MINUTES OF THE 2007 BUSINESS MEETING
The annual business meeting of the USS Robert L. Wilson (DD/DDE 847) Association was conducted during the reunion held at the Riviera Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, NV on September 22, 2007.
Acting President Clayton Coleman called the meeting to order at 0900.
The colors having been posted, the assembled members recited the Pledge of Allegiance.
The Chaplain gave the invocation.
Acting President Coleman directed the Secretary/Treasurer to read the minutes of the 2006 meeting, which was held in Waukegan, IL. The Secretary/Treasurer read the minutes of the 2006 meeting. Robert Smith made a motion to accept the minutes as read; the motion was seconded by Mike Lovell and passed unanimously.
Acting President Coleman directed the Secretary/Treasurer to make the Treasurer's Report. Secretary/Treasurer Esposito reported that the Association was financially sound and that as of August 17, 2007 the balance in the Association bank account was $5,386.45. He noted that this would change as a result of expenses incurred and monies collected during the reunion and the bank balance as of 1 January 2008 will be presented to the members at the 2008 reunion meeting to be held in Honolulu. HI. The Secretary/Treasurer noted that the Association had 170 members who are current with their dues and 40 members who are in arrears. He also noted that he had stopped correspondence with 127 members who have never paid dues to the Association nor attended reunions or corresponded with the Association. This was done to reduce the expense of sending these shipmates three letters each year Mike Lovell made a motion to accept the Treasurer’s report as read; this motion was seconded by Richard prior and carried unanimously.
Acting President Coleman directed the Secretary/Treasurer to call the roll of current officers:
President Don Karaus Absent
1st Vice President Clayton Coleman Present
2nd Vice President Marty O’Brien Present
3rd Vice President Robert Orndorff Present
Master-at-Arms James Brock Absent
1st Asst Master-at-Arms Dave Stromberg Present
2nd Asst Master-at-Arms Jack Scully Present
Secretary/Treasurer Frank Esposito Present
1st Asst Secretary/Treasurer Bob Mason Present
2nd Asst Secretary/Treasurer John Banahan Present
Chaplain Dean Thomas Present
1st Asst Chaplain Clayton Coleman Present
2nd Asst Chaplain Jerry Wells Absent
Historian: Roger Novak Present
It was noted that James Brock the Master-at-Arms and Dave Stromberg the 1st Asst Master-at-Arms by missing this meeting had missed two meeting in a row and in accordance with the by-laws were removed from office.
Acting President Coleman directed the Secretary/Treasurer to call the roll of Past Presidents:
Co-Chairman 1982 Ryland Garris Present
Leon Pacquette Deceased
President 1983 Hansel Hester Absent
President 1985 Cecil Hendrick Deceased
President 1986 Mike DeFrank Deceased
President 1987 Ryland Garris Present
President 1988 Angelo Domico Deceased
President 1989 Joe Ryan Absent
President 1990 Earl Stubbs Deceased
President 1991 Dwight Friend Absent
President 1992 Robert Rudy Deceased
President 1993 Larry Eggert Deceased
President 1994 Ray Espin Absent
President 1995 Stanley Johnson Absent
President 1996 Richard Utyro Present
President 1997 Dorney Wilber Deceased
President 1998 Willard Meeks Deceased
President 1999 Bernard Cadden Absent
President 2000 Bob Bollinger Deceased
President 2001 Jim Hamond Absent
President 2002 Bob Arndt Deceased
President 2003 Stengel Watkins Absent
President 2004 Roger Novak Present
President 2005 Jack Scully Present
President 2006 Don Karaus Absent
Acting President Coleman directed the Secretary/Treasurer to report on correspondence received since the last meeting. The Secretary/Treasurer reported that since the last meeting he had received the following:
An e-mail from the Retired Enlisted Association asking that members be made aware of their web site: www.trea.org that provides valuable information including a listing for ship's reunions being held or that have been held.
A note from Past President Bernard Cadden sending regrets that he could not attend the meeting noting that his wife had recently passed but that he wanted to send his regards to all shipmates and their wives attending this year's reunion.
