The Ford Ski Club was established in 1949 with fourteen members.  Through the years the name was changed to the Ford Thunderbird Ski Club and eventually to the Thunderbird Ski Club. Ours is the largest ski club in Michigan and one of the largest in the nation.  Our members are employees of many companies and organizations; they are professionals, merchants and individual businessmen and women.

Members must be at least twenty-one years of age, and the ages of our members range from twenty-one to eighty-four.  Sixty percent of our members are single.  The Club is a nonprofit corporation of the State of Michigan.

Events, Trips, and Activities
The Club provides a friendly atmosphere for its members who are interested in skiing as well as social activities, travel and other sports activities.  We believe it is important to offer our members activities throughout the year.  Following are examples of what we provide:

Spring/Summer

Summer Picnics on the first Wednesday of June, July, August and September.  There, three hundred members and guests enjoy a summer evening, which includes food and drink

A "Walk In" Friday Night Golf League at predetermined local golf courses where you can play any or all weeks as you choose

Weekly evening bike rides and/or Rollerblading

Weekend golf trips, boat outings, theater outings, wine tasting, a weekend canoe trip to Northern Michigan, and other social gatherings.  We go as a group to ball games, hockey games, sample beer brewing at a microbrewery in Windsor, and visit Toronto, Chicago, and Mackinaw Island.  The Club has even been hang gliding, hot air ballooning, and bungee jumping.

Fall

An Open House, which is open to the public, to acquaint new and prospective members with our programs and schedule for the ski season.  This is attended by hundreds of members and guests and includes dancing and socializing.

The Fall Season also brings a variety of events frequently including a Road Rally, a Halloween Party, and a night at Northville Downs, a Hayride/Square Dance, a Used Equipment Sale, a night of Whirlyball, and a Holiday Party.

Winter
Several weekend ski trips between December and March.  Our most popular trip continues to be Beginners Weekend at Shanty Creek/Schuss Mountain Resort.  The trip takes place in mid January, includes Alpine and Nordic ski instruction as well as snowboard and snowshoe and is part of a package of lodging, meals, lift tickets, entertainment, and other activities taking place throughout the weekend.  The TBird turnout has been as high as six hundred but is usually around three hundred skiers and snowboarders.  The event attracts so many that it sometimes is known as the Not-Just-For-Beginners (NJFB) Weekend.

Several western ski trips ranging from four to seven days and at least one European Trip.  In the past several years we have skied the western resorts of Aspen, Breckenridge, Keystone, the Lake Tahoe area (Heavenly, Kirkwood, and Squaw Valley), Mammoth, Park City, Steamboat, Vail, and Winter Park.  In Canada our popular destinations are Whistler and Blackcomb in British Columbia, Banff and Lake Louise in Alberta and Searchmont and Blue Mountain in Ontario.   In Europe our favorites are Innsbruck, Austria; Zermatt, Switzerland; Courmayeur, Italy; Chamonix, France; and locations in New Zealand, Greece, and Norway.

Instruction
Our club is one of only a few in the country that boasts its own Snow Sports School.  Our instructors are members of the club and follow PSIA and/or AASI Guidelines.  Instruction is offered on some of our local ski trips as well as at Mt. Brighton on Monday evenings January through March, weather permitting of course.  Mt. Brighton offers discounted lift tickets and equipment rental for members at these lessons.  Our Snow Sports School is an entity in itself and it attends training seminars and hosts social gatherings during the instructional season.  The School also sponsors one of our summer picnics.

Racing
For racing enthusiasts the Thunderbird Race Team is an active group of approximately fifty members of all skiing ability levels (from novice to expert) of the Thunderbird Ski Club who participate in downhill ski racing (slalom, giant slalom, and even Super G) in the Michigan Alpine Competition Council [MACC] ski race program.  The MACC consists of twelve different teams, competing in twelve races over five weekends, primarily at Boyne Mountain in northern Michigan, with one weekend at the Searchmont Resort, just north of Sault St. Marie, Ontario.  The men and women of the race team also enjoy many organized social functions throughout the race weekends.

Affiliations
The Club is a member of the Metropolitan Detroit Ski Council (MDSC), and the Chicago Metropolitan Ski Council (CMSC).  

General Business Meetings
Business meetings are held on the first and third Wednesday of each month from October through May.  Entertainment and dancing sometimes follow the business meeting, sometimes with a DJ and sometimes with swing dance lessons, a live band, and a theme night.

Communications
Members receive a monthly newsletter called the “TOWLINE” where announcements are published for all activities, Wrap Up Articles are published describing past trips with pictures taken at the event and contact information is available if members need to contact trip leaders, board members or committee chairpersons. 

Current information also is available on our Website, www.tbirdskiclub.com. 

We have a 24-hour HOTLINE at (313) 438-6148. 

Our members are our greatest assets and we are always open to new ideas and suggestions for Club activities.

Membership Costs
Initial Membership cost is $35.  Memberships must be renewed each year beginning April 30 through May 31 for a renewal fee of $25.  Joining the TBirds is easy as we meet twice a month and membership applications are available at all meetings.  Or go to our Website, www.tbirdskiclub.com, go to the Applications folder, click on the Join the TBirds button, print the Membership Application, and mail it per its instructions.  Club Membership is required to attend any overnight event sponsored by the Club.

E-Mail
The Club has an e-mail account that members and others can use to ask questions, offer suggestions, and obtain special information about events, ski trips, and club operations.  Send your messages to: president Denise Schwab at DMSchwab@gmail.com.

Constitution and Bylaws
The club operates by its Constitution/Bylaws and Guidelines.  A copy of the Constitution/Bylaws and the club Guidelines is available to members and can be obtained by contacting the president of the club.