Meetings

Here are the minutes from previous business meetings.

4Q04 Business Meeting04 DEC 2004
2Q05 Business Meeting09 JUL 2005
4Q05 Business Meeting03 DEC 2005
1Q06 Business Meeting18 MAR 2006
3Q06 Business Meeting30 SEP 2006

+++++++++++  December 04, 2004 Business Meeting — Houston Arboretum & Nature Center

The meeting was called to order by President Catherine Kellner after we had enjoyed our Christmas ‘pot luck’ lunch and entertainment.

OLD BUSINESS —

— Motion was made that the minutes of the September 18, 2004 be accepted as written with any amendments required to be made at a later date. Motion was seconded and passed.

— Linda Risinger presented the treasurer’s report covering September and October with an ending balance on October 31, 2004 of $5,296.92.

— Ken Schubert reported that the San Jacinto Monument YRE was going very well.  There were ~150 participants in 2004, it’s first year.

— Andy Howard talked about ordering new HHH tee shirts and indicated he/we would complete a survey by e-mail and then place a shirt order.  Andy also mentioned that club publicity has increased and is going well.

— Catherine Kellner thanked Dolores Bentke, Gail Carter and Doris Hanneman for their hard work on today’s luncheon.  It was fun and decorated so nicely and the ‘door prizes’ were a nice touch.

— Catherine Kellner thanked Barbara and David Mikeska for their good work on the newsletter.

— The new slate of officers was presented and nominations were requested from the floor.  A motion was made that nominations close and slate of officers as presented (see last page of minutes) be accepted.  Motion was seconded and passed unanimously.

— Historian presented scrapbook for all to view.

— Plaques were presented to Andy Howard and Connie & Alan Bath as a token of the club’s appreciation for all they have done to help make us a success.  A round of applause was given to Jim Crab who works with the Arboretum and is instrumental in clearing the trails for our walks.

— The HHH club’s 25-year anniversary ornament was presented to all who had volunteered during 2004.  As someone noted, our club could not survive without our volunteers.

NEW BUSINESS —

— Walks for 2005 were presented and discussed, as follows:  September – need volunteer(s) to help plan this walk in Houston, starting at the “Y”, hop on the train, etc. Discussed Christmas for 2005 and requested suggestions/ideas.  Someone suggested we go to Bear Creek, another suggested we stay at the Arboretum but change up the walk, etc.

— 2005 Convention — Convention will be in New Jersey June 18-26, 2005 (this national convention is held every two (2) years).  Catherine Kellner indicated that Charles Christal has been nominated for a national award.  Daralyn Schubert stated that we usually fund travel for one representative from our club to go. We need ONE person to go to be our voting delegate.  Daralyn moved that we give $500 to Catherine Kellner to help fund her trip to convention as our voting rep.  Motion was seconded and passed.  Charles Wortz, TVA VP/Trailmaster suggested another person should also attend the convention to help get attendance at all of the meetings, etc.

— There is a proposal to have the AVA national convention in Texas in 2009.  Catherine Kellner asked whether we want to help.  We will need to know at the February TVA meeting.  Patrick Powers moved, Trisha Drumm seconded and motion passed unanimously that we help.

— Catherine Kellner announced that the 2005 Starting Point book is available for purchase for $15.

— Andy made a motion that we purchase a Wolf/Ritz camera photo club membership to make it easier to get pictures of events developed for the web page and the scrapbook.  Motion was seconded and passed.

—  Catherine Kellner thanked Andy Howard for the slide show of past events that played during our luncheon.  Meeting was adjourned.  Karen Cormier 2/15/2005

+++++++++   July 09, 2005 Business Meeting — Crowne Plaza Hotel Medical Center

President Catherine Kellner called the meeting to order and welcomed everyone.

OLD BUSINESS —

— There were no minutes available from the last meeting.

— Linda Risinger presented the Treasurer’s Report covering March through May.  Copies will be attached to the file copy of these minutes. Bank balance as of today = $5,675.45.

— Catherine asked whether the club should invest some of its funds.  Lynn Clark indicated that we should.  Linda Risinger will check into it and report back next meeting.

— Membership report was not available.

— Historian work is going well.

