Villages Hiking Club General Meeting Minutes
Monday, March 27, 2023
Foothill Center
Call to Order: In the absence of the Club’s President, Bob Bogdanoff, who was on vacation, John Petri, VP of Hiking and Trails, called the Villages Hiking Club General Meeting order at 7:34pm. The following Board members were in attendance: VP Social –Carmel Smith, VP Membership & Website – Jim Beyer, Treasurer – Gordon Carbonetti, Secretary – Cheryl Allmen, and VP Hiking & Trails – John Petri.
President- Given the packed room with approximately 102 individuals in attendance, John began the meeting welcoming all the members and many guests including several Villages Board’s presidents and the Villages General Manager, Theresa Ostrander. He also welcomed our panelists who would be presenting “Meet the Ranch Neighbors” after the break.
Reports:
VP Membership & Website – Jim stated the current membership is 312 with the addition of Tim and Mary Robinson, RC Colman, and Kathy Dombrowski. Jim indicated that if an individual wants to get more information about our Club and all of its activities, he recommends visiting our website. It features a great deal of information about our Club including many photos of various hikes, interesting copies of reports as well as activities and upcoming events such as our May 2-4th Spring Outing. He also shared that the website is updated regularly and its newest feature is an online membership registration program which includes an application for a Villager wishing to become a new member, which allows us to be greener by eliminating paper applications. A membership list will be included, allowing members to include their name, phone number and opportunity to give permission to add their email address or opt out of listing their email.
Secretary – Cheryl indicated copies of the March 2023 Board Meeting Minutes as well as the last February General Meeting Minutes were available for review at the back table and also on the Club’s website. Motion was approved by the membership of the February General Meeting Minutes.
Treasurer – Gordon summarized the February 2023 financial statements: General Budget started with $4,031.21 plus the addition of the club member’s dues and minus $500 approved earlier and transferred to the Hills Budget for a final balance of $5,645.21. With the addition of $500, the Hill Lands account now totals, $2,715.89. Motion passed to approve the fiscal reports.
VP Hiking & Trails – John indicated all weekly hikes have been going well despite the changing weather patterns and are published in The Villager and website in addition to email announcements. He shared the first of the Magnificent 7 hikes was held recently and included 11 hiking participants. It’s coordinated and lead by Al Girolami, which features a variety of county parks.
Next, John shared that the 2023 Spring Outing will be held in Sonora which features a lot of historical sites from the California Gold Rush days. He added some interesting historical facts of the area including the large number of movies filmed in the Sonora area, the memorable Railtown 1897 State Historic Park and the Columbia State Historical Park, which features the best preserved mining town of the Mother Lode. He encouraged the audience to check out all the historical brochures and pamphlets on the back table for more memorable information of the area. Rooms are reserved at the famous Sonora Lumberjack Hotel and a listing of all the various hikes during the May 2-4th outing will be available in addition to a Mexican dinner at a nearby restaurant and appetizer reception as well.
He also announced that to date, the Club has had a 10% return on the 2023 Club Survey created by President Bob and encouraged more members to add their thoughts and recommendations as well.
VP Social –Carmel shared the lunch finished off the Hill Maintenance Day and all the volunteers enjoying friendly conversations afterwards. She also promoted the Thursday, May 11th, Variety Night which will include an international Potluck, BYOB from 5:30pm-8:00pm and to watch for more information and details coming in the Villager in April 7th and again in April 15th editions. Carmel indicated it will be a full evening of a variety of performers.
President’s Update – John on behalf of Bob announced the next meetings and presentation topics:
April – Ukraine Relief – Rose Egan & Mira Dytko.
May – no meeting
June 26 – Panorama of the Villages – Annette Mach
Next Meetings
Board Meeting: Thursday, April 20,, 2023 from 9:30am-10:30am in the Cribari Patio Room. John announced that Cheryl will be on vacation and a substitute secretary is needed for the April Board and General meetings.
Refreshment Break —15 minutes were offered for conversations with other Villagers and a variety of refreshments.
Presentation of Panelists was given by Michelle Breslin who was moderating “Meet the Ranch Neighbors” and guest speakers: Richie Vargas, Harlan Wittkopp, and Sheila Barry who shared a variety of interesting information about the nearby ranches surrounding the Villages, the importance of the cattle, how the ranches operate and a great question and answer period as well.
Meeting Adjourned 9pm allowing more of the audience to talk with the various ranchers and our great neighbors.
Respectfully submitted,
Cheryl Allmen
Cheryl Allmen, Secretary
General Fund – Financial Report
March 2023
March 1, 2023 Beginning Book Balance: $ 5,645.21
Income:
New Member Dues – David Cook, Chris and Lindis Corpus $ 21.00 Total Income: $ 21.00 Sub Total $ 5,666.21
Expenses:
Chk# 1727 – David Clark – web services 3-1-2023 to 2-29-2024 $ (125.00) Chk# 1728 – VGCC – Reimb. for Suzie Martin 2023 Dues $ (7.00) Chk# 1729 – BiBi Bruce – Exp Reimb – Game Night & Trail Mx Day Lunch $ (277.80) Chk# 1730 – Wendy Werner – Exp reimb – Trail Mx Day Lunch Salads $ (62.50) Chk# 1731 – Michelle Breslin – Exp reimb – Rancher Speakers Bistro Dinner $ (61.30) Chk# 1732 – L. Carbonetti – Exp reimb – Trail Mx Day Beverages $ (61.67)
Total Expenses: $ (595.27)
March 31, 2023 Ending Book Balance:
| $ 5,070.94 |
Bank Statement Balance $ 5,534.21
Submitted by:
Gordon Carbonetti
Treasurer
Hiking Club – The Villages Golf & Country Club
Hill Lands Project Fund – Financial Report
March 2023
March 1, 2023 Beginning Book Balance: $ 2,715.89
Income:
None $0.00 Total Income: $ 2,715.89
Expenses:
None $0.00 Total Expenses: $0.00
March 31, 2023 Ending Book Balance:
Submitted by:
Gordon Carbonetti
Treasurer