Our Sunday breakfast meeting opened at 0900 with 47 members and 8 guests in attendance. Total club membership is now 167.
An informal "Meet and Greet" including breakfast was held from 0900 to 0930.
Formal business commenced at 0930 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 $3,709 cash balance on hand. The total cumulative donations made to the Wounded Warriors of South Florida since the club's inception are $31,315.
The President's Report was presented. It was noted that today's meeting is our formal
"Annual Meeting" as required by our By-Laws and that elections for selected Officer and Board Member positions will be held today.
Jules also noted that the Veteran's Administration is planning to present a special presentation to honor Korean War Veterans at one of our meetings early next year. In addition to our members area Korean War Veteran's outside our community would be invited as well. Additional details will be provided as they become available.
Vice President Goody Morrison provided an update on this year's Fleet Week. Our visit date will be
May 5th, 2016 and at least six ships will be available for visiting, including two destroyers, a nuclear attack submarine, two Coast Guard Cutters and one additional vessel, the type of which is yet to be determined. All those attending the Fleet Week ship visits, both members and guests, must be cleared in advance by the Navy. The clearance information for those individuals who attended last years Fleet Week is still on file and does not have to be re-submitted by the member or guest. However, members or guests who did not attend last year will be required to submit clearance information in order to be pre-cleared for the visit. A form will be distributed to collect this information as we draw closer to the event. David Weissman is the Co-Chair of this year's Fleet Week event and can be reached at
dlweissmancpa@msn.com to answer any questions.
Goody also noted that this year the Heat Wave dance will be replaced by a Polynesian Spring Dinner Dance on April 30th, 2016. Featured entertainment at the event will include Polynesian Dancers. Additional information will be distributed as soon as it becomes available.
Gene Doman discussed proposed By-Law changes that have been recommended by our HOA. The changes were voted upon and unanimously accepted as written by our membership in attendance.
Elections Committee Chairman Norm Beck solicited final nominations from the floor for today's selected Officer and Board Member elections, and no additional nominations were made. The slate of candidates was voted upon and accepted unanimously by those in attendance at today's meeting. As a result of the elections President Jules Harper and Secretary Tom Nowak, and Board Members Nelson Cusher and Mike Silverman were re-elected. Dennis Flyer was elected Board Member to fill Roger Ruddick's seat, and his ongoing contributions to our club were noted with appreciation.
Outgoing Program Planning Chairman Roger Ruddick was recognized for his contributions to our club during the last several years. Roger will be moving out of the Valencia Reserve Community in the near future.
President Jules Harper noted that contributions to the Wounded Warriors of South Florida will be solicited from the greater Valencia Reserve Community through an upcoming issue of the community Weekly Blast.
Jules also noted that a listing of our upcoming activities and events for the new year along with volunteer opportunities will be posted on our website in the near future.
Jules briefed the membership on his progress in writing a book about his experiences as a Navy combat carrier pilot during the Vietnam War.
The 50/50 drawing was held.
Scheduled Sunday breakfast meeting dates for 2016 are indicated below:
--Sunday January 10, 9:00 AM--12:00 noon
--Sunday April 10, 2016, 9:00 AM--12:00 noon
--Sunday June 12, 2016, 9:00 AM--12:00 noon
--Sunday September 11, 2016, 9:00 AM--12:00 noon
--Sunday December 11, 2016, 9:00 AM--12:00 noon (Annual Meeting)
All meetings will be held in the Social Hall.
Scheduled Second Thursday of the month meetings for 2016 are as indicated below:
--Thursday February 11, 2016, 4-6 PM
--Thursday March 10, 2016, 4-6 PM
--Thursday May 12, 2016, 4-6 PM
--Thursday October 13, 2016, 4-6 PM
--Thursday November 10, 2016, 4-6 PM
All meetings will be held in the Social Hall.
2016 Projected Schedule of Veteran's Club Events is indicated below:
--Car Show: March 20, 2016
--Blood Drive: March 11, 2016 and October 28, 2016
--Canned Food Drive: February 25, 2016
--Veteran's Dance Party: April 30, 2016
--Fleet Week in Fort Lauderdale: May 5, 2016
--Pool Party with HOA: May 30, 2016 (Memorial Day)
--Veteran's Day Dance: November 11, 2016 (3-11 PM)
Mike Heiserman made an interesting and informative presentation about his cold war active duty experiences as an officer in a Hawk anti-aircraft missile battery in Germany in the 1960s. His well prepared presentation featured pictures, charts and included memorabilia from his tour. The presentation was well received by all hands and was followed by a question and answer period which included a military quiz where prizes were featured for those providing the correct answers.
The President in his concluding remarks noted that our next meeting would be a breakfast meeting on January 10th, 2016.
The meeting concluded at 1035.
Minutes submitted by Tom Nowak, Veteran's Club Secretary