VR Veterans Club Secretary Secretary Reports

An informal "Meet and Greet" was held from 1600 to 1620.

Formal business commenced at 1620 with the "Pledge of Allegiance".

The Secretary's Report was presented and the minutes of our last meeting were voted upon and accepted by the membership.

The Treasurer's Report was presented. It was noted that we currently have a $2834.00 cash balance, and an adjusted cash balance of $3,049.00. To date 22 people have signed up for our 
Veteran's Club BBQ, and 8 Car Show registrations have been filed.

The President's Report was presented. It was noted that April 22nd is the date for our upcoming BBQ, and that four new members have joined since our last meeting. The new members present briefly introduced themselves and were welcomed to the Club. The president requested that our members encourage other members who do not usually attend our monthly meetings to join us at the meetings whenever possible.

The President noted that to date 22 members and guests have signed up for our February 28th visit to the Navy SEAL Museum. The admissions fee at the museum will be $8.00. Drivers for our car pool to the museum were solicited. The plan is for us to meet at the clubhouse at 0915, and to depart promptly at 0930. We will stop for lunch at 1100 at the Harbor Cove Restaurant located at 1930 Harbortown Drive in Fort Pierce, and we anticipate touring the museum from approximately 1215 to around 1500, after which we will depart for home. Members are encouaged to wear their club shirts and hats.

Canned Food Drive Chairman Mike Tremper provided an update on the event scheduled for Friday March 24th. POD Captains were solicited for several PODs where coverage was not yet firmed up.

Car Show Chairman Mike Heiserman, joined by Car Club President Barry Zeleski provided an update on preparations for the Sunday March 19th event. This year the show will be held at the Buick dealership in Del Ray. The dealership has provided $650.00 for trophies which have been ordered, and will also provide grilled hot dogs and hamburgers at no cost to our club. !,000 flyers have been ordered and are being distributed. Volunteers were solicited to help with the event, and members were encouraged to identify businesses that could contribute items for door prizes and for the "goody bags" that will be given to all registrants. To date 8 registrations have been submitted, with the bulk of registrations typically taking place on the day of the event. A number of Canyon Town Center businesses have committed to contribute money or goods to support the event. 

President Jules Harper noted that our next Blood Drive is scheduled for Friday March 31st, with Blood Drive Chairman Tom Conklin along with Steve Metzler coordinating the event. Volunteers to support the event were solicited.

Jules requested that any members interested in helping with the holiday flag raisings at the Veteran's Cemetary send an E-Mail to him indicating their interest in participating.

Jules also noted that he has invited Valencia Cove veterans to attend our Veteran's Club meetings.

The President also reminded our members that the "Wounded Warriors of South Florida" have changed their name to the "Wounded Veteran's Relief Fund".

He also reiterated that membership in our Club is open to all US Armed Forces veterans with a DD214.

Our President discussed the displayed "Eagle Poster" donated to our Club by Joanna. A preliminary discussion followed focusing on options for either displaying, donating, selling or auctioning the poster. It was agreed that our next step would be to look into the possibility of mounting the artwork. A member volunteered to look into mounting options, including approaching Michaels to see if they would consider mounting the poster at a reduced cost for the club. Additional discussion is planned for our next meeting.

Board Member Nelson Cusher presented an interesting and informative presentation on the Ten Best World War II War Movies, the Ten Best Vietnam War Movies, and the Ten Best Post Vietnam War Movies. The presentation featured film clips and was particularly well received by our members. It was followed by a question and answer period.

The 2017 Projected Schedule of Veteran's Club Events is indicated below:
--Car Show: Sunday March 19, 2017:  (Rain Date March 26, 2017)
--Blood Drive: Friday March 31, 2017 and Thursday October 26, 2017
--Canned Food Drive: March 24, 2017
--Fleet Week in Fort Lauderdale: May 2017 (exact date TBD)
--Pool Party with HOA: Sunday May 28, 2017 (Memorial Day)
--Veteran's Day Dance: Saturday November 11, 2017 (3-11 PM)

Scheduled Sunday breakfast meeting dates for 2017 are indicated below:
--Sunday April 9, 2017
--Sunday June 11, 2017
--Sunday September 10, 2017
--Sunday December 10, 2017 (Annual Meeting)
All Sunday meetings will be held in the Social Hall from 9:00 AM to 12:00 noon,

 Scheduled Second Thursday of the month meetings for 2017 are indicated below:
--Thursday March 9, 2017
--Thursday May 11, 2017
--Thursday October 12, 2017
--Thursday November 9, 2017
All Thursday meetings will be held in the Social Hall from 4:00 to 6:00 PM.

The President noted in his concluding remarks that our next meeting would be held on Thursday March 9 in the Social Hall. Members were reminded to sign up to attend on the Veteran's Club website.

The meeting concluded at 1735.

Minutes Submitted by Tom Nowak, Veteran's Club Secretary