Berks County Parrot Head Club Meeting Minutes
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Third & Spruce

Phounding Phather and President “Denny Lorah” welcomed all members to the meeting. Membership renewal forms and the sign-in sheets were available at the door. Denny reminded everyone to sign in.

Denny saluted all of the people who came out to the float at the Myerstown parade last Saturday. We won $250 for first prize!
We also saluted Duane Cahill and his newsletter committee for the amazing newsletter that they produced this week – check it out on www.berkscountyphc.org !

The president asked if everyone received the minutes; everyone did. The president asked for a motion to approve the minutes. Gary Kraft made the motion, Duane Cahill seconded it, and a vote was taken to approve the minutes.

The Treasurer’s report was given by Tim Kraft. We took in $5,000 for concert donations, with some still in the works, and other income for concert tickets sold, plus $550 in parade winnings (not including the $250 we just won).

A motion was made by Hops Lorah to accept the Treasurer's report and a second was made by Cherie Guevin. A vote was taken and the report was approved.

OLD BUSINESS:

MOTM – Kris announced that it’s only 336 days til MOTM 2010. We’ll have a barbeque on Thursday at the Southernmost in 2010. Denny said we hope to have a “MOTM coordinator” as the number of people from the club keeps growing.
BCPHC cookbooks are still available and make great holiday gifts.
Caribbean Christmas – the after-party will be at the Third & Spruce after the show. The after-party will NOT be announced at the concert, but it should be a fantastic chance to party with the bands. Denny had some $30 tickets still available – contact him if you still need tickets. You can also buy tickets to the show via TicketMaster online or at the Scottish Rite before the show.
There’s a Peter Mayer show Dec 10 at the Episcopal church on Oregon Pike in Lancaster. The Lancaster club has tickets. Denny said that if you’ve never seen Peter Mayer, you should make an effort to see the show.
Toys for Tots – Dec 11 at 6pm at the Third & Spruce.
The next general meeting will be Tuesday, January 5th, 2010 at 7 PM at Third & Spruce.

NEW BUSINESS:

There will be two Jimmy Buffett nights at the Reading Phillies in 2010, on June 23 and August 3. Denny asked for a show of hands to see who was interested in going to the June one – he’ll get 50 tickets and see what we can do with them.

PARROT SCOOP:

Eileen thanked the float committee, especially Bryan Gentry and his friend Eric.
She welcomed back Joe & Cheryl Bean!

Birthdays:
Nov 16 – Jim Cressman
Nov 25 – Bob Trewella
Dec 2 – Bruce Smith
Anniversaries:
Dec 18 – Gary and Janice Kraft
Nov 14 - Bob & Laura Trewella
Men’s Night at Tina’s Salon is Monday, December 7 from 5-9pm. Denny will be bartending, as always.
We welcomed new members Matt and Patty Rowe.
Eileen wished everyone happy holidays, then asked Christmas trivia questions and gave away tickets to Crocodile Rock on December 4th (from Jimmy Budda)!

COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Remember, all of the committee heads (and board members) can be contacted via the website.

Newsletter Committee Meeting Minutes
Chairperson: Duane Cahill
The next newsletter was emailed to everyone last Sunday night. Duane said he will send hard copies to those who do not have access to email, but we want to limit those printing costs as much as possible – we’re saving more than $5,000 per year!
Duane said you don’t have to be on the committee in order to contribute – just email him. They’d love any and all submissions.
More info on our upcoming charities is available on the website, under the “Giving It Up” tab.
We’ll be adding a business directory online in 2010. We’re also going to add PayPal functionality to the website, which will allow everyone to renew memberships, buy merchandise, and donate sponsorship money!
All events, including parade dates and events for next year, are listed on the site, through December 2010!!
As always, they are looking for content for both the site and the newsletter.

Membership Committee Meeting Minutes
Chairperson: Shawn Guevin
Membership renewals for 2010 are available. Please fill out the forms completely, including email addresses, since that will be our primary method of communication. Newsletters will be electronic going forward.
Shawn also welcomed new members: Kaitlyn Degler, Michael Kerper, Bill Kelley and Michele Schaeffer, Kenneth J Hill, and Jed and Didi Erdman.
If anyone wants to join the committee, please let Shawn know. We always meet the second Monday of the month at Denny and Tina’s house.

