Highlights, Reflections and Remembrances of the 2021 Virtual Event

Skiing, Sharing, Learning
Well, We Did Everything but Ski!

We realized that holding an in-person event would be impossible. My task shifted to organizing a virtual one, which neither SFL nor I had ever done before. Those of you who know me know that I am a reasonably skilled technology user, but my use is of necessity rather than of desire. So I was not excited about organizing an event that relied so heavily on digital platforms, computers, or smart phones. But I knew SFL had some great resources. I realized right off the bat that I needed to identify someone who loved learning about and implementing new technology and making it easy for blind people to use. That, of course, was Judy Dixon. I needed some creative people to figure out what types of sessions we would have, and I thought immediately of Wendy David, Julie Coppens, and Lauren Hein. The people who could bring a historical perspective and make sure we honored our Norwegian roots were Marion Elmquist and Scott McCall. Who better to handle the auction than someone who shares my first name--Bonnie Hartman. Larry Showalter would make sure all the information was accessibly posted on our website, and Melinda Hollands would recruit new people through her diligent public relations efforts. Finally, I roped in husband Bob Hartt, who agreed to be the applications coordinator, and helped to orchestrate the fitness challenge--to make sure we all stayed in shape. Tim McCorcle helped to officiate difficult decisions and financial matters. With a committee like that, how could I go wrong?

Our 2021 International Event was truly a success: 438 people registered, including more than 140 people who had never attended an SFL week, and many who had not attended for a long time! We received lots of positive feedback, including one person saying, "The spirit and friendship was surely the goal, and you succeeded! Fun on many levels!" Another attendee said, "I really enjoyed participating and connecting with everyone. I had that SFL feeling!"

The opening night featured an introductory video entitled "This is Ski for Light" and a show stopping song by Andrea Goddard, "The Edge," by Heidi Muller. The Norwegian Ambassador to the United States, Anniken Krutnes, offered a welcome from Norway to the group. We held six fitness classes: stretch, yoga, core strength, Sport-Cord and fitness with a stretch band, as well as a fitness challenge. Twelve special interest sessions included bread baking, climbing a mountain, dragon boating, and many more. Our live on-line auction raised more than $11,500! We organized Zoom rooms for informal socialization each evening--several lasted until the wee hours! We capped off the event with closing ceremonies, featuring singer/songwriter Jim Salestrom, a 100th birthday celebration for Charlie Wirth, and several well-deserved awards. We received greetings from Norway, from the Secretary General of Ridderweek, Anne-Kristin Wadahl, and a special appearance from the ski tracks at Beitostolen by Atle Hovi, CEO of the Beitostolen Resorts. He was at a virtual start line at the beginning of the 5 K track. The "start" was narrated by long-time SFL friend and leader of the Norwegian delegation, Svein Thorstensen. Many of these presentations can be found on this YouTube playlist and we'll be adding the special interest sessions to this playlist soon. There was even SFL gear to purchase for our virtual event, though the gear was real, not virtual. Thanks to Leslie Maclin, we sold about 80 snazzy royal blue headbands featuring our logo, and, due to Marion Elmquist's efforts, we even had SFL 2021 event shirts! Both of these items will be available in limited numbers in the sales room next year.

We learned that SFL can hold its annual event remotely, though we certainly hope we'll never have to do it again. A virtual event is not an adequate substitute for the real thing. But we are looking at trying to integrate some Zoom programming to keep us connected throughout the year. For example, on March 14th, Marvin Liewer presented his "Living a Self-Sufficient Lifestyle" special interest session via the Zoom platform for those who may have missed it during the SFL event. Perhaps we can also allow people who cannot attend in-person to Zoom into some sessions at our live events if our venue's Internet connection allows. We have conducted a brief survey to obtain your ideas and creative thinking, and you will find a summary of the findings of the survey later in this issue of the Bulletin.

We hope to see you next year-really, not virtually!