Snowbirds big registration

Happy 2012 to all the Destin snowbirds. Our registration committee has been expecting you and is prepared to welcome more than 1,000 members at the Destin Community Center, on Tuesday, Jan. 3 from 10 a.m. to noon. Due to the New Year’s Day holiday our dates have changed. Please note the change of time and day from previous years. Also note that the storage locker will be open at 9:30 a.m., prior to registration.

The registration committee is headed by Linda Zukonik. Linda has been working under the former chair, Addie  Seild, for several years. The process will be similar to former years. Greeters will be stationed in the lobby handing out numbered registration cards, (one per couple). The crowd will go into the gymnasium when called by number and file through the process under the direction of Emcee Ken Yee.

Behind the desks you may notice a new activity. We will have volunteers at computers, inputting all the registration information by number, name, home state/province, local phone number, cell phone number and emergency contact name and number. This process enables us to keep up to date records of our membership, and allows for multiple category sorting of information. The emergency contact information can also be found much more quickly if required. Thanks to Evelyn Lemire, and Ken, who created this spreadsheet. During the summer months Evelyn input all of last year’s membership information into a permanent file.

Inside the gymnasium, aside from purchasing a membership, event tickets for casino bus trips, the Pirates of the Caribbean Mixer Party, Soundsations Concert, and Fashion Show will be on sale. Also we will have activity coordinators for bridge, chorus, computer club, fishing, friendship club, funology, tennis and quilting. Please talk to these volunteers about the activities.

The Mardi Gras bus trip to New Orleans, Feb. 10-12, is only half full! Don and Carol Cooksey will be on hand to give you the all the details. Also Don wants to meet with all those who are going on the Western Caribbean Cruise at 10 a.m. between the meetings Jan. 10.

Following your sign-up, you are invited to enter the side rooms at the center. One room will host our golf courses, where you can meet the course representatives. Also on hand will be our golf coordinator, Rick Paquin. He is looking for some golfing enthusiasts to assist this year with the running and selling of tickets for our annual cancer charity tournament, the Kline/Walsh memorial, to be held this year on Feb. 22 at the Emerald Bay Golf Club. Sue Cummins will be chairing the Ladies Scramble tournament Feb. 15 at Bluewater Bay. Tickets for both tournaments will be sold before and between meetings starting Jan. 10.

The next room will host some of our sponsoring restaurants. They will have some samples for you to entice you to visit them during your stay.

As a Destin snowbird we trust you will enjoy your stay on the Emerald Coast. We can all help our winter home in several ways. Mayor Sam Severs is urging residents to vote for Destin as Florida’s best beach. The website is http://travel.usnews.com/Rankings/Best_Florida_Beaches/. All the snowbird votes could put us on the top of the list! Help is also needed for the community in the form of donations to the food bank. Try to remember to bring a non-perishable food item with you to the meetings and place them in the large blue barrel in the front lobby.

Information about club events is posted on the bulletin board in the front lobby. The tables in front of the board are full of discount coupons and brochures from all of our prize sponsors. These businesses have been very generous with door prizes for our meetings. Please thank them with your patronage.

Blood pressure clinics have started at the Destin Emergency Center, 996 Airport Road, from 1-3 p.m. on Tuesdays.

Further information about club events and activities can be found on our website, www.destinsnowbirds.org.

Nancy Hewitt, publicity director for the Destin Snowbirds, can be reached at pnatthebeach@gmail.com.