IN THIS EDITION:

ASF 2010-2011
Winter Brochure
is available now

Save The Date
The Windham Fine Arts Gallery presents an evening of fine wine, cuisine and art December 29, 2010

Avoid cabin fever Volunteer as an ASF ski or snowboard instructor

Celebrate our S.T.R.E.N.G.T.H.

Save February 5, 2011 for ASF's Annual Gala and Auction

Raise funds for ASF through your own personal website

Yoga for Skiers and Snowboarders at ASF

ASF Wish List

Thank you to our generous supporters:

Affiliations:

SAVE THE DATE
The Windham Fine Arts Gallery presents an evening of fine wine, cuisine and art
December 29, 2010

"Yellow Farmhouse", is an oil on canvas painting by James Coe. James will have a solo show up at Windham Fine Arts Gallery during the auction.

The evening includes a wine tasting conducted by representatives from Hudson Wine Merchants, who specialize in hand-selected wines from many regions around the world, concentrating on the best boutique wines. Their in house cellar features wines from France and America, from the 1960s to the present. In light of last year's positive response, there will also be a port tasting and artisinal cheese selection.

Along with the wine tasting, Claudia and Stephane Desgaches from one of Windham's finest restaurants, Bistro Brie and Bordeaux, will serve a sampling of heavy h'ors d'ouerves.

A live auction will feature bottles of fine wine and artworks by WFA artists.

The evening runs from 6:00 - 8:00 pm at
The Windham Fine Arts Gallery, 5380 Main Street, Windham

To purchase your tickets in advance click here.

Please RSVP by December 15, 2010

All proceeds will benefit the Adaptive Sports Foundation
at Windham Mountain.

Avoid cabin fever
Volunteer as an ASF ski or snowboard instructor

The heart of a volunteer is not measured in size, but by the depth of the commitment to make a difference in the lives of others.
DeAnn Hollis

Looking to do something over the winter so you don't get cabin fever?
Volunteer as an ASF ski or snowboard instructor. The obvious benefit is the chance to help individuals with disabilities and injuries learn to ski and ride. What you may not realize is that helping others is so personally rewarding!

A sunny day for the race team last winter.

Other benefits include skiing and riding privileges at Windham Mountain, ski and snowboard improvement clinics with outstanding clinicians, use of the comfortable ASF instructor locker room, and pro deals on equipment. To learn more about what it takes to be a volunteer with the Adaptive Sports Foundation, click here or call us at 518-734-5070 if you have questions.

Celebrate our S.T.R.E.N.G.T.H.
By Bob Speck, ASF Training Coordinator

Bob Speck enjoying a perfect run.

Winter is just around the corner. Ski areas in Colorado are opening. Heavy snow is in the forecast for Utah ski areas this week. And next week we kick off our winter season with our annual meeting for returning volunteers! Are you ready? If you're like me, you're already visualizing yourself making your own perfect turns down your favorite Windham trail which, of course, is covered with your favorite snow conditions and basking in perfect weather conditions. Doesn't it help if you imagine your dreams the way you want things to be?

I believe in the power of imagining things the way you want them to be. Do the dreams always come true? Of course not. But I do believe our subconscious minds are powerful, and that there is something to be said for the connections between the power of visualizing our best personal strengths and actually living accordingly. I'm sure there are many of you that as ski competitors have experienced the same benefits of pre-visualizing your perfect ski run before your race.

I had the pleasure of spending this past weekend with a fabulous group of aspiring new ASF volunteer instructors. We spent some time talking about the values ASF developed last season as a group at our annual meeting for returning volunteers. Remember some of the adjectives and acronyms you came up with to describe the best characteristics of our ASF programs and culture? Because of the multiple positive meanings of the word itself, as well as the fact that what we do is work with people's abilities or strengths, the staff at ASF decided to put many of the adjectives you came up with to the acronym STRENGTH. Safety and Service. Teamwork. Respect. Empowerment. Nurturing. Growth. Trust. Health and Happiness. When we discussed what these words meant to each of us at the hiring clinic this past weekend, we all had a picture in our minds of a pretty special place to work, a perfect work environment and ASF culture.

Each of us has our own personal strengths, positive attributes that we bring to this special place, to this special group of people. When each of us has the chance to express our individual strengths, these positive personal attributes that we imagine define ourselves individually, we then have the opportunity to define the perfect workplace each of us call home every winter at ASF. All of us, volunteers and students and staff alike, are happier because we are living our dreams. Our dreams are coming true!

I like the fact that our last descriptive words in our values acronym are health and happiness. I believe that if we can each express our own positive personal strengths in a work environment that fosters similar attributes, all of us, volunteers and students and staff, will be healthier and happier. I've only been here one season so far, but I saw more happy faces last season here at ASF than I can remember seeing in all of my previous 36 seasons of teaching skiing and snowboarding! And that's because of you, each of you.

So, here are my best wishes to you for a happy season in which your dreams do come true! Celebrate your strengths! Imagine your perfect self. Realize your perfect ski season at the Adaptive Sports Center! And get ready to share yourself with each other again beginning November 6th.

Save February 5, 2011 for ASF's Annual Gala and Auction

The Club at Windham Mountain provides a warm, elegant setting for ASF's Annual Gala and Auction.

We are looking for items for our Silent Auction 2011. We take items large or small, conservative or outrageous, lavish or affordable. In the past, we have auctioned opportunities such as introducing a celebrity at a live concert in NY, seats to Broadway shows, golf at beautiful country clubs, and many more. If you have access to an item, tickets to an event or anything else that people might be interested in bidding on, we'd love to hear from you! For more information on how to donate click here.

Raise funds for ASF through your own personal website

We have put together a pretty cool fundraising website that we would like you to know about. Basically, the new website program allows you to have a personal web page that you, or someone you know, can use to raise money on behalf of ASF. It is very user-friendly, so it should only take you a few minutes to use, even if you aren't too computer savvy.

Help keep ASF programs strong.

It's as easy as 1, 2, 3!

1. Visit the ASF Talking Points website.

2. Set up your ASF Talking Points page.

3. Send the page out to your email list and Facebook friends.

For examples, please take a look at the fundraising pages ASF staff members Adam, Bob, and Jo have set up.

In addition, you can visit our website for some talking points and photos / videos you might want to use on your ASF Talking Points page. If you have any questions or would like some assistance, feel free to email Adam or call him at 518-734-5070.

Yoga for Skiers and Snowboarders at ASF

ASF all set up for yoga.

Increase flexibility, balance and strength through practicing a dynamic series of yoga postures, focused breathing and mindfulness. Join us for a six week session, November 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 and December 6 (Monday evenings) 5:45 - 7:0 pm. Classes offer excellent conditioning and reduce likelihood of injury.

Jo Kirsch, (Registered Yoga Teacher) and certified professional ski instructor, will teach the course. Classes will be held at the Adaptive Sports Foundation. Beginners are welcome. Course fee is $60 with advance registration and $75 at the door.

To register contact Jo at 802.379.4514 or email. For more information visit www.wildmountainyoga.com.