— Newsletter – Barbara/David Mikeska reported that input is always welcome. Just contact them with info.

— Web site – No report.

— Hospitality – Website should include Delores Bentke.

— Upcoming walks through year-end 2005:

— September 17th – will walk the YRE Medical Center Walk as a group, 7:00 a.m.

— October 15th – Morgan’s Point organized by Karen Cormier

— November 12th – Seabrook Walk organized by Wren Bump (will have a new start location at Palm Lodge.  Ordering food is an available option here.).

— December 3rd – Houston Arboretum – NEED a Trail Master. Arboretum agreed to reduce their rate for us, anticipating that HHH members will continue/increase volunteer participation.

— Year Round Walks (both future proposed and current):

— Huntsville is in the works – Charlene Foerster, trailmaster.  A patch is being planned and a flyer is in progress.  Seabrook is being worked / developed by Wren Bump.

— Downtown walks – kept up by Linda & Bill Goller (Trisha Drumm has volunteered to help update the maps).

— A High Island Audobon area walk was discussed (may be scheduled).  Lynn Clark suggested we double check on this.

— 2006 Proposed Walks

— January – Eagle Lake (Charles Able, trailmaster)

— February – Buffalo Bayou (Mike Shay & Rock Robinowitz {Check with Rock if he will help.})

— March – High Island -(Mary Wheat, coordinator).

— April -Bear Creek- (Andy & Tina Howard).

— May – Brazos Bend (Catherine Kellner, Delores Bentke, Charles Pheffer).

— June – Trails Day (no trail master needed).

— July & August – possibly walk YRE’s again as in previous years – TBD.

— September – Lake Houston – NEED trail master.

— October – Jack Brooks Park (Janice Hatton coordinator)

— November – Seabrook (NEED trailmaster).

— December – Houston Arboretum? Change to another location? Pat Powers suggested rooms at Bear Creek and he will check into this and let us know what he learns.

— Walks for 2007

— Mercer Arboretum was being checked out by Ken & Daralyn Schubert for 2007.

NEW BUSINESS —

— There was a question raised about membership for two sisters in 2 separate households – could they purchase one membership? After some discussion, there was a motion made, seconded and unanimously passed that states:  “individuals from separate households shall obtain separate memberships, even if relatives.”

— A question was raised as to whether we want to continue to have summer walks.  It was agreed to table this discussion and present it again at our December 2005 meeting.

— HHH needs new officers in 2006, as follows:

— Treasurer (gets ‘walk box/money’ to ALL walks prior to start, pays club bills, balances checkbook, prepares and presents monthly statements and annual reports, etc.).  See HHH web site for a full job description.

— Publicity – publish information about AVA and HHH, etc.

— Trail Masters – create and organize or assist in setting up walks.

— If interested in helping the Club in any capacity, please contact any of the current officers.

— The AVA National convention was recently held in Cherry Hill, NJ.  The next one will be in Sacramento, CA June 23rd thru July 1st, 2007. Then the 2009 convention will be held in Richardson, TX.  HHH will be assisting with this convention.  The home base will be the Renaissance Hotel in Dallas/Richardson.

— There will be a TVA meeting next month (August 6th with walk to be held on August 7th) in Granbury for anyone that would like to attend.

— It’s time to have the ‘books’/treasurer’s records audited again.  Linda Risinger will check with Trisha Drumm to determine whether she would be willing to perform this function again as she did last year.

— Catherine suggested that she would like to see us/HHH become more involved in the community and at the same time help educate the public about our club and our events.  Suggestions were made that maybe we should have business cards made that could be handed out, especially when trailmasters are setting up walks.  Catherine indicated she would check with Trisha.  Another suggestion was that we need letterhead to use when requesting use of various facilities when organizing a walk.  This would get our ‘name’ out in print to at least those people.  Another suggestion was that our summer-YRE-group walks might need additional publicity to increase participation.

— Regarding involvement between Girl Scouts and the HHH, Lynn Clark said that there was an alliance created years ago.  Lynn will check with Andy and Tina about this.  Karen Cormier will check with the AARP about possible ways to get information about our club into their publications, etc.  Catherine closed by indicating that we need volunteers not only for the officer positions in 2006, but for the nominating committee, etc.

