Welcome to Challenge the Outdoors, Inc.
JULY 2020 NEWSLETTER
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE – Carl Gierke Hi everyone. I hope your summer is going as well as it can under the circumstances. It’s obvious that the coronavirus has changed life for all of us and it affects many choices we make on a daily basis, even as we’ve moved on from toilet paper shortages and learn to accept social distancing. In our last newsletter, we notified you that we had canceled events in May and June so we could see what direction the pandemic was going and see if we could safely hold future events.
The CTO board met on June 16th (using face masks, social distancing and a speaker phone) and had many factors to consider in making decisions about upcoming events. Some of these factors included; the safety and health of all our members and that COVID could seriously complicate the health of some of our members who already have compromised immune systems, the apprehension of many volunteers to help at events, how difficult it is to safely serve food at events, the fact that many of the venues where we held events were closed or had restricted operations, and the difficulty in ensuring social distancing when we generally encourage socializing and interacting at our events. After much discussion and taking into consideration these and many other factors, the board decided to cancel all events for the remainder of the year. This was a very difficult decision, especially knowing how important our events are to so many people, but the health and safety of our members must come first. As difficult a decision as it was, I feel it was the right decision – as I’m writing this with an eye on the news, over 500 new cases of coronavirus were reported in Wisconsin today and the pandemic shows little sign of relenting within the state and nationwide.
Some other things that came out of the meeting included; 1) The membership for all members has been extended for one year at no charge. Any membership fees that were paid will be put toward your future membership. 2) The election of directors, which was to be part of our annual banquet, is required to be held according to our by-laws. Depending on how you receive your newsletter, you will receive either an email or paper ballot later this month to help elect those who would like to join, or continue to serve on, CTO’s board of directors. 3) The pontoon boat, which is moored on Shawano Lake at Cecil, will be available for use. This was not considered an event and the board felt that small, family groups who are normally exposed to each other anyway could operate it safely considering it’s used outdoors.
It’s sad to think that many of us won’t see each other for a while, but hopefully we’ll be back to holding events next year on a more normal basis. Meanwhile, if you’re out doing anything where you’re in contact with people, please protect yourself and remember you not only have a responsibility to keep yourself healthy, but also those around you. On behalf of CTO’s board and everyone that contributes to making CTO such a great organization, I hope you, your family and friends all have a safe and healthy summer!
BOUNDER PLUS WHEELCHAIR AVAILABLE - Carl Gierke CTO has received several generous donations over the past few months that were to be re-donated to CTO members. One of these is a Bounder Plus motorized wheelchair donated by Mr. Rob Jackels of Kaukauna. Rob would like a CTO member to receive this very nice chair free of charge. CTO has purchased new batteries and will deliver it to the lucky winner. Applicants will be evaluated based primarily on physical and financial need and the winner will be announced in late July. If you are interested in this wheelchair, please contact Gary VandenHeuvel at 920-205-2758 or glvanden15@hotmail.com
NEWSLETTER-DAVID PAUL The Challenge the Outdoors Newsletter is published at the beginning of January, March, May, July, September and November. Members can choose to receive it via email, which is preferred, or regular mail. If you know of a member that is not receiving the newsletter, please contact David Paul at 920-740-2775 or dcp7576@gmail.com.
CTO PONTOON BOAT – David Paul Challenge the Outdoors is again keeping its pontoon boat on Shawano Lake at the park docks in Cecil (southeast corner of the lake). The boat is available to any CTO member to use from roughly May 10th through mid-September. All you need to do is call David Paul, (920-740-2775) to reserve the boat for a half or full day. You’ll need to bring your own fishing equipment. If you’ve never used the pontoon boat, you’ll also need to take a short orientation course from Dave.
The continued use of the pontoon boat will depend on members using the boat safely and making sure they consider COVID-19 in all operating decisions. This means that in order to practice social distancing, no more than four people should be on the boat at any time unless all participants reside in the same household. We also encourage you to use the boat with family or other members you typically associate with, to limit the possibility of disease transmission. Please do not use the boat if you or anyone in your group are feeling ill. We encourage you to wear masks when in close quarters with anyone, although they are not required.
CTO Pontoon Boat Guidelines: Failure to follow these guidelines may terminate your use of the pontoon up to one year from date of infraction per CTO Policy.
A) Keys and signup sheet are at the BP gas station located at HWY 117 &22 in Cecil. You must request the use of the pontoon before using it from David Paul, 920-740-2775. Report any issues or damage immediately to David.
B) First time users are REQUIRED to receive training on operation of the pontoon and the lake topography.
C) You must follow the Wisconsin DNR boating regulations and you are responsible for knowing these regulations. Failure to do so can lead to legal ramifications that you are solely responsible for.
D) Prior to leaving dock:
1) Make sure you have at least one working cell phone with you on the boat that gets adequate reception.
