CVT Meeting Recap

We had a small but lively group at the CVT meeting Sunday night!

The first topic was related to our old Meetup group.  Following the launch of our new website last year, I kept the old Meetup group open to allow time for current and potential members to find us. Almost a year has gone by, and I am happy to say we have over 500 members on the new site! The Meetup subscription will be up for renewal in February, and Kim and I think the time has come to go ahead and cancel it. There were no objections at the meeting, so you should see CVT disappear from Meetup within the next couple of weeks.  And just as a reminder, I have copies of the old hike and event descriptions in case they are needed for reference in planning future events. I have copies of all the old photos as well, and I plan to post more of those on the new website in the near future.

Shutting down the CVT Meetup group will affect the Charlottesville Hiking Group as well, as both are on the same account.  You may recall I took over CHG in 2016 in hopes of pooling our resources and possibly combining the two groups.  That fell through the cracks when I started this website project in 2017, so there hasn’t been much activity in that group over the last year or so.  I have notified CHG’s members of my intentions to step down from that group and invited them to join CVT.  If enough of them do join, I plan to schedule a few Charlottesville area hikes.

Another topic that was discussed is our need to increase efforts to promote CVT and find ways to give back to the community.  We have decided not to have an information table at the Banff Film Festival this year – instead we are pursuing other opportunities to get out into the public.  We are a major fundraiser for this year’s Shiver in the River charity event (thanks Keith and everyone who has donated), and we are hoping to partner more with local outfitters and volunteer groups this year.  Please let us know if you have any ideas or suggestions.  More on this coming soon!

There were lots of great suggestions for upcoming events…but if you weren’t at the meeting, you’ll just have to wait and be surprised.  But you backpackers will be happy to know several great trips are in the works!  And for you artistic types, we may have a t-shirt design contest as well!

A note to event organizers:  I have posted some “how-to” videos with instructions on using the event editor.  You can find those on the main menu under EVENTS – ORGANIZERS ONLY – ORGANIZER HOW-TO VIDEOS.  (Don’t worry, I’m not on camera!)

And finally, a reminder for newer Trailblazers:  It is important for us to be able to recognize you at events!  If you are still using the default avatar as your profile picture, PLEASE upload a photo of yourself as soon as possible.  From the main menu, just go to MEMBERS – MY CVT – MY PROFILE, and look for the “Change Profile Photo” link.  Let me know if you need help.  Those without profile photos may soon be blocked from the event calendar, so you’ve been warned!  🙂

Thanks everyone for your participation and support!  We look forward to seeing you on the trail in 2018!