December 11, 2019 Meeting Minutes

Attendance: Directors present were Herman Martinez, Jerry Hufford, Bob Sharak, and Ernie Wawrowicz.  Thus, there was a quorum. 45 members were present.

Call To Order: Herman Martinez called the meeting to order at 6:35 pm.  Director-at-Large Ernie Wawrowicz led the Pledge of Allegiance. Ken Anderson provided the invocation.

Officer Reports

Welcome Remarks: Commander Martinez recognized 2 new members in attendance.

Secretary’s Report: Bob Sharak asked for Board approval of October 8, 2019 meeting minutes. There was no meeting in November. Jerry Hufford approved and Herman Martinez seconded.

Treasurer’s Report: In Steve Milbrod’s absence Jerry Hufford reported:

Committee Reports

Membership: Gerry Northrup reported 165 members in good standing, an increase of 9 new members since last month. Six of the new members are non-military. 

A Membership Directory is posted on our website and requires a password, which can be obtained from any Board member.

Website: Jerry Hufford reported for Webmaster Chris DiBiase. Google My Business reports 1,614 views of the AVMS website from November to December 2019 – a 278% increase over previous month. Our site also has a 5 Star rating in Google My Business. The website is available to all; however, the Directory is password protected, as stated above in Membership report.

Outreach: Ken Anderson, the committee chairperson, asked everyone to be aware if they feel that someone needs help and would benefit from his committee’s outreach.

Contact Ken or anyone on the committee.

Historian:  Jerry Hufford reported that the book is currently being updated.

Sergeant of Arms:  Charlie Caralyus resigned. Guy Sumrall volunteered to be the new Sergeant of Arms.

Supply Officer: Fred Chapman resigned. Debbie Distefano has volunteered to be new Supply Officer. There are still shirts for sale. Hats are all gone. A.V.M.S. shirts are $35. Not all sizes of shirts are available.

Old Business

1. Commander Martinez reported that the Veterans Memorial is complete and has been turned over the A.V.M.S. to maintain.
2. Flag Team Detail has been approved by the Board and Steve Milbrod will lead the team. Some duties are to raise and lower the flag as appropriate.
3. Operations Thanksgiving – Vice Commander Jerry Hufford reported that the Operation was a big success. 100 boxes were packed and donated to troops at MacDill AFB. He showed pictures of some thankful recipients and their children.
4. Golf Cart Parade – Vice Commander reported that the Golf Cart parade will be a lighted parade starting at 6:30 December 13. All carts must have headlights and taillights.
5. Secretary Bob Sharak reported that individuals have been signing up to attend the Funeral Service for “Unclaimed” Veterans. Service is each Wednesday at 11:30 am at the Sarasota National Cemetery. A monthly sign up sheet will be at a front table at each meeting, and in the RSVP binder (AVMS tab) in the WiFi Café between meetings.
6. Commander Martinez reported individuals and start to pay their dues for 2020.

New Business

1. Election for the position of Director-At-Large took place. A total of 52 votes were cast, including absentee ballots. Joe Ward was declared the winner.
2. New Board Members – Commander Martinez acknowledged the new Board members for 2020.
3. Departing Remarks – Commander Martinez gave his final address to the members, indicating he was looking forward to devoting more time to personal interests.
4. The Vice Commander position is vacant. By-Laws state that the Board can appoint a member to the position, since the position will be vacant for less than one year. The position will be up for nominations December 2020 for the two-year term.

50/50 Winner of $75 was Bob Ferullo.

Motion to close the meeting was made by Bob Sharak and seconded by new Board Member Joe Ward. The meeting adjourned at 7:15 pm.

Respectively submitted,

Robert Sharak – Secretary