About LOAPC
The Lansing Oar and Paddle Club (LOAPC, pronounced “lop-see”) is a 501(c)(7) non-profit corporation to promote interest in all aspects of human-powered watercraft in mid-Michigan. Founded as a canoe, kayak, and rowing club in 1987, the club has played a leadership role in promoting human-powered watersports in the greater Lansing area. LOAPC’s committees (recreation, open water, whitewater, and power paddlers) function as “clubs-within-clubs” with their own leadership and programming. LOAPC’s activities include coordinating paddling trips to destinations as close as Lansing and as far away as Arkansas, North Carolina, and Canada; river cleanup activities; and winter seminar programs with travelogues and safety information. For the past 22 years, LOAPC has provided opportunities for people interested in canoeing and kayaking to meet other people with the same interests and grow and develop their sport.
LOAPC was the original sponsor for the tremendously popular Quiet Water Symposium, which is now in its 14th year. LOAPC also shared membership with rowers in the greater Lansing area until they formed their own separate Lansing Rowing Club in 2007.
Meetings are held on an as-needed basis, with free public presentations the third Tuesday of the month from January through May, and an annual business meeting on the third Tuesday in October.
Current officers for 2010 are:
President: Jay Hanks • Vice-President: Loretta Crum
Secretary: Robin Barfoot • Treasurer: Nancy Anderson
Recreation Committee Co-Chairs: Tony Kuhlman and Loretta Crum
The Club:
• coordinates and arranges social paddling trips—locally, in Michigan, and throughout the US and Canada. (all trips are self-guided and everyone is responsible for their own equipment and safety)
• publishes a newsletter four times a year about recent Club activities, upcoming events, paddling safety, and other information of interest to canoeists and kayakers
• maintains a public online presence at http://loapc.org and a public discussion forum (blog) at http://loapc.wordpress.com
• moderates a private online trip coordination bulletin board on Google Groups for Club members only
• has a page on Facebook
• presents 4 to 6 winter seminar/slide presentations per year on adventure paddling, trip destinations, and safety that are free and open to the public
• conducts public service work projects in cooperation with local government and nonprofit groups to improve water quality and access for recreational paddlers and nonpaddlers alike
• promotes stewardship of our water resources through recreational use, conservation, low-impact access points, and safe paddling practices.
Membership dues are $10 per year. To join, contact a Club officer, or download the membership form, sign it, enclose a check for $10 payable to “LOAPC,” and mail it to the address below.
