MINUTES
OF MEETING
ALBANY-SARATOGA
BASE, USSVI
Location:
American Legion Post #70 Saratoga Springs, NY
Meeting
Date: November 17, 2004
·
The regular meeting of the Albany-Saratoga Base was called to
order by CDR Singleman at 7:10 p.m. with 23 members and 2 guests present. This
month’s meeting was held at the American Legion Post 70 in Saratoga Springs
New York.
·
The Chaplain offered a prayer and the crew saluted the colors and
recited the Pledge of Allegiance.
·
The Muster List was passed around for all present to sign along
with a copy of the minutes of the previous meeting for all to read.
·
Bob Ondek had a video presentation of the lost boats for the month
of November. He indicated he would be making a video for future months and
possibly one for the entire “Tolling of the Boats” ceremony.
·
Base members stood and introduced themselves and indicated which
boats they served on. One of our new members is Joe Buff who is a best selling
author and was a guest speaker at our Convention was welcomed by the Base. Joe
donated a number of his best selling books, which he personally autographed, to
the Base Library.
WWII Sub Vets were asked to
stand and be recognized. John Chestera, Walt Bydairk, and Ray Koch were
applauded.
The Base Secretary reported
there was a quorum present. The
minutes of the previous months meeting have been either mailed or e-mailed to
the members and therefore the reading of these minutes of was waived. One
addition to the minutes was added – that John Cook had received an anonymous
donation to the Base of a framed picture of the USS Albany SSN753. A motion was
made by Fritz Feldhaus and seconded by Walt Barden to approve the minutes.
The Base Treasurer gave his
report. The bank balance for the Base at this time is: $9133.34.
A motion was made by Walt Barden and seconded by Randy Stein to approve
the report.
Reports
on Standing Committees
George Gasser gave a short
update on the Convention.
He reported that although the
final figures were not yet available it would seem that after all expenses are
paid the Base would have enough money to reach their goal of having $25,000.00
in the Memorial Fund. It could be as high as $30,000.00.
Figures from the City of
Saratoga indicate that the Convention brought in 1.6 million dollars to the
local economy including over $100,000.00 in sales tax. This is what we promised
the City and County and we delivered. The Saratoga Travel and Tourism Bureau
reported that the Convention was so successful that they requested that the
Albany-Saratoga Base bid on the 2010 Convention. The Base members agreed to
table that thought for a while.
George requested that anyone
who can make the County Veterans Committee meeting that begins at 3:00 pm on
December 7 please attend so we can thank them for the assistance with the
Convention. Also, Walt Bydairk will make a presentation to the County Board of
Supervisors at the December 15th meeting. Members are asked to attend
if possible. These meetings are held at the Saratoga County Office Complex at 40
McMaster Street in Ballston Spa. The meeting is at 5:00 pm and that is the night
of our next monthly meeting. Our meeting begins at 7:00 pm so there should be no
conflict. Also, we would like to attend the next Saratoga City Council meeting
to thank them. Since they are in budget negotiations we will wait until after a
budget is passed and then schedule a time to go.
George Gasser made a motion
to request up to $300.00 from the Convention budget to hold a dinner meeting for
the core committee that met at John Cook’s home and did the majority of the
planning for the Convention. The motion was seconded by Bill Preece and passed
by the Base.
George Gasser also made a
motion and requested that each person on the core committee receive $50.00 from
the Convention budget for mileage and other expenses incurred during the period
leading up to the Convention. The motion was seconded by Walt Barden and passed
by the Base.
Old
Business
The proposed amendments to
the Base By Laws were place before the Base, were all voted on and approved. A
new copy of the Base By Laws will be forwarded to the Base Webmaster for posting
on the Web Site. A copy of the Base By Laws is always available for review at
the monthly meetings. See the Base Secretary if you wish to review them.
New
Business
CDR Al Singleman reported on
Michael Coene, the homeless man and former nuke ET who served on SSN685 Glenard
P Lipscomb. He was attacked and had his personal belongings set on fire. Al
visited the Homeless Action Shelter and met with Michael. Michael wanted no help
and pretty much just wanted to be left alone. He was embarrassed by his
situation and didn’t want any shipmates to see him this way. He was given a
Base hat and informed that if he changed his mind or if he needed anything the
Base would be supportive of his needs. Al also spoke with the administrator of
the Shelter and asked her to please keep us informed of his status, especially
if anything were to happen to him. The Base voted to donate $100.00 to the
shelter and to purchase a one year membership in USSVI for Michael. When asked
if there was anything else we could do the shelter administrator suggested
donations of food and warm clothing. Institutional size cans of non perishable
food items and hunting type jackets, gloves, and pants would be recommended.
Bob Ondek will have a short
movie about the Convention to show at the December meeting.
Ed Luther is doing better. He
is now up and about with the use of a walker. He is in good spirits.
Fred Carlson read a letter
from Admiral Konetzni thanking us for inviting him to speak at the Convention.
George Gasser reported that
“Traditions”, the embroidery company still had some golf shirts available
with the Convention logos.
Walt and Chickie Barden said
good-bye to the Base. They are moving to Florida but will maintain a home up
north. They will try to make the meetings when they are around. The Base members
thanked them for all their hard work. They will be missed.
A final reminder about the
increase in National Dues. Members have until the end of December to upgrade
their current membership to Life at the reduced rates. Base dues will remain at
$10.00 per year.
The December meeting will be
the election meeting. The following candidates have been nominated for office
for the 2005 year.
Base Commander – Bob Ondek
Sr. Vice Commander – John
Cook
Jr. Vice Commander – Mike
Stoneback
Secretary – Jim Irwin
Treasurer – Fred Carlson
Nominations from the floor
for any of these offices will be accepted at the December meeting. Any
candidates who are nominated must be available to accept the nomination.
Also, the December meeting
will be our Holiday Party. After a show of hands it was agreed that Bob
Ondek’s son and new Base member Tom Ondek will be catering the event. Tom has
catered for us in the past and has always done a great job. The cost is $10.00
per person. Please RSVP to Bob Ondek at 393-6944 by December 10th if
you wish to attend. You can pay at the meeting.
There being no further
business, CDR Singleman led the base in the Creed of the USSVI and the meeting
was adjourned.
The next regular meeting will
begin at 7:00 on December 15, 2004. This meeting will be held at the American Legion Post 70 on West Avenue in Saratoga Springs NY.
Submitted
by:
Jim Irwin
Albany-Saratoga Base
Pride Runs Deep