Veteran's Club Meeting Minutes from February 12, 2015
Meeting opened at 1600 with 27 members in attendance. Two guests from the Viscaya community were also in attendance to observe our meeting and how our club functions. Viscaya is interested in establishing a veteran's club in their community.
An informal "Meet and Greet" with refreshments was held from 1600 to 1620.
Formal business commenced at 1620 with the Pledge of Allegiance.
The President noted the recent passing of two of our members: Greg Russell, who was our Membership Chairman for the first two years of our club and Abe Gellman, who was 100 years and six months old at his passing. A moment of silence was observed in their memory.
The Secretary's Report was presented and the minutes of our last meeting were voted on and accepted by the membership.
The Treasurer's Report was presented. A cash balance of $3,754 is on account in our treasury. It was noted that over the past two years our club has donated over twenty thousand dollars to the Wounded Warriors of South Florida.
The President's Report was presented. It was noted that the CPR/AED class that was held on January 27 graduated 29 Valencia Reserve residents. An additional AED unit is on order that will be located in the Clubhouse to complement the AED units now on hand in the gym and at the tennis courts.
PAP has requested that any of our club members who plan to participate in the "walk" on March 22 wear our club blue shirts at the event.
Two "Thank You" letters from the Wounded Warriors of South Florida have been received in recognition of our recent donations and were read to our members at the meeting.
Roger Ruddick briefed on the plans for the March 8 Car Show to be held in conjunction with the VR Classic Car Club. Volunteers were solicited to help with the event. It was noted that $2,800.00 was raised for the Wounded Warriors at last year's Car Show.
The Sunday morning breakfast meeting originally scheduled for the morning of the Car Show on March 8 has been rescheduled to April 26. Our regular March club meeting will be held on Thursday March 12 from 1600 to 1800 in the Social Hall.
The Flagpole Project has been completed with the final installation of the permanent LED lighting for the monument and the flagpole.
Board Member and Blood Drive Chairman Marty Merluzzi briefed on preparations for our March 13, 2015 Blood Drive. Blood donations will commence on 0900 that day. Three bus donation units will be on hand to accommodate the anticipated volume of donors. Our last two Blood Drive events were very successful with 48 and 55 pints collected respectively. We hope to exceed these amounts at the March donation event. Volunteers were solicited to help with the event.
President Jules Harper provided an update on the May Fort Lauderdale Fleet Week shipboard visit preparations. The ship visits were opened up to spouses and member guests as well as members. All participants must complete a shipboard visit security clearance form in advance. Completed forms were collected at the meeting, New forms may be dropped off at the Box Office. Our ship visit trip will occur during the week of 4 to 10 May, 2015, with the exact dates to be determined by the Navy based on developing ship visit schedules. Cost for the bus trip to the event is anticipated to be $30.00 per person. Additional information will be provided as soon as it becomes available.
Vice President Goody Morrison is recovering at home from hip replacement surgery performed earlier this week. Members are encouraged to call him at home to express their best wishes for a speedy recovery.
President Jules Harper introduced today's presenter Mike Silverman. Mike presented an interesting and informative presentation on the history of the Medal of Honor. The presentation was well received and was followed by a question and answer period.
Scheduled events for 2015 include the following:
--Car Show: March 8; Chairman Roger Ruddick
--Blood Drive: March 13; Chairman Marty Merluzzi
--Canned Food Drive: March 19; Chairman Steve Osterman
--Fleet Week in Fort Lauderdale: May 4-10 (exact visit date TBD); Chairman Goody Morrison
--Pool Party with HOA: May 25; Chairman Goody Morrison
--Heat Wave Dance Party: August 1; Chairman Goody Morrison
--Veteran's Day Dance: November 11; Chairman Goody Morrison
Scheduled Sunday breakfast meeting dates for 2015 are indicated below:
--Sunday April 26, 9-11:30
--Sunday June 14, 9-11:30
--Sunday September 13, 9-11:30
--Sunday December 13, 9-11:30
All meetings will be held in the Social Hall
Scheduled Second Thursday of the month meetings for 2015 are as indicated below:
--Thursday March 12, 4-6 PM
--Thursday May 14, 4-6 PM
--Thursday October 8, 4-6 PM
--Thursday November 12, 4-6 PM
All meetings will be held in the Social Hall.
The President noted in his concluding remarks that our next meeting would be on Thursday March 12 from 4-6 PM in the Social Hall.
The 50/50 drawing was held.
The meeting concluded at 1730.
Minutes Submitted by Tom Nowak, Club Secretary