President's Message - October 2008

by Joe Carr

As I mentioned in my September Message, it is time for me to step down as your President.  My two year term is over when our Victoria Centre AGM & Dinner is held November 15th.  Although Council (and Scott Mair in particular, as our current Past President) has formed a pretty solid slate of candidates, nominations are still open for several positions on our Council. Please seriously consider volunteering some of your time to support our Centre over the next year or two.  Having new Council members actively involved ensures our Centre remains healthy and vital.  Please contact any current Council member, should you have questions or want to volunteer.  As I said in my last message, "you can do a little or a lot."

Speaking of participating, one of our members Sherry Buttnor took the lead to get Victoria Centre involved in the recent Metchosin Days.  Solar viewing during the day was a big hit with the crowds, however due to some promotional glitches, the night sky viewing wasn't well attended.  We are planning to be there again next year, and you can be sure we will have the kinks worked out next time!

The Fairfield Night Sky Viewing event held September 15th in cooperation with the Fairfield Community Association was a resounding success.  Attendance was up significantly over our last event at this location, and both our volunteers and the public were very happy with how things went.  Thanks to Tim Horton's on Shelbourne Street, we had beverages and snacks to offer. Thanks also to Scott Mair and the CRD Parks Department for producing a very nice looking banner. Photo gallery

It's good to see our observers and photographers were busy taking advantage of our beautiful autumn weather recently.  If you browse the RASCVic email list, you will see some impressive photos and observing reports.  I have just returned from a short trip to Long Beach on the west coast of Vancouver Island, and can report we had clear skies - what a rarity for this time of year in that part of the Island!  I hope we all get more opportunities for observing before the winter storms close in on us.