| Dave Cotter | |
| Felicity Page | |
| Eugene Evans |
Bruce Archibald, an expert sailor, adds sailing trips as a new dimension to the club. First annual Christmas Party with "Santa" and gift-exchange is held at Linda Priestley's parents place. The Forbidden Plateau 'round-house' becomes a base camp for ski trips to Forbidden Plateau.
| President: | Matthew Nicoll |
Matthew leaves Victoria to travel in Africa. Dave Cotter designs and produces a silk-screened CHA T-shirt which is sold to members. The Rossalan trail is built by the Outdoors Club of Victoria and they invite the CHA chapter to use it. The number of social events is expanded and includes evenings at Harpo's.
Friday night "Sports Night" is established after a summer of softball. Organizers include Bruce Archibald, Jeff Hawker, Dennis Haller, and Norm Tandberg. All are welcome at the Oaklands School gym for drop-in activities including volleyball, basketball, indoor soccer, and floor hockey. First ski trip to Mt. Washington organized by Bruce Archibald and Norm Tandberg. A condo is shared by 12 members. Jeff Hawker and Dennis Haller produce the first newsletter. It contains the event schedule, club news, book reviews, camping recipes, etc.
Each quarterly schedule contains about 10 events and is printed on one side of standard size paper. Approximately 80 percent of the events are outdoor activities. Members include: Linda Priestley, Gary Norris, Norm and Gill Tandberg, Russ and Marjorie Raine, Rick Roberts, Sue Wilson, Bruce Archibald, Marilyn Simes, Dave Cotter, Nick Evans, Dennis Haller, Ron Armstrong, Bill Nicholson, Sarah Ebell, Felicity Page, Bill Bradley, Ray Hall. An effort was made to schedule a wider variety of activities and to make a commitment to completing events as planned. Car-pooling costs were set at the cost of gas plus 10%.
| President: | Linda Priestley |
The quarterly activities schedule is expanded to include club news and is printed on both sides of legal size paper. Each schedule contains information about the new Victoria Hostel, the B.C. Federation of Mountain Clubs, outdoor recipes, and a book review. The number and title of positions in the executive changes throughout the year. The schedules contains between 13 and 18 events. Norm Tandberg and Dennis Haller represent the Club at the B.C. Federation of Mountain Clubs. The Federation is designed to liaise with government and private industry to establish a provincial policy on land use with special attention focused on Strathcona Park and Mt. Washington. Other participants include the Sierra Club and the Alpine Club. Discussions become heated as the government proposes mining and logging contracts for these areas. The Friends of Strathcona Park, a political advocacy group, is established. The Victoria Hostel is established.
| President: | Nick Evans |
| Sec/Treasurer: | Marjorie Raine |
| Vice President: | Rick Roberts |
| Activities: | Gary Norris |
| Publicity: | Ron Armstrong |
| Prov. Delegate: | Russ Raine |
| Rick Roberts | |
| Gary Norris (alternate) | |
| Newsletter: | Dennis Haller |
| Jeff Hawker |
A new executive structure is established. The schedules contain around 20 events. Newsletter-oriented "trip reports" begin to appear on the schedules. The recommendation to form an outdoors club, independent of the CHA, is met with an even split in votes.
| President: | Barbara Sickling |
| Sec/Treasurer: | Ann Tarves |
| Publicity: | Ron Armstrong |
| Newsletter: | Dennis Haller |
| Jeff Hawker |
Concerned about liability, the Canadian Hostel Association decide to sever relationships with the Victoria Outdoor Section in December. A group of VOS members decide to carry on in the following year as an independent group.
| President: | Barbara Sickling |
| Sec/Treasurer: | Ann Tarves |
| Publicity: | Ron Armstrong |
| Newsletter: | Dennis Haller |
The new club is formed. Ron Armstrong coins the name "Club Tread" and Betty Walsh designs the boot-print logo for the newly founded club. Dues are charged for the first time - $8 per year. Buddy Bhandar offers his house in the hills of Shawnigan Lake as the site for the annual Halloween Party.
