November 20, 2004

The meeting was called to order at 3:10.

Reading of the minutes from last year’s General Meeting was waived. Correction was made to the spelling of Bechelli and minutes were approved.

Officers and directors present: Bob Zange, Irving Abarbanell, John Spoeri, Jan Zange, Ellen Fiedler, Dalia Orentas-Leclair and Alan Leclair,

Guests: Bob Welther, Rose Welther, George Najarian, Dorothy Najarian, Bob Jacobsen, Jean Jacobsen, Pete Manika, Pat Manika, Lu Range, Carl Hammer, Walter Heinichen, Stephen Bronson

Treasurer’s report: Currently we have only the checking account. This year we spent more than we collected and finish with a balance of $1,217.96 in our account. Report was approved as read.

Quartermaster report: Little change in supplies this year. We have three tents and a flagpole that are lying dormant. Twenty five ball caps, less than 15 HBC blazer patches that originally sold for $25.00, now are available for $10.00, some t-shirts and some burgees. Quartermaster report was approved as read. Please call anyone from the board if you wish to purchase any of these items, or see us at the flea market next year.

Carl H suggested that we include a letter from the Commodore with the mailing of the minutes and membership renewal to the general membership. Bob Z had planned on that, and everyone agreed that this is a good idea. In addition to posting the minutes on our website, one mailing of the minutes will be sent to members at our cost. To receive future mailings of our minutes, members will be required to send a SASE.

Alan LeClair introduced Wally Heinichen who told of the arson damage to his boat, Fortuna, while in the boat yard. He described the progress of the rebuild and he’s hoping to have it ready for the 2006 season.

Election of officers: Jan Z read the slate of officers and directors nominated for 2005. It was noted that in the by-laws, anyone running for office must be present to be elected, and in order to vote a new board, nominations were accepted from the floor.

Commodore: Bob Zange

Vice Commodore: Irving Abarbanell

Rear Commodore: Bob Jacobsen

Treasurer: John Spoeri

Secretary: Jan Zange

Past Commodore: Bob Welther

Alan Leclair

Pete Manika

Ellen Fiedler

George Najarian

Carl Hammer

All nominated officers and directors were elected.

Old/unfinished business: Carl H reports that the city is holding public hearings around town as to the uses of Northerly Island, formerly Meigs Field. He will get the location information to our secretary to share with our members.

The Chicago Maritime Society is suggesting that the city establish a maritime Museum at the island. We discussed the possibility of Heritage Boat Club joining the Chicago Maritime Society and the Michigan Maritime Society. A motion was made and accepted to have our treasurer send dues to both the Chicago and the Michigan Maritime Societies.

Bob J thought a trip to the Michigan Maritime Museum in South Haven would make an enjoyable outing for members of Heritage Boat Club. We will look into scheduling a trip.

Ellen F reports that the weather channel is having an interesting presentation this Sunday evening. Jan Z will look into the availability of CCYC to hold our first pizza night.

Chicago Maritime Festival: our debate was well-received this past year. It was suggested, that we make a donation and hold a presentation or seminar again in 2005. We will discuss this further at our next meeting in December.

Commodore’s Ball: If we can hold a dinner at CCYC we may hold a Commodore’s Ball in 2005. Jan Z will check into the details and available dates and report back on this.

Alan L states that South Haven, MI, and Milwaukee, WI, have wooden boats. He thought it was interesting that a big city such as Chicago has never commissioned to have a wooden boat built, though it was talked about in the days of the late Mayor, Harold Washington. Alan thinks that if we could align ourselves with other maritime societies, maybe our city could have a wooden ship in the future that could promote the facilities of Chicago, and that HBC could lend its help. No further discussion was held on this subject.

Irving A again raised the issue of using model boat displays and competition as a way to involve new people to HBC events. If models are categorized, they can be judged. We could reach out through posters in hobby shops and include the model boat displays at some future event.

Lu R reports that the Christmas Ship will be at Navy Pier the first weekend of December. They are accepting monetary donations to provide Christmas trees to Chicago’s less fortunate families with children. Checks payable to “Chicago’s Christmas Ship” may be sent to Chicago Council-US Navy League, 403 N County Line Rd, Hinsdale, IL 60521.

Flea Market: We are checking with CCYC for dates on which we can hold our “not-for-boaters-only” flea market. 10% of all income will be donated to the Junior Fleet of CCYC. Start gathering your goods and be ready when we get the details together.

Email/regular mail: One mailing will go out to all members. It will include minutes from most recent board meeting, membership application to be returned with dues, and the commodore’s letter. All members with internet access may read the minutes at www.woodship.com or they can receive mailings only if they’ve provided a set of SASEs to the secretary. When we have gathered all the current contact info, we will also mail a roster to all members who provide a SASE for this purpose.

Next meeting will start at 7:00pm, December 13^th,2004, at Vince’s restaurant, 4700 N Harlem.

Meeting was adjourned at 4:30pm.

Submitted by Jan Zange, secretary