December, 2014 - Mid

December is a busy time for all of us, but we need to still make time for Fun,
Fitness and Friendship. The Mid-Florida Milers Walking Club has three special
walks planned for the month of December, and we are hoping you will join us!
On Thursday night 12/4, Winter Park’s annual “Christmas in the Park” will be
held in Central Park. The event includes the display of Tiffany glass sculptures
and a performance by the Bach choir. MFM is sponsoring a guided 5 km walk
during this event with registration at Morse MiniPark from 6:00 to 6:15 pm. Join
us for a pleasant evening stroll with background music, and then spend some
time after the walk browsing through the beautiful Tiffany displays.
Bring your flashlight!
1.
Our first Saturday of the month walk will be held in the town of Celebration,
one of MFM’s most-walked Year Round Events. Start will be from 8:30 to 9:00
am at Starbucks on Bloom St. You may choose to walk the 5Km or 10Km. This
favorite walk will take you through the downtown streets, boardwalks, and
residential areas of this lovely and special town. Many of our walkers like to
follow the walk with brunch or lunch at one of the enticing restaurants in the
area. Come and enjoy!
On Saturday at 10:11 12/13/14 AVA is sponsoring a major national event in
recognition of this rare continuous number configuration. How many walkers
can we (AVA members) get on the trail walking at 10:11 am on 12/13/14? So
far AVA has over 60 clubs in 35 states registered to participate. Tee shirts are
available to order to wear during the event and to commemorate your
participation. Mid-Florida Milers will provide a 5Km and 10Km guided walk
starting from Mead Gardens in Winter Park. Registration will be from 9:15 to
10:00, followed by a group picture, and then the walk start at 10:11 am. We
encourage all participants to take pictures of each other on the trail. We will be
reporting back to AVA during the walk with pictures and fun facts. Following
the walk, we will celebrate this once in a lifetime event, as well as the upcoming
holidays with a luncheon at Another Broken Egg Café in Winter Park. Don’t
miss out on the fun! (See also page 10)
Please visit our website www.midfloridamiler.org for further details on these events.
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
Pages 2-5: WAF or Walk Around Florida 24 – What is WAF? – WAF Involvement
Page 6 Trailmaster Topics – Upcoming Events – MFM Milestones – Page 7: 2000 YRE’s?
Page 8: Special Program Corner – AVA Convention
Page 9: Alaska Walking by Pete and Sharon – Page 10: Time To Walk! 10-11-12-13-14
Page 11: Bill Paugh’s How I Started Volksmarching – Membership Report by Letty Zook
Page 12: Club Contacts – Walk Pictures!
Page 1
FVA – The Florida Volkssport Association maintains a website with all the Florida Traditional and
Year Round Events posted by date and location, also walker milestones. http://www.walkflorida.org/Walk_Florida
Walk Around Florida – Our 24th Year’s Events!
OCT 31 International Palms Resort
By Rosemary Barna
The Kick-Off Walk in Cocoa Beach hosted 71 walkers
on Halloween where the route took us on A1A, into a
residential area on the Banana River, and
then returned on
the fantastic
Atlantic Coast
Beach to Lori
Wilson Park and
its “old Florida”
hammock nature
trail.
OCT 31 Atlantic Beach Coast
Afterwards folks scattered to
eat, many at the host
International Palms Resort’s
“Mangos on the Beach”.
OCT 31 Walking Dead Party
OCT 31 Zombie Dice
Then, (drum roll, please!), the Suncoast Sandpipers
sponsored a Walking Dead Party that attracted 50 revelers
and was located at the volleyball court within the Palms
Resort. A Monster fun time commenced with skull-shaped
cheese, graveyard brownies, zombie souvenir glasses filled
with dangerous liquids, and a rousing game of Zombie Dice!
OCT 31 sponsored by Suncoast Sandpipers
Saturday November 1
brought an early call, as we
arrived at 6:30 a.m. for the
sunrise breakfast at Paradise
Beach Park arranged by
Debbie Olinick.
NOV 1 Breakfast
NOV 1 Sunrise Paradise Beach Park
We then departed on the 10 and 6
kilometer walks that took us through
residential areas and returned on the
Atlantic Coast beach.
