MINUTES FROM November, 2006 RRYC MEETING:

Commodore Arden Root declared a quorum and called the meeting to order at 3:00 pm.

The minutes of the February, 2006 meeting were read and accepted by the members present.

Ron Brown delivered the Treasurer’s report.  Based upon initiation fees paid by the new members who joined this year, the club has approximately $200 more than at this time in 2005.  Owing to the anticipated number of new members based upon recent inquiries, the Treasurer did not recommend any change in the dues structure.  There was discussion of the desirability of establishing separate accounts to track expenditures and income for certain line item categories, specifically cozies, decals and burgees.  Consensus was that these items are sufficiently tracked in the current format.  A question arose as to the date upon which the club’s domain name, www.riverratyachtclub.com, is up for renewal, relicensing, or whatever we have to do to keep it.  Dave Groening agreed to research this topic and report to the Commodore.  Following a question and answer session, the report was accepted.

The Commodore made announcements to the members.

1)      Washington Town Dock has advised that more of their slips will be rented to long-term tenants, so there will be fewer slips available for the Summer Waterfront Festival & Smoke on the Water. As a consequence, reservations should be made a year in advance.

2)      Ratwear requires a minimum order, so be sure to get your order in as soon as Pam makes the form available. A general agreement was made that no extra Ratwear should be ordered. Numerous members requested that a spring and fall order be placed instead. However, there may be minimum order constraints. The Commodore will discuss this with Pam Sinclair and report to the members via e-mail.

3)      There is a perceived need to know what assets the club has in the way of unsold cozies, decals, burgees and ratwear.  Andy Greenspon volunteered to take inventory and make a report in February.

MISCELLANEOUS ANNOUNCEMENTS

Dues are due: $50 for Full and $35 for Assoc. Send $$ to RRYC, c/o Ron Brown, Treasurer, 291 Jordan Creek Marina Dr., Belhaven, NC 27810.

Pam Sinclair provided a new Rat Wear order form that was e-mailed, handed out and/or snail mailed to all members. Note: Deadline for prepaid orders is Feb. 28. Please send to Pam Sinclair at address on form.

New RRYC web site (www.riverratyachtclub.com) is up and running thanks to new Web Mistress, Kathryn Gorham. She needs photos, info etc to add to it.

Burgee Rat (eyes and ears) graphics are currently for sale at Clubhouse. Two sizes: 7” x 7” ($12) for most boat transoms and 4” x 4” ($9) for smaller transoms, car windows, anywhere you can imagine. Additional small banner to accompany Rat graphic “PBD” (Power Boat Division) are pending.

The Clubhouse has a new roof. No more leaks!

OLD BUSINESS

Old Business was brought up for discussion.

1)      The buoy remains in Jut and Nancy’s yard, and therefore is still difficult to see from most points in the river. Bob Haynes has spoken with Dallas Linton, who is presently working in both Belhaven and putting in a new bulkhead for him & Arden. Dallas has indicated that he will be pleased to set the buoy for us the next time he passes the creek with his barge, but right now cannot say when that will be.  Following spirited discussion, Diana Lambeth moved that, if Dallas is unable to set the buoy by March 1, 2007, the club pay someone to have it done.  The motion was seconded and carried.  Bob Haynes retained responsibility for seeing that this is carried out.

2)      Heating the clubhouse in the winter was discussed again.  Kerosene heaters are not seen as the best alternative by the owner of the clubhouse or the membership.  Following discussion, the topic was tabled until such time as the Commodore can discuss the situation with Duncan.  In the meantime, members are urged to take personal responsibility for heating the clubhouse with their own electric heaters.  Joe Edwards pointed out that if members use their own heaters from their own boats, the chance that someone will leave and accidentally leave a heater running is greatly reduced.  Winter rules for freeze prevention of the water pipes will be in effect again.  As before, members should let Bob know if they will be coming down during cold weather so that he can turn the water off or on, as appropriate.

NEW BUSINESS

New Business was the next topic. 

