Welcome to the Minutes Page

The last quarterly meeting was held on 1-18-03 at Lassie's Restaurant, Belleview, FL (Central Region), and hosted by Charlie and Connie Craven. Officers present were President & Northern Region Coordinator Bud Nelson, Secretary Diane Deren, Newsletter Editor Dick Deren, and Regional Coordinators Curt Leonard (Western Region), and Charlie Hildebrant (Central Region.) Treasurer Alan Byers and V.P. Bob Murty were not present. Members and guests present were Earle & Evelyn Byers, Charlie & Connie Craven with grandson Louis, Tommy Thompson, Rocky & Glynice Barry, Homer Hurst, Joe Lorentzson, Cecil Tanner, Bill & Rita Lammers, Bob & Jo Weeks, Bill Vose, Ezra Johnson, David Johnson, Charlie Hildebrant 's grandson Josh, George Rensel, Bill Morton, Mark & Michelle Copeland, Ken Klann, Bernie Mortenson, Todd & Joanne Hansford, and Mike Donovan.

All members introduced themselves, and identified which region they were from. A motion was made to accept the minutes of the last meeting. Treasurer's report was read by Bud Nelson and accepted.

OLD BUSINESS: Samples of old logos from the club were on display, so members could vote on which one to use for club correspondence, T-shirts, or for whatever needed.

A motion was made by Todd Hansford and seconded by Charlie Craven to buy a plaque for Bill Frederick for his contributions to the club. (He is donating a portion of the proceeds of his book Just Jeeps to the club treasury).

A motion was made by Charlie Hildebrant, seconded by Mike Donovan, and passed by members present that the club will help out the host of each Statewide Meeting by contributing towards the cost of the meat and drinks. It was also suggested that a "pot" be used to collect donations from those that did not bring a dish to share. The club would pay the difference between what was collected and the actual expenses. (But, there was so much discussion on this; the matter may need to be reintroduced at the next meeting for clarification.) Bill Morton volunteered to look into the club getting a tax-free status from the state for buying supplies.

COORDINATORS REPORTS:

NORTHERN REGION - Bud Nelson said that they would be available to host another meeting when needed. The Easter and Christmas parades were recommended. Convoy rules would be sent to Mark Copeland to be printed on the Web Site.

WESTERN REGION - Curt Leonard (who had been in the position for 18 days at the time) reported on a Western Regional meeting and workshop that was held on 12-7-02. They showed Pearl Harbor videos, held a workshop on vehicle painting, had a cookout and went Christmas Caroling by jeep.

CENTRAL REGION - Charlie Hildebrant reported on parades in which the club participated in Tavares, Wildwood, Ocala, Orlando and others. On 1/23-26/03 there will be an air show at Dunnellon Airport, and a Black Hawk helicopter will be on display on 1/25/03 with TV coverage.

It was suggested that when we participate in a big event to try and get TV coverage when possible.

NEWSLETTER EDITOR: Dick Deren again thanked everyone for contributing articles and photos for the newsletter, and apologized for the lateness of the last issue. (Due to a heavy work schedule.)

WEB SITE COMMITTEE: Mark Copeland, our Web Master reported that our web site went on-line on 12-7-02, and is now on search engines. He is posting the poetry of Rita Lammers on the site. Mark needs info on member's vehicles to include on the site. Mark thanked Bill Vose for the donation of a scanner. Todd Hansford made a motion and Bill Morton seconded it for the club to reimburse Mark for the expense of adding more memory to his computer to make all this possible.

The next Statewide Meeting for the second quarter will be hosted by Curt Leonard and the Western Region. The meeting will be held on April 12, 2003. Location will be at the SOUTHSIDE CHRISTIAN CHURCH, 4111 Webber St., Sarasota, FL 34232, (941) 371-1066, where Curt is the Minister. We will have a cookout, and each member is asked to bring a side dish (salad, dessert, or whatever.) The club will furnish the meat and drinks. RSVP to Curt with any questions jleonard@comcast.net.

Mike Donovan suggested that the meetings should be held in a central location, (possibly Orlando) instead of moving them to a different region each time. (The meetings have been rotated for about 2 years now to a different Region each quarter, in an attempt to allow more members an opportunity to attend.) Please let us know if you'd like to continue rotating the meetings or would like to have them in a central location (and where) every time. A survey form is enclosed in this issue.

T-Shirts to be sold by the club were again discussed. The club logo (which will be voted on today) will appear on the shirts.

Donations were collected to help Charlie Craven pay for the food for the meeting. It was felt that one person should not be financially responsible for hosting a meeting.

A LIFETIME MEMBER category was again discussed. Joe Lorentzson, Chairman, and Bill Vose and Earle Byers as members, will try to set guidelines as to who should be an HONORARY LIFETIME MEMBER, or what to pay to buy LIFETIME MEMBER status. The cost of sending newsletters and I.D. badges needs to be considered. Should the cost be prorated considering the age of the member? Should the money be put into a separate annuity with dues paid to the club treasury each year? Should someone who has been an active member over 20 years be given an HONORARY LIFE MEMBERSHIP? Or, who should be eligible for HONORARY LIFE MEMBERSHIP? A motion was made by Todd Hansford and seconded by Dick Deren to be returned to committee for more research, and then to be voted on at the April meeting.

It was voted on that Bill Frederick will be given HONORARY LIFETIME MEMBERSHIP for his continuing support with contributions from the sale of his book Just Jeeps. This book is available for sale from Earle Byers. EGBYERS@aol.com

George Rensel has made the POW/MIA emblem into a spare tire disc that fits a 1/4 ton vehicle. He has them for sale for $20 each. We have permission to display the emblem as long as it is not done in a derogatory manner.

It was suggested that maybe the POW/MIA emblem could be put on the back of a T-shirt with our club logo on the front.

It was suggested that a copy of the current club By-Laws should be posted on our website.

Jo Weeks suggested that "calling cards" be printed for the FFC with information on how to join, so if we meet a prospective member, we can give them the contact information easily. (These would be similar to the cards now distributed by the MVPA...) Dick Deren will make a sample for the next meeting. If you have a topic that you would like discussed at the next meeting, you need to inform President Bud Nelson, bcandb@bellsouth.net so it can be included in the agenda for the next meeting. This way, the meeting can be better organized, without everyone getting sidetracked on to other things, and we can finish in a timelier manner.

The meeting was adjourned.