NOV 1 Breakfast
The weather cooled down with a 22 mph wind, and the 80
participants found it necessary to wear heavier clothing.
Debbie coordinated a plentiful BBQ
lunch of pulled pork sandwiches,
coleslaw and drinks from Charlie
and Jake's BBQ for the 65 folks.
NOV 1 Registration and Breakfast
During the fun and food, Maxine Johnson, FVA
President, conducted the Florida Volkssport Association
Semiannual Meeting in the spacious pavilion.
What is a Walk Around Florida?
Walk Around Florida started in 1990 as a Walk Across Florida where three clubs, the 1982 Patrick Pacers (East
Coast), the 1984 Suncoast Sandpipers (West Coast), and the new 1989 Mid Florida Milers (Central “Coast”) joined together to
each sponsor a walk in their location, thus Walk Across Florida.
The Miler’s chose Wekiwa Springs State Park for the Labor Day weekend 1990 inaugural event. The clubs held this
regimen alternating from east to west and west to east each year on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday through 2005. There was
a dinner reception on Friday eve at the east or west coast start. The Happy Wanderers replaced the Pacers in 1998. In 2006
the walk concept was modified to have all clubs’ participants start from one location and the name changed to Walk Around
Florida. Since then, walks were held in Inverness, Ocala, Lake Buena Vista (in conjunction with the AVA National Executive
Council meeting), Treasure Island, St Augustine, and Palm Harbor.
Page 3
A group of 81 walkers headed south to Palm
Bay where Fred Sheets, past AVA Treasurer,
had laid out an afternoon route at Turkey Creek
Sanctuary and Malabar Park. The Turkey
Creek 1.8 km boardwalk and the pine
scrublands of Malabar provided contrasting
environments that made for an enjoyable walk.
NOV 1 Turkey Creek – Rob Cox and David Bonewitz
A “Walk Around Florida 2014” plank
commemorating our walking weekend was placed
on the Turkey Creek Sanctuary boardwalk.
NOV 1 Our Plank: WALK AROUND FLORIDA
NOV 1 Nature Center
In the evening, walkers gathered in the resort’s nicely
decorated Dolphin Room for the WAF Buffet Dinner
of beef and chicken, vegetables, and a dessert of
carrot cake. Bill Ellis, Happy Wanderers President,
opened the evening by welcoming all and introducing
guests and the officers from the three hosting
clubs. The Southeast Regional Director, David
Bonewitz, spoke of the need to share event ideas
among clubs to help build club membership. He also
presented Alice Lawrence, Suncoast Sandpipers
President, with a Club 30-Year Letter and
Pennant. The Suncoast Sandpipers are the second
oldest club in Florida.
NOV 1 Sighting of Kayakers while on the Walk.
After a fun and extremely busy day, the evening came to a close with everyone anticipating the
extra hour of slumber provided by the change to standard time.
Page 4
On Sunday November 2, a group of
80 well-rested walkers headed to
Cocoa and the Lee Wenner Park for a
walk along the Indian River, into the
city of Rockledge, and through the
charming Cocoa Village.
NOV 2 Lee Wenner Park
The Walk Around Florida event was
concluded with a fresh lunch of turkey wraps,
Greek salad, and cookies, courtesy of
Rosemary Barna and crew at Lee Wenner
Park in Cocoa.
With the WAF 2014 completed, the three
NOV 2 Indian River
host clubs (The Happy Wanderers, the MidFlorida Milers, and the Suncoast Sandpipers)
now look forward to their 25th anniversary
Walk Around Florida 2015.
WAF Involvement
By Mike Lanpher
Since being assigned the Routes and Trails position in 1994, I have been involved in
every WAF. As with other walks during the year, we have weather to contend with and
interestingly, the only walks postponed in the last 20 years were those of the WAF
2004 by the Mid Florida Milers and Suncoast Sandpipers on the Labor Day weekend –
the great hurricane year. That year the Happy Wanderers event on Sat AM was very
windy, but dry and completed by some 25-30 walkers. WAF attendance has not been
tracked officially, but the numbers per walk have been as high as 140 and as low as
80. Since the original WAF event had over 300 attendees, the attendance has eased
a bit. This is in line with attendance at current Volkssport events.
