[Awclist] Cancellation of Rio Grande River Festival

[Bob McMahon]

THE RIO GRANDE RIVER FESTIVAL SCHEDULED FOR JUNE 28TH  HAS BEEN CANCELLED
FOR THIS YEAR

 

 

THE INTERMEDIATE CLINIC SCHEDULED FOR JUNE 29TH HAS NOT BEEN CANCELLED AND
WILL TAKE PLACE AS SCHEDULED.

 

 

BACKGROUND

 

Given the performance of the Insurance Industry in the recent past
(Hurricane Katrina and the more recent scandals in the Health Care Industry)
the Board of Directors has begun to take a hard and, admittedly, critical
look at the ACA insurance program and the companies behind it that provide
the Adobe Whitewater Club with its insurance.

 

 

 

At the heart of any Club such as ours lie its volunteers .. The people who
volunteer to run the pool each week ...  People who volunteer to hang gates,
lead trips, be safety boaters .. Volunteers who teach classes, serve on the
Board, pay the bills and keep track of Club membership and judge and time
Events. It is to these people who give so generously of their time and
energy that the club owes its existence, and it is to these people in turn
that the Club owes a very special obligation ... that when they volunteer ,
though they do so with the greatest care for the safety and welfare of
others,  they  do so with the understand and confidence, that if things go
wrong - as they sometimes do in the course of human affairs --- that our
volunteers are not  placing both their own and their families financial
future at risk. Safety AND protecting our volunteers are the first priority
of the Board of Directors. Holding events is second place and a non-starter
if our first priorities are in any way in question.

 

 

THE PROBLEM

 

 

The problem with holding the RGRF is Event Insurance  ( NOTE: The RGRF is
defined as an  Event which makes it fall under an augmented set of rules
from those which govern a club float trip or clinic). 

 

Simply put, given the current state of the insurance industry, the Board is
not confident that it can take the guidelines provided by the ACA and write
the required Event Risk Management Plan with sufficient "tightness" to
protect the AWC and its volunteers in the event of a lawsuit.

 

THE FUTURE

 

Beginning immediately the Board is undertaking the following actions :

 

1)      Establishing a new BOD position of Risk Manager who will be
responsible for developing a broad understanding of the Insurance Industry
and helping the BOD identify issues and evaluate alternatives.

 

2)      Re-writing and "tightening" AWC Policies and Procedures which have
Insurance Implications  on a prioritized schedule :

 

a.       Clinics

                                                              i.      This
is the First priority and will be done in time to cover the Intermediate
Clinic on June 29th.

b.      Club Trips

                                                              i.      This
is the Second priority and will be completed  shortly after the Clinic
Procedures

c.       Club Events

                                                              i.      This
is the Third priority and, because a great deal more is required, will take
longer to develop. But when it is completed, it will serve as a "template"
which need only be updated for the specifics of the "Event".

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