Club Members,
 
Training Camp Update:
 
Our training camp visit will be from Monday August 10th through Thursday August 13th. Please make your travel plans so you can attend events on these days.
 
What we know is that we’ll be in Mankato for practice on Monday and Tuesday (August 10th and 11th) and we’re hoping everything is similar to previous trips. By this I mean – expect two practices each day, a morning and an afternoon practice. We’ll also be staying for Wednesday’s practice(s) but will be going as traditional fans. The 12th is the last day of camp and has a high possibility of being a different schedule from the Monday and Tuesday’s practices. The Vikings will be releasing their training camp schedule soon and that’s when we’ll know the practice times and related information. We’ll also receive special pricing at the Days Inn in Mankato – you can estimate around $60.00 a night to stay at the motel.
 
Our club dinner will be held on Thursday evening at 7:00 pm at Majors Sports Café in Bloomington. The major intersection is the 494 freeway and Normandale Boulevard. We already have Viking Alumni confirmed for this event – more information will follow as we get more signed up for this event.
 
We are in the planning stages for a Winter Park Tour and a Dome tour. Neither has been finalized at this time – more information will follow on these events as well.
 
We will not be attending a Preseason game this year. The NFL scheduling took this out of play for us this year – we hope to have this back next year. Because of this we probably won’t be staying in the same Hotel as in the past. Our chosen place in Minneapolis was because of the location to the Dome for the game. I’m working on a more convenient location to our scheduled events.
 
On a personal note – these events are my favorite events that the club supports. The estimated costs are minimal – travel and lodging are the primary expenses and these aren’t bad when you factor in our lodging discount the Days Inn provides. The club events don’t have a huge cost associated with them $3 - $5 for the dome tour and $15 - $25 for dinner, you get to choose. What you get is a great Viking trip and you get to tailor it to your schedule. You don’t have to attend every event – I will, but you don’t have too. We typically get field passes for the practices – although we won’t be on the field for the last practice and we need to see the scheduling for the Monday and Tuesday practices before I truly commit I know what is going on. Winter Park is a wonderful tour – every Viking fan should take this tour once (and if you do – you’ll probably take it twice). The dinner is a fantastic time – better than the California dinners in the fact that there are fewer members attending. We have a private room with maybe 25 club members and anywhere from 5 – 10 Viking Alumni. This is a very intimate setting and you really get a chance to meet the players and get to know them. We conduct this event in a similar fashion to the California dinners - the guests will address the members and we’ll have a short autograph session. For those of you that have been wondering how I got most of my stories I tell in these letters – well it was at these dinners (and that was before I became President of the club). All of you can create your future stories by attending these events. I truly hope all of you make this trip at least once – you won’t regret it. The Vikings always treat us very special – just a great time.
 
Wm. R. Martin
President
Southern California Viking Club