— Next meeting will be held in conjunction with our December walk at the Houston Arboretum.  Meeting was adjourned.

— Submitted by K Cormier — 9/26/2005

+++++++++ December 3, 2005 Business Meeting — Houston Arboretum and Nature Center, Holiday Lunch

President Catherine Kellner called the meeting to order and welcomed everyone.

 OLD BUSINESS —

— Minutes from last meeting were made available and a motion was made to accept them as presented. Motion was seconded and passed.

— Linda Risinger presented the Treasurer’s Report, covering by month, June through October, and stated the balance as of today is $xxx.xx. Copies of each month;s report will be attached to the file copy of these minutes.

— Membership report was not available.

— Historians brought scrapbook to this event for everyone to take a look!

— Web Site – Andy said going well and reminded everyone to check it periodically for updates and items of interest.

— Newsletter – Barbara & David Mikeska reported that input is always welcome.  They also reminded us that if you have a change of address to be sure and let Kathy Goldfarb/Membership know so that your newsletter will get to you.

— Hospitality – Delores Bentke introduced Gail and Doris as her assistants with  today’s decorations and set up.

— Volunteer Coordinator – No report.

— Walks for 2006

    — January – Eagle Lake (Charles Able)

    — February – Buffalo Bayou (Mike Shay)

    — March – High Island (Mary Wheat)

    — April – Bear Creek (Andy & Tina Howard)

    — May – Brazos Bend (Catherine Kellner, Delores Bentke, Charles Pfeffer).

    — June – Trails Day (NEED TRAILMASTER)

    — September – Lake Houston – (NEED TRAILMASTER)

    — October – Jack Brooks Park (Janice Hatton)

    — November – Seabrook (NEED trailmaster?)

    — December – Houston Arboretum (NEED TRAILMASTER)

— July and August walks – Catherine prompted discussion surrounding our recent years’ practice of doing YRE walks as a group.  The discussion highlighted that there are very few that participate in these walks and volunteers are still needed regardless of how many participate, etc.  Tina made a motion that we discontinue walks during July and August.  Motion was seconded and passed unanimously.

— Year Round Walks Report

    — Charlene Foerster is working as the coordinator/trailmaster for our new Huntsville YRE.

    — ~40 walkers participated in our San Jacinto YRE.  Ken & Daralyn pointed out that during the facelift of the Monument the “start box” has been temporarily moved to the Battleship area across the street.

    — Downtown YRE (3): Linda & Bill Goller are going to retire as coordinators of these walks.  The Crowne Plaza is closing (current start point), so the “start box” will be moved to a new location, possibly the Holiday Inn nearby.  Someone suggested the Rotary House.  We will be informed as this item progresses.

— Conventions

    — The 2007 National Convention will be in Sacramento, CA and the 2009 convention will be in Richardson, TX.  HHH has been named as the assistant coordinator for the 2009 event.

— Community Involvement – The following suggestions were brought up and discussed:

    — Possibly presenting AVA/HHH information at a company function,  make presentations if possible

    — Houston Arboretum is always looking for volunteers every Thursday from 9 a.m. to noon and every 1st Saturday of the month, to help with grooming of the trails, etc. (They provide on-the-job training!)

   — Girl Scouts ¡V please go through Catherine K. for this interest.

NEW BUSINESS —

— Catherine K. suggested that gifts be distributed to 2005 volunteers and that the HHH fund these gifts.  There was a motion to follow through with this and the motion was seconded and passed unanimously.  Lydia encouraged everyone to volunteer.  “Just try it once and see.”

— Three (3) retiring officers and Andy (retired in 2004) were honored.  Each of these “retirees” was presented with a gift card to Academy and a plaque commemorating their service to the HHH.

