About the
The Los Amigos
Ski Club

WHAT IS  

What is "The Los Amigos Ski Club?"

The Los Amigos Ski Club is a non-profit, ski and social club. It is made up of fun and friendly folks from all walks of life. It is an all volunteer organization managed by a 10 member Board of Directors that are elected annually by the general membership.

The club was formed to encourage interest in the sport of snow skiing and other social/recreational activities. Los Amigos skiers are committed to securing the best price available for travel and lodging to all trip destinations.

Annual membership averages ~500 people from not only the San Antonio area but from all parts of the country from California to Florida to Washington, DC and many locations in between. The diverse group consists of singles, couples, and families that range in age from pre-teen to 70+. Some ski, some don't, but we all have something in common - we all like to have fun and meet new people.

Los Amigos offer year-round activities for the non-skiers as well. Annual activities include Tube Trips down local water ways, monthly Happy Hours at different locations, Tennis League, Lake Parties, Water Skiing, Camp-outs, Scuba  trips, days at the Horse Track or Ball Park, Weekend at  the Texas Coast, Softball Leagues, Volleyball games, monthly Birthday Parties, and many more.

Happy Hours are scheduled the First Tuesday of each month at a location announced in our monthly newsletter and on our Telephone HOTLINE (see below). Our monthly meetings are scheduled for the 3rd Tuesday of each month, August through March. 

The membership extends from June 1st through May 31st of the following year.

Los Amigos participates in Texas Ski Council trips and sponsored events. Our Los Amigos Hotline is the number to call for information about upcoming club activities and meetings: 1-210-494-SNOW   (210-494-7669) - in the USA.

Individuals, couples and families are invited to become members of Los Amigos.

 BENEFITS,  Back to Top
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Los Amigos membership benefits

As a member, you get: 

• Monthly Meetings (3rd Tuesday each Month, Aug.-Mar.)
• Monthly Newsletters
• Monthly Happy Hours, (1st Tuesday of each month.)
• Opportunity to go on GREAT ski trips
• Opportunity to be a leader of trips or of the many, activities throughout the year.
• The right to nominate and vote for the Board of Directors each year.
• The opportunity to make lifelong friends.
• And many, many more 

As a member, you can also influence Los Amigos policy. You will be notified of meetings, events, and trips.

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How to join the Los Amigos Ski Club

Los Amigos accepts memberships in two categories:

Membership Type:	Regular Dues (After Sept 30)	Discount (if paid before Sept 30)
Individual Membership	$45	$35
Family Membership	$75	$65

A "Family" is defined as applicant and spouse(or significant other) and their children living at SAME address. 
To join, you may obtain an application either at a club meeting, download it from our On-Line Application, or contact us for more information. 

The membership "year" is designed to not only encompass the ski "season", which is basically Nov thru March, but also allow enough time for our newly elected Board members to plan and organize upcoming trips and activities months in advance.  The new Board is voted in during elections held in March.  They take office May 1. Hence the membership "year" is from May 1 thru April 30 of the following year.  You r membership will cover the current membership year. 

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A little History of how long Los Amigos has been in existence.

Los Amigos grew out of a loosely-formed consortium. It was started by Mike Sander, Vince and Nancy Gradotta, Jean Kraege, Tom Perkins, Paul Williams, Marshhall Fein, Arturo Zamora, and Ken and Judy Hummell on a day in early spring of 1973 in North Star Mall. They had decided to build a coalition of individuals to emphasize fun along with the die-hard skiing. Little did they know what kind of fun group of maniacs, er, I mean fun people, they would create. You can learn more about our history see below in our In the Beginning section.

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IN THE BEGINNING . . .
In the beginning, there were dinosaurs, they died, turned to oil, . . . . well, maybe we won't start THAT far back, but  . . .

A booth in North Star Mall was an unlikely way for & ski club to begin, but that is basically how Los Amigos had its beginning. Growing from a handful of people, the current membership has fluctuated from 200 to well over 500.

It is a misconception that Los Amigos Ski Club "broke off" from San Antonio Ski Cub, however some of the original members of Los Amigos did belong to the San Antonio Ski Cub. Actually, it was Mike Sander, president of Rennert World Travel Agency, who was at that booth in North Star Mall on a day in early spring of 1973. Some of the original members who shared the common interest were Vince and Nancy Dragotta, Jean Kraege, Tom Perkins, Paul Williams, Marshall Fein, Arturo Zamora, and Ken and Judy Hummell.

The First meeting was held in the fall of 1973 at Joske's at North Star Mall. Thirty or forty people attended, and the organization of the club began. Bob Dauderman, president of the Bank of San Antonio, was elected the first president of the club.

