Villages Hiking Club General Membership Meeting,
April 24, 2023
- Called to Order: 7:30 pm at Foothill Center
- Attending:
Executive Board Members Present: Pres., Bob Bogdanoff ; VP Hiking &
Trails, John Petrin; VP Social, Carmel Smith, Bibi Bruce; Treasurer, Gordon Carbonetti
Absent: VP Membership & Website Jim Beyer; Secretary, Cheryl Allmen,
with Deb Siedband filling in as Secretary
General Attendance: 53
President, Bob Bogdanoff welcomed everyone, and invited any new mem-
bers or guests to stand to be recognized.
- Reports:
President’s Report: Bob shared many of the results of the Hiking Club
Member Survey. There were around 40 replies. A question about the new
Villages rule regarding alcohol at Club events yielded 32 in favor of a
potluck format, so that people can bring beverages, thereby bypassing a fee
from Villages. A suggestion to change General Membership Meeting start
time to 7:00 will be instituted starting with next year’s calendar. Dues will
remain at $7. Respondents had many suggestions for Club activities, guest
speakers and out of town Spring & Fall trips. A request for new hike leaders
yielded 7 volunteers. There was support for an online Membership Directory
( with the option to not participate), and a short-notice list for solo hikers to invite others to join them.
Bob announced that Rambler Light is now an official part of the Club.
Secretary’s Report: Following a motion made by Wendy Wegner and seconded by Ann Brewer, Minutes from the March meeting were approved.
Minutes had been posted on the Hiking Club website and copies were avail-
able at the back table.
V.P. Hiking and Trails: John Petrin said we have hikes covered through
May. If interested in leading a hike, contact John, Sy Gelman or Guy
Hoover.
Al Girolami has been leading the county’s Magnificent 7 hikes. The next
hike will be on May 9th at Vasona Park. This is a Tuesday. Meet at Cribari bell at 8:45. Al has only been emailing info to those who’ve indicated interest in attending. Anyone interested in joining should call Al.
The Club’s Spring hike to Sonora will take place on Tue-Thurs. May 2-4. 43
people have signed up, with one guest. Hotel check-in will be 4:00 at Hotel
Lumberjack in Sonora. The hotel will try to get us checked in if we arrive
earlier. There will be a welcome hike on Tuesday afternoon at Columbia
State Historical Park. Participants should meet the Petrins in the hotel park-
ing lot at 1:15 for a 1:30 departure. Railtown 1897 State Historic Park is an-
other nearby place to explore, either on Tues. or on your way out of town on Thursday. Directions to all parks are on the back table tonight. Later Tues. evening there will be an appetizer reception at the hotel, hosted by the Club. Weds hikes will be announced then. Dinner on Weds. night
will be a very short walk from the hotel at El Arroyo Mexican Restaurant.
The restaurant will be closed to the public and only available to our group.
John is seeking suggestions for our Fall trip and urged people to share their
suggestions with him.
Treasurer’s Report: GENERAL FUND
Beginning Book Balance as of March 1, 2023 $5,645.21
Total Income: $21.00
Total Expenses: $595.27
Ending Book Balance as of March 31, 2023 $5,070 .94
HIKING CLUB HILL LANDS PROJECT FUND – March 2023
Beginning Book Balance as of March 1, 2023 $2,715.89
Income: none
Expenses: none
Ending Book Balance as of March 31, 2023 $2,715.89
Following a motion made by Lucy McProud and seconded by Al Girolami,
the Treasurer’s Report was approved.
V.P. Social: The next social will be our Annual Variety Show on Thursday, May 11, starting at 5:30 at Cribari. Bibi and Carmel have been seeking talented entertainers. There is a great variety of acts scheduled. The show will close with Sy Gelman’s magic act, by popular request. 54 people have al-
ready signed up to attend. Dinner will be a potluck, BYOB. Bibi and Carmel asked people to let them know what they plan to bring, so there are no shortfalls. A signup sheet is at the back table for this purpose, as is the cookie signup sheet for meetings. The next event will be the annual BBQ on
July 8 at Gazebo Park. Details to follow.
VP Membership & Communications: Bob Bogdanoff read Jim’s report.
The membership total is 321, with the addition of 8 new members.
There is a new Villages Webmaster Guild, which Jim has joined. Their goal
is to share knowledge and bring consistency & similarity to Villages Club
sites. A new Member process will be totally web-based, eliminating checks
and forms. Billing will go to one’s home address.
The Club had hoped to participate in the VMA Health Fair, but could not
provide enough manpower, as members were involved with hiking activities.
4. Adjourned General Meeting: 8:06 for refreshments. Club Member, Rose
Eagan and Mira Dytko gave informative presentations on the war in Ukraine.
Rose had gone with the relief group, Global Volunteers. Mira provided in-
formation on the human impact of the war with a personal perspective, from
family and friends living in Ukraine.
5. Next Meeting: No May meeting. On June 26 Annette Mach will present
Panorama of the Villages.
Respectfully submitted,
Deb Siedband, Secretary (for Cheryl Allmen)