Page 5
Trailmaster Topics
By Mike Lanpher
MFM Milestones*
We continue to see about 30 walkers each event during the past 2 months of
September and October in walks in Winter park, Orlando, Altamonte Springs,
and Winter Springs/Oviedo.
The highlight had to be the 20 Sep walk in the rain. 21 brave walkers came and
walked and it was not too bad with the rain lessening at times. The Start Point
even with the canopy was a bit wet.
The good thing was Winter Park and Orlando 1st Saturday walks were pleasant
in the AM (September having the most rain days ever and fall trying to come on
the 5th of October, one day after the Orlando walk); Oviedo/Winter Springs event
saw 38 walkers for the Cross Seminole Trail walk in mostly shaded areas. It was
a great day, about 84 and clear.
The rest of October was spent preparing for WAF 24. The officers assisted in
event planning, route layouts, and route verification. See article on WAF 24.
November 15th we have a picnic lunch on Hontoon Island after the walk. Come
on out to this nice walk in the St Johns River.
Congratulations!
Name
Events
William Woolgar
John Hunter
Johnathan Sewell
Terry Sewell
Jacob Sewell
JoAnne Cross
Joan Lanpher
Ladd Duncan
Donna Duncan
David Bundy
Robert Lazzell
75
75
75
75
100
475
800
1000
1000
1450
1600
Distance
500
500
500
In December we have 3 events: the night stroll in Winter Park (YRE route) on
Thursday the 4th, a walk at Celebration on the 6th, and the “Time to Walk” event
at Mead Garden where we start with 40 other AVA clubs at 10:11 am. Preregister
for the Award Tee (pictured) before 21 November and join the scramble that day.
We invite you to join us at the Another Broken Egg Café in Winter Park Village
about 1230-1:00 p.m. for nice lunch and drinks. RSVP HERE so we can provide
a count.
January 1st is our annual walk in Lake Buena Vista and this year we eat lunch at
the Sea Dog Brewing Company where the walk starts. Sign up for lunch so we
can provide a count for the restaurant.
Floribama 2015
By Mike Lanpher
Want to do a lot of walking? Head to Pensacola and Orange Beach, AL, to experience the 7 Pensacola Volkssport Club
walks and the 14 Alabama events (7 walks, 4 swims, 3 bikes) on President Day Weekend, 2015 (13-16 February). This is
the last time this Florida part of the multi-event weekend will be held – just think, you can complete over 80% of a book in
a weekend (21 events)! These were attended last year by walkers from 24 states. There are double the events compared
to an AVA convention. So check the FVA web site for Pensacola walks and the AVA web site for Alabama walks. For
more Florida information go to http://www.walkflorida.org/Walk_Florida/Weekend_Walk_Events.html; for more Alabama
information use the website for Georgia Walkers.
DATE
Upcoming Events
START TIMES
15 Nov
Hontoon Island, Deland, and Picnic “Munch”
4 Dec
Winter Park, YRE 5K, “Christmas in the Park”
13 Dec
Winter Park, Mead Gardens, WALK IN TIME
1 Jan 2015
Lake Buena Vista, Sea Dog Restaurant
(Old Crab House), Lunch (SIGN UP) following Walk
9:30-9:30 am Register
6:00-6:15 pm Meet
6:20 pm Walk
9:15-10:00 am Register
10:11 am Walk
9:30-10:00 am Register
12:00 noon Lunch
3 Jan
Orlando North, Mark Street Senior Center
8:30-9:00 am Register
24 Jan
Winter Springs, Central Winds Park
8:30-10:00 am
If you have ideas for walks or publicity for
our club, please let any board member
know. Like us on Facebook at
https://www.facebook.com/pages/MidFlorida-Milers/158696717481487
Page 6
Why are there about 2000 Year Round Events in America?
