Lone Star Dutch Oven Society Newsletter January 30, 2015 NEWSLETTER Welcome! Happy New Year LSDOS members! Welcome to the first edition of the “all electronic” version of the newsletter as we move from mailing the newsletter to sharing it online. The goal of the newsletter is to promote strong connections between members and chapters as we gather to share the love of Dutch oven cooking. As a benefit to membership, the newsletter is designed to share information for members, highlight interesting events, share photographs and recipes, and celebrate the best of “Food, Fun, and Fellowship.” Board Update The Board of Directors met at Salmon Lake Park in Grapeland Texas on January 17, 2015. A draft of the minutes are attached. Here’s a quick summary of some of the more interesting items the board discussed: Trustee Greg Petrey reported that LSDOS sent $500 sponsorship and $500 in merchandise (hand towels with LSDOS logo) to the 2014 National DOG in Iowa. The Board approved the budget for 2015 which included giving back 100% of dues collected to the chapters. As of January 2015 there are 75 active members of LSDOS. The board is seeking a volunteer to serve as 2nd Vice President. The board thanked Joe Huber for leading the membership booth at the 2014 National DOG in Iowa. Joe reported that he gathered 20 new members and renewed 19 current members to LSDOS. Plans were made to have a membership booth at the 2015 National DOG near Bryce Canyon, Utah June 19-21, 2015. At the end of the board meeting, Patti Corcoran, President, passed the leadership over to Stacy Sick, who took the oath of office. Joining Stacy in leadership of LSDOS are Robin Clute, First Vice President and Stephanie Vickery, Secretary. First Edition 1 Thank you Patti, Greg, Rhonda, Mary, and Shervonne for serving LSDOS so faithfully.
Transcript
Lone Star Dutch Oven Society Newsletter January 30, 2015
NEWSLETTER Welcome! Happy New Year LSDOS members! Welcome to the first edition of the “all electronic” version of the newsletter as we move from mailing the newsletter to sharing it online. The goal of the newsletter is to promote strong connections between members and chapters as we gather to share the love of Dutch oven cooking. As a benefit to membership, the newsletter is designed to share information for members, highlight interesting events, share photographs and recipes, and celebrate the best of “Food, Fun, and Fellowship.”
Board Update The Board of Directors met at Salmon Lake Park in Grapeland Texas on January 17, 2015. A draft of the minutes are attached. Here’s a quick summary of some of the more interesting items the board discussed:
Trustee Greg Petrey reported that LSDOS sent $500 sponsorship and $500 in merchandise (hand towels with LSDOS logo) to the 2014 National DOG in Iowa.
The Board approved the budget for 2015 which included giving back 100% of dues collected to the chapters.
As of January 2015 there are 75 active members of LSDOS.
The board is seeking a volunteer to serve as 2nd Vice President.
The board thanked Joe Huber for leading the membership booth at the 2014 National DOG in Iowa. Joe reported that he gathered 20 new members and renewed 19 current members to LSDOS. Plans were made to have a membership booth at the 2015 National DOG near Bryce Canyon, Utah June 19-21, 2015.
At the end of the board meeting, Patti Corcoran, President, passed the leadership over to Stacy Sick, who took the oath of office. Joining Stacy in leadership of LSDOS are Robin Clute, First Vice President and Stephanie Vickery, Secretary.
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Thank you Patti, Greg, Rhonda, Mary, and Shervonne for serving LSDOS so faithfully.
Lone Star Dutch Oven Society Newsletter January 30, 2015
Joe Huber said it the best for everyone in the room when he said, “ We can’t thank you and the outgoing board members enough for the time and talent you shared as you led LSDOS so well over the past two years.” Special thanks goes out to Patti Corcoran, President, Rhonda Cobb, First Vice President, Mary Merriwether, Second Vice President, Greg Petrey, Trustee and Webmaster, and Shervonne Smithey, Secretary. Thank you for serving so faithfully!