| President: | Ann Tarves |
| Treasurer/Membership: | Gary Norris |
| Publicity: | Ron Armstrong |
| Newsletter: | Betty Walsh |
Year end membership: 44
The new Club Tread experiences significant growth. Dues are increased to $12 per year and the quarterly schedules contain between 26 and 43 events. The composition of the executive is expanded early in the year. The location of the departure point is changed from Mayfair or Tillicum malls to the Saanich Municipal Hall. "Official" Club Tread T-shirts are created and sold. Annual Christmas party is moved to the Norway House and a D.J. is hired. This continues to be a potluck event. Rob Denny takes over as a leader in sailing events with his 30' sail boat Waxwing.
| President: | John Lindeblom |
| Treasurer/Membership: | Dave Steffy |
| Outdoor Events: | Cass Laird |
| Rob Rix | |
| Ray Hall | |
| Social Events: | Shirley Turcotte |
| Sports: | Dennis Haller |
| Publicity: | Ron Armstrong |
| Newsletter: | Betty Walsh |
Year end membership: 60
Founding members begin to leave the Club for a number of reasons including new-found family responsibilities and a feeling that the group has grown too big. Some begin to feel that the Club is evolving into a "singles" group and are discomforted by this. A small faction opposed to the proliferation of social events emerges. Two different schedules of activities are produced - one available to Club members and the general public containing only outdoor events, and the other for Club members only containing just social events. Dues are increased to $15 per year and the quarterly schedules contain between 25 and 41 events. New memberships are actively pursued.
| President: | Brad Watson |
| Treasurer/Membership: | Irena Jazwinski |
| Outdoor Events: | Cass Laird |
| Russ Page | |
| Rob Denny | |
| Social Events: | Phyllis Kynas |
| Sports: | Janet Peterson |
| Publicity: | Ron Armstrong |
| Newsletter: | Wendy Fischer |
Year end membership: 99
Gord Warrenchuk champions the effort to have the Club registered as a non-profit society, complete with Constitution and By-laws. This comes about through much hard internal negotiation. The new constitution defines the composition of subsequent executive. A dispute regarding "ownership" of the Sports Night emerges and the Club decides to release involvement with Sports Night making the Sports Coordinator position obsolete. In addition to "Single", new membership categories of "Couple" and "Student" are introduced. The quarterly schedules contain between 31 and 43 events. For the first time, the annual Christmas Party is catered and is held at the Ukrainian Cultural Centre. The concept of two schedules, outdoor events and social, is scrapped and both events are again included in a single schedule. The first annual Oktoberfest night at the Victoria Edelweiss Club is organized by Charlotte Bowie.
| President: | Rob Denny |
| Treasurer/Membership: | Gord Warrenchuk |
| Outdoor Events: | Dave Steffy |
| Ray Hall | |
| Elaine Lewis | |
| Social Events: | Cathy Edmunds |
| Sports: | Cathy Quann |
| Publicity: | Ross Boast |
| Newsletter: | Phyllis Kynas |
Year end membership: 136
The effort to establish the Club as a non-profit society results in the executive extending their term of office past the traditional calendar year-end. Election of the new executive occurs at the planning meeting in late February and the February planning meeting is thus established as the annual general meeting during which the new executive is elected. Charlotte Bowie establishes the Swan Lake Nature Centre as the site of quarterly meetings. She is also responsible for introduction of Club membership cards. As a non-profit society, the Club obtains liability insurance for the first time. Bev Bacon volunteers to take responsibility for coordinating the Club ski trips thus relieving the Outdoor Event Coordinator from this task. "Official" Club Tread badges are created through the efforts of Val Townsend and sold by the Club to members at cost. As new memberships continue to grow steadily, it is felt that this growth will continue on its own and active pursuit of new members is suspended. The annual Christmas Party is held at the Princess Mary and is fully catered. Charlotte Bowie manages to get a number of door prizes donated from various outdoor stores within the city. The event is not subsidized by the Club and makes a minimal profit. After extensive debate in three different quarterly planning meetings, the Club adopts a uniform car-pooling policy of each passenger paying their driver 3-cents per kilometer. The first official annual report is submitted to the registrar of non-profit societies. The quarterly schedules contain between 41 and 53 events.
