History

The North Penn Ski Club became incorporated as a non-profit corporation in the State of Pennsylvania in September, 1988. The club is the major ski club in the Lansdale/Montgomeryville area which is located in Montgomery County, PA. The incorporation was coordinated by David Schoneker who became the club's first President. He remained in office as President until 1996. In 1996 Bruce Shaffer was then elected to take over as President of the club and remained President through 2000.

The club had previously existed as The Leeds and Northrup Ski Club (L&N Ski Club). Leeds and Northrup was a company involved in many things including control systems for power plants, etc. They were located in North Wales, PA. At that time the club was a corporate club and was part of the Leeds and Northrup Athletic Association. The L&N Ski Club had been founded in 1962 by a long-time skier by the name of Gil Talbot. He worked at L&N as an engineer and organized the club to provide a mechanism where employees could ski and socialize together. As the club grew, they opened it up to non-employees who could join as Associate members. This brought in many friends of the original members who lived and worked in the North Wales/Lansdale area.

Unfortunately, during the mid-1980's, Leeds and Northrup went through some difficult times and had several large lay-offs of employees at their North Wales facility. After a few years, only a few ski club members still worked at L&N. However, in most cases, even when people stopped working for L&N, they maintained their membership in the L&N Ski Club as Associate members. In 1988, the L&N Athletic Association decided that they could no longer sponsor the club and officially stopped the club's membership in the Athletic Association in April. Several people who had been very active in running the club over the years decided that the club was "too good of a thing" to let die and the following people began meeting at Dave Schoneker's house during the summer of 1988 to develop a strategy for continuing the club:

Dave Schoneker
Andrea Schoneker
Dave Beach
Mike Schrameyer
Rick Meehl
Dave Isganitis
Dave Sooy
Nills Gullberg

The name of the new club was selected since the North Penn Area encompassed the main areas where the majority of the club members lived. Initial By-Laws were written and a club logo was designed. Dave Schoneker coordinated the incorporation by working closely with a lawyer who had been involved in the incorporation and development of by-laws for Main Line Ski Club. An initial slate of officers and board members had to be submitted to the state to get the club up and running. Once all the paperwork had been completed and filed, the club was formally incorporated in September, 1998. All people who were members in the L&N Ski Club during 1988 were then voted in as members of the North Penn Ski Club. Elections were held during the first several months to establish an elected body of officers and board members. At the time of the transition from the L&N Ski Club to the North Penn Ski Club, there were approximately 100 to 120 members in the club.

We have growth dramatically since 1988 and now have over 250 members. This allows us to do more things for our members. The North Penn Ski Club has been very fortunate during the last several years to have a set of officers and board members who genuinely care about the club and want it to grow. They have worked very hard to develop programs, activities, and trips to keep our members interested. Since 1988, NPSC has run at least 4 or 5 ski trips a year, sailing, rafting & canoeing trips, camping trips, bike hikes, horseback rides, ice skating parties, bowling & rockclimbing nights, car rallies, banquets, monthly meetings, and lots, lots more.

Within the last few years, NPSC has begun several charitable and community service programs. Four times a year, the club picks up litter along Rt. 202 as part of the Pennsylvania Adopt-a-Highway Program. The club also raises funds throughout the year to support the work being done by the Pennsylvania Adaptive Ski program. This program helps handicapped skiers get the equipment and instruction they need to enjoy the mountains the way the rest of us do.

NPSC has developed two specific goals which will be worked on during the upcoming seasons. These goals involve the development of a more active learn-to-ski program and to provide numerous events/trips which are designed to be good for families with young children.