1)      The club needs an operating VHF radio.  Joe Edwards said that he has one at home that he will donate for the club’s use.  The members accepted his gracious offer.  It is desirable that the external speaker in the clubhouse be placed in such a location that it can be heard outside, and there was discussion about the potential of a remote microphone.  Joe’s radio will not support a remote, and the consensus of the membership was that this fact greatly diminished the need for one. A decision was made to move the radio to a more accessible location.

2)      There is a perceived need for a member to take responsibility for seeing that perishables such as paper goods, cleaning materials, trash bags and so forth be purchased and delivered in a timely manner.  This has most recently been handled primarily by Arden and Bob with some sporadic assistance from a few other members.  There was discussion of establishing a system for noting items that were in short supply.  There was discussion of paying Rachel Braddy an additional stipend to take on this responsibility, but the consensus was that a member should be responsible.   Leiza Hall volunteered to be the Procurement Person, and the Commodore accepted her gracious offer.  A place to note needed supplies will be made available.

3)      The fundraising regatta for the Pungo District Hospital, Pirates on the Pungo, was cancelled in 2006 due to a lack of planning on the part of certain key persons.  The Commodore will explore the possibility of forming a steering committee consisting of persons from the community and other organizations.  The Commodore obtained the permission of the membership to move ahead rapidly in order to begin preparations for June 2006 if a steering committee can be formed and if sufficient interest appears to be present.  Members should be agreeable to helping with the regatta, racing in the regatta or at the least, attending and supporting the regatta.  Several members present stated a willingness to help.

4)      The Hospice Regatta at Bath was poorly attended this year as compared to 2005, in terms of both boats registered to race and overall attendance.  Arden discussed several reasons for this.  Ron Brown said that there were three River Rat boats (Double Vision, Vixen and Almost Paradise) in the regatta and one boat (Changes in Attitude) that attended the event as a spectator, and that while the term “racing” is used loosely in this context, all three member-competitors took trophies.  However, a club of our size that is less than a five-hour run from the venue should be able to make a better showing for this highly enjoyable event.

5)      Arden will work on the calendar for 2007, and offered a working draft.  Diana, Trina Groening, Dave Groening and Kathryn Gorham had some good suggestions for events and cruises.  The consensus was that there should be a liberal schedule of short overnight snooze-booze-cruise events.  Dave and Trina Groening stated a willingness to coordinate some social events in the coming year but felt that there are a number of members who would do an excellent job of planning and executing some parties in the coming year.

6)      Diana Lambeth again volunteered to coordinate the Memorial Day Cruise to Ocracoke. Anyone desiring a reservation at the Anchorage Marina must contact her with his or her credit card information by March 1.

7)      New Year’s Eve will occur on New Year’s Eve.  That is to say, we will have our party this year on the 31^st, which is a Sunday.  The Commodore will seek someone to plan, coordinate and execute the celebration.  The membership agreed that Arden should try to get the DJ who did Diana’s birthday party to do our NYE party since Paul Bailey & Leiza Hall are already booked.  This will be a fee event as in years prior to last year.

8)      Diana Lambeth described the ceremony surrounding the scattering of Sharon Metcalf’s ashes in the Pungo River on Monday, November 6.  Sharon, sister of Bud Sealing, was a member for many years and served as an officer and died recently following a long battle with cancer.  Three boats (Simplicity, Troubadour and Elusive) took Sharon’s family and friends aboard and participated in this service.  Jut Keith moved that the club contribute $50 to one of the charities suggested in the obituary, and the motion was seconded and carried.  The consensus of the members was that Beaufort County Hospice be the beneficiary.

Elections were the next order of business.  There was discussion of the duties of the officers, and certain adjustments were agreed upon by those present and involved.  The Treasurer will maintain the roster and volunteered to do the newsletter for 2007.  With these changes in the duties of the Secretary, Diana Lambeth agreed to be nominated for Secretary and to serve through at least the February 2007 meeting.  Serving officers Arden Root, Paul Bailey and Ron Brown presented themselves as the slate for Commodore, Vice Commodore and Treasurer, respectively.  There were no additional nominations from the floor.  A motion to elect the officers as presented was made and seconded and carried without discussion or dissension.

The meeting was adjourned at 4:06 pm thereby setting some sort of record.

These minutes respectively submitted by Ron Brown, Treasurer.