Veteran's Club Meeting Minutes from October 3rd, 2013
Meeting opened at 1600 with 34 members in attendance. Total club membership is now 112 members.
An informal "Meet and Greet" with refreshments was held from 1600 to 1620.New Business was discussed. It was noted that Leo Gray, one of the original Tuskegee Airmen who flew P-51s Mustangs in World War II will make a presentation at our November 7thmeeting. Because of the unusual and interesting nature of the Tuskegee Airmen, our club is opening up our meeting to all Valencia Reserve residents for a $5.00 donation to the Wounded Warriors of South Florida. Donation checks should be payable to "Wounded Warriors of South Florida". Veteran's Club members and their spouses will be admitted without charge.
Registration is continuing for the December 5th road trip to the Fort Lauderdale Naval Air Station Museum and the Lost Squadron Presentation. The plan is to make it a bus trip with or without spouses including a stop for lunch at Home Town Buffet leaving VR at 1015 and returning around 1615. Many spouses have already registered to attend. Mark your calendars and put your name on the list under the "Attend Events" tab of our website if you are interested in participating. We need to have 57 people sign up for the bus. Payment may be made at the Box Office in the Club House for $30.00 per person. This will cover the bus fare and donation to the Museum, lunch will be extra. I am working on a group "rate" for all of us for lunch.
It was noted that our December 12th end of year meeting will feature a presentation by four Jewish POWs who were held captive by the Germans in World War II. This event will also be open to all Valencia Reserve residents. Please see the "Attend Events" tab of our website for more details.
Congressman Ted Deutch who represents the Boynton Beach area is tentatively scheduled to make a presentation at our January 9th meeting. Additional details will be provided on our website as they become available.
Our club is planning to participate in a car show in the March timeframe. Watch our website for additional details.
Beginning next year we are planning to feature presentations made by our members discussing various aspects of their own military experiences. Jules Harper will kick off this sequence of presentations in February discussing his own experiences flying aerial combat from the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk in Vietnam.
The Hospital Committee, focusing on visiting our members when they are hospitalized, was discussed and additional volunteers were solicited. Several members volunteered to join the committee. Sol Kleinman is going to be the Chairman for this important committee.
The Secretary's Report was presented and the minutes of our September 11th meeting were voted upon and accepted as written. It was noted that meeting minutes will now be posted on our new website.
The Treasurer's Report was presented.The Membership Report was presented. The Club now has 112 members.
For 2014 our regular monthly meetings will be held on the 2nd Thursday of every month from 1600 to 1800 in the Social Hall.
Our next meeting will be held on Thursday November 7th.
The 50/50 drawing was held and the winners were announced.
Program Chairman Roger Ruddick discussed preparations underway for the November 11th Veteran's Day Social. Cost will be $32.00 per couple. 179 individuals have signed up to attend to date. Our goal is 270 attendees. Roger also solicited additional donations for the silent auction to be held in conjunction with the event. An additional twelve donations for auction from business sponsors or individuals are sought.
Roger Ruddick introduced guest speaker Carlton Conrad, Founder of the Children's Coalition, Inc., a Palm Beach County County non-profit committed to underserved youth. Conrad made an informative presentation on the Veteran's History Project at the Library of Congress that collects, preserves and makes accessible the personal accounts of American war veterans so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand the realities of war. He discussed how the Children's Coalition directly involves Palm Beach County high school students in conducting interviews with veterans for the project, developing both the written and video records of the interviews, and how the completed audio/visual transcripts of the interviews are forwarded to the Library of Congress to be made available to the public on their website. His presentation was well received by those in attendance. Anyone interested in learning more about or supporting the Veterans History Project at the Library of Congress through the Children's Coalition may contact Carlton Conrad directly at561-719-8106. The Coalition's website may be viewed at http://tccipbc.org/Veterans_History_Project.html.
Scheduled dates for Veteran's Club Meetings for the balance of 2013 (meetings will be held in the Social Hall):
November 7: 4-6 PM
November 11: Party at the Club, 6:30-10:30
December 5: Bus Trip to Fort Lauderdale Naval Air Museum and Lost Squadron Presentation
December 12: 4-6 PM End of Year Meeting
Scheduled dates for Veteran's Club Meetings for 2014 (meetings will be held in the Social Hall):
January 9: 4-6 PM
February 13: 4-6 PM
March 13: 4-6 PM
April 10: 4-6 PM
May 8: 4-6 PM
June 12: 4-6 PM
September 11: 4-6 PM
October 9: 4-6 PM
November 13, 4-6 PM
December 11, 4-6 PM
The President noted in his concluding remarks that our next meeting will be on Thursday November 7th from 1600 to 1800 in the Social Hall.
The meeting concluded at 1710.
Please Note: $7.00 donations to support the development of our Web Site may be left at the Box Office in the Clubhouse to the attention of our Veteran's Club Treasurer Steve Rosenthal.
Minutes submitted by Tom Nowak, Club Secretary.