First Annual LSDOS Big DOG Joe Huber is leading the planning efforts for the first annual Big DOG. Joe was excited to report that we will be gathering in Canton at the Civic Center and RV park, the location of the 2012 National DOG. The schedule
of events will begin Friday April 17th and will end Sunday, April 19th. Early arrivers are welcome anytime after Sunday April 12th at noon. The event is free to all current members and is $15 for non-members, who will be given the option to join. Everyone agreed that the nightly RV rate of $16 is a screaming good deal for pull-through sites, full hook ups (30/50 amp electricity, water and sewer). No reservations for RV sites are
required. Registration is required - go to http://tinyurl.com/kjkj9hu to tell us if you are coming and how many are in your family. Everyone who signs up will receive updated information via e-mail. There will be
Lone Star Dutch Oven Society Newsletter January 30, 2015
demonstrations, free raffle prizes, fun Dutch oven competitions, a cast iron swap, and much more! This is going to be a great gathering of old and new friends and it won’t be the same without you!
July Membership Meeting Make sure to mark your calendar now to save the third weekend in July for the 2015 Membership meeting at Hamm Creek Park. This brand new park is about 8 miles west of Rio Vista, Texas, along the Brazos River in Johnson County. The fun begins Friday July 17th afternoon with a Dutch Oven Gathering (DOG). The membership meeting will be held Saturday July 18th. All members are encouraged to attend and participate in the discussion and decisions that will keep LSDOS strong. Reservations for Hamm Creek are made by calling 817-556-9311 and no fees are collected until arrival. Cash and checks only. There are 25 RV sites with water and electric for $20 per night and 5 sites have full hook up for $24 per night. There are 10 tent camping sites for $10 per night.
Send in an article, photos, and news! Is your chapter doing something fun or have some good recipes to share? Do you have a favorite photo from a recent DOG that will make everyone smile? Share the good news with everyone by sending in your information to [email protected]. Every effort will be made to include it in the next newsletter!
Did you know that Lone Star Dutch Oven Society has a Facebook group? Join in the ongoing conversation! https://www.facebook.com/groups/LSDOS/
Lone Star Dutch Oven Society Newsletter January 30, 2015
Draft Minutes from the January 2015 Board Meeting LSDOS Annual Winter Board of Directors Meeting
Salmon Lake Resort January 17, 2015
Prior to the meeting, Trustee Greg Petrey and President Patti Corcoran certified the following proxies:
From Chapter To Dan Poggemiller Wildflower Patti Corcoran Steven Sick Armadillos Stacy Sick Robert Shave Tejas Patti Corcoran Gary Lemley Saltgrass Greg Petrey Shervonne Smithey Brazos Valleyand Secretary Greg Petrey (2 votes)
Board members in attendance were Patti Corcoran, President and Advisor of the Traveling Dutch Oven Cookers; Rhonda Cobb, 1st Vice President and Advisor of the Heartland of the Prairie Chapter; Mary Merriwether, 2nd Vice President and Advisor of the Sam Houston Chapter; Greg Petrey, Trustee; and Steve and Leslie Lovett, Advisors of the Prairie Dog Chapter.
Having 36 Chapter Advisors and elected Officers means a quorum of 9 is required. Including proxies, 14 were present.
President Patti Corcoran opened the meeting leading the Pledge of Allegiance and the opening prayer. She welcomed all attendees and requesting that all cell phones be turned off. The agenda and information packet had been previously distributed electronically and copies were available at the meeting. Stephanie Vickery was appointed to take the minutes in the absence of Secretary Shervonne Smithey.
Minutes: Minutes of the January 18, 2014, Winter Board of Directors meeting had been included in the August 2014 newsletter and were included in the packet for all to review. Stephanie Vickery pointed out changes on page 4 of the packet. At the top of the page, 2013 National DOG needs to be changed to 2014 National DOG. Under Summer Meeting Site in the last paragraph the two references to winter meeting need to be changed to summer meeting. There were no other corrections to the minutes. Leslie Lovett moved that the minutes be approved as corrected and Greg Petrey seconded the motion. The minutes were approved as corrected.
