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Rhode Island Canoe and Kayak Association April 23, 2026 RICKA Annual Meeting
Present: Skye Pechie, Steven Pechie, Pat Lardner, Kassi Archambeault, Jen Stanton, Terry Lardner, Ron Archambault, Steve Norris, Aaron Rouby, Deborah Britt, Michael Hazeltine, Chuck Horbert, Cindy Gianfrancesco, Leigh Besson, Cheryl Thompson, Tom Farley, and Danny O'Shea.
Meeting called to Order at 7:01pm by VP Steve
Kassi spoke about the need for volunteers to help with learn to paddle programs at WPWA. She also said that there is a ACA training program at Zoar Outdoors on June 10.
Steve read the slate of officers forwarded by the nominating committee:
President: Deb Britt Vice President: Chuck Horbert Secretary: Skye Pechie Treasurer: Frank Cortesa Members at Large Leigh Besson Steve Norris
Steve opened the floor to any counter nominations for treasurer, and, hearing none, closed nominations, and asked the secretary to cast one ballot for Frank Steve opened the floor to any counter nominations for secretary, and, hearing none, closed nominations, and himself to cast one ballot for Skye Steve opened the floor to any counter nominations for Vice President, and, hearing none, closed nominations, and asked the secretary to cast one ballot for Chuck Steve opened the floor to any counter nominations for President, and, hearing none, closed nominations, and asked the secretary to cast one ballot for Deborah
Deborah thanked Steve for taking charge of the elections.
Steve adjourned the meeting after a motion made by Chuck and seconded by Cheryl , and a unanimous vote, at 7:09pm
Minutes submitted by Skye Pechie
Rhode Island Canoe and Kayak Association April 1, 2026 RICKA Board Meeting Held via Zoom videoconferencing Present: Skye Pechie, Steven Pechie, Pat Lardner, Sharon Dragon, Michael Hazeltine, Frank Cortesa, Chuck Horbert, and Rich Coupland. Meeting called to Order at 7:05pm by VP Steve Approval of Executive Board Meeting minutes from March 2026: There was a motion to approve made by Rich, seconded by Mike, and there was a majority vote to approve with one abstention by Pat who was not at the meeting. Approval of treasurer’s report for March 2026: There was a motion to approve made by Mike, seconded by Pat, and there was a unanimous vote to approve. Old Business • Pool Sessions – Rich said that we had 29 attendees overall. He mentioned he emailed about potentially setting up instruction or otherwise making the sessions more attractive, or finding a pool that is not as expensive, over the summer. Pat said that Leigh sounded as if he would consider hosting the sessions at his pool, but it is outdoor. Frank said we could consider doing it in summer in shallow water. Mike said that self and assisted rescues could be a valuable part of these sessions. Rich asked for any pool suggestions to be sent to him. • Nominating Committee Report (Steve read this from the last meeting) o Officers President: Deb Britt Vice President: Chuck Horbert Secretary: Skye Pechie Treasurer: Frank Cortesa Members at Large Leigh Besson Steve Norris – Chuck said he asked him and he was not interested
New Business •Meetings on the Water o Rich said he would look at tides for this for July and will report back next month. o Camping/cooking at Lincoln Woods Chuck said that Erik was working on this.
Rich said that the sea kayak planning meeting is May 2. Chuck said that Aaron put together an Adirondacks camping trip in May and nothing else is on the schedule yet. He said that the wilderness calendar shows the wrong dates for the September Adirondacks trip, potentially a placeholder. Steve said that flatwater and BVPC had their planning meetings on Saturday, and there are lots of trips being added to their calendars. Pat said she did not have anything other than the West Greenwich Conservation Commission cleanup on April 18. Pat will send information to Cheryl to get this posted on our calendar. Meetings April 23rd at 7:00 – RICKA Annual Meeting and Elections – West Greenwich Louttit library. Chuck will be presenting on dam removals. May 2nd – Sea Kayak Planning Meeting May 21st at 7:00 - Get to Know RICKA Night – Kayak Centre in Wickford - Frank asked if people are signed up to be there, and no one in attendance was aware. September 26th – RICKA Picnic - Cold Spring Community Center at the North Kingstown Town Beach. Open discussion: Pat asked if anyone was aware of the requirement to register kayaks over 12’ long - requiring a title to do so. Chuck said that this is true even if there is no motor, but he does not believe it is being enforced. He said that the statute actually appears that canoes are exempt, due to the way the commas are placed. Rich said that people would not have known they needed the title for their boat if purchased before 2023. Chuck said that a bill of sale/receipt should fill the need, and that the club could start a letter writing campaign against it. Frank asked if this applies to people who live out of state to use their boats in RI, and Chuck said he believes it does, while Mike did not think so, going by the DEM website. Steve adjourned the meeting after a motion made by Chuck and seconded by Frank, and a unanimous vote, at 7:38pm Minutes submitted by Skye Pechie Minutes 2026Rhode Island Canoe and Kayak Association March 4, 2026 RICKA Board Meeting Held via Zoom videoconferencing Present: Skye Pechie, Steven Pechie, Erik Eckilson, Cheryl Thompson, Chuck Horbert, Frank Cortesa, Deborah Britt, Michael Hazeltine, Rich Coupland, Jen Stanton, and Paul Leclerc. Meeting called to Order at 7:10pm by Erik Approval of Executive Board Meeting minutes from February 2026: There was a motion to approve made by Steve, seconded by Jen, and there was a unanimous vote to approve. Approval of treasurer’s report for February 2026: There was a motion to approve made by Steve, seconded by Jen, and there was a unanimous vote to approve. Old Business • Pool Sessions – Rich said that January 11th had 9 participants, February 8th – 8 participants, and March 1st had 7 participants (all the snow was a factor). He said that sign-ups are going on now for March 22nd.
