SECRETARY'S REPORT-

Our January planning meeting is usually one of our most well attended and consequently noisiest and lengthiest meetings of the year, so we gathered on Zoom on the evening of January 18 with a sense that fortitude and stamina might be required.
  We kicked off the evening with social chit-chat and an informal and adorable show and tell featuring various member’s pets held up to the screen for admiration. We admired. It’s been a long pandemic and we have to make our own fun.
  Properly warmed up and ready for business, President Ed Farnell opened the formal meeting by thanking Charlie Grobusky for serving as president last year.

It had been intended that the membership would be invited to vote upon various matters during this meeting. Bill Walton endeavored to instruct us in doing this. This did not work out. We are blaming Zoom.

Next came a segment of the meeting where facts and numbers flew thick and fast. We have six new members who have joined in the last few months. Thirty-six members have not yet renewed their membership. The foregoing sentences use the word “member’ and “membership” quite a few times. Do you find this cumbersome?

Ted Sjolander, our treasurer, gave his report next. Along with showing us our current financial state, Ted outlined our projected spending for the coming years. This is important as we enter a period of time during which we stand to have less money coming in to the treasury. Typically we make money by hosting events and we won’t be doing that any time soon. We may want to consider other ways of adding money to the treasury.
Our hosting of the South Eastern Classic had been scheduled for 2022. It has been pushed out one year to 2023. The good news is that Chuck and Monique Reeves have agreed to chair this event.

At this point Ed took a calculated risk in asking those assembled for their opinions on three topics. Discussed were; the day of the week and location of our meetings going forward, how the members feel about the number and frequency of tech sessions, and the possibility of raising our annual dues to help main-tain the health of our treasury.

The following represents the secretary’s interpretation of the resulting discussion. We agreed to meet by Zoom in February and thereafter to play by ear, but there was enthusiasm for combining meetings with Saturday drives in future. Tech sessions did not generate very much discussion. Wiser heads may interpret that as they wish. No one spoke out against raising our annual dues. Several people offered examples of other clubs charging more than we do and suffering no ill consequences.
Next we went through the calendar for the upcoming year month by month. There was some correcting of dates and some announcing of dates to be announced. Because we had believed we would need fortitude and stamina to wade through the weighty matters of the evening many had fortified themselves with wine and beer, so by this point levity, larks, japes, and banter of debatable wit abounded.

Of final note; President Farnell pointed out that windscreen decals that he intended to be the adhesive type were made up as static cling. If yours is resul-tantly gone with the wind see Ed at any club meeting or event and he will give you one that will stick.