2) Retrieve personal flotation devices (PFDs or life jackets) from storage and make sure one is accessible for each person. Individuals under the age of 13 are required to wear them. Make sure one throwable flotation device is accessible in case of emergency.
3) Tilt motor down into water, but not hitting bottom. Trim down further when in deeper water.
4) Turn on running lights in dark or foggy conditions.
5) Make sure you have untied the pontoon from the dock.
E) When returning to dock (slip #14):
1) Remove any garbage, worms, fishing gear, food, etc. from the boat.
2) Bimini Top (canopy) should be lowered and please reattach the cover to the Bimini unless it is wet.
3) Make sure all running lights are off.
4) Make sure pontoon boat is secured at all points to the dock and close and latch all doors.
5) Return life jackets and other equipment to storage area it came from.
6) Return keys to BP gas station and call or text David Paul when you are done for the day. 920-740-2775
FOR SALE- Jazzy electric wheelchair, very good shape. Call Gary Vanden Heuvel at 920-205-2758.
NEW MEMBER – Please welcome new member/sponsor: Crystal Print Foundation of Appleton, Creek Side Crossing of Brentwood, Tennessee and John Paalman of Bonduel.
ONGOING PROGRAMS - CTO has several programs designed to supplement the cost of outdoor activities and encourage disabled members to get out and have some fun. To be eligible for these programs (except awards), you must be a member for at least one year. See the website for further additional information and application forms. Otherwise, please contact the event chairperson if you have questions. These include:
1) Shooting Policy – Designed to encourage participation in shooting sports, allows up to $50.00 per year toward membership in sporting/gun club(s). Original receipts must be submitted for reimbursement. Contact – Jim Adamovich
2) Adaptive Equipment – Supplements the cost of disability-related equipment necessary for a disabled member to take part in a hunting or fishing activity. Original receipts must be submitted for reimbursement, which is half the cost of the item up to a maximum of $100 annually. Contact – Pat Nieuwenhuis.
3) Field Grants – Supplements the cost of guided or otherwise expensive hunting or fishing trips up to a maximum of $200 per year, with a maximum of three in a lifetime. Applications should be submitted two months before the event and receipts for reimbursement are required. Contact – Pat Nieuwenhuis
4) Awards Program - Each year at our annual banquet in July, CTO awards prizes for the biggest deer, turkey and fish of different species that are harvested at, or outside of, CTO events. These and other awards hopefully encourage members to get out and hunt and fish whenever they have a chance. If you’d like to register an animal for consideration in the awards program, please contact CTO’s awards coordinator, Deb Pheifer at 715-412-4162 or email at deb57ncliff55@gmail.com. Time frame to submit an entry for an award is from July 1, 2019 thru June 30, 2020.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
NAME POSITION PHONE E-MAIL
CARL GIERKE PRESIDENT 920-986-3272 cgierke1@outlook.com
JIM ADAMOVICH VICE PRESIDENT 920-722-2090 adamovich0208@yahoo.com
JAMES NOOYEN TREASURER 920-246-6497 James.nooyen@homeinstead.com
BARB KAUN SECRETARY 920-720-9689 bak_5495@tds.net
STEVE HARVEY DIRECTOR 920-494-3143 spharleyman@aol.com
DEB PHEIFER DIRECTOR 715-412-4162 deb57ncliff55@gmail.com
FRED KAUN DIRECTOR 920-720-9689 fkaun@me.com
GARY VANDEN HEUVEL DIRECTOR 920-205-2758 glvanden15@hotmail.com
RANDY SWILLE DIRECTOR 920-373-8081 randyswille@yahoo.com
KEITH PAMPERIN DIRECTOR 920-494-3990 kjpamperin@aol.com
DAVID PAUL DIRECTOR 920-740-2775 dcp7576@gmail.com
KEITH HARTJES DIRECTOR 920-540-3416 keith.hartjes76@gmail.com
KAREN BAEHR ASSOCIATE DIR. 920-766-9218 baehrm@sbcglobal.net
BILL MAYVILLE ASSOCIATE DIR. 715-758-8363 bill.mayville@yahoo.com
BRIAN HESS ASSOCIATE DIR. 920-864-7954 abhess@centurytel.net
SHARON LEFEVRE ASSOCIATE DIR. 920-615-2356 bookmom53@gmail.com
STEVE NOOYEN ASSOCIATE DIR. 920-621-2827 snooyen@homeinstead.com
CALVIN RICHTIG ASSOCIATE DIR. 920-490-0500 calvinr@optionsil.org
MARK BAEHR ASSOCIATE DIR. 920-766-9218 baehrm@sbcglobal.net
PAT NIEUWENHUIS ASSOCIATE DIR 920-687-8707 Nubby009@aol.com