The next board meeting will be on May 11, 2000.  The meeting will be held at Maurer's Dive Shop in Carrolltown at 7:30 P.M.

Treasurer's Report: Income: $1,329.00, Expenses: $266.29, Current Balance: $3642.00.

Please remember that tickets for our annual fundraiser are due at the May meeting.  The prize will be $100 for each of five days based on the PA daily lottery number during Memorial Day week.  Please try to sell all of your tickets, and turn in your monies no later than the May meeting.

New member releases have been prepared and need to be signed by all club members as soon as possible.  These releases need to be signed only one time, and are not the same as the quarry releases that we sign every year.  These are liability releases for the club, releasing the officers, board members, and club members from any personal liability regarding club activities.  An attorney has reviewed the form.  New members will sign the release with membership applications, but we need all current members to complete a new release to be kept in our membership files.  New releases are available from Diane Turcovsky or Donna Bender at any club meeting, or at Maurer's Dive Shop.  Please remember to take care of this.

The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission is holding an amateur photography contest from January 1st to December 1st 2000.  Winning entries and honorable mentions will appear in a feature article in Pennsylvania Angler & Boater Magazine.  Categories include reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates, and any suitable underwater photos that you have may be worth sending.  Contest rules and entry forms can be found in Pennsylvania Angler & Boater Magazine, on the agency's web site at www.fish.state.pa.us, or by mailing a self-addressed stamped envelope to PA Fish & Boat Commission, Attn: PFBC Photo Contest, P.O. Box 67000, Harrisburg, PA  17106-7000.

Sand mining off the New Jersey coast is apparently causing damage to many of the region's shipwrecks.  These wrecks provide habitat for marine life, recreational opportunities for sport divers and sport fishermen, and a means of livelihood for commercial fishermen.  The New Jersey Council of Diving Clubs is voicing their concerns about this issue.  More information is available on their web site at www.ScubaNJ.org.

The Peter Hughes organization owns 7 liveaboard dive boats throughout the world, and is currently running a special for 1st time divers aboard their boats.  Anyone booking their first trip with the organization is entitled to a $500 discount from the normal price.  More information is available on the Peter Hughes web site at www.peterhughes.com.

Four club members competed with members from the Saint Francis Dive Club at the Annual Underwater Olympics on March 19th.  We're pleased to report a first-place finish by the Laurel Divers team!  Congratulations to Dan Kelly, John Augustine, Donna Bender, and Paul Brawley for their remarkable show of endurance against the youngsters.

About 12 members attended the racquetball / wallyball party at the Ebensburg Health Club on March 25th.  The competition was fierce, but fun and food was reported by all.

Eight club members attended the April Fool's Dive at Mount Storm on April 1st.  Temperatures were reported as 60 degrees on the surface, and 53 degrees on the bottom, with visibility of 10 - 15 feet.  Fish feeding was very much appreciated by the local bass and catfish.

D & R Divers Annual Treasure Hunt will be held on Saturday May 20th at Elk State Park in Wilcox, PA.  Registration will be from 9:00 to 11:00 A.M.  Cost for the dive is $25 for registration on or before April 15th, or $30 after.  Early registration includes a free T-shirt.  This is a charity dive to benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and the Laurel Divers will be making a $100 donation again this year.  Last year's event raised over $12,000 for the charity.  Donna Bender will be coordinating the event for our club, and requests that all members wishing to attend take care of their own registration.  More information is available from D & R Divers at 814-265-1227 or at drdivers@penn.com.  Donna also has registration forms.  You can call her at 472-9796, or e-mail her at Donna@Bender.net.

We will be making a trip to Lake Erie on June 17th and June 18th, and diving with Captain Mark Musante.  Saturday's wrecks will be the Boland (130') and the SK Martin (60'). Sunday's itinerary will be the Indiana (95') and the SK Martin (60').  Information about the SK Martin can be found in the April 1999 Laurel Divers Newsletter available on our web site.  Cost for the dive is $55, and a $25 deposit is needed to reserve your spot.  We are limited to 6 divers per day.  At present, 3 spots are still available for Saturday, and Sunday is full.  For more information, you can call me (Denny) at 472-5776, or e-mail me at Mosskeetoe@aol.com.

The trip to Morehead City, NC is now booked for July 29th and 30th.  We will be diving for two days aboard the Diver Down, and will likely visit the wreck of the U-352 (see the February newsletter). Sharks are generally present in the area, and we should have an excellent chance of seeing some. Cost for the diving is $70 per day, and the trip is limited to 18 divers.  A deposit of $140 is needed to reserve your spot.  Payment is due no later than the May meeting--we will be opening the trip to non-club members after the meeting if the boat is not full.  Rooms are available for $67.50 per night with up to 4-person occupancy.  Call Jim Smith or Sandy Verdavoir at 696-1938, or e-mail Jim at JCSDMD@aol.com, for further details.

Our annual Treasure Dive will be held on Sunday July 16th.  Since this is the 25th anniversary of the club, we would like to make this event the biggest and best treasure dive to date.  We will be having a pig roast in addition to the traditional hamburgers and hotdogs.  A proposal has been made to invite former club members, the Nittany Divers, and the Saint Francis Dive Club.  The cost for Laurel Diver members would remain at $15, and as always, all club members may bring a guest free of charge.  Cost for non-members would be $25, and $5 additional for each non-diving guest.  We will vote on this proposal at the May meeting.  Mark Hooper is interested in putting together poor man's band for Saturday and Sunday entertainment--if you have even moderate abilities with a musical instrument, please bring it along and join in the fun.

We will be holding a trip to the Thousand Islands on August 24th - 27th.  We will be staying at 3 small cottages, and will have 2 days of charter boat wreck diving.  There are also shore dives available, several on readily accessible wrecks.  Cost for the trip is approximately $220 for lodging and diving, and a $100 deposit is necessary to reserve your spot.  The trip is limited to 18 divers, and is nearly full at present.  More information about the region and diving can be found in the October 1999 and November 1999 Laurel Divers newsletters available on our web site.  Call Sandy Beecher at 472-5776, or e-mail her at Beechball@aol.com for further details.

At the June 1999 general meeting, a vote was taken to begin  incorporation.  Since that time, several things were learned that is  raising doubts if we should incorporate.  Some of these were  mentioned at the meeting.  A discussion is planned for the next  meeting, along with a new vote.

A congratulation to Sue Morra who was elected to inaugural roster of the Women Diver's Hall of Fame!  Sue received the honor at Beneath the Sea's annual Diver of the Year Awards Banquet in New Jersey.

Congratulations to Donna Bender whose photo of a reef shark in Australia's Coral Sea was chosen as 1 of 10 of finalists in Aquashot's 1999 Photo Contest.  You can see Donna's photo at www.ikelite.com.

David Lee also had some recognition for his underwater photos.  The photo Factory at the Giant Eagle Plaza in Altoona has enlarged 4 of his photos from Dominica for display in their shop.  Altoona Hospital's magazine "Feeling Great" also recently recognized David with a physician profile.  Never one to forget his friends, David proudly mentioned his membership in the Laurel Divers in the article.

A big welcome to the Laurel Diver's newest members: David Grimm, Jerry Lamb and Marty Novak.  Welcome aboard!