Several new member applications were reviewed and approved.  A list of the new members is in the "Around The Club" section of this newsletter.

A letter was received and reviewed from Dr. Charles Howsare who just relocated his medical practice to Altoona.  Dr. Howsare is a certified Navy Diver, a Navy trained Diving Medical Officer, and a DAN Hyberbaric Medicine Provider.  His interest is in forming a professional relationship with the Laurel Divers.  A response letter was sent to him asking if he would like to attend and / or speak at one of our meetings, and if he would like to join our club.

Treasurer's Report: Due to the shifting of the office and paperwork to the new Treasurer, no Treasurer's report was available.

Newly promoted President Brad McVicker presided at the meeting.  Brad is taking over the office since elected President Donna Bender will be traveling with a new job, and although she will still be able to make a number of club functions, she will no longer be able to carry out her duties as President.  According to club by-laws, Vice-President Brad McVicker will take over the duties of President.

A new Vice President was elected from the membership to fill the vacancy left by Brad's appointment to President.  Nominations for this office were taken at the July meeting, and the vote took place at the August meeting.  Our newly elected Vice President is Joe Gordon.

Board Member nominations were taken to fill the interim spot left by Joe Gordon as he takes over the duties of Vice President (doesn't this get complicated?).  The newly elected Board Member will serve until the regular Board Member election in December.  Nominations were taken at the meeting with Lance Marks and Suzie Feighner being nominated.  The vote will take place at the September meeting.

A letter from Donna Bender was read at the meeting thanking all of the Laurel Divers for their encouragement and support during the past years when she served as President and Treasurer.  Donna expressed her best wishes for the new officers and her friends from the club, and reminded everyone that she will still be attending as many Laurel Diver functions as she is able to work into her new schedule.

Last call for dues!  Please remember that club dues are payable in June every year, and must be paid before you can participate in any club activities.  Please see Treasurer Nelda Donley to take care of your dues for this year.  Anyone whose dues are not paid by the September meeting will be dropped from the membership and mailing list.

Advanced Diving Courses are being offered this summer by SSI Instructor Harvey Montgomery.  Dates and courses are as follows:
 August 11th and 12th: Deep Diving
 August 19th:   Night Diving, Limited Visibility Diving, Navigation
 September 9th:  Stress & Rescue
 October 28th:  Stress & Rescue
Please call or see Rose Maurer at Maurer's Dive Shop (344-6641) for sign-up.  Cost of each course is $60 + cost for the manual.  Lunch is provided at no additional charge, and special student equipment rental rates are in effect for anyone needing to rent equipment for the course.

Red Cross certified instructor Dan Turcovsky will be offering a CPR and First-Aid Course.  The 6-hour course has a cost of $30.  The date and time will be set after discussion with all interested participants.  If you are interested in attending the course, please call Dan at 695-6878, or e-mail him at Daniel.Turcovsky@faa.gov.

Laurel Diver Hats are available for $10.  The hats are white with a Laurel Divers insignia.  Please see or call Diane Turcovsky (695-6878) if you are interested in ordering a hat.

Sandy Beecher and Ron Peterson performed an audit of the club Treasury on August 7th.  An audit is done once each year with the change to the new officers.  Former Treasurer Barb Wyland and new Treasurer Nelda Donley were also present to assist with the audit.  A report will be presented at the  August Board Meeting and the September General Meeting.  Thanks to all of the audit volunteers for their work and assistance.

A special thank you goes out to the crew who performed clean-up and grass cutting at the quarry prior to the Treasure Dive.  Thanks are due to Ron Peterson, Donna Bender, Barb Wyland, Dan Turcovsky, Nelda Donley, Patrick Donley, and Bert Sharbaugh.

Bob Maurer reports that two integrated weight belt pockets and a dive slate were lost at the south end of the quarry recently.  If you find them please return them to Maurer's Dive Shop.  No mention of a reward, but Bob is generally willing to negotiate.

Bob Allen reported on a week spent in the Cayman Islands.  Bob reported fantastic diving conditions, and listed Stingray City as his favorite dive of the week.

Dan Turcovsky reported on the Annual Treasure Dive.  Forty-seven club members signed up for the event, and forty-five divers entered the water.  Saturday's campfire social also had a great turnout with about 25 members present.  The food was never-ending and as good as always.  Thanks to all who attended and helped to make the event go smoothly.  The big prize winners were Denise Horne who won a Resource Computer, and John Augustine who won a pony bottle.

The club will be making a day trip to Mount Storm, WV to dive on Saturday August 11th.  Mount Storm Lake is a cooling lake for a coal-fired power plant.  Even in the dead of winter, water temperatures seldom fall below 50 degrees.  August water temperatures are generally in the mid-80's from top to bottom!  The lake is several miles long, reaches up to 120-feet in depth, and generally averages about 15-foot of visibility.  Although there's not a lot of underwater attractions, the real fun comes from diving without a wetsuit.  Bathing suits are the norm for summer diving.  The trip is about 3 hours each direction, and we will be leaving and returning on the same day.  All diving will be from shore.  We will meet at Denny Beecher's house in Ebensburg at 7:45 A.M. for the trip down.  An alternate crew will be meeting and leaving from Dan Turcovsky's house in Hollidaysburg.  Please call or e-mail Denny Beecher (472-5776 or mosskeetoe@aol.com) , or Dan Turcovsky (695-6878 or daniel.turcovsky@faa.gov) if you are interested in attending.

