Villages Hiking Club – General Meeting, June 24, 2024
Foothill Center.
Call to Order -President, Bob Bogdanoff, called the meeting to order at 7:06pm and announced
the following Board Members in attendance: CoVPs Social – Bibi Bruce, Linda Arbaugh; VP
Membership & Website – Jim Beyer; Treasurer – Bert Tang; Secretary – Cheryl Allmen and VP
Hiking & Trails – Gordon Carbonetti.
Officer Reports
VP Membership & Website – Jim welcomed 5 guests & introduced the list of new members:
Allan Baumgartner, Mark Scianna, Ann Tran, Terri Matsumura, Bill Quach, Tonya Johnson,
Barbara Kong, Sandy Pollack, and Stephen Thornberg which totals the membership to 342.
Since he’s recovering after 5 months of health concerns, he indicated he welcomes the support
of others taking responsibility for managing the club’s name tags and Gordon providing the
emails announcing the various weekly hikes.
Secretary – Cheryl announced the minutes of the April meeting included the presentation given
by Jane Ruona on healthy recommendations were available to review on the back table. A
motion was made by Lucy McProud and seconded by Jim Ware to approve the minutes of April
29th General Meeting. Motion passed.
Treasurer – Bert shared the April & May 2024 financial reports on the screen indicating both
reports balanced with the bank statements. The Hill Project Lands Fund balance remains the
same: $2,279.72. The General Fund Financial Report has an ending balance of $7,573.26.
VP Hiking & Trails – Gordon shared those 23 individuals enjoyed the Spring Trip to Nevada City
and their stay at the historic National Exchange Hotel in addition to the hikes, tours of the
gardens, views of the lovely houses, museum and mining equipment at the Empire Mine State
Park in Grass Valley. He indicated that it was similar to the Filoli Gardens located in nearby
Woodside.
He announced the upcoming hikes that had been included in this week’s email blasts: Coyote
Creek hike lead by Cheryl Allmen on Wednesday June 26th and Wilder Ranch lead on July 3rd by
Wate and Johanna Bakker.
Next, Bob advised that since Guy Hoover had suggested a Santa Barbara trip numerous times,
Santa Barbara has been selected as our next Fall outing. Details about the Fall Trip to Santa
Barbara are on posted on the handout located at the back table for pickup. To date the outing
includes October 23-25, a Wednesday to Friday, is available by Amtrak (for approximately $81,
round trip) or by car, approximately 5 hour drive from San Jose. Once more logistics are
solidified and the signed contract to the lovely beachfront Milo Hotel, information with be
forwarded to the membership for signups. Seven club members are part of the committee
organizing the outing including: Bob Bogdanoff (lodging), Gordon Carbonetti (hiking), Guy
Hoover (train, parking & trolley activity), Lucy McProud/Deb Siedband (hiking & bike activity),
Bernice Capitano (group dinner) & Wate Bakker.
VP Social – Bibi & Linda. Linda thanked those providing refreshments for the evening and also
announced the Thursday, September 19th End of Summer Picnic, and coordinated by Rose Egan.
Event will begin at 4:30pm at the Gazebo and includes music by Ed Knott.
President’s Report by Bob included a Hill Lands maintenance update indicating that after 7
years, King Grading has completed Garden Step & the Upper Meadow refresh between Oak &
Fox.
Next Meetings –No July Meeting. The Monday August 26th meeting will be held at 7pm at the
Foothill Center during which Jim Koska will present iPhone Tips 4.
Break – 15 minutes included fellowship time along with delicious cookies and watermelon
refreshments.
Presentation followed with Liz Giarratana who thanked John Trudeau for supporting the
development of the slides showcasing a 140 mile hike with her daughter, Bobby. She provided
photos and narrations of stories of her Month Long Hike on the River Thames Path in England
which included walking 5 miles each morning along the river, lunch and a break along the way
followed by another 5 miles in the afternoon. She shared they encountered a few rainy days
with a bit of flooding and walking through mud along with viewing beautiful cottages, rooms
they lodged in, delicious English meals which included bangers and mashed peas along with a
few beers. They enjoyed the countryside, animals and creatures along the way and interesting
people they talked with along their journey. She concluded with answering questions from the
audience.
Meeting was adjourned at 8:45pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Cheryl Allmen
Cheryl Allmen, Secretary