March 25, 2010 – Dear Members and Friends of NENSA, today NENSA launches the 2010 Annual Fund Drive. We are strong.  Membership set another record this year, with 6% growth.  Races and festivals across New England had record fields.  You are a critical component of this success and once again, this year, we ask you to show your support for NENSA by contributing to our annual fund.

Our goal is $25,000 by the close of our fiscal year on April 30 and we can reach it only with your help.

The season started on a high note with good snow across the region and lots of skiers enjoying the snow with their local clubs and at NENSA events. Then it stopped snowing in most parts of New England and race organizers throughout the region drew on their snowfarming and snowmaking skills along with good old fashioned shoveling. For me, this spirit and determination was exemplified by the Bill Koch Festival.  With no snow at our scheduled site, John Weston and family stepped up to host the event on their trails in Fryeburg, Maine. Just as importantly every skier, parent, coach, and district chair stepped up to enthusiastically embrace the challenges created by the change and celebrate the spirit that has come to define this festival.  A week later at Junior Olympics, I lost count of the number of national champions by week’s end, the team once again took home the Alaska Cup as overall team champions, and two NENSA clubs, Stratton Mountain School and Cambridge Sports Union, ended up second and third in the nation for club scoring.

But, what did it mean? After the Olympics it was easy to ask if all the effort of so many athletes and coaches was worth it.

As if to answer this question, Andy Newell, with a group of Ford Sayre skiers loudly cheering,  willed his way onto the podium at the Drammen World Cup Sprints, arguably the craziest and most competitive of all on the schedule.  Then, a few days later Kikkan Randall placed second at the Holmenkollen World Cup.  We can succeed and the effort IS worth it.

At the close of another season, I ask you to help answer the question as decisively as Andy, Kikkan and the Weston family did.   Support skiers.  Help NENSA continue to create high quality programs for lifelong skiers at events like the Citizen and Marathon Series and Women’s Day. Help NENSA reach its goals of getting more kids on skis, helping create more quality programs, and supporting them all the way to the Olympics.  Please give to our annual fund today.

We can do this only with your help.  Please help by contributing whatever you can to the 2010 NENSA Annual Fund.

Click here to Donate Now.

Sincerely,

Patrick Cote
NENSA Executive Director

The New England Nordic Ski Association (NENSA) is a tax-exempt 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization: Tax ID # 02-0484887.

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