Trustee Report: Greg Petrey presented the report of expenses incurred for the 2014 National DOG. The budgeted and approved $500.00 Sponsorship and the $500.00 Merchandise (consisting of golf towels designed and ordered by Rhonda Cobb) were the
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only two transactions associated with the 2014 National DOG. Some excess merchandise was also provided for our LSDOS booth and for youth cook-off prizes.
The Year-End Financial Reports reflect a slight loss of $126.58, much less than the $3,500.00 loss that had been budgeted. The December 31, 2014, Balance Sheet shows assets of $23,528.53 and the only liability was the Sales Tax of $67.89 which was paid on January 1, 2015. Inventory was reduced by about $1200 as recommended at the 2014 membership meeting by donating items to the Boy Scouts and to prizes for the youth cook-off at the 2014 National DOG and by not restocking some items.
Website: Greg Petrey reported that overall traffic was down nearly 11% in 2014. This is likely a positive result of the new LSDOS Facebook presence developed by Leslie Lovett. Greg plans a complete redesign of the website going to a content management system such as World Press. He also plans to research the best method to post and retrieve the newsletter. Greg is motivated to turn the website over to a new webmaster once it is redesigned.
New Chapters: Mary Merriwether reported that a new chapter is forming in Cleburne with Kenny Garrett. Robin Clute reported that their first DOG was January 16, the day before the Board meeting, and excellent coverage was provided by the local newspaper.
Membership: Mary reported that there have been 75 LSDOS 2015 renewals as of January 17.
Newsletter: Mary reported no new developments. Her last issue of the newsletter was the August 2014 issue.
2014 National DOG: The 2014 NDOG was held in Monticello, Iowa, in September. Joe Huber reported that he and Janet arrived early and set up the LSDOS booth just opposite the main building, a site guaranteed to attract activity. Leslie Lovett brought boxes of inventory from Greg Petrey’s garage. Rhonda did a nice job on the red golf towels. The booth was quite successful with 19 LSDOS membership renewals and 20 new members.
2015 National DOG: Rhonda Cobb reported that the 2015 NDOG will be at Bryce Canyon, Utah, at Ruby’s Inn Campground, June 19-21, 2015. This will be a great opportunity to increase LSDOS and the consensus was to recommend having an LSDOS booth there. Rhonda volunteered to obtain a spot for high traffic. Leslie Lovett volunteered to transport items for the raffles and for sale at the booth. The two promotional Dutch ovens for the booth will be discussed in the 2015 budget considerations. The $500 2015 NDOG grant and the $500 for golf towels were approved by the membership in July. We will keep the support within the budget. More cookbooks will need to be ordered once it is decided who will take over the LSDOS inventory duties from Greg.
Old Business:
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Lone Star Dutch Oven Society Newsletter January 30, 2015
LSDOS Big DOG: Joe Huber reported on the LSDOS Big DOG to be held April 17, 18, 19 at the Canton Civic Center and RV Park. This was approved by the membership at the July meeting. The RV spaces are $16 a night with full hook-ups. Tent sites are also available. The Civic Center will be available at no cost for eating, games, and other activities. The fee for the event is free for LSDOS members. There will be a registration form just to get a headcount. There will be fun competitions for youth and adults led by Robin and Dennis Clute, Dutch oven-related demonstrations, fun for the whole LSDOS family. A budget of $1,000 has been established. This will be a Go Green event where we bring our own plates and silverware. No paper goods will be provided. Also no goody bags or name tags.
General Membership Meeting Site: As approved at the 2014 membership meeting, Robin Clute reported that the meeting will be held July 17, 18, 19, 2015, at Hamm Creek Park, a Johnson County Park on the Brazos River outside Rio Vista, Texas. We will have a large pavilion with water and electric and large picnic tables. There are 25 camp sites with water and electric for $20 a night and 5 camp sites with water, electric and sewer for $24. There are also 10 tent sites for $10. Alcohol is permitted in the campsite only. Leashed pets are permitted. Call the park at 817-556-9311 for reservations. See www.hammcreek.com for information about the park. Leslie volunteered to do a flyer on the web site and Facebook and will email to the board.