A note from Michael W. Lominich notifying the Association of the death of his father James B. Lominich and sending a $25.00 donation to the Association. He also wished, "God's Blessings" to all the men and women that have and are serving our country.
An e-mail from Janet regarding the passing of her father Daniel Scholl and requesting that if anyone had any pictures of her father to please send them to her.
Acing President Coleman asked first time attendees to stand and be recognized, the following first time attendees were
recognized:
Andy Kubishen
Gerold Ricks
Anthony Wachter
Old Business:
John Banahan reported that after looking into all aspects of whether the Association needed to have insurance liability coverage during the reunions he concluded that the insurance was much too expensive and was not needed. In coming to this conclusion he based his opinion on what other organizations were doing and on the exorbitant cost of the insurance. Additionally, he noted that he had asked Frank Esposito if he could check with Navy Legal authorities as to the Association's liability. Frank had done this and reported that the Navy Lawyer he talked to had said that while anyone could sue anyone at any time, it was unlikely that the Association would be held liable. The lawyer did however, recommend that each member sign a waiver releasing the Association from any further liability. Secretary/Treasurer Esposito had prepared a draft waiver form, which had been passed out to the members in attendance for their review. A discussion of the merits of the waiver ensued. Dean Thomas made a motion that the waiver be adopted and used at all future reunions beginning with the 2008 reunion in Honolulu. The motion was seconded by Mike Lovell and Phil Dilloway and passed unanimously.
Clayton Coleman made a presentation regarding whether or not the Association should pursue becoming either a charitable organization or a non-profit organization. Clayton Coleman laid out all of the pros and cons of each option and the issue was thoroughly discussed. Mike Lovell made a motion to have the Association pursue becoming a non-profit veteran's organization. The motion was seconded by Anthony Wachter and was approved unanimously. Clayton Coleman agreed to be the point man for this endeavor and would file the necessary forms for the Association.
Jack Scully reported on his on-going efforts to determine whether it was feasible and in the best interest of the Association to have a combined reunion with other ships and or organizations/associations. He reported that he had had very little response from numerous inquiries with other ship's organizations. It was his conclusion that that, at present, there was not any real interest or benefit to be gained in having a combined reunion with other units. A motion was made by Ryland Garris that the Robert L. Wilson Association drop efforts into combining reunions with other ship's organizations. The motion was seconded by Marty O'Brien and was passed unanimously. Jack Scully noted that he would unofficially continue to contact other organizations to determine what they were doing in this regard and if at some time in the future it appeared there was any interest in this area he would reintroduce it to the Association. This initiative was approved by the membership.
Secretary/Treasurer Esposito noted that at last year's meeting a motion had been made, seconded and passed to amend the by-laws to allow the selection of reunion sites two years in advance vice the one year required by the present by-laws. The motion had sat for 30 days and now was ready for a vote for final approval. Discussion and questions ensued. The vote to so amend the by-laws was unanimously approved.
John Banahan noted that he had not received an after action report from the person we sponsored for the U.S. Naval Academy and U.S. Coast Guard Academy summer programs. Contact with the Naval Academy had been, as yet, mostly unproductive. The Coast Guard Academy had been responsive but was unable to secure a report from the recipient. The Coast Guard Academy reported that this failure would be entered into the individual's file and would probably result in the person not being accepted for entrance into the Academy should he or she apply. The issue of whether or not to continue funding for these projects would be addressed under new business.
Secretary/Treasurer Esposito acknowledged some of the deficiencies in the hotel site having mainly to do with the operation and stocking of the hospitality room. He apologized to the members and wanted it noted that the responsibility laid exclusively with him, as he was the one who had made the arrangements and he had done so because it was the best deal he could get after numerous proposals had been reviewed for the Las Vegas site. He also asked everyone to reserve judgment until the reunion concluded.
Marty O'Brien thanked Secretary/Treasurer Esposito for his efforts on behalf of the Association.
New Business:
There was a protracted discussion on the absence of Association President Don Karaus and the issues associated with his absence including a scheduled reunion of sorts to be held in Lancaster, PA subsequent to the official reunion. Secretary/Treasurer Esposito wanted it noted that this second meeting of the Association was not an officially sponsored meeting of the Association in case any liability issues resulted from such meeting. In the end it was the general consensus of the membership that this issue was causing nothing but grief within the Association and should not be the subject of any action on the part of the Association. This matter is a closed issue.