The Niagara River Drift Dive will take place from August 23rd to 26th.  The trip itinerary will be departure after work Thursday night, a two-tank wreck charter on Lake Erie Friday, dinner at Niagara Falls Saturday night, and drift diving (unlimited) from shore Saturday and Sunday.  All reservations and deposits for the trip have been turned in, however there may still be availability for any late additions.  Please contact Denny Beecher (contact info with Mount Storm Trip above) if interested.

A Dive-In at Clover Creek Quarry will be held on Sunday August 26th beginning at 2:00 P.M.  Another Dive-In is scheduled for Saturday October 13th at 2:00 P.M.  These are generally held soon after new-student checkouts, and are intended as an opportunity for newly certified students to mix with and meet members of the Laurel Divers.  Anyone unfamiliar with how to reach the quarry can meet at the Donut Shop in Hollidaysburg.  The group will leave this location promptly at 1:00.  Bring a picnic lunch and lawn chairs, tour the quarry, feed the fish, and meet new friends.  There will be plenty of dive buddies available if you come without one.  Maurer's Dive Shop will be offering a special $25 price on equipment rentals for the day.  Contact Bob or Rose Maurer (344-6641) to reserve equipment.

The Nova Scotia Trip will be held from September 1st to 9th.  Details are available in past newsletters, or from Sylvia MacKinnon (237-3261 or sylviam@psu.edu).

Our Annual Raystown Picnic will be on Sunday September 16th at the Oak Pavilion at Seven Points Marina.  The club will be providing hamburgers and hotdogs -- everyone attending is asked to bring a covered dish.  The club will be renting a pontoon boat to shuttle divers to and from the dive sites.  The pontoon boat will leave the pavilion area promptly at 8:00, and then again at 1:00.  Anyone with an available boat to help shuttle divers is needed and appreciated if you would like to attend.

A week-end camping trip and picnic is planned to be held at Bud Collier's hunting camp near Port Matilda, PA on September 29th and 30th.  This is planned as a family outing, and everyone is asked to sign-up in advance and bring a covered dish.  Additional details, times and directions will be available at the next meeting and in the next newsletter.

The Annual Halloween Dive and Chili Cook-off will be held at Clover Creek Quarry on Saturday October 27th.  A Mini-Treasure Dive with one prize of a $100 gift certificate to Maurer's Dive Shop will begin at 1:00.  Cost to enter the optional Treasure Dive is $5.00 and can be paid on the day of the dive.  The chili cook-off will begin at 5:00.  The name's of the past year's chili masters can be seen on a plaque at Maurer's Dive Shop.  Additional details to follow at upcoming meetings.

A trip to Cozumel, Mexico will be held from December 2nd to 9th.  Cost of the trip is $705 per person (double occupancy) for 7 nights lodging, 5 days of 2-tank boat diving, unlimited shore diving, and all meals.  Cost does not include transportation to Cozumel.  Call Dee Montgomery (944-8521) for further details.

The Annual Christmas Party will be held at Penn Gables Restaurant on Saturday December 1st.  Additional details to follow at upcoming meetings and in upcoming newsletters.

A Florida Springs Trip is being planned for January 18th - 23rd.  Dive sites will include several springs and caverns, as well as diving with the manatee at Crystal River.  Additional details and a sign-up sheet will be at the September meeting.

Other trips in the works:
 Moorehead City 2002
 Nekton Pilot 2003

Welcome back to the following former members: David Vascovich, Wayne Pappert, and Mary Lou Pappert.

Denise Horne joins the Century Club with dive number 100 on 6-29-01.  Denise reserved this special event for the warm waters at Morrison Spring, FL.  Congratulations Denise!

I would like to take this time to wish Donna the best of luck in the new aspect of her job that she will be taking on.  I also want to thank her for all of the time and effort she has put into the Laurel Dive Club.  As many know, Donna will be leaving in September.  Her presence around the club will truly be missed.  Though she may be stopping in from time to time, it is not without sadness that we say good-bye to a good friend.  Please keep Donna in your prayers that all works out for her.  Good luck Donna!

Thanks Denny Beecher!  Denny has been acting as the club's temporary Secretary.  Lois has had a setback, and Denny has offered his time in filling in for Lois.  We wish Lois well and hope to see her in September.

Donna Quacker (Donald's younger sister), the squeaky mallet that Donna used to call the meetings to order, has bit the dust.  Isn't it ironic that it broke at Donna's last meeting as President?  Thanks to Dan and Diane Turcovsky, the club now has an honest-to-gosh, call-the-meeting-to-order, gavel.  The Turcovsky's presented it to me at the August meeting.  This gavel will be passed on from President to President.  Thanks Dan and Diane!

And now, about those interns . . .