| President: | Charlotte Bowie |
| Vice President: | Vic Dove |
| Treasurer/Membership: | Gord Warrenchuk |
| Secretary: | Marie Vautier |
| Outdoor Events: | Russ Page |
| Social Events: | Lorraine Marchand / Charlotte Bowie |
| Publicity: | Ross Boast |
| Newsletter: | David Fisher |
Year end membership: 149
A system for rating hikes based on the model developed by the Victoria Outdoor Club is established. The check list for event coordinators is expanded. The quarterly schedules contain between 49 and 71 events. The number of scheduled ski trips doubles to 8.
| President: | Paul Turcotte |
| Vice President: | David Fisher |
| Treasurer/Membership: | Gord Warrenchuk |
| Secretary: | Betty Walsh |
| Outdoor Events: | Don MacNeill |
| Social Events: | Nicole Aube / Don MacNeill |
| Publicity: | Mary Kingsley |
| Newsletter: | Michael Motek |
Year end membership: 161
Initiated by Steve Graham, the hike rating system is simplified to use boot-prints to indicate levels of endurance. The easiest hikes are rated with one boot-print and the most difficult are rated with four. Audrey Stibbe creates a newsletter, called "Keeping Track", that is published quarterly and distributed with the schedule to members. A paper describing outdoor etiquette is produced and distributed to all members in an effort to promote no-trace camping and hiking. The Club plays an active role in the CRD Trail Coordinating Group and creates an interest in the establishment of a continuous protected area from Jordan River to Port Renfrew. Kayaking trips, organized by Steve Graham, become popular. Caving trips are introduced by Michael Motek. A number of one-boot walking events begin to appear on the schedule. A contingency fund is established to ease financial impact on members affected by unfortunate property damage while participating in outdoor events. A number of outdoor stores begin to give discounts to card-carrying members. The check list for event coordinators is enhanced. The Club experiences a significant growth in membership. The quarterly schedules contain between 48 and 93 events.
| President: | Gerald Person |
| Vice President: | Anna Mears |
| Treasurer/Membership: | Gord Warrenchuk |
| Secretary: | Jackie Evans |
| Outdoor Events: | Steve Graham |
| Social Events: | Sheila Robertson |
| Publicity: | Wynne Arden |
| Newsletter: | Michael Motek |
Year end membership: 189
The cost of car-pooling to each passenger is increased to 5-cents per kilometer on paved roads and 10-cents per kilometer on logging roads. "Official" Club Tread t-shirts are created through the efforts of Gerry Person and sold at cost to Club members. A local outdoor store also buys some for resale at profit. After review by the membership, the contingency fund established in the previous year is dropped. Attendance at the annual Christmas Party is down from previous years and the subsidy level is down accordingly.
| President: | Gerald Person |
| Vice President: | Anna Mears |
| Treasurer/Membership: | Gord Warrenchuk |
| Secretary: | Jackie Evans |
| Outdoor Events: | Steve Graham |
| Social Events: | Sheila Robertson |
| Publicity: | Pat Doheny |
| Newsletter: | Brian Latta |
Year end membership: 194
Gord Warrenchuk submits the document A History of Victoria Club Tread for inclusion with the Club's artifacts. The timing for election of officers is changed from the Annual General Meeting to the last planning meeting of the year.
| President: | Michael Motek |
| Vice President: | Russ Page |
| Treasurer/Membership: | Pat Brown |
| Secretary: | Pam Corzatt |
| Outdoor Events: | Michael Slaney |
| Social Events: | Joyce Danby |
| Publicity: | Johann Amering |
| Newsletter: | Brian Latta |
Membership as of November 21st: 183
The summer schedule is dominated by backpacking trips.