    — Linda Risinger is retiring from the Treasurer position

    — Delores Bentke is retiring from the Hospitality position

    — Linda & Bill Goller are retiring as coordinators of the downtown 3 YRE’s

    — Andy Howard retired as 1st VP in 2004

— The next TVA meetings will be in February (4th & 5th) and August (meetings are held twice/year).  The TVA continues to ask for host clubs to get involved and help plan a walk, suggest locations for the meetings, etc.  Catherine K. encouraged the HHH to volunteer to help with these meetings or a walk.  Lynn indicated that there may be a TVA regulation that you cannot have a local club walk the same day as the TVA meeting so we couldn’t combine the two.  Suggested locations for possible walks:  Galveston, LaPorte, Huntsville.  A motion was made that HHH plan to help during the February 2007 or 2008 meeting.  Motion was seconded by Andy and passed unanimously.

 — The Nominating Committee [of one/Lydia Blagg] presented a proposed slate of officers for 2006, as follows:

    — President = Catherine Kellner       — 2nd VP = Trish Drumm         — Treasurer = Pat Powers & Martha Youngblood

   — Secretary = Karen Cormier

    — Nominations were solicited from the floor.  With no other nominations forthcoming, Daralyn moved that the slate of officers be accepted as presented/read.  Motion was seconded & passed.  In addition to the officers, the following were presented as appointed

chairpersons:     — Hospitality = Margaret Stevens     — Volunteer Coordinator = Wren Bump   — Webmaster = Andy Howard

— YREs:  ++ San Jacinto = Daralyn Schubert    ++ Downtown 3 = NEED Volunteer

— Newsletter = Barbara & David Mikeska   — Historians = Lydia Blagg & Martha Youngblood   — Publicity = Delores Bentke

— Andy H. indicated he will work toward getting new club shirts in 2006.  There is some interest in long sleeved shirts as well as the various styles.

— New Balance will no longer be an AVA sponsor.  If you hold a coupon for free shoes, you will need to use this coupon prior to January 2006 or it will expire. 

— NEW SPONSOR:  Fuel Belt  – members will receive a 10% discount.

— Door prize winning names were drawn and prizes given.  Volunteer tees were distributed.  Meeting was adjourned by President, Catherine K.

— Submited by K Cormier,  12/30/2005

+++++++ December 3, 2005 Business Meeting — High Island

President Catherine Kellner called the meeting to order and welcomed everyone.

OLD BUSINESS — 

— Pat Powers, Treasurer, reported the balance of funds.  It was agreed that $3,000 would be invested in a CD.  It was also agreed to pay a $50 deposit for the use of the Houston Arboretum for the December luncheon.

— Catherine requested volunteers for the nominating committee.  Officers will be elected in December.  A new First Vice-President will be needed.  Ken Schubert will no longer fill that position after December.  A Second Vice-President is also needed to replace Trish Drumm.  Other volunteers are needed now to be trail masters for organizing upcoming monthly walks and a contact person for the Medical Center YREs.

— The Holiday Inn has agreed to be the start point for those YREs.  The maps and directions need to be reworked to reflect the new start point.  The contact person would also be responsible for monitoring the walk box.  Any HHH member is encouraged to contact Catherine if you would be willing to work on the nominating committee.

— Plans for spring and fall walks 2006 were reviewed.

NEW BUSINESS —

— Catherine would like for HHH to consider nominating our newsletter and some of our members for AVA awards to be announced at the 2007 convention.

— Ken Schubert discussed the need to get rid of some old HHH supplies that are currently not being used.  It was agreed that he should donate them to a charity.  The motion was made and seconded to adjourn.

— Submitted by Daralyn Schubert (for the absent K Cormier)  03/20/2006

——————————————————————————–

+++++++ September 30, 2006    Business Meeting — Lake Houston

President Catherine Kellner called the meeting to order and welcomed everyone.

OLD BUSINESS —

— Officer/Committee Reports

— Karen Cormier distributed and verbally summarized minutes from 2 prior meetings and they were accepted as presented.

— Powers, Treasurer, reported that a CD was opened for $X.XX with HHH funds, leaving a balance of ~$X.XX in checking.

— Ken Schubert, 1st VP sent report of the three upcoming walks to complete 2006.  October will be at Jack Brooks Park, November will be in Seabrook (Karen C. agreed to rewrite the map based on a new start point) and December will be at the Houston Arboretum with our annual Christmas luncheon and meeting, in addition to the walk.  Catherine indicated the same map could be used for the Arboretum walk & she is willing to help mark the walk.

