HAPPY SPRING!
President Randy Roash opened our last meeting at the firehouse on Jan. 17th. He introduced and welcomed our newest board members and trustees, Vice President Bud Lyon, Secretary Rosemarie Whelan, and our new trustees Bob Adam and Ed Dimarcantonio.
President Report- Randy discussed our conference call with CPA Donald Weiss which took place at the Executive Board meeting that preceded our regular meeting. Mr. Weiss was able to answer our many questions regarding the 501C3 tax status for the club. Approval from the membership was given to pursue this action. If you would like to be present for the final motion and vote for this change please plan on attending the April 18th meeting at the firehouse at 4pm.
Randy brought up the subject of having an environmental officer, a person who would monitor environmental issues which could pertain to fishing and beach/ ocean concerns that the club may want to get involved in. He suggested we discuss this further in the coming months.
Treasury Report- Treasurer Dick Shetler gave the club financial report which also included a yearly summary of the club accounts. Everything is good and we won’t be needing a government bailout this year.
Secretary Report- Secretary Rosemarie Whelan read the minutes for the December meeting and she also read a thank you note from the Church of Resurrection Food Pantry which thanked the club for our food donations in December. We would like to help out again next November and December.
Vice-President Report- Our new Vice-president Bud Lyon stated that he is looking forward to working with everyone and exploring new ideas that would enhance the club.
Administrative Assistant Herb Hollinger Jr. talked about the latest information on Flounder regulations and how it may affect this summer’s Back Bay fishing. Bucktail Willie has been keeping us in the loop by attending meetings and letting us know the options that are being discussed. He will let us know when the Opening Day Flounder date is set along with size and limits.
Personnel Officer Debbe Starr discussed the plans for the Winter Social, which by this date took place on Feb. 21st at the Deauville Inn and was a very enjoyable evening with good food and music. We would like to thank Debbe for the great job she does with this event every year. The number of people attending was down this year but it was a lot of fun nonetheless. We would also like to thank the staff at the Deauville for taking good care of us.
Randy and the board members in attendance (Dick Shetler, Deb Starr, Bud Lyon, Herb Hollinger Jr., and Robin Henry) and our new Webmaster Ken Weaver presented Strathmere’s Fire Chief Bruce Riordan with a check for $1000 which is part of our annual donation to the fire department. We also presented Rich Hollinger and Ernie Phillips with plaques showing the club’s appreciation for their dedication and work done during their time on the Executive Board as Quartermaster and Secretary. Thanks guys.
Randy and Bud announced the winners of the Annual Striper Tournament for 2008
BEACH BOAT
1st Bud Lyon 44” 1st Ernie Phillips 46”
2nd Kurt Henry 41” 2nd Herb Hollinger Jr. 39”
3rd Randy Roash 39” 3rd BuckTail Willie 36”
Congratulations to all. This annual tournament begins again on March 1st and runs until December 31st.
BOATING SAFTY COURSE- The SFEC will be sponsoring the US Coast Guard Auxiliary Boating Safety Course again this year on April 25th at the Firehouse from 8:30am to 5pm. The cost is $50.00 which covers all expenses such as text book and State Registration. Lunch will be provided. The Federal Government has mandated that all members of the boating public take a sanctioned boating safety class. This mandate is regulated at the State level. In the State of New Jersey you must be 16 years of age in order to operate a power boat. The NJ State Certification is required of all power boat operators, regardless of age. Rental boats of less than 10 hp are exempt from this requirement. All persons operating a jet ski or other Personal Water Craft (PWC) are required to take this class. There are no longer any age exemptions from this requirement. There are no “Test Out” options available. For further information, or to reserve a seat in this class please contact Bob Babezki at 609-384-6225 or send him an e-mail at rbabezki@3bnetworks.com
Sick & Welfare- Our heartfelt sympathy goes out to club member Rad Massey and his family. Rad’s sister Amy passed away in February. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers.
Get well wishes to out to club member Donna Turner who underwent hand surgery recently. We hope that she will be making gestures at us with both hands real soon.
SFEC SENDING CONGRATULATIONS- Sending our best wishes to club members Chelsie & Rob Coffey who welcomed a new addition to their family. Taylor Antoinette arrived on January 9th and joins big brother Joey and big sister Casey. Thanks for providing us with 3 future club members.
Our congratulations go out to Mark Constantine who is an outstanding hockey player and was named THE NEW JERSEY DEVILS HIGH SCHOOL PLAYER OF THE MONTH for Dec. 2008. He was also named player of the month for the GORDAN CONFERENCE, Prep School Division. Mark is the son of Carmen & Lynette Constantine. Mark participated in our Kids Day on the Board last summer and stepped in and did a great job as Corresponding Secretary. Way to go Mark! We couldn’t be more proud.
SFEC WEBSITE- Some of you may have noticed that our club website has been down and under new construction lately. Well it is now up and running with a new look. It is in its infancy stages right now, but will continue to evolve. Our new webmaster is Ken Weaver and the construction of our site is being done by Leslie Hollinger Vernon. Our thanks to both of you. The web address remains the same at www.strathmerefishing.org Please log on and check it out. If there are items of interest that you think should be on the club website please let us know.
Club Calendar- Included with the newsletter is a revised calendar with some corrections. Please look it over.
CLUB DUES- This is the last reminder for those of you that haven’t paid your dues for 2009. We know that economically things are not real great, but $25 is not much when you think of what you get for that. Please send your dues in; otherwise your name will be removed from the membership rolls by April 1st. Mail checks to – SFEC PO Box 77 Strathmere, NJ 08248. Thank you!
NEW AROUND STRATHMERE- For those of you who have cruised down the main drag lately, you may have notice that the Schiavo Library is just about finished and is due to open in the spring. The beautiful architecture of this library/museum fits in perfectly with the quaint atmosphere of Strathmere. If you would like to learn more about Dr. Rita Schiavo and her generous bequest to Strathmere you can visit the library website at strathmerelibrary.org
NEXT MEETING- Our next meeting and Special Program will be held on March 14th at 4pm at the firehouse. Invited guest include Tony Bogan from the SSFFF , RFA Representative Jim Donifrio, State Sen. Van Drew, Albano & Milam and Congressman Frank Lobiondo. We will be having discussions on the Salt Water fishing license/ salt water registry and Flounder data and regulations. Club Chef Ed Andress will be doing the cooking. Please join us for what promises to be an interesting and informative meeting.
UP-COMING EVENTS
Mar. 1 Annual Striper Tournament Begins
Mar. 14 Executive Board Meeting Firehouse 2:30pm
Mar. 14 Special Program/Club Meeting Firehouse 4pm
Mar. 20 SPRING BEGINS
Apr. 18 Club Meeting Firehouse 4pm
Apr. 25 Boat Safety Course Firehouse 8:30am to 5:00pm