MONTHLY MEETING
March 13, 2008
The meeting was called to order by Commander John Hart Jr. in ritualistic manner followed by the Pledge of Allegiance and a Roll Call of Officers. This was the first official meeting in our new location.
Other members in attendance were:
| Scott Teeters | Douglas Teeters | Bob Baker | Joe Long |
| Mike Grayson | Howard Wolfe | Ray Sulger | Russ Jones |
| Rich Ryczak | Joe Ferrara | Dale Keklock | Edwin Tyler |
| Chester Kowalski | Norman White | Bob Sulger | Bob Shaffer |
The minutes from the January meeting were read and approved, with one
exception.
Russ Jones asked if there was a motion on the floor to accept the issue of
imposing a one dollar fee on any member not wearing his badge.
Secretary Shaffer did not have the notes from the meeting and will
report at the next meeting.
Russ also added that any change, such as this, should also have a
change in the by-laws to reflect the change.
More discussion on by-laws to follow.
FINANCIAL REPORT:
Joe Long read the financial report with the following information:
Help money was $ 196.50
End balance (which reflects Appomattox Luncheon) was
$4,632.86
28 members have not paid their dues and if those are
not received, they will be dropped in two weeks
A motion to accept this report was made by Ray Sulger and seconded by Bob
Sulger. All
were in favor.
COMMITTEES:
Joe Long reported that work on the museum is coming along very well.
Artifacts are being placed in cabinets; rifles, swords and pistols are
being unpacked; and the pictures are being sorted to be determined where to be
placed on the walls.
The meeting room is next and needs to be readied for paint and
carpeting.
The little room off the meeting room is probably going to be for the Auxiliary.
No work on Saturday because of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade.
Joe will re-schedule.
Joe also reported that the Appomattox Luncheon only has 25 people in all
registered.
There are 4 camp members, 5 from the auxiliary and 1 daughter.
All the others are from the Department.
Ray Sulger also mentioned that the dedication on the Square is on the
same day and asked if there would be enough time for everyone to make it there.
Commander Hart said there was almost three hours between the two
events and this should be adequate time.
If the luncheon runs over, the Guard members will have to leave
because they are committed to the event at the square.
Commander Hart also added that Todd Shillington and SVR Commander Bob Grim
would be requesting other SVR Units to assist the Delaney-Delacy Guard at this
event. The
Scranton Historical Society has planned a reception after the ceremony.
The Guard will send out invitations for this event.
No word from Frost Decker on acquiring Civil War weaponry for fund raiser.
MEMBERS IN DISTRESS:
Lt. Al Sweeney.
OLD BUSINESS:
Commander Hart has suggested that we review the Camps’ By-Laws since they are
about eight years old, the last ones being signed in 2000.
Russ Jones asked if the issue of wearing badges should be in the
by-laws and if a motion of the camp supersede the National Organization?
Secretary Shaffer will draft an e-mail to the Chairman of the
Committee on Constitution and Regulations to address this concern.
Joe Long suggested that he have extra badges with him in case a member
forgets his badge.
Commander Hart suggested that we have an in-house case with extra
badges for those not going home before coming to a monthly meeting.
Bob Baker also inquired if he should also get a list of
public libraries, as well as school libraries for the donation of
books. Mike
Grayson added that donations are good, but with the internet, all the
information a school student would like, is available to them and these donated
books would probably sit and collect dust.
Further discussion to follow.
A lengthy discussion then followed on the issue of raising the Camps’ dues to
$31.00. Joe
Long reported that of the $30.00 now collected, $18.00 goes to National (most of
which is for the printing of the Banner), $6.00 goes to Department and the
remaining $6.00 is for the Camp.
This must cover any mailings the Secretary or Treasurer must make to
Camp members, which now total 152 members and any other expense incurred by the
Camp. Joe
also stated that the raise in the dues should be to help the Camp and not to
fund other projects.
Some type of fund raiser should be set up for any other type of
expense. Mike
Grayson added that if we continue to raise the dues, we may start losing members
because of this.
A discussion followed on the expense of the move to our new location and all
this associated expenses.
Mike Grayson stated that he did contact the Olyphant American Legion
and they offered us a meeting place for as long as we needed at no charge to us.
A discussion on the Lincoln Statue then followed.
Commander Hart reported that he talked to the President, Al Sweeney,
and he stated that there was no statue at the Historical Society.
Mike Grayson said he contacted the Public Works Department and they
researched this and reported to him that the statue was indeed at the Society.
Who is right, will anyone ever know?
NEW BUSINESS:
Joe Long continued the discussion on raising the dues to $31.00.
Ray Sulger stated that the last time we raised our dues was in
conjunction with the Department, which were from $2.00 to $6.00.
Russ Jones stated that we should raise the dues only by amendment to
the by-laws.
This discussion will continue.
Commander Hart appointed Sr. Vice Commander Ray Sulger to head a committee to
look over the overall finances of the Camp.
Ray will ask others to help him with this task.
Bob Baker reported that Factoryville is filing for a grant for the Borough
Hall to be placed on the register of Historic places.
He asked for the Camps’ support in this endeavor.
Secretary Shaffer presented applications for 2 associate members: Chester
Kowalski and Robert Castner.
Howard Wolfe and Dale Keklock were appointed to review these
applications and all were in order.
A motion to accept the 2 new members was made by Ray Sulger and
seconded by Bob Shaffer.
All were in favor.
Bob Baker suggested that 1 or 2 members to the Ireland Camp, which is having
difficulty retaining members at this time, to speak at a small encampment.
This encampment will be at the Hartford School, but no date has been
set.
FOR THE GOOD OF THE ORDER:
Joe Long stated that he was glad to see as many members as were here for the meeting. This is the most (17 members) we have had in a long time.
With no further business, questions or discussion, a motion to adjourn
was made and the meeting was closed in ritualistic manner.