New Business:
Renewal of Board Insurance Coverage: Greg Petrey reported that he was able to negotiate a rate the same as last year for the Board of Directors Liability Insurance. The premium will be $900. Leslie Lovett moved that we approve the renewal of the insurance. Rhonda seconded the motion. The motion was approved unanimously. The renewal must be signed by January 22. The form was given to incoming president Stacy Sick to sign.
2015 Annual Budget: Greg Petrey presented the 2015 proposed budget and pointed out that we need to add $60 to $100 for the two Dutch ovens for 2015 NDOG. He suggests that we adopt the 100% return of dues to the chapters. We need to add the $1,000 for the LSDOS Big DOG. Greg offered a motion that we adopt the proposed budget with these changes taking the $3,100 excess expenditures out of reserves. Joe Huber pointed out that the Big DOG needs to have its own line item and not be included in miscellaneous. Leslie called the vote on the motion to accept the budget. Stacy Sick seconded the motion. The vote to approve was unanimous. The 2015 budget total income is $7,350 and the total expenses are $10,450.
2016 LSDOS Big DOG: Leslie raised the question about the process for doing the LSDOS Big DOG again in 2016. Greg said that from a budget standpoint it would be better to consider it for 2 years, 2016 and 2017. This needs to be on the agenda for the Summer membership meeting and by then we will have an idea about the success of the 2015 Big DOG. Leslie asked if someone wants to host a future Big DOG. Greg suggested that this would be a good item for a follow-up Board meeting. Rick Caldwell volunteered to plan the next Big DOG unless someone from another location steps forward.
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Communications: There was a consensus that our communication has been lacking. The new Facebook presence developed by Leslie Lovett has been good. Not enough members are aware of it even though there is a link to it on the website. Patti recommended that an email go out to all members advising them of our Facebook presence and the website. When event flyers go out they need to go to all members since some chapter advisors are not good about sharing the information.
By-Laws: Stacy asked when would be the appropriate time to address the By-Laws. Any changes to the By-Laws need to be proposed at the 2015 Membership meeting and approved at the 2016 winter Board meeting. The By-Laws are addressed in non-election years.
Installation of LSDOS Officers for 2015-2016: Outgoing President Patti Corcoran thanked the outgoing officers and introduced the newly elected LSDOS President Stacy Sick. She advised Stacy to stay loyal to the LSDOS and their motto of fun, food, and fellowship. Patti then turned the leadership over to Stacy. Stacy then introduced Robin Clute as 1st Vice President and Stephanie Vickery as Secretary. Stacy appointed Tina Morris, who was home with the flu, of the Collin County Cookers as Trustee and Leslie Lovett of the Prairie Dog Chapter as Newsletter Editor. The position of 2nd Vice President is still open.
Stacy wants to review the By-Laws and see if they are still on track. Volunteers for reviewing the By-Laws include Joe Huber, Rhonda Cobb, Andre Houser, and Stephanie Vickery. Any proposals for revisions to the By-Laws are to be considered at the summer Membership meeting and ratified at the Winter Board meeting. A question was raised about what happens if we achieve 501(c)(3) status. Greg answered that our By-Laws would then be replaced with an IRS version.
Joe Huber expressed thanks to the outgoing Leadership team in attendance including President Patti Corcoran, 1st Vice President Rhonda Cobb, 2nd Vice President Mary Merriwether, and Trustee Greg Petrey. He expressed appreciation for the countless hours they have put in to make it possible for us to have our fun Dutch oven cooking events. The entire room responded with a huge round of applause in gratitude for the outgoing officers.
Rhonda moved that the meeting be adjourned. Leslie seconded the motion. With unanimous approval the meeting was adjourned at 4:27 p.m.
