THE NAUTICAL NEWS
October 1, 2008
COMMODOREBecky Smith968-0338VICE COMMODOREGale Guyer318-8247RECORDING SECRETARYPhyllis Ingraham967-1768TREASURERRonnie Herl956-4731CORRESPONDING SECRETARYMargaret Barrett (temp)965-7629PAST COMMODOREJohn Valich644-1122DIRECTORLucille Tremblay401-8360DIRECTORSandy Herl956-4279DIRECTOR293-6956WINTER HAVEN NAUTICAL CLUB meets the 1st Wednesday of every month. Potluck dinner at 6:30 PM. Bring a dish to pass. Regular meeting begins at 7:30 PM at 695 Avenue K SW. Website address is www.whnc.biz.
Commodore Smith called the meeting to order at 7:30 pm with the Pledge to the Flag. 27 members were present. Phyllis Ingraham, read the minutes from the April Board Meeting. Ronnie Herl gave the Treasurers Report and posted it on the board. Special guest, Mike Britt also attended as a guest speaker.
Commodore Becky Smith introduced Mike Britt from the City of Winter Haven. Mike has been the lead for the work that is being done on the ditch and delta. He explained the problems that they have run into with the ditch caving in and the machine that got stuck in the muck in the delta. The newest resolve is to dig out the walls of the ditch that have been caving in and replace the sides with cement slabs that the City has saved from sidewalk repair jobs. The side toward the club will be dug down to about 4 feet and a fill will start with gravel and topped with sand. This will form a bed strong enough to make a road needed to haul out the muck from the delta. This road must be able to hold dump trucks loaded with the muck. It will be taken away from the club grounds. The City is waiting for bids to come back on renting an “amphibious excavator”. This machine is capable of removing the muck from the delta without getting stuck. It is on pontoon type floatation and is able to reach the length needed to do the job. He reported that the money is available for the muck removal but the final work on the ditch will have to be in the next year’s budget. He answered questions from the members. The members seemed to agree that the new plan could work.
Becky thanked Mike for his help and he assured the members that he would keep us updated as to the progress.
ACTIVITIES – Susan Hutchinson, Chairperson
Galley Chef Cook-off –Sept 28th – Susan read a report from Pat Wells who was out of town. It was the 2nd Annual Cook-off. There were 30 adults and 5 children in attendance for the event. Six members competed for the honor including Bill Barrett, Mike Hall, John and Ben Valich, Susan Hutchinson, Marty Kidwell and Frank Ross. Though all the Chef’s entered “award winning” dishes, the vote was for John and Ben Valich’s BBQ Ribs. Other events for the day were the Horseshoe game in which Amber Herl beat all her competition. The Pit Spitting contest was once again won by Margaret Barrett. The day brought the club $253.88 in profit beside the wonderful meal supplied by the “Great Chef’s”.
Work Day – Oct 4th – Cancelled. Pat Wells will be out of town and since the club was cleaned recently, she felt a work day could be held later in the year.
Fall Fun Day – Oct 11th – starting at 10:00 AM – no cost, donations only. Becky Smith and Susan Hutchinson have planned a “Fun Day” with a Halloween theme. It will start with Becky’s Scavenger Hunt where boaters will collect letters from jugs in the Chain of Lakes and try to make a phrase out of them. That will be followed by a cake walk, pumpkin carving contest, and a cook out starting around 5PM. The cook out will be hot dogs and snacks. At that time anyone wanting to participate, will do a “Trunk or Treat” which will require participants to decorate the inside of their trunk of their car. The treats will be given to children as they participate in a game. At 6:30 PM, there will be a costume contest. Come enjoy a fun day at the club.
Halloween in Winter Haven – Oct 25th – Sandy Ross invited the club to set up a table for this event. It is sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce. Susan Hutchinson will set up the table to hand out information about the club. It is from 6 to 9 PM in the downtown park. Let Susan know if you can help.
Halloween at the Valich’s – Oct 31st – John reported that he and Cindy will host a party at their home. They get over 300 children trick or treating at their house and invite all to come over to join in the fun. John enjoys “frightening” the trick or treaters. They ask you to bring a dish to share and your drinks. He suggests you get there about 5:30 PM, as traffic gets backed up when the trick or treating starts. See the hand out. Please RSVP (669-8087) and try to car pool if possible.
Chili Dinner and Chinese Auction – Nov 1st – Becky Smith asked for volunteers to chair this event. Also needed are volunteers to make chili. Call Becky at 968-0338, if you can chair this event or bring in chili for dinner. Please let Becky know if you expect to be attending so we have some idea as to how much chili is needed and how many bags for the auction is needed. Each person coming over for the evening will receive 1 ticket for the auction and additional tickets can be purchased.
Roar ‘N Soar – Nov 8th and 9th – This will be our last outside fundraiser for the year. A sign up sheet was passed around for helping with this event. See Mike Hall or Gale Guyer for further information. Please sign up to help the club. It is a joint venture with LSPS, where the club earns half of the profits.