By Mike Lanpher
As with many clubs, Mid Florida Milers maintains YREs that showcase key areas of
their locations. These 15 MFM walks are used mostly by out of area walkers wanting to see
what we offer. Walks are more frequently used when in proximity to where “out of towners”
stay – for us that is Lake Buena Vista and Celebration. We have consistently had about
1000-1100 YRE walkers each year. To help support our 15 events we have Group YRE
Walks the 1st Saturday of the each month. The 20-30/month that participate provide
about 25% of the annual walkers. So what about other walks, in Florida, other states?
Joan and I have walked in most states in the last 15+ years. A good 95% were great
walks, unusual walks, or fun walks. I have previously written about walks out west where 3
states have about 35% of the US YRE walks, but here I want to speak to the remote, and
historical nature. I will, use Virginia City (VC), Nevada and Montana as examples. If VC
Nevada is a tourist town, VC Montana is a “wanna be”. The Nevada walk was on hillsides
like Montana but all else is different: stores, saloons, casinos, and old homes make up the
Nevada walk route; in Montana, we start on a dirt road at a house with a box on a porch,
park there, and start down the hill; then walk up to the cemetery, then to “Boot Hill”,
then to the river and museum (it was closed). We return back to town to the Trading Post
and other stores. Joan met a local who was extolling the reasons why one should live there;
fairly persuasive we thought given its remote location. VC Montana is 2 hours northwest
of Yellowstone Old Faithful and VC Nevada is 45 minutes south of Reno. The bottom line is
you have to go there to see places you just would not normally – and maybe you’ll be
pleasantly surprised.
In Florida we have 70+ YREs so take a day trip to Tarpon Springs or Jacksonville’s
Ft Caroline (Dave Bundy wrote about this in 2012) to see what I mean.
And why did AVA start Year Round Events?
During the 70s-90,s many members wanted to earn more credits and weekend
events were not as frequent in the US as Europe. So similar to the British “Permanent
Trails”, AVA was allowed to have YREs. These were added by clubs and grew to what we
have now, about 1800. These are also a funding source for clubs. Originally only one
event each six months was allowed; currently a YRE can be walked each day, a plus that
is designed to allow more events for you to add and more funds for clubs and AVA.
Page 7
2015 AVA
by Bill Paugh
Biennial Convention
By Bill Paugh
One of the new Special Programs beginning January 2015 might be one
that we can easily complete here in the Sunshine State. This program is
for
.
The designers of this program define boardwalks as being structures of
wood, but they also allow those made of other composite type materials.
They must be at least 25 feet long. I know that each of the YRE’s in
Celebration has a boardwalk. I will double-check the length, but they
certainly appear to be over 25 feet.
Keep the dates of 13 June 2015 through 19 June
2015 in your mind. It is during this time frame
that the next rendition of the AVA Biennial
Convention takes place. According to the AVA
website, rooms at the convention lodging
headquarters are going fast. If you plan on
attending the convention, then it would be a good
idea to contact the hotel as soon as possible.
Here are the particulars for this lodge:
THE GRAND HOTEL, 201 Liberty St SE, Salem, OR
97301. Call for reservations: (503) 540-7800.
There will be special rates of $127 per night
available from June 15 through June 19. Also, the
brochure for the convention does say that other
hotels are located nearby, and will continue the
wonderful tradition of holding the 2015 AVA
National Convention, aka the 19th AVA Biennial
Convention, in Salem, Oregon. The dates are June
13-21, 2015 when the weather in Oregon is
wonderful and pleasant. The Oregon Trail State
Volkssport Association and all the member clubs
are working their “tails” off to make this
Convention a memorable event.
AVA is highlighting nine events during the
convention. Plus, there are additional YRE’s that
are in the area. For further information about the
convention, please use the special link set up:
http://www.nationalavaconvention2015.com
There is also a convention FaceBook page.
Here are your points of contact for AVA BOARDWALKS:
Checks payable to Virginia Vagabonds. Point of Contact - Art Whittaker,
15 Gibson Road, Hampton, VA 23666, email [email protected],
phone 757.766.3065. Alternate Contact #2 Sam Tollett, Hampton, VA.
The booklet for this program is $10. There is also a patch available.
