General Membership Minutes 11-Nov-2021

 

Villages Hiking Club – General Membership Meeting Minutes 29-Nov-2021

 

1. Called to Order: 7:35pm by President Al Girolami at Foothill Center

 

2. Attending Board Members:

President – Al Girolami                                   VP Social – Michelle Breslin

VP Membership & Website – Jim Beyer         Treasurer – Sandy Petrin

Secretary – Gordon Carbonetti                       Total Other Attendees – 23

Excused Absence – Dan Kato VP Hiking & Trails (volunteer temp)

 

3. Reports

President’s Message – AL GIROLAMI

• Al gave “Thanks” to the following Hiking Club volunteers for a variety of jobs well-done in 2021:

o   Current Board members

o   Russ Glines for leading the Sat & Wed Hill Hikes and providing coffee for meetings and other events.

o   Sy Gelman for leading Rambler hikes

o   Bonnie Preston for leading Rambler-Lite hikes

o   Terri Vivoli and Cheryl Allmen for leading Monday morning Golf Course walks, and again to Terri Vivoli, as part of the Sunshine Committee, for her hand-crafted, one-of-a-kind cards sent to members

o   Dan Kato for his chairmanship of the Hill Lands Standing Committee, and for stepping into the VP Trails role

o   Susan Brown for providing goodies at the general meetings

o   Peter Holmes for tracking and compiling the trail usage statistics

o   John Trudeau for use of his PA system for the general meetings

• Al reminded the membership the club runs on volunteers. With annual dues of only $7 annual per member, support efforts from other members for all Hiking Club activities is important and welcomed.
• He also gave thanks to the new Board members for volunteering their time and efforts for 2022.

Secretary – GORDON CARBONETTI

• Gordon presented the minutes for the October 25, 2021, General Membership Meeting.  A motion to approve the minutes was made by Deb Siedband with a second by Mary Stradner, and the motion passed unanimously.

Treasurer – SANDY PETRIN

 

October 2021 Hiking Club General Fund

Beginning balance as of September 30, 2021                                           $5,002.22

 

Income – Oct 21 Cash Donation from the long-hikers for Champagne at the Cracked Crab in honor of Faye Swanson                                                             $160.00

 

Expenses –

-Oct   6 Chk#1681 – Cracked Crab (dinner at Pismo Outing).            ($1,785.00)

-Oct 20 Chk#1682 – Evergreen Villages Foundation (in memory of Bob Hunley)

($50.00)

-Oct 20 Chk#1683 – National Parks Conservation Association (in honor of Faye Swanson)                                                                                                 ($50.00)

Ending balance as of October 31, 2021                                                    $3,277.22

Note: Bank Balance is $3,327.22 as Ck#1683 ($50.00) is outstanding

 

October 2021 Hiking Club Hill Lands Project Fund

Beginning balance as of September 30, 2021                                          $2,801.82

No Income and Expenses                                                                                $0.00

Ending Balance as of October 31, 2021                                                   $2,801.82

 

2021/2022 Donations Lists – For end-of-year donations in 2021, the Board decided to recommend adding a $100.00 donation to Big Basin (Mountain Parks Foundation – Big Basin Recovery Fund) for damage sustained in the fires of Summer 2021 and reducing the donation to Greenbelt Alliance (by $100.00) to $100.00.  The total of all year-end donations of $1,200.00 remains unchanged from previous years. The Board also recommended to carry over the same donations to 2022. The list of Donations planned in 2022 is attached to these minutes.

2022 Budget – The 2022 Hiking Club Budget remains the same as the 2021 budget except for the addition of a planned $500 contribution in 2022 to the Hill Lands Account. A copy of the 2022 budget is attached to these minutes.

• The preceding Financial Reports was approved by a motion made by Michelle Breslin, and seconded by Johanna Bakker, and it passed unanimously.

Sunshine Committee – A nice thank-you card was received from Cookie Hunley for the condolence card (hand made by Terri Vivoli) the HC sent to her for the passing of her husband Bob Hunley. Sandy read a couple

 

VP Membership & Website – JIM BEYER

• Jim reported we have two new members (Stephanie Bogdanoff and Richard Schram) and the total current membership now stands at 308
• Jim also added the Hill Lands Grazing Report to the Hiking Club website for review.

VP Trails – AL GIROLAMI for Dan Kato (acting)

• Al said there should now be a hike for everyone.  Hiking information is getting out to the membership by emails and via the weekly Villager newspaper.
• The re-orientation of the Garden Steps project should be done in Spring 2022, and this will improve hiker safety and will also be good for horses.
• The project to improve and re-orient the Upper Meadow Trail should also be completed in Spring 2022.
• Finally, Al reported the large picnic table for the NE corner of the Hill Lands has been purchased and delivered.  VGCC will install the table shortly just SW of the new mailbox at Trail Post #50.  Cost of the table to the hiking club is approximately $1200 (to be paid from the Hill Lands account) with no charge for installation.

 

VP Social – MICHELLE BRESLIN

• Michelle reported Game Night was held November 11, 2021, at Vineyard with about 15 attendees and with several desserts and hot beverages. Two very spirited games of “Sequence” took place followed by a challenging trivia test about National Parks.  A good time was had by all.
• The annual Holiday Party will be held December 9, 2021 at the Cribari Auditorium. Current plans are for a lasagna/pasta dinner with salad and bread with the possibility of members bringing desserts to share.  Estimated cost is $25 per attendee.
• Al Girolami reminded all about the annual New Year’s Day Hill Hike, which had a turnout at the top last year of about 40 people.
• The Holiday Lights Walk will be scheduled for an evening in Mid-Dec, so stay tuned for further information.

 

 

4. Slate of Officers for the 2022 Hiking Club Board

Slate of Officers – Al Girolami introduced each of the below members and their respective offices, and had them say a few words. Al also reminded all the members that many of these officers could use other volunteers to help with each and every Hiking Club activity and event, especially social events.

President – Bob Bogdanoff

Vice President for Hiking & Trails – Gary Lohr

Vice President for Socials – Bernice Capitano

Vice President for Membership and Communications – Jim Beyer

Treasurer – Gordon Carbonetti

Secretary – Cheryl Allmen

After the presentation of the slate of officers and Al’s request for any other interested parties, no other member stepped up to run against the above slate. So, there was a motion made by Sy Gelman to approve the above slate with a second by Kimberly Sandstrom, and the motion passed unanimously. Therefore, the slate of officers stated above was approved unanimously by the general membership and were congratulated by Al Girolami.

 

5. Next Meetings

• January General Membership – Monday, January 31, 2022, at 7:30pm in the Foothill Center (please bring your mask). Program: Michelle Breslin speaking about Grazing in The Villages Hill Lands.
• January Board Meeting – Thursday, January 27, 2022, at 9:30am, in the Forum Room in Cribari.
• February General Membership – Monday, February 28, 2022, at 7:30pm in the Foothill Center (please bring your mask). Program: TBA.
• February Board Meeting – Thursday, February 24, 2022, at 9:30am, in the Forum Room in Cribari.

 

6. Meeting Adjourned, Cookies and Program – The business meeting adjourned at 8:15p.  After a short break with cookies provided by Richard Schram and others, Al Girolami introduced Sara Barth, Executive Director of the Sempervirens Fund who gave a very informative talk on efforts to protect the California Redwood Trees in and around the Santa Cruz Mountains.

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

Gordon Carbonetti – Secretary