January 2012
NARFE Chapter 372
Norristown, PA
A regular meeting was held Saturday, January 7, 2012
at the Old Country Buffet,East Norriton, PA
The meeting was called to order at
1:05 PM by George Shal, President.
George then led us in a moment of silence in memory of
Ted Mason, our dear friend and long time active member and officer in NARFE, who recently and suddenly passed away;
followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.
Attendance: 21
members and guests were present. George asked each of us to introduce ourselves.
At this moment in our meeting, the Old Country Buffet staff asked us to move to another area of the restaurant to continue
our meeting, as they had accidently booked another party in our normal meeting room.
Once we reassembled, George then opened a special program “In Memory of Ted Mason”
where many verbalized a tribute to Ted, recounting many of the contibutions Ted had made to the NARFE organization over many
years and to our Chapter as President and then Vice President. We also told many stories of Ted as our
memories allowed us. We, and the NARFE organization, will surely miss him. May he rest
in Peace.
A reading of the November minutes by Al Henryson, Secretary,
was recommended to be suspended and were accepted and approved as written.
Officer and Committee
Reports:
George Shal then
asked for the following Officer and Committee Reports:
Treasurer: Si Nagel presented the monthly Treasurer's Report for November and December since
November's was not presented at our Holiday Party. The Balance on Hand for Use in the combined report ending in December
was $4,164.44. The report was accepted and approved as submitted. He also
mentioned that he had had a problem with our account statements from Wells Fargo Bank that they were working to correct.
Legislation: Ed Levandoski reiterated
how important it is to continue contacting our elected representatives to maintain federal retired pay and benefit programs.
George then briefed on the new congressional districts. However they are confusing and we need to
follow-up and clarrify exactly who our representatives will be.
Membership/Public Relations: Eileen Fitzgerald submitted
her report showing that as of the end of December we have 324 Chapter members, 27 National Only members and 5 Life members
for a total of 356 members assigned to the Chapter, the same total as before.
Service/Newsletter: Joe Patti, was
not present. However George reported that our next Newsletter is in draft form of up to 50 pages and will be published soon.
Sunshine: Gwen
Wilson had a negative report.
All committee reports were accepted and approved.
Old Business:
Chapter support for Alzheimer's Research: George reminded everyone of the donation jar in the
room and that any donations made privately can be submitted through the chapter to be sent to the Federation in order that
NARFE gets credit for this charity support.
PA Convention, May 6-9, 2012, Allentown, Pa.: George mentioned that by February those attending the convention need
to complete their Registration Forms and that we need to be thinking about raffle tickets, Basket, and Patron Ads.
Christmas Party Report:
Peg Bergman: Peg reported that the party was well attended, it went very well and that all had a
good time. George expressed the appreciation from all of us for the effort given by Peggy and her Holiday
Party Committee of Eileen Fitzgerald, Gwen Wilson and Al Henryson.
$10 rebate for signing up to start Direct Deposit
– of NARFE Dues. Time is running out but the deadline has been extended until March 31, 2012.
Let's do it – to save money.
New Business:
Appointment of new 1st Vice President: Eileen Fitzgerald has agreed to assume the duty of 1st Vice President,
vice Ted Mason, while also retaining her Membership duty. Gwen Wilson is assuming the Public Relations duty, vice Eileen,
while also retaining her Sunshine duty.
Reimbursements: $99.98 to Peg Bergman for flowers (Ted Mason) and $116.00 to George Shal for stamps for postcard mailing.
Also, $7.50 for lunch to a new member as is our custom. All reimbursements were approved.
National Convention: August 26-30, 2012, in Sparks, NV, which is near Reno: Those
interested please let George know.
Other New Business:
Peg handed out proposed
meeting topics for the year. Additional ideas/suggestions are welcome, in addition to a possible new meeting
site.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned
at 2:35 PM.
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The next meeting at 1 PM, Wednesday, February 1, has been cancelled due to the unexpected and
sudden closing of The Old Country Buffet. Stay tuned for information regarding the March meeting.
Al Henryson, Secretary
