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Membership Meetings

Minutes – 12/12/07 Board Mtg.
Sharpsville VFW / Sharpsville, Pa

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In Attendance:

A. Monroe, P. Anthony, J. Kremis, R. McClelland, R. Rickert, N. Loprire, T. Jochman, C. Jochman, W. Fay, R. Shuey, K. Tarczy, and R. Natoli
1. Opening Comments – Aaron Monroe
  • Meeting Place – Aaron suggested several places we could use to meet in 2008.  The Wave and the Penn State Shenango Campus located in Sharon were discussed.  The group decided on the Penn State Shenango Campus.
  • 2008 TU Meeting Schedule – The schedule was reviewed, and several dates were changed.  We will still meet on Mondays because that is the most convenient day for the majority of board members.
2. Minutes from Last Meeting – Aaron Monroe
  • The minutes were approved as written.
3. Treasurer’s Report – Jeff Kremis
  • Budget - Jeff covered his budget report ending October 31st, and, also, November 3oth.  The reports will be filed for future audit purposes.
  • Tentative Budget for 2007 / 2008 Fiscal Year – He reviewed the figures proposed for the next fiscal year, and everyone approved.
  • Credit Card Charges at our Banquet – We discussed the need for, and the cost of using a swipe machine (with a participating bank) to use at our banquet.

    Tom Jochman made a motion to secure this capability from the bank, and Bob Shuey seconded it.  The motion failed.

    Since Jeff’s prior use of extending credit to individuals who wish to write checks at the banquet, and, or pay their bills later by mailing him a check works, we will be all right without it.

  • Chapter credit card  - Nick Loprire and Jeff Kremis will get a card from National City Bank, then Nick can use it to purchase items needed for the annual banquet.
  • Membership Credit from National TU – Jeff asked for approval to have TU National do an electronic funds transfer into our account.  The funds result from new chapter 216 memberships; we get credit for recruiting new members; the board approved.
  • Chapter Memorial Fund – Chapter member Stanley Wojtowiacz recently passed away, and three donations were received in his name:

    1.     Reznor Corporation
    2.     Nancy Ollinger
    3.     Alice Shalenberger

    The board needs to discuss setting up a “Memorial Fund” to be used for donations such as these.  We will discuss this at our January meeting.
4. Committee Reports:

A. Watershed Coordinator – Jeff Kremis/Jim Mondok

  • Surface Mining – The Springfield Church area on Scrubgrass Road has been proposed for surface mining.  Pete Anthony volunteered to talk with Jim Mondok to get more information; he will report back at the next meeting.
  • Fall Workday Report – On Saturday, October 6th we tied some fallen tree trunks down (in the stream) on Coolspring Creek.  We need to go back there and secure them with more steel cables to prevent them moving under high water conditions.  Pete Anthony said he has more cable available for that job.
  • Chapter E-Mail Listing – Jeff requested an electronic copy of Membership Chairman Tom Jochman’s list of chapter members.  He would like to send out e-mail notices to them prior to the next workday; the only people who showed up on October 6th were board members.

B. Nursery – Pete Anthony

  • Fall Stocking – 600 Trout were stocked this fall in Cool Spring, Neshannock, Deer Creek, and Little Sandy Creek.  It has been a good year, the fish are growing well, and they are healthy.

C. Reverse Raffle – Tom and Carole Jochman

  • Tom and Carol will be reimbursed for any expenses they incurred obtaining prizes for the raffle that was cancelled; Carol will submit a cost summary at the January meeting.  The Stainless Steel Grille that is left over will be used at the April 5th banquet as a Bucket Raffle prize

D. Banquet / Newsletter - Nick Loprire

  • Newsletter Schedule – Aaron and Nick emphasized the need to streamline our process for writing, preparing for the printer, time to make labels, and the delivery time.  They are going to prepare a typical schedule for the board members so everyone knows exactly what is involved, and it should also enable “substitute help” to step in if needed.
  • Newsletter – U.S. Mail versus Electronic Copies – The last Newsletter was sent out to a lot of members electronically without first asking them if they would accept it this way.  Some members prefer a hard copy.  Tom Jochman agreed to take a poll using his e-mail listing to see how many would prefer a hard copy.  A disadvantage of the e-mailed copy is that the front and rear pages are missing.  The front page lists all the board members and their phone numbers, and the rear page lists our advertisers.  It is unfair to our advertisers to eliminate their ads from the e-mailed version; we need to find a way to incorporate the first and last pages in the electronic copies.  We also need to follow up with our sponsors to make sure their ad payments are up to date.
  • Newsletter – Need Fresh Ideas – If any of our TU members have some good ideas for articles in the letter, please send them to Nick Loprire at steelhd789@aol.com  or call him at 330-638-2982.  You could write an article yourself, or simply give him the idea, and he will write it.
  • March 2008 Banquet - Nick discussed a letter from a TU member from Cleveland with some suggestions for improving the 2008 banquet.  Bob Shuey proposed forming a sub-committee to work on new ideas for the banquet.

    Pete Anthony made a motion we form a sub-committee to work with banquet chairman Nick Loprire on various ideas and report back to the board at the January board meeting.  Reg McClelland 2nd the motion and it passed.

    The sub-committee will be comprised of Carol Jochman, Aaron Monroe, Bob Shuey, Dick Rickert, and Bonnie Rickert.

E. Membership – Tom Jochman (Tom was absent)

  • No Report

F. Youth Coordinator – Dick Rickert

  • 2008 Wolf Creek Fishing Derby – Dick chose April 19th for this event; preparation will begin after the first of the year.
5. Old Business:
  • Nothing Important
6. New Business:
  • Pa Trout Newsletter Soliciting Comment – Ken Undercoffer, the President of Pa TU, wants comments regarding stocking nursery trout into wild trout streams.  His article makes it sound like some of the cooperative nurseries are doing just that.  Some of the cooperative nurseries also pollute nearby streams with fish waste.
     
    Pete Anthony explained to the board that Munnell Run Trout Nursery does not stock wild trout streams, and we have a sedimentation pond behind the nursery which treats our fish waste.  The comments that Ken made in the article do not apply to Munnell Run Nursery.  Pete also stated that he is against the Pa Fish & Boat Commission regulating independent cooperative nurseries.  Pete agreed to write a letter to Ken Undercoffer explaining Chapter 216’s position on the questions that he raised, and ask Aaron Monroe to approve it.
  • Proposed Handicapped Access Area on Cool Spring Creek – Reg McClelland proposed that we study the feasibility of constructing a handicapped access road for fisherman in wheel chairs.  This item was tabled until the January meeting.
  • American Museum of Fly Fishing Museum – Bill Fay visited this museum in Manchester, Vermont, and was impressed with the quality and quantity of their displays and the amount of historical information.  He inquired about donating funds to the museum and was told we could purchase bricks for $40 each.  The brick would have our chapter information inscribed on it.  This item was tabled until the January meeting.