Date: June 18, 2010
From: Quinna Rogers, Lakewood Winter Club President
To: Lakewood Winter Club Members
CC: Kyle Wintermute, Sprinker Manager; Kathy Wainhouse, Skating Director; Janice Forbes, ISI Learn-to-Skate Coordinator

Dear Club Members,

As you all know, Sprinker Recreation Center has been in desperate need of a renovation for many years and has existed under the threat of failure for the last several years. It is with a heavy heart and tears in my eyes that I must tell you that a decision was made today by Pierce County Oficials to close the facility on October 31, 2010.

The County is expected to put out an official Press Release soon and we expect that there will be an article in the paper this Sunday. I wanted you to hear it from me and not via the rumor mill or in the newspaper.

We have all known that we would eventually have to relocate our Club ice, be it temporarily for a renovation or for a longer term in the event a decision like this ever came down. There were already conversations taking place about what options were available to us and those conversations and plans are being expedited now in light of this news.

Kyle Wintermute, Sprinker Manager, has been hard at work for weeks making plans to continue providing all of Sprinker's users with continued services in order to make this transition as seemless as possible. The goal is to keep Learn-to-Skate, hockey, and LWC together, wherever we end up.

There are not yet any final decisions about what will happen in terms of getting ice but decisions are currently in the works to make accommodations for all of our skaters and families. Rest assured that YOU, our Club members, are my first priority and we are working very diligently with Kyle to make sure that our Club stays together and all of our needs are met.

If we are to have any hope of receiving support from the County to provide continuation of services, it is VERY important that every single one of you write a letter TODAY to Pierce County Councilmembers and the Pierce County Excecutives asking them to continue to support Sprinker users, ice skating, hockey, public sessions, EVERYONE that uses Sprinker.

You can find email addresses for each County Official on the Friends of Sprinker (www.FriendsOfSprinker.com) website that has been set up and you can email them directly from there. PLEASE TAKE A MINUTE AND DO THAT TODAY!

For those of you who have Facebook, we would also like to invite you to be our friend at: www.facebook.com/BeASprinkerFriend This is where we are posting the latest information about the Sprinker status.

I know that you have many questions and I want to answer as many of them as I possibly can. Feel free to email me back or catch me around the rink and ask all the questions you want. Unfortunately, I may not have the answers you need but I will seek to get those answers.

We are holding an emergency LWC Membership Meeting on Monday, June 21 at 6pm in the Alder Room. Please come, find out the latest of what we know.

I want to encourage you to not worry or panic and trust us to take care of our Club's needs. I also want to encourage you to be supportive of Kyle and the rest of the Sprinker staff. I also would like to encourage you all to be supportive of Kathy Wainhouse, our Skating Director, Janice, and the rest of our coaching staff. As upsetting as this is for all of us, please remember that Sprinker has been a home-away-from-home for many of them since they were children.

I promise to keep our Club's best interest at the top of my priority list and will distribute information as decisions are made and information becomes available.

If you are interested in helping us with our efforts to get Sprinker renovated, please let me know and I can help you get involved.

Please do not hestitate to contact me with your questions and concerns and I will do my best to make sure those questions and concerns are addressed.

Quinna Rogers
President
Lakewood Winter Club

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