Minutes of General Meeting
February 10, 2009


Welcome

  • All in attendance were welcomed.

    Three items were added to the agenda:
    • Review of the recent Meeting of Associations
    • Open Discussion meeting
    • Presentation by Jenny Bernard and Rob Morton

Old Business

    • Animal Health and Protection Committee

    • Lupita Meza and Ana Embury-Lewis presented their case for the creation of this committee. It will work with similar organizations along the coast (PEACE, Jaltemba Bay Animal Rescue, etc.) to promote the health of local animals thereby improving the health of the people in the community. Many people offered opinions and the committee was approved. Volunteering for this committee were Lupita Meza, Ana Embury-Lewis, Tyler Henshaw, and Marge Hummel.


    • Drainage Committee

    • David Graff and Ron Deschamps presented the case for this committee. Because the issues of water (ocean, river, lagoon, rain, drinking, gray, black, contamination, containment, etc.) are too big for our group, this committee will be the interface with the local government as well as the Community of Associations that has recently formed among the coastal organizations. This committee was approved unanimously. Volunteering were Ron Deschamps, Patrick Murphy, and Werner Rohde.


    • Treasury Report

    • Werner reported a balance of $64,860 (pesos). The recent fundraiser earned $49,648, 30% more than last year. See the fund raiser page of this website for a breakdown of the earnings


    • Delegado Report

    • The Delegado, Nestor Palomera, was not in attendance. David said he gave the (spanish) minutes of the previous meeting to Nestor. The Amigos officers' meetings are held in the delegado office and we are working to support each other's organizations. Last Friday, the delegado group organized a town litter cleanup with the secondary school. Seven Amigos members participated in the event. Plastic was separated and taken to the recycling center in San Pancho.


     

Committee Reports

  • FundRaising

    Carol Alford, the chairperson, was not in attendance so Ray Hummel read her report thanking everyone for their contributions and participation. Applause followed the report.

  • Garbage

    Ron Deschamps said the first collection site is complete and the committee is still trying to get photos taken for the website. The committee is evaluating locations for the next garbage site and will present a recommendation at the next general meeting.

  • Recycling

    Vicki Schilling, the new chairperson, reported that the committee is focusing on recyclable plastic and education this year. Their first project is the construction of nine wire bins that will be placed strategically around town. She requested and received approval for $1500 for materials. There will be a meeting to construct the bins at her house on February 18, 4:00 p.m. The committee members are organizing collection, pickup, delivery, and cleanup of recyclables.

  • Membership

    Jacque Graff reported 109 members: 27 mexican, 38 canadian, and 44 from the United States. She and Ray Hummel registered 15 new members during the Fund Raiser.

  • Signs

    Nothing to report.

  • Website

    Rob Morton asked people to contribute stories and photos to keep the website interesting and active. Spanish translations have been done by Luis Martinez and we continue to search for other translators. The committee doesn't believe there is a need for a blog on our website. (This was suggested at a previous meeting.)

  • Security

    Ron Cothren said Joe Gomez has joined the committee to help with spanish translation. Fritz Strankman was also recruited to be a committee member.

New Business

    • Meeting of Associations

    Discussion postponed to a subsequent meeting.

    • Open Discussion Meeting

    There will be a special meeting held on Tuesday, February 17, 2009 from 6:00pm to 7:30pm, at San Marcos restaurant. This meeting will not have an agenda. The purpose is to allow members to speak for five minutes about a topic of their choice. Suggestions will be noted and/or directed to the appropriate committee for consideration. Please come prepared to be succinct.

New Committees

  • Three committees were formed:
    • Central Salud/Health Clinic

      • Hazel Turney presented a summary of her work raising funds for the health clinic. Since 1999, she has organized fund raisers to improve the quality of health care in Lo de Marcos. Each year she re-inventories the equipment and reassesses the needs of the clinic. This year, she would like to purchase gauze, suture equipment, a glucometer and test strips (to test blood sugar), a washing machine, and other items that she did not list. David will work with Hazel for presentation at the open discussion meeting on February 17.


    • Senior Center

      • Mitch Schilling, Claire Parmeter, and Shannon Strankman volunteered to work on this committee.


    • Schools (Primary, Secondary, La Casa de los Ninos)

      • Dave Martinez has visited the secondary school in Lo de Marcos where teaching english is mandatory. Many of the teachers learn from books and do not pronounce english correctly. He suggested we begin our support of the schools by helping the teachers pronunciation. Dave, Ara Acosta, Jenny Bernard, Fritz Strankman, Yajaira Cazarez, and Kathleen Cook volunteered to work on this committee.


Other Announcements

  • La Casa de Los Ninos is sponsoring a golf tournament to raise funds for the creation of a library. The tournament will be held on February 27 and 28, a nine-hole scramble each day, at the Campo de Ensueno (El Monteon). Please call Werner Rohde (327-275-0305) if you'd like to participate.
  • The secondary school is hosting a Cultural Night on February 27 to raise funds for the school. Tickets are $100 and can be purchased at the school or from Maria Soto. Dinner and entertainment are included and the event begins at 6:00pm at the plaza in front of the catholic church. Maria invited all to visit the secondary school, any week day between 8:00am and 1:30pm.
  • The principal of the primary school also invited all to visit his school. He thanked Amigos for our interest and support of the community. The primary school is open from 9:00am to 1:00pm on week days.

Meeting adjourned

  • Thirty-nine people attended the meeting, including five officers of Amigos, three students, and the principal from the primary school.


    jg: secretary