50th Anniversary of WCA
50th Anniversary of WCA
The Wilderness Canoe Association had its beginnings in 1973. Over five decades there has been many changes but the core goals of the club have remained the same. We plan to compile the WCA history in a document that will be accessible and searchable on our website. We are also planning some online Zoom sessions to capture some of the stories first hand from veteran WCA members. If you have some history you would like to contribute please contact me at chair@wildernesscanoe.ca. Sandy Richardson, one of our early members, has written a wonderful piece on the beginnings of the club. Thank you Sandy.
Gary Ataman – WCA Chairman
2023 AGM
The Annual General Meeting was held online on March 14, 2023 with about 30 members in attendance from Canada and the US. It was announced that this is the 50th anniversary of our club. The plan for this year is to continue ramping up our in-person events (by members for members) and to create the WCA history page on the website.
Club membership was around 500 members as of Dec 31, 2022. Members are from nine Canadian provinces and two territories, 31 states from the United States, three European countries (UK, Germany, Switzerland), Cayman Islands and New Zealand.
The Fall issue of Nastawgan was delayed with the loss of our long-time printer, but we managed to secure a new print house and seem to be back on track.
We had three new members join the board; Lachlan McVie, Terry Brayman and Erik Thomsen. We would like to thank; Luigi Salerno (Round Up monthly newsletter & Zoom events), Sandro Weiner (Zoom & In-person events, Instagram) and Pete Norton (secretary) for their efforts and commitment to the club.
Our Conservation Committee has been actively assisting members in some of their conservation efforts, and participated as a stakeholder in important topics involving other land and water management studies.
Remember, anyone can post an outing and it’s a great way to find lifelong friends!
Gary Ataman, Chairman
Articles Wanted
Consider submitting your story – they are all worth sharing, no matter how “big” or “small” your trip was. Glad to help, if help is needed. Reach out to the Editor for encouragement, tips & tricks!
2023 WCS
38th Wilderness and Canoe Symposium (third consecutive held online) was attended by 823 registered participants who were treated to three superb and memorable presentations:
Chris Forde and Dana Starkell “Paddle to the Amazon”
Michael Peake “Canoeing with History”
Kara Zegar, Harri Seeley and Ava Carrere “Clearwater River to Hudson Bay”
As Erika Bailey mentioned in her closing comments, we are looking to create a ‘long runway’ to explore the possibility of returning to in-person or possibly launching our second hybrid event (the first being the phenomenal presentation in 2019 from Lesley Johnson (ON) and Kristen Tanche (NWT): “I hold Dehcho in My Heart“.) The preliminary survey results point in the direction of the hybrid event, most likely to be held and York University. Please continue to send your programing suggestions and general feedback to wcsymposium@gmail.com.
Aleks Gusev