| President: | Audrey Stibbe |
| Vice President: | Russ Page |
| Treasurer/Membership: | Pat Brown |
| Secretary: | Pam Corzatt |
| Outdoor Events: | Ray Potvin |
| Past President: | Michael Motek |
| Social Events: | Joyce Danby |
| Publicity: | Anne Watt |
| Newsletter: | Steve Graham |
Membership as of November 12th: 174
| President | Steve Graham |
| Vice-President | Ron Armstrong |
| Treasurer/Membership | Pat Brown |
| Social Coordinator | Alex Lopez |
| Schedule Distribution/Publicity | Bob Crane |
| Past President: | Audrey Stibbe |
| Secretary | Pam Renney |
| Newsletter Editor | Michael Motek |
| Outdoor Events Coordinator | Brough Warren |
Membership as of November 5th: 161
| President | Steve Graham |
| Vice-President | Ron Armstrong |
| Treasurer/Membership | Pat Brown |
| Social Coordinator | Judy Low |
| Schedule Distribution/Publicity | Bob Crane |
| Past President> | Vacant |
| Secretary | Pam Renney |
| Newsletter Editor | Dianne C |
| Outdoor Events Coordinator | Geoff Chiddell |
Membership as of September 3rd: 163
| President | Gerry Person |
| Vice-President | Ron Armstrong |
| Treasurer/Membership | Jacquie Hunt |
| Social Coordinator | Paula Yewchuck |
| Schedule Distribution/Publicity | Bob Crane |
| Past President> | Steve Graham |
| Secretary | Pam Renney |
| Newsletter Editor | Dianne C |
| Outdoor Events Coordinator | Geoff Chiddell |
Membership as of September 11th: 163
| President | Paula Yewchuck |
| Vice-President | Ron Armstrong |
| Treasurer/Membership | David Hoadley |
| Social Coordinator | Hazel Medlyn |
| Schedule Distribution/Publicity | Bruce Dickey |
| Past President> | Gerry Person |
| Secretary | Pam Renney |
| Newsletter Editor | Dianne C |
| Membership | Jacquie Hunt |
| Outdoor Events Coordinator | Kevin White |
Membership as of November 16th: 172
Club Tread get's it own domain name, moving from freeservers.
| President | Pam Renney |
| Vice-President | Ron Armstrong |
| Treasurer | David Hoadley |
| Social Coordinator | Gail Owen |
| Schedule Distributor/Publicity | Frances Patterson |
| Past President | Paula Yewchuk |
| Secretary | Pat Brown |
| Newsletter Editor | Dianne Corner |
| Membership | Jacquie Hunt |
| Outdoor Events Coordinator | Richard Tolman |
Membership as of November 14th: 191
Membership as of November 5th: 178
1065 people attended the 148 events held by the club in 2002.
| President | Ron Armstrong |
| Vice President | Pat Brown |
| Past President | Pam Renney |
| Membership Coordinator | Jacquie Hunt |
| Outdoor Event Coordinator | John Ward |
| Publicity | Ray Potvin |
| Schedule Editor | Dianne Collier |
| Secretary | Pam Renney |
| Social Coordinator | Terri Crawford |
| Treasurer | Audrey Stibbe |
| Webmaster | Michael Motek |
Membership as of November 12th: 167
1265 people attended the 172 events held by the club in 2003.
| President | Ron Armstrong |
| Vice President | Pat Brown |
| Membership Coordinator | Jacquie Hunt |
| Outdoor Event Coordinator | John Ward |
| Publicity | Ray Potvin |
| Schedule Editor | Dianne Collier |
| Secretary | Pam Renney |
| Social Coordinator | Susan Kirk |
| Treasurer | Audrey Stibbe |
| Webmaster | Michael Motek |
Membership as of November 17th: 176
1882 people attended the 205 events held by the club in 2004.
| President | Russell Page |
| Vice President | Chris Vardy |
| Past President | Ron Armstrong |
| Membership Coordinator | Jacquie Hunt |
| Outdoor Event Coordinator | Tom Gore |
| Publicity | Ray Potvin |
| Schedule Editor | Fred Trudell |
| Secretary | Pam Renney |
| Social Coordinator | Susan Kirk |
| Treasurer | Judy Leonard |
| Webmaster | Michael Motek |
Hikes and backpacks continued as usual. Socially the Summer Picnic and Christmas Party were as enjoyable as ever. A sub-committee of the executive updated Club safety policies after a group of hikers was
overtaken by darkness before they completed a hike. No harm came to anyone but it was a reminder that preparing for the unexpected is a
cardinal rule for all who venture into the outdoors.