Fifteen (15) different sanctioned events will qualify you for the program.
However, you can only get credit once annually for a YRE.
http://www.nationalavaconvention2015.com/
Page 8
This past September, during a 15-day trip to Alaska,
Pete Fournier and Sharon Predham found the time to do
three Volksmarches: Juneau, AK, Ketchikan, AK, and
Vancouver, BC.
The Juneau walk in the State Capital began at the
Alaskan Fudge Company on S. Franklin Street. The 5K walk took
us through the most historic and scenic parts of Juneau. There
was a checkpoint just outside the Governor’s mansion, which
informed us that the mansion cost $40,000 to build in 1912,
although it took up 13,000 square feet. The city is very hilly, so
there was a lot of walking up and down hills. The city
population is about 32,000 and we were told that the city is very
difficult to reach by airplane because of the surrounding
mountains. Only highly experienced pilots with Alaska Airlines
are authorized to land there. The legislature meets only when the
weather is favorable for plane transportation, because there are no
roads in or out of the city. As a matter of fact, Juneau is only
one of four state capitals not served by an interstate highway.
Visitor’s Bureau
Governor’s Mansion
The Ketchikan 5K walk began at
the Visitor’s Bureau on Front Street, located
at cruise ship berth #2. The word
“Ketchikan” is the Tlingit word for the creek
that runs through the center of town. This
creek sees abundant salmon runs every year,
and we saw some of them while we were
walking. Unfortunately, we had to endure
heavy rains during our entire walk. We
learned that the city was incorporated in
1900 by settlers who saw the value of all the
abundant natural resources of the area.
Ketchikan is actually an island community
located on the Inside Passage roughly 700
miles northwest of Seattle. Again, the city
was very hilly and, sometimes, parallel
streets were connected by staircases for
pedestrian traffic. Because of its location,
Ketchikan’s weather is relatively mild
compared to other Alaskan cities.
Totem Pole
The Vancouver 10K walk began at the J J Bean Café, 1188 Alberni Street. The walk
took us through the three main areas of Vancouver: Gastown, Yaletown, and Chinatown (3rd
largest in North America). Gastown dates from the 1870s and was revitalized in the 1970s. It
is the commercial and administrative area of Vancouver, and is named after “Gassy Jack”
Deighton who opened the first bar in the city in 1860. At the corner of Cambie Cross and W.
Hastings we saw the famous steam-powered clock, and nearby the statue of “Gassy Jack”.
Further on we walked through an area called Yaletown which dates from around 1900. This
district contains former warehouses with docks and characteristic canopies. Early residents were
railway workers from the town of Yale, BC. The area is now the restaurant and nightclub
district for the city. Lastly, we walked through Chinatown with its hundreds of open-air food
markets. We could hear people hawking all kinds of fish to include octopus, whale, seal, and
unidentifiable species. I overheard an individual speaking Vietnamese, so I surprised him by
greeting him in his own language and I was able to carry on a simplistic conversation with him.
We also walked through the Sun-Yat Sen Gardens of variegated oriental and domestic plantings.
Steam Clock
Page 9
TIME TO
WALK
Just a little while to go!
Time to Walk
is being walked
in 39 states by 78 clubs.
Three other Florida clubs are participating:
Suncoast Sandpipers, First Coast Trail Forgers
and The Happy Wanderers.
A once in a lifetime event!
10:11 am
12/13/14
AVA is encouraging all clubs
to participate in
a special national event!
The Mid-Florida Milers are hosting a group
5K walk and a group 10K walk starting at
10:11 am from Mead Gardens pavilion on
Saturday 12/13/2014.
The Mid Florida Milers and the Suncoast
Sandpipers are selling “Time to Walk” grey
T-Shirts with club names for $12.00. Tees
must be purchased by November 21.
The calendar confluence of a continuous number
sequence will happen this year at 10:11 am on 12-132014. It will be another 91 years before this occurs
again (1-2-3-4-5 for 1:02 pm 3-04-2105).
AVA’s goal is to get as many walkers as possible on
the trail at 10:11 am on December 13th. AVA Patch:
Details for pre-registration are available on the
MFM website, at upcoming events, and in
upcoming eNews. Following the walk, we will
celebrate the event with lunch at Another
Broken Egg Café in Winter Park.
