MINUTES OF NORTH COAST OHIO MEETING
Monday, March 7, 2005

The meeting was called to order at 6:35 pm at Dimitri's Restaurant by Vice President Denny Naylon. President Jack Lynett was vacationing in Florida. Secretary Marilyn Demaline and Director Les Demaline could not attend due to Les' recent eye surgery. In attendance were Treasurer, John Vorhies, Directors Ray McFarland, Don Emery, and Past President Gil Maringer. Members Greg Glick, Dan White, Kathy Stashkiw, Rose McFarland, Mary Emery and Cheryl Maringer also attended the meeting.

Denny asked Gil to take the minutes, then asked for motions to approve the minutes of the January 3rd meeting. The minutes were unanimously approved.

Next the Treasurer's report was given. A total of $9,595.43 is in the treasury, which is an improvement of approximately $2,000 from a year ago. Because of the earlier membership campaign by ACBS, John feels that we have received nearly all the dues from headquarters.

John then reported on membership and presented a new roster. The total of paid up memberships stands at 117, which is very close to the same number as last year, at this time. John mentioned that 18 past members did not rejoin ACBS or NCO, which was higher than last year's count of 10. He has highlighted those past members on the roster and asked the Board to remind those people of their membership expiration. John also provided a list of 7 past members who still belong to ACBS but did not rejoin NCO. He noted that another 7 or 8 ACBS members reside in our chapter's geographic area but have not joined NCO for some reason. He has sent them invitation letters. Ray mentioned that the Allegheny chapter may have attracted some eastern region members.

Next the issues surrounding the Vermilion show were discussed. Regarding the main issue of a $2,500 docking fee levied by the city of Vermilion, Denny stated that in a phone conversation with Les this date he learned that Chris Gillcrist could not get the fee reduced. Chris told Les that the museum and private donors would pay the fee. The concept of just having a static display of boats on trailers was discussed, but those in attendance were not in favor of a show where boats couldn't be used. It was also suggested that NCO could afford to pay some of the dock fee.

The larger issue seems to be that the city of Vermilion is not interested in supporting an antique boat show. It was also discussed that they are not even supporting the Inland Seas Museum and a move to Lorain is contemplated. At this point the viability of the Vermilion show is still in question. Cliff Wolfe will be asked to hold up printing of the posters. Gil will call him 3/8. As yet Ray has not made the sailboat kits. Without the show chairman Les being present it was decided to not make any decisions regarding the show. There was some discussion about other sites for a boat show in future years such as Cedar Point, Put-In-Bay, or expanding Portage Lakes and the importance of attracting new members and fostering interest in the hobby through shows.

Denny next reported that the April 9th Riddle Boat Works Workshop flyers have been sent to the membership. Les has arranged the event and lunch reservation at the Moose Head Grill.

Denny next asked if the June 4th rendezvous at Portage Lakes Turkeyfoot Island Club was scheduled. Gil mentioned that he believed Bill Hunter had secured the date. It was noted that the Ohio General Assembly will be passing a new $5.00 use charge of the park facilities for each visit. There will be an optional all year pass that will cost $25.00.

Gil reported that the Chautauqua Show is being planned and gave Dan the show application to be prepared for printing. The venue will be all on Saturday July 16th and will include evening entertainment along with the harbor complimentary pig roast. Three volunteers from the lake have offered to work with Gil to promote the show, raise sponsorship funds, and boost attendance. A block of rooms reserved in NCO's name at the Comfort Inn will only be held until June 1st. There is a significant discount of $40 on the room rate if booked early ($89 instead of $129).

Gil also reported that the Turkeyfoot Island Club dinner is planned for August 20 and he is the chairman at the club for the event. He is planning to add more excitement with a small parade of the boats and an announcer describing each boat as it cruises past the club's viewing public. Other attractions are being planned to make this a fun event.

Next, Dan White asked for help scanning some IX photos so they could be added to the website and newsletter. The photos were circulated and it was felt that many of Don Emery's which were already on his website could be used. Dan then circulated a beautiful show application from the Heartland Chapter for their Hot Springs Arkansas show as an example of what can be done with our future applications.

Dan then asked for approval to pay the yearly website fees which are due 3/16. Don Emery pointed out that the use of Bravenet with their pop up ads was a deterrent to users. He also stated that Bravenet links the user's information to Spyware which aggressively tracks all the visitor's internet activity. He felt this is very invasive and taking advantage of the visitors to our website. Dan was not aware of Bravenet's link to Spyware and said we could eliminate the problem by dropping them for an additional $30 per year.

There was a brief discussion about how much use actually occurred on the website. It was felt that it is important for our organization to be on the web. Motions were taken and unanimously approved to give Dan the authorization to spend $200 for the next year's fees and to eliminate Bravenet.

[Editors note: The additional $30 is to upgrade to a non-advertisement supported version of the Bravenet Forum, not to elimiate it.]

Denny next asked who from NCO will be attending the Newport News symposium. Ray said he knew Cliff Wolfe was attending.

The next meeting will be at the April 9th workshop.

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 8:20 pm.

Respectfully Submitted,

Gil Maringer, Acting Secretary

Past minutes

January 3, 2005
December 11, 2004
November 1, 2004
October 4, 2004
May 3, 2004
April 5, 2004
March 3, 2004