Board Meeting was held at Ron & Lois house on Wednesday July 26, 2006.  Attending board members were:  John Augustine, Ron Peterson, Donna Sabol, Bert Sharbaugh, and Lori/Jim Kerr.  Guests attending were: Diane Turcovsky, Donna Bender, Lois Keegan, and Justin Kerr.  Two board members were absent.

Donna Sabol presented making a “scuba fin coaster”.

Rose sent a nice note thanking us for the flowers.

The secretary needs to send out all the recent Welcome Letters.

We will continue the Conch Blow Off at most Laurel Divers events that are outside.  The next will be at the Lake Raystown Picnic, about noon.  It will still be $1 per blow, but 50% goes to the club and 50% goes to the winner.

The boat at Lake Raystown will leave at 8:30am and then at 12:30pm, on September 10th, from the Oak Pavilion.  Each trip can hold up to 8 divers.   Each trip will be a one-tank dive.  The divers will decide where to dive.  To offset the club expense, divers will pay $10 when reserving their spot.

The Laurel Diver quarry cleanups have been scheduled in the middle of May, July, and September.  Mike Miller has offered to do additional mowing in the middle of June, August, and October.

John will round up volunteers for the missing board member spot, created when Ron Peterson started as secretary.  Possible nominations could be Joe Gordon, Jerry Lamb, and Bob Hand.

We need to get two general members (not board members) to volunteer to do the audit with Donna Sabol.  The audit will be conducted when the three parties can schedule it.

Congratulations to Shari Mullen for helping out so well, doing her first task as Vice President: she organized both the Laurel Divers Releases and the Quarry Releases, and had everyone sign the forms at the Treasure Dive.

The General Meeting was called to order at Penn Gables, Ebensburg, PA on August 3, 2006 at 7:40pm by President John Augustine.

Treasurers Report for the month of July 2006:
    Income: $2119.00    Expenses: $2113.55    Net: +$5.45
    Actual Checkbook balance: $3171.25
    Trip Accrual: $950.00
    Available Checkbook balance: $2221.25
    http://laureldivers.com/forms/TreasuresReport.pdf

Treasurers Report for the year August 2005 thru July  2006:
    Income: $12644.48  Expenses: $11794.66  Net: +$849.82
    Net without trip accrual: +$299.82
    Inventory: 14 prizes with a value of $367.55
    http://laureldivers.com/financial.htm

Membership report:  72 current members, 53 recently paid, 19 will be dropped from the list on September 1st.    One new application received, and will be reviewed at the next board meeting.

A nice thank you note was received from Rose for the flowers sent.

Joy Kelley thanks everyone “for such a warm welcome at the Treasure Dive.”

The final money for the 1000 Islands trip is now due.  Please send to Donna Sabol soon.

When Ron Peterson began the position of Secretary, he vacated the Board Member position.  Bob Hand and Barb Wyland were nominated for Board Member.  Bob declined.  Barb was appointed to fill the position until Board Member elections in December.

Gerry Lamb won the first Conch Blowoff at the Treasure Dive.

A thanks to everyone that helped with the Tent and Treasure Dive.

The new sign at the quarry is doing a good job of relaying the rules and getting donations for the toilets.

A new Sheetz MTO fundraiser will be held this fall.  John Augustine will make the arrangements to get the 200 coupons.    Everyone is welcome to buy any quantity of tickets at $4 each to help the club.
We reviewed Conch Blow Off rules:  in the future, it will be $1 per blow, and a 50/50 with the club as a fundraiser.  Also discussed:  the Conch must be original, with only one hole cut for blowing.

Following the general meeting, Lois Keegan and Diane Turcovksy did an audit of the treasurer’s records.  Their report: “August Audit 08/03/2006.  Astutely approved and adjudicated after appropriate assessment and analyzation.  Acknowledged, approved and accepted.  Audit Committee.”

Lake Raystown Picnic will be Sunday, September 10th.  The boat will depart from the Oak Pavilion at 8:30am and 12:30pm sharp.  Only eight divers per boat can be scheduled.  Please prepay $10 per diver per boat ahead of time to schedule your spot.

Joe Gordon is planning a trip to Twolick this Saturday, August 5th.

Jim Hostetler reminds us that August is the 31st Anniversary of the Laurel Divers!

Sat Aug5  Day Trip, contact Joe Gordon
Sat Aug5 9am Checkouts at the Quarry, contact Bert
Sun Aug6 9am Checkouts at the Quarry, contact Bert
Sat Aug12 9am Checkouts at the Quarry, contact Bert
Sun Aug13 9am Checkouts at the Quarry, contact Bert
Fri Aug11  Every Other Friday Night Dive
Sun Aug20  Thousand Islands Trip, 2 tank dive
Mon Aug21  Thousand Islands Trip, 3 tank dive
Fri Aug25  Every Other Friday Night Dive
Wed Aug30  7:30p Board Meeting at Ron & Lois
Sat Sept2  Labor Day Dive at the Quarry
Thu Sept7 7:30p General Meeting at Penn Gables
Fri Sept8  Every Other Friday Night Dive
Sun Sept10  Picnic at Lake Raystown
Tue Sept14  Cleanup at the Quarry, contact Ron

Door Prize: Barb Wyland won Scuba note cards.
Day Book: The previous balance was $128, and 16 signed today, making the current balance $144.  Pat Donnely name was selected; he was not present, so no money won.

Donna Sabol did a presentation to assemble “scuba fin coasters.”  If you missed it, a pattern and instructions will soon be on the web page at LaurelDivers.com

Rose made an announcement:  A React Pro computer was sent in for repair, and was just returned, with no name on it.  If you sent one in for repair, please contact Rose Maurer.

The next board meeting will be Wednesday 7:30pm, August 30, 2006 at Ron and Lois’ house.  As usual BYOS (bring your own snacks).

The next general meeting will be Thursday 7:30pm, September 7, 2006 at Penn Gables.  (Several of us usually meet for dinner before the meeting, about 6:15pm – everyone is welcome to join us.)

2006 Treasure Dive Prize List

John Augustine mesh goodie bag
Donna Bender  dive knife
Paul Brawley  ?
Nelda Carter  mesh duffle bag
Carl Colyer   did not attend
Terry Chrissey   did not attend
Tom Davis   did not attend
Joe Gordon  pelican dry box
Bob Hand  tool kit
Shannon Hoffman accessory hanger
Lois Keegan  mesh bag, backpack style
Joy Kelley  C6 green underwater light
Gerald Lamb  aqua disc
Greg Lilly  Surge underwater light
Sylvia MacKinnon  did not attend
Amy Mullen  red mesh catch bag
Jean Mullen  z-knife
Shari Mullen  small hanger and license plate
Everett Newkirk retractor
Ron Peterson  z-knife
Kim Reese  whale clock
Donna Sabol  scissors
Bert Sharbaugh safety sausage
Dan Turcovsky torpedo & license plate frame
Diane Turcovsky tool kit
Barb Wyland  Surge underwater light

You know you’re a SCUBA redneck when…
…Your snorkel is a piece of radiator hose off’n your ’57 Chevy.
…You have more than two dive buddies named Junior or Bubba.
…The buckle on your weight belt is silver with your name on it.
…Your dive bag says Hefty on the side.
…Your dive equipment has duct tape on it somewhere.
…Your dive buddy can field dress a deer.
…You take soap when you go divin’ figurin “hell, it’s been a while”
…You spent your honeymoon quarry diving.
…You always surface with at least 300 psi in your tank because you know that right rear tire is going to be flat again.