Gaŗezera ziņas - Garezers

Dear friends of Garezers,Firstof all, I would like to thank Eriks Kore for the four summers he served as GVV director. I enjoyed working with Eriks last summer,and I appreciate his efforts to improve the summer high school program. I am confident that we will find a capable new GVVdirector who will continue to make progress in developing the school.Perhaps you took the kids home from Garezers, returned to your everyday life and assumed that Garezers instantly becomes quiet and emptyonce the summer is over. Actually, we have hardly had a free weekend since spring clean-up! The day after GVV graduation we welcomed, asusual, the 3x3 family camp; after that Garezers hosted two weddings, and six of our own students were confirmed; the Latvian Foundationand Daugavas Vanagi held board meetings here; we were visited by the Chicago Latvian Retirees Club and the Three Rivers Area Chamber ofCommerce. our fall clean-up volunteer crew began the winterization process, but we still have upcoming events – November 18 and NewYear’s – and then it’s time to start preparing for the Scouts’ winter camp and the already booked 2011 season! We are realizing one ofGarezers’ development goals – namely, to provide a longer season for the use and enjoyment of the Garezers community.It would be impossible to count the hours of labor donated by our volunteers every year, or to list everyone’s name. Many of these nameswould be the same from year to year – these people know Garezers better than me. This year’s list must include Martins Grendze, AndrejsKengis, Vilnis Kubulins, Martis Pone, Martins Staks and Karlis Sulcs, who took on particularly ambitious projects. And a special thanks toPeteris Kengis and Guntars Rusmanis, who essentially took over Facilities Manager Vik Krievs’ responsibilities this fall, as he cared for his ailingmother, who passed away on oct. 24. on behalf of the Garezers board and administration, our condolences to Vik and the entire Krievs familyon the front cover of this issue you can see the recently completed projects that were funded by donations. Clockwise from the top left: allthree new lakeview cabins („Vanagi,” „Valentina” and „Vizbulisi” – donated by the Daugavas Vanagi, the Pone family and the Vizulis family,respectively); the new steel roof on the GVV Kalnini dorm (donated byt Mrs. I. Jurevics); the new beachfront gazebo (donated by theTrautmanis and Stemme families); and the new backstage, lighting and sound at the Grasa Pavilion (donated by Mrs. I. Szentivanyi). In themiddle is one of three new clocks also donated by the Daugavas Vanagi. Thanks again to these individuals, families and organizations!In addition to these projects, we also funded several needed repairs from our own capital budget. We installed a new well (photo on p.3),which serves the kitchen/dining hall, health office and several other buildings, and cost over $20,000. After the water damage to theKronvalda building, we decided to invest $17,000 in addition to what our insurance covered (approximately $125,000) to upgrade thebuilding’s lighting, accoustics, ventilation and electrical (photo on p.3).The table to the left summarizes our 2010 capital budget and also our “wish list” for future projects. In recent years we have spent roughly$100,000 annually to repair and upgrade Garezers’ buildings and infrastructure. our needs far exceed this, and if we could increase our capitalbudget we could more easily stay ahead of our repairs. I could already extend this list several years into the future.Each year we plan our budget using donations that we have not yet received, to repair problems that we might not even be aware of yet. Thislevel of uncertainty makes it difficult to think ahead rather than just react to situations that we can’t control. We are making an effort toconstantly assess our priorities and communicate our needs and plans. At the same time, I would like to ask you consider pledging yourdonations in advance. If we knew what kinds of donations to expect three to five years in advance, we could be more pro-active andresponsible in our maintenance planning.My priority in the next few years will be to repair and upgrade Garezers’ existing facilities, buildings and infrastructure for the benefit of ourchildren and our guests. The camp dorms all need improvements, including replacing old bunk beds and renovating bathroom facilities. Weneed to improve access to buildings and outdoor spaces, both for wheelchairs/disabled and baby strollers. We want our campers and gueststo be safe and comfortable. I am also committed to continuing to develop our educational programs. Last year the bizbiz camp and GVV bothoffered parallel programs for improving Latvian language skills, and our goal is to offer a complete curriculum akin to “Latvian as a SecondLanguage” for all ages and levels.This winter, each Garezers supporter who has reached a lifetime donation level of $1000 will receive a donor history report. I would like to askyou to look it over, consider your charitable budget and then submit your donation pledge for the coming years. of course, you can alsodiscuss any suggestions, ideas or questions with me, our development director Mara Kore, president Karlis Vizulis, board chairman ImantsEjups or any other board member. Thank you for your support!Andrejs DumpisExecutive DirectorGaŗezera ziņas5