— Ken and Daralyn were successful in their attempts to donate some of HHH’s no-longer-being-used supplies.

— 2nd VP – no report.

— Hospitality – Catherine indicated we need someone to organize the Christmas luncheon, be responsible for set up and clean up. Andy asked whether the Arboretum might handle some of the set up and clean up for a fee. Catherine will check with the Arboretum and if they will do this, as it was agreed to be a good idea.  Cindy Brahm will check about assisting with the planning of the luncheon.

— Webmaster report – Andy reported our site is going well – no problems.  Andy expressed a desire to have a backup person to work on the website in case he is unable or out of pocket. 

— Publicity – Delores sent a report indicating she had been successful in getting a HHH advertisement into several newspapers and some on-line venues. Daralyn will add a note in her e-mail walk notes that we are willing to speak at company functions if anyone has a need.  

— Newsletter – no report, but good work! 

— Membership – no special report. Kathie will be issuing the latest membership list in the near future.  There was a brief discussion about offering multiple-year memberships so the annual paperwork could be reduced but then additional effort would be required to maintain an accurate listing of each member and their various membership terms. 

— Volunteer Committee – Wren – no report. 

— YRE’s: Daralyn reported the San Jacinto walk is going well and added that the facility is completely opened again, following renovations.  No new news regarding the downtown events or the Huntsville event.  Andy did indicate he has started sending thank you notes to participants of the downtown YRE’s. 

— Catherine was approached by Ross Kramer about the HHH taking over Galveston’s YRE’s. Friendswood came back and said that they wanted to continue to manage the Seawall YRE. HHH would, therefore, just manage the ‘historical’ YRE there and Debbie Doyle has agreed to take the lead in getting this organized, mapped and ready to go. 

NEW BUSINESS —  

— Catherine stated we will need to vote at our December meeting on a delegate to attend the AVA convention and $$ that will be given to that delegate to defray their expenses.  It has been determined that Houston will not be hosting the TVA meeting; Dallas will. 

— Catherine encouraged everyone to nominate themselves or anyone else for AVA awards. Many HHH’s are deserving for their frequent service.  These nominations are needed by mid-October.

— After much discussion about paying the various walk-start locations (making a donation) for use of their facility, a motion was made as follows: 

         — The trailmaster(s) for a walk along with the president or another board member will have the authority to make a donation to facilities at walk start locations or other organizations of interest, not to exceed $300.  Motion was seconded and passed unanimously.

— A discussion came up about whether we would order additional “volunteer” tee shirts to give to ‘new’ 2006 volunteers.  There were ~4 tees left from last year.  Daralyn will check and see how many ‘new’ volunteers we’ve had this year.

— Club shirts were discussed as to color, style, etc.  Andy indicated his thoughts (as he has handled this for the club in the past).  Andy got opinions from almost everyone at the meeting and intends to begin placing some orders in the near future. 

— Regarding the YRE books, The Starting Point, it was decided that HHH would order fewer to have in stock for next year and then order as requested if we run out. 

— Catherine requested volunteers for the nominating committee.  Officers will be elected in December. A new First Vice-President will be needed.  Ken Schubert will no longer fill that position after December.  A Second Vice-President is also needed to replace Trish Drumm.  Other positions are still open and available…currently unfilled.

——  The list of 2007 walks was reviewed, as follows: 

January 2007 Galveston (Mary Wheat & Pat Powers, co-trail masters)

February 2007 Heights Area – Houston (Lynn Clark)

March 2007 Matagorda (John Brahm)

April 2007 Brenham – NEED volunteer

May 2007 Bolivar – NEED volunteer

June 2007 National Trails Day – NEED volunteer

October 2007 Schulenburg – NEED volunteer

November 2007 Seabrook – NEED volunteer

December 2007 Houston Arboretum – NEED volunteer

— Pat Powers indicated he would be willing to lead the October Schulenberg walk. Linda Risinger indicated she would be willing to help with the April Brenham walk and Pat indicated he would help. Other trailmasters are needed. Please review the list and consider taking one on!  The motion was made and seconded to adjourn.

Karen Cormier — Secretary / HHH — Written 10/26/2006