Charity Committee Meeting Minutes
Chairperson: Gary Kraft
Gary introduced a rep from Berks Visiting Nurse Children’s Immunizations. Melissa thanked the club for choosing two great charities to benefit the community. She shared some statistics; the organizations vaccinated nearly 1,000 children in Berks County last year. The money we raise will go toward the purchase of vaccines and related supplies. They are inserting their newsletter in local papers, which will reach over 91,000 people.
Jeff Woytovich talked about the Children’s Alopecia Project (CAP). He explained that he started the organization when his daughter lost 75% of her hair in kindergarten. Alopecia is an auto-immune disease, which is not contagious and not painful. He wasn’t able to find any organizations geared to children. CAP was created to provide a way to build the self-esteem of children with the disease. The organization has spread across the country and gone international.
Contact Gary or a committee member to suggest a charity to be considered for future events.

Volunteer Committee Meeting Minutes
Chairperson: Scott Kaufmann
Scott said we need volunteers for the Cabin Fever Festival. He’ll have sign-up sheets at the January meeting, or you can email him via the website.
Caribbean Christmas set-up will begin at 2:30 on Saturday at the Scottish Rite. We are still looking for volunteers for set-up and for the clean-up afterward.
If anyone wants to join the committee, just let Scott know.

Merchandise Committee Meeting Minutes
Chairperson: Tina Shenk
Tina brought a great selection of club merchandise for Christmas gifts and stocking stuffers, including long-sleeve t-shirts (which everyone has been asking for).
The committee has been preparing for the upcoming Cabin Fever Festival. They are looking for donations for the silent and Chinese auctions.
If anyone is interested in joining the committee, just see Tina. The committee always meets the second Monday of each month at Denny & Tina’s. The December meeting will be a cookie swap. Everyone is welcome, but please email Tina to let her know you’re coming.
Tina also gave Bryan Gentry a gift to thank him for all he does for the club. It was a crazy straw hat from a man in Ocean City.

Events Committee Meeting Minutes
Chairperson: Jodi Blatt
Caribbean Christmas – reception begins at 4:30 and the show begins at 6pm. The after-party at the Spruce will begin whenever the show is over.
December 11th – Toys for Tots at the Spruce from 6-9pm, must bring a toy (or give a donation) to get in. The Marines will be there! You can also drop off toys at the December meeting (or any time).
Tues Dec 15th, On the Border, happy hour with half-price drinks from 4-6pm. They’ll also donate 10% of all food purchases to Toys for Tots in our name. You MUST get a form from Jodi at the event, at the Christmas show, or at the Toys for Tots party on Dec 11th,.
January 31st – Cabin Fever winter party. Jodi has tickets – cost is $10 per person for member, as long as you get your ticket before the January meeting. After that, tickets will be $15 in advance or $20 at the door. If anyone wants to take a batch of tickets to sell, please see Jodi.
Pub crawl in West Reading, maybe in March? Details to come early next year.
The Sauce Boss will be at the Apple Asher Brewing Company in Harrisburg on April 18th.
Next Events committee meeting will be Dec 22 at Jeff and Jodi’s house.

Sponsorship Committee Meeting Minutes
Chairperson: Sam Beam and Sharon Lash
Sam said they’ve had a couple of meetings and they’re trying to go outside the normal pool of sponsors.
Major sponsor for the Cabin Fever Festival is Pollack Furs, and the Plumbing Works will sponsor the band.
Next meeting is Dec 14th at 7pm at Denny & Tina’s.
If you have any companies you think the committee should ask, just let Sam or Sharon know and they’ll reach out.

Other Info for Good of Club:

Denny said he was happy to see such a big crowd at the last meeting of 2009. As he wrote his latest newsletter, he was thinking about all the things we accomplished this year, in an incredibly challenging year, and he’s so impressed. He said that as much as he loves the club and what we do, he loves the friendships we’ve created even more.

Denny also reminded everyone to thank all the military men and women who allow us to

Jeff said that he has CAP brochures available for anyone who is interested in learning more.

Denny announced that Joe Bean was the first person who suggested bringing Nadirah to town, and thanked him for making the initial connections!

Eileen called for a round of applause for Denny, who has been working like crazy to pull together the Christmas show and is way stressed out!

The President asked for a motion for the meeting to adjourn. A motion was made by Jodi Blatt to adjourn the meeting, with a second by Gary Kraft; a vote was taken and the meeting was adjourned.