• Nominating Committee Report Officers President: Deb Britt Vice President: Chuck Horbert Secretary: Skye Pechie Treasurer: Frank Cortesa
Members at Large Leigh Besson Steve Norris – TBD
New Business • June, July and August Meetings on the Water o There was discussion on a sea kayak venue for one of these. Rich said he would look at tides for this for July. o Camping/cooking at Lincoln Woods - Erik said this could be June or August.
Practice Group Updates Cheryl said things are quiet for flatwater.
Meetings • March 19th at 6:00 – Spring Soiree - Chelos on Post Road in Warwick (Sharon emailed that this is all set) • March 28th at 12:00 - Flatwater Planning Meeting - River Bend Farm in Uxbridge • April 23rd at 7:00 – RICKA Annual Meeting and Elections – West Greenwich Library. Chuck presenting on dam removals. • May 2nd or TBD – Sea Kayak Planning Meeting • May 21st at 7:00 - Get to Know RICKA Night – Kayak Centre in Wickford • September 26th – RICKA Picnic - Cold Spring Community Center at the North Kingstown Town Beach. Mike asked about a flatwater training at Stump Pond. The response was favorable and Mike said he would choose a date by our next meeting.
Open discussion: Frank proposed an ice-breaker paddle. Chuck said the traditional date is the third weekend in March, but the water might still be frozen. Erik adjourned the meeting after a motion made by Steve and seconded by Frank, and a unanimous vote, at 7:26pm Minutes submitted by Skye Pechie
Rhode Island Canoe and Kayak Association January 7, 2026 RICKA Board Meeting Held via Zoom videoconferencing Present: Skye Pechie, Steven Pechie, Erik Eckilson, Frank Cortesa, Chuck Horbert, Deborah Britt, Michael Hazeltine, Cheryl Thompson, Pat Lardner, Jen Stanton, Sharon Dragon, Peter Hill, and Rich Coupland. Meeting called to Order at 7:01pm by Erik Approval of Executive Board Meeting minutes from November 2025: There was a motion to approve made by Steve, seconded by Frank, and there was a unanimous vote to approve. Approval of treasurer’s reports for November & December 2025: Frank mentioned that there was an error in previous reports, probably a line deletion, that he will correct. There was a motion to approve made by Jen, seconded by Sharon, and there was a unanimous vote to approve. Old Business
• Pool Sessions – Rich said the check is in the mail to the YMCA, and there are 10 signed up for the first session for January 11, 2026. Frank asked about whether Rich would send participants' payments to him after each session or at the end, and Rich indicated all would be at the end. Rich mentioned that some members who attend pool sessions have forgotten to renew their membership. There was discussion about RICKA membership renewal, letting members know if they have expired, and whether anything should to be done to verify that all participants' ACA memberships are current. Frank will follow up with Gary about lapsed RICKA membership notification. New Business • Reimbursements needed for expenses: Erik listed the following payments he made on behalf of the club, to be reimbursed: o Annual Filing for RI Department of State - $20 o 2/1/26-27 PAC Membership Renewal – $175 o Additional Insured for Pool Sessions at South County YMCA - $40 (sessions fall in 2 policy years at $20/year) Sharon made a motion to reimburse Erik $235 for these expenses. Chuck seconded this and there was a unanimous vote to approve. Practice Group Updates Erik said it is icy out there. Cheryl said planning meetings have not yet been scheduled because River Bend isn’t usually available to book a date at the beginning of the year. Meetings • January/February – Erik said there are no members' meetings these months • March - Spring Soirée - Sharon will look into Chelo's • April – General Meeting (officer elections) - Erik asked if anyone has ideas for speakers. Rich said that Kelly Gable might be able to give a presentation on her trip to Scotland. Jen asked about having someone from DEM discussed dam removals, and Chuck said he would be able to do this. There was additional discussion on science related topics. Pat will look into Louttit Library, with Chuck as speaker, for April 23, 16, or 14 in order of preference. • May – RICKA Night (Erik said this could be at Kayak Centre) Open discussion: Jen said she liked the idea of letting people know they had previously be members and had lapsed. Erik adjourned the meeting after a motion made by Steve and seconded by Frank, and a unanimous vote, at 7:47pm Minutes submitted by Skye Pechie
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