MFM is planning on capturing the event with
many photos taken at the group walk start, and
selfies taken throughout the walk, with all
photos showing the many MFM walkers
joining together for this unique event.
Page 10
How I Started Volksmarching
by Bill Paugh
It has now been 35 years since I participated in my first
volksmarch. At the time, in 1979, I was stationed in Munich,
Germany with the Army. I noticed that the daily newspaper, The
Stars and Stripes, had a weekly event section that listed various
events taking place throughout Germany and Europe. Many of
these events were volksmarches. The concept sounded like fun,
even though I was not sure I was ready for the 20 Km distance
that was required.
I was lucky that many of the events were a short train ride,
or even a subway ride, from Munich. I attended five of the events
during my time in Munich. They were a lot of fun. Since this was
Germany, we had great beer and bratwurst and other great food
at the end of each walk. The events were always well attended.
People came from nearby villages to celebrate. The awards at
that time were commemorative plates. I have attached a picture
of one of my plates. This is from Herrsching. It was the 4th annual
volksmarch, or as they called it, a wandertage.
Unfortunately, I left Munich for a few months in Garmisch
and then up to Hamburg, so I had about a 14 year hiatus before
starting up again.
Herrsching Volksmarch Award Plate
A Walking Trail in Germany
Membership Report
By Letty Zook
A big “thank you” to all the MFM members who renewed their memberships for the 2014-2015 Membership Year.
As of October 2014, MFM membership is composed of 69 individuals, couples, or families. (Each family or couple is
considered ONE membership.) Counting every person, the total is 108. So far in the 2014-2015 MFM Membership
Year, which runs from July 1 to June 30, the club has welcomed 16 new memberships. Counting each person, the
total new membership is 19. While MFM is happy to gain new members regularly, an annual concern is the sad fact
that many new members do not renew after their first membership year. For instance, in the 2013-2014 MFM
Membership Year, 13 of the 19 new memberships did NOT renew.
While I keep the database records and send out news by email, I am not able to give the needed attention to new
member outreach: greeting walkers at events, contacting new members (beyond my initial welcome letter and
addition of their names to the email list), encouraging and assisting members in regard to volunteer opportunities, and
being the “membership advocate” at board meetings. If someone is interested in taking on the task of a more active
Membership Chairperson, I would be thrilled and the club would benefit greatly. I would continue to support MFM
Membership by the record-keeping and emailing I do now. If this a role you would like to try filling, please contact any
of the MFM officers.
At any Walk, you can renew your membership with the Mid Florida Milers
or email Letty Zook at: [email protected]
Page 11
Mid-Florida Milers
Walking Club
SEP 20 Altamonte Springs
Walking in the Rain!
P.O. Box 4575
Winter Park, FL 32793-4575
[email protected]
www.midlforidamilers.org
CLUB CONTACTS:
President
Rosemary Barna
[email protected]
Vice President
Peter Fournier
SEP 6 Winter Park
[email protected]
Secretary
Sharon Axelrod
OCT 4 Downtown
[email protected]
Treasurer
Sharon Predham
[email protected]
FVA Representative
Gail Brooks
[email protected]
Trailmaster
Mike Lanpher
[email protected]
Membership & Publicity
Letty Zook
SEP 20 Walk Altamonte Springs
We walk rain or shine!
[email protected]
Webmaven
Jackie Walchuck
[email protected]
Newsletter Manager
Bill Paugh
OCT 4 Downtown
[email protected]
Newsletter Editor
Laurie McKee
[email protected]
OCT 18 – Oviedo
OCT 5 Winter Park
OCT 18 CheckPoint 1
Black Hammock
Find the two blue arrows
hidden in this Newsletter!
OCT 18 CheckPoint 2 Black Hammock
NOTICE: Winter Park 5K Walk
The route has been updated for
you to enjoy and see some new
areas.
Our thanks to John
McMahon! Register at Crosby
YMCA and drive to the start
point near Central Park.
Laurie
Page 12