General Membership Meetings

All general membership meetings are held on the 2nd Tuesday of the following months: January, March, May, September, and November. The meetings officially begin at 7 PM, but members are encouraged to arrive 30 minutes early for socializing.  The meetings are held at the Science Museum of Virginia at 2500 West Broad Street, Richmond VA 23220-2057.  Snacks to share are always welcome.   For more information contact Dave Olli at odatc.activities@gmail.com.

2017 Club meeting topics are as follows:

• January 12:  Join us at the November general meeting with guest speaker John Bander, Bicycling Enthusiast presenting Oregon to Virginia:  A Big Ride Across America.  Plus club updates, gear swap (bring your outdoor gear for give away or barter), and a chance to catch up with and meet new friends.  Museum closes to public at 5:00, setting up before but any time after 6:00 is fine.  Meeting officially starts 7:00 pm. Feel free to bring a snack to share. 
  
  
• March 14:  Aaron Proctor, District Wildlife Biologist, Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries presents  “VDGIF and You The Outdoor Enthusiast”.   Aaron will give an agency overview, services they provide, and possibly hit on a few big topics that we commonly get asked about from outdoor recreationists- bear encounters, coyotes, the elusive mountain lion.
  
  
• May 9:  We hope to see you at the annual Club Night event with lots of good food, fun, and entertainment.

  The May meeting is traditionally a pot luck dinner event, so please bring a covered dish of your choice.  We’ll handle the beverages, plates, cups, napkins and utensils.  The evening features a special guest presentation by Jeff Reynolds, an international mountain guide S2Mountaineering.   Jeff has successfully led hundreds of high alpine trekking and climbing expeditions in South America,  North America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Antarctica. With over 34 years of climbing experience and a 100% success rate on Kilimanjaro, Jeff will discuss the fundamentals from “great idea” to a successful summit day.  You’ll learn about planning, fitness, logistics, gear, altitude, safety and your winning advantage. 

  Also note the time change for this meeting:   Dinner at 6:00 pm.  Meeting and speaker at 7:00 pm.  

  
  

• September 12:   After a summer break the club reconvenes at our next general meeting in the first floor Discovery Room of the Science Museum of Virginia. Meeting officially starts 7:00 pm but feel free to arrive anytime after 6.  Light refreshments available and we never say no to home baked treats.  A gear swap table will be available for anything you'd like to donate or sell.  September's presentation will be "AT Flip-Flop Thru-Hike: Catch the Seasons and Avoid the Crowds”.  Guest presenter and ODATC member​ Chuck Shimer trail name "Bald Whistler", will recount his 2016 "flip-flop" hike of the entire Appalachian Trail.  A presentation not to be missed! 
  
  
• November 14: Speaker TBA.  Board elections.  
  

Note that the club has shifted the meetings back to the Science Museum.