Vail was the first trip at Thanksgiving 1973, and the second trip was to Steamboat in 1975. I'm told that that trip was so much fun with Anne and Rod Lee, Vince and Nancy Dragotta, Jean Kraege, Bob Bucannauer and others, that another trip was planned to Steamboat in April.

It was then that the club grew, and the style shows evolved with the cooperation of a couple of ski shops. The "models" have always been members of the club and have done excellent jobs. In the last couple of years, however, the style shows have gotten more elaborate, involving acting , skits, lighting effects, props, slides, sound systems, and even a radio personality, Bruce Hathaway, as emcee for our last style show at Doc Holiday's. The style shows have also been held at such places as the "Grand Hotel" (currently "Baby Doll's") to the Theater for the Performing Arts. We are a flexible group!

Los Amigos Ski Club has continued to be a source of fun, camaraderie, parties, and sports of all kinds, not only for the "hard core" regulars, but for many new members and guests over the years. As one original member put it, "There were a lot of fun times being actively involved in the club."

Here's hoping Los Amigos Ski Club continues for many years to come to fulfill the needs of the Texas skier!
- Mary Orr

Reprinted from TRACKS (Oct. 1982)

 PAST PRESIDENTS,  Back to Top
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LOGO,  Back to Top
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A Little History of Club . . .

Logo

The Evolution of our Logo, by Sandra Torres-Lynum, Club Historian, March 1990 "Tracks": 

Contrary to popular belief, our infamous trademark logo-a "sombrero-ed" skier with the kamikaze in hand- was not originally established with the birth of the club in 1973, but is the product of approximately fifteen years of evolution. In fact, Pepe (the name we'll give the logo character for use in this article) did not come about until about 1980.

Obscured facts reveal the logo was originally sketched by Arturo Zamora sometime in the mid-1970's. It is not known if this is a self portrait or not.

 It held up until about 1978 when club members decided that a logo change was in order; so in fairness to all parties, a contest was held. John Kiser's idea was selected for his ideas for our second logo. John was known for wearing chaps & cowboy hat on the slopes, so John thought he'd just draw a picture of himself and be a clear winner. As it turned out he was and the "Cowboy on Skis" was born.

 "Pepe" was devised in the imaginary mind of Billy Lynum who suggested our logo should be more in line with our Spanish club name. It was Carl Merten's Alamo Ad Agency who put Billy's suggestion on paper, and "Pepe" soon was legally adopted as our official trademark.

The talented artists of Target Marketing, the firm that produced our newsletter, had modified "Pepe" to fit other occasions from time to time with similarly outstanding results.

In 1994, Dave Agold created our first "unofficial" website and because of the many activities Los Amigos was involved in, he adapted "Pepe" with still additional personalities to fit our city league softball team, hiking group, scuba group, volleyball group and even a roller-blading group, and others. Pepe's wardrobe also began to grow to include roller-blades, cowboy boots, a cowboy hat, and scuba mask & snorkel, among other accessories. To update "Pepe" further, the tiger tail was also added to the logo and it was colorized for certain applications, but the basic logo still remains "Pepe" on skiis holding a tequila shot glass. 

In 1996, President Mike Hedges helped convince the LASC board to allow Dave Agold to obtain the domain name "Los Amigos.org" and create an "Official" website for the club.  This also set the lead for all other clubs in the Texas Ski Council to also devleop websites as they soon followed suit. 

One of these days somebody ought to look under "Pepe's" sombrero and see if he's getting gray hairs with the rest of us!

 TAILS,  Back to Top
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The Origin of the Los Amigos . . .

Tiger Tails

Reprinted from January 1991 "Tracks" article by Sandra Torres-Lynum, Club Historian,

The Los Amigos Ski Club stands out as being the most visible and highly recognizable group on the slopes. The primary reason we stand out so prominently is because of the Tiger Tail we all wear during our ski trips, both on and off the slopes. 

The origin of the Tiger Tail idea came from lifetime and senior member, Hank Gomez. Hank thought it would be a good idea to distinguish our club on the mountain by having everyone wear a Tiger Tail. This would help us recognize each other while wearing all that ski gear - sunglasses, goggles, and ski caps. So, on the 1985 Copper Mountain trip, Hank brought 100 Tiger Tails to the airport and distributed them. He brought 144 Tails on the next trip and a tradition was born.

It is a tradition that has inspired other clubs in the council to hold contests so their members might come up with a "trademark" that would distinguish their clubs. Thanks to Hank for giving us the spark of an idea that has helped make our club stand out from the crowd, be the leader in innovation and become the talk of the town.

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2008-09 Trips 

Fall Roundup
  November 25-30, 2008
  Winter Park, CO.  

Questions? Contact Us at: losamigosskiclub@gmail.com

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