Planning Meeting – Nov 12th – It is very important to attend this meeting as it is where plans are made for events for the year 2009. If you have any suggests or requests, this is the time to voice your opinion. Time will be announced at the November General Membership Meeting. Please be there.
Thanksgiving Dinner and Decorate the Club – Nov 23rd- This is a member family free event. Volunteers are needed to supply the Turkeys/hams. More information will be available at the Nov meeting.
CRUISES – John Valich, Cruise Master
Evening Cruise in Tampa Bay – Sept 13th – John reported that two boats, the Valich’s and Barrett’s launched from Williams Park for an evening cruise of Tampa Bay. On the way, they were stopped for inspections. They then continued to the water front where they got on the street car to go to Ybor City for dinner at the Spaghetti Warehouse. They were met there by the Hutchinson’s, Littrell’s, Jim Walker, Arlene Morris and the Hall’s. After dinner they strolled through Ybor City to get an ice cream for dessert. It was a great cruise by moonlight back to the ramp.
Caladese Island – Oct 18th – Ronnie Herl will lead this cruise but has had no response from anyone wanting to go. He said that he and Amber will be going on Friday. If you do not wish to take your own boat, you can get the ferry from Honeymoon Island to join them for the day. It will be a casual day. If you bring a boat, the fee is $20.00 per night, which includes water and electricity. Call them by Friday if you wish to join them, (956-4731)
St Augustine Night of Lights- Nov 28th to 30th – John will lead this cruise and will have more information at the Nov General Membership Meeting. Ronnie Herl had forms to pre-register for anyone interested.
Chain of Lakes- Nov 1st – John suggested a cruise of the Chain before the Chili dinner and Chinese Auction. Let him know if you are interested.
Mt Dora or Harris Chain – Oct 5th – Bill Barrett Cancelled due to lack of water for launching.
RENTALS – Dick Littrell
Rentals are booked for Oct 18th, Oct 25th and Oct 26th.
The Bass Club meets the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of every month at the Club.
Recycle – Frank Ingraham
Frank asked members to bring in old batteries for recycling. They are worth $5 each for car size batteries. Bring in all your old aluminum.
HOUSEKEEPING – Pat Wells
Becky thanked the Middleton’s for hosting this evening. Hosts are needed for the Nov and Dec meetings. She asked for someone to open the club for the Fire Dept to do an inspection. Lemar Middleton will be available
RECYCLING COMMITTEE – Frank Ingraham
Bring in cans and any kind of aluminum.
Nominating
The committee consists of Margaret Barrett, Susan Hutchinson, and Dick Littrell. If you are interested in running for an office, contact any of the committee members. Let them know by the Nov meeting as the nominations will be announced at that time.
Web site – John Valich
John asked everyone to give him pictures for the site. Also check out the site. You can add comments to the pictures. He has an updated calendar on the site. Send him, electronically, all flyers for events and he will attach them to our calendar.
Yearbook – Nancy Hall
Nancy wants more of your club pictures.
OLD BUSINESS
Lucille Tremblay praised John Valich for the e-mail he sent to the City of Winter Haven officials that generated the results of getting work done on the ditch and delta. This e-mail brought Mike Britt to the meeting tonight. Great job John.
Mike Hall reported that he has forwarded a copy of the menu for the Roar ‘N Soar to the officials who determine prices. There is no need for a breakfast menu since it does not open to the public until 10 AM. He asked for generators needed to supply power to the snack trailer. Mike Hall and Bill Stevens offered theirs.
Becky reported that the review of the Rules and Regulations by the Board had raised only one question. She will read Rule number 5 in its present form and the suggested change at the Nov General Membership Meeting. It was suggested that Rule number 14 have “or web site” added. Voting on these changes will be at the Nov Meeting.
NEW BUSINESS
Becky reported the reason for the lengthy Board meeting was due to the discussion held in reference to increasing membership and raising funds to keep the club afloat financially. Several suggestions were made such as increasing dues, offering free events if dues are increased, discounting membership dues if you bring in a rental, and re-initiating the Friday night Pot Luck suppers to bring members together. She asked all members to bring in suggestions to help the Board. We cannot continue to loose members and keep the club going financially. David Smith suggested that there would be no problem if each current member were to bring in a new member. The idea is, we need more members. Any suggestions or comments would be greatly appreciated. Due to the late hour because of having Mike Britt speak at the beginning of the meeting, Becky suggested all members think about this and we will have further discussion at future meetings.
Frank Ingraham reminder - it is time once again for “Toys for Tots”. He will have the box and flyer at the next meeting and it will be available until after the December meeting. As in the past, all donations will be greatly appreciated.
50/50 was won by Lemar Middleton in the amount of $16.00.
CLASSIFIED AD $5.00. SEE MARGARET BARRETT