Forums are added to the club's website, unfortunately they are abandoned shortly after due to a combination of lack of use and security concerns. The upgrade to the website is still beneficial as it allows the webmaster to start building a more interactive site.
Membership as of November 9th: 189
1698 people attended the 199 events held by the club in 2005.
| President | Chris Vardy |
| Vice President | Leo Vezina |
| Past President | Russell Page |
| Keeping Track Editor | Joyce Vezina |
| Membership Coordinator | Jacquie Hunt |
| Outdoor Event Coordinator | Tom Gore |
| Publicity | Chris Irving |
| Schedule Editor | Dean Bennett |
| Secretary | Pam Renney |
| Social Coordinator | Gail Clark |
| Treasurer | Fred Trudell |
| Webmaster | Michael Motek |
A revised constitution for the club was implemented to reflect changes that had occurred over the years. The Newsletter Editor and the Webmaster positions are now officially part of the Executive. Declining membership numbers and fewer activities than in recent years took the attention of the Club. Various measures were implemented to stem this trend, including random prizes to recognize members who put events on the calendar and presentations at planning meetings of hikes club members had undertaken.
Membership as of December 3rd: 178
1269 people attended the 146 events held by the club in 2006.
| President | Chris Vardy |
| Vice President | Leo Vezina |
| Past President | Russell Page |
| Keeping Track Editor | Joyce Vezina |
| Membership Coordinator | Jacquie Hunt |
| Outdoor Event Coordinator | Tom Gore |
| Publicity | Chris Irving |
| Schedule Editor | Fred Trudell |
| Secretary | Pam Renney |
| Secretary | Penny Codding |
| Social Coordinator | Elizabeth Williams |
| Social Coordinator | Dana Waite |
| Treasurer | Susan Kirk |
| Webmaster | Michael Motek |
Membership as of November 28th: 149
1360 people attended the 199 events held by the club in 2007.
| President | Tom Gore |
| Vice President | George Welsh |
| Past President | Chris Vardy |
| Keeping Track Editor | Barry Gaetz |
| Membership Coordinator | Jacquie Hunt |
| Outdoor Event Coordinator | Donald Ferster |
| Publicity | Chris Irving |
| Schedule Editor | Fred Trudell |
| Secretary | Elizabeth Williams |
| Secretary | Chris Taggart |
| Social Coordinator | Elizabeth Williams |
| Social Coordinator | Dana Waite |
| Treasurer | Susan Kirk |
| Webmaster | Michael Motek |
This year's highlights include:
Membership as of November 26th: 142
1480 people attended the 205 events held by the club in 2008.
| President | Tom Gore |
| Vice President | George Welsh |
| Keeping Track Editor | Barry Gaetz |
| Membership Coordinator | Jacquie Hunt |
| Outdoor Event Coordinator | Donald Ferster |
| Publicity | Judy Brown |
| Schedule Editor | Fred Trudell |
| Secretary | Elizabeth Williams |
| Social Coordinator | Dana Waite |
| Treasurer | Susan Kirk |
| Webmaster | Michael Motek |
Membership as of November 25th: 149
1687 people attended the 217 events held by the club in 2009.
| President | Gail Clark |
| Vice President | George Welsh |
| Past President | Tom Gore |
| Keeping Track Editor | Barry Gaetz |
| Membership Coordinator | Jacquie Hunt |
| Outdoor Event Coordinator | Donald Ferster |
| Publicity | Judy Brown |
| Schedule Editor | Sue Ward |
| Secretary | Elizabeth Williams |
| Social Coordinator | Dana Waite |
| Treasurer | John Ward |
| Webmaster | Michael Motek |
Copyright, Victoria Club Tread.
Last updated: April 7th, 2007 at 10:08am.