John Banahan again noted that he had tried to contact the U.S. Naval Academy in regards to obtaining a report from the person we sponsored for the summer program at the Academy regarding their experience without much success. He reiterated that the U.S. Coast Guard Academy had been responsive, albeit unable to obtain the report. He recommended that he be authorized to continue to try to contact Naval Academy officials in an effort to get some reasonable response. He further recommended that the Association continue to provide support to the U.S. Coast Guard Academy's summer program but that if he was unable to obtain cooperation from the U.S. Naval Academy that support for their program be dropped. A motion was made by Dean Thomas to continue to support the U.S. Coast Guard Academy summer program with a donation of $350.00 to sponsor a person to attend; and that if John Banahan can not get a response from Naval Academy officials that support for the Naval Academy program be dropped. The motion was seconded by Mike Lovell and passed unanimously.
Phil Dilloway opened the discussion as to increasing Association dues from the present $5.00 level. The Secretary/Treasurer noted that while the Association was presently solvent, costs, such as stamps, envelopes, printing and sponsorships continue to rise and that a dues increase was certainly in order. However, he pointed out that most of the membership was paid-up on their dues and a large percentage was paid up until 2012. The issue was
Thoroughly discussed and Mike Lovell made a motion that dues be increased to $20.00 immediately. This resulted in another lively discussion at the end of which there was no second for the motion and the motion was rejected. Richard Utyro then made a motion that dues be increased to $10.00 effective in the year 2012. This motion was seconded and was passed unanimously. Marty O"Brien made a motion that we establish a lifetime membership at a cost of $100.00. This motion was seconded by Roger Novak and was approved by the membership. As a note, Anthony Wachter became the first lifetime member of the Association when he paid the $100.00 lifetime membership fee. Congratulations to Anthony.
With the installation of new slate of officers for the year 2008, the positions of Master-at-Arms, 1st Assistant Master-at-Arms, 2nd Assistant Master-at-Arms and 2nd Assistant Secretary Treasures became open. Accordingly the President opened the floor to nominations to fill these positions. The following individuals were nominated and elected by acclimation:
Master-at-Arms Roger Novak
1st Asst Master-at-Arms Frank Esposito
2nd Asst Master-at-Arms Robert Smith
2nd Asst Secretary/Treasurer Richard Utyro
Thus, the slate of officers for the U.S. Robert L. Wilson Association for 2008 is as follows:
President Clayton Coleman
1st Vice President Marty OBrien
2nd Vice President Robert Orndorff
3rd Vice President Jack Scully
Master-at-Arms Roger Novak
1st Asst Master-at-Arms Frank Esposito
2nd Asst Master-at-Arms Robert Smith
Secretary/Treasurer Bob Mason
1st Asst Secretary/Treasurer John Banahan
2nd Asst Secretary/Treasurer Richard Utyro
Chaplain Dean Thomas
1st Asst Chaplain To be appointed by the
President
2nd Asst Chaplain To be appointed by the
President
The President recognized and thanked shipmate Gerry Ricks for his outstanding contributions to the Association in initiating and running our web site and also thanked him and his son-in-law for the outstanding presentation of model ships that the Association was treated to during the reunion. Bravo Zulu.
The President directed the Master-at-Arms to invite the wives in to the meeting to take part in the process of selecting the site for the 2009 reunion. Wives could participate but not vote. The president opened the floor for nominations for sites for the 2009 reunion, noting that the runners-up for the 2008 site were to be considered and they were:
Dover, DE
Myrtle Beach, SC
Charleston, SC
Minneapolis, MN
In addition Boston, MA was nominated. A discussion of the merits of each place was conducted and the issue was put to a vote of the membership present. On the first ballot Charleston, SC received more than 50%of the vote of those present and was then chosen by acclimation as the site of the 2009 USS Robert L. Wilson Association reunion.
There being no other business matters to be discussed, Richard Utyro made a motion to adjourn the meeting, the motion was seconded by Ryland Garris and was approved unanimously.
Acting President Coleman adjourned the meeting
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