CHINA CAMP/INDIAN VALLEY October 2016 Big Sir’s Message Executive Committee Big Sir: John Noren Little Sir: John Noren Jim Waltz Secretary: John Zeiter During the September 13th BEC meeting, your representatives unani- Asst. Eckart Sellinger mously voted to enforce the State rules that pertain to member attend- Treasurer: ance. Three successive unexcused absences from our luncheon meetings or six Ron Gurich Asst. Bill Risch such absences over the course of a year call for the termination of membership. Directors: We now estimate that there may be thirty or more "members" who never Jack Friesen attend luncheons, events, or activities. The State assesses our treasury quarterly Les Church Joe Sauerland based on the number of members we claim. We can no longer justify this ex- Ed Sabrack penditure of your dues for these members in name only. Ray Crawford Kent Dutrieux We will be contacting these members soon and evaluating each case individual- ly, being fair and compassionate to all. It is my hope to hand off to the 2017 BEC What’s Inside an accurate rendering of our active membership and a more efficient accounting of your dues. Pg. Anniversaries 7 John Noren Activities 5 Big SIR Area 6 Activities 8 Attendance Report 4 What is Rule 100 of the SIR Manual and why do we care BEC Minutes 4 Birthdays 7 One of the only requirements of being a SIR is to get together once a month and Luncheon News 2 share our experiences with each other. Rule 100 states that if you miss three (3) Member News 3 consecutive regular luncheon meetings without having been excused by con- Menu 2 tacting the designated Branch Attendance person prior to the meeting date or did Speaker 7 not attend one-half of the regular luncheon meetings within the previous twelve Special Events 6 consecutive month period (NOTE: Excused meetings cannot be included to Treasurer Report 4 achieve the minimum attendance) you are no longer a member. Why do we care? This Branch has to pay a fee for all Active Members to the State Headquarters. Out of a 113 Members we are paying for, 22 Members have missed 6 or more Luncheons within the last Calendar Year, and 11 have missed 5. Are these Mem- bers really following the ideals of SIR? Page 1 September’s Bar-B-Que Lunch with Langley Branch 68 October 2016 Newsletter Luncheon Kent Dutrieux Editor The September Luncheon was held as a coed affair. We had 31 guests with 2 speakers and a very special representative of the Guide Dogs of the Blind present. This was a very enjoyable lunch where we were all able to spend time with loved ones and friends alike. It seemed If you can’t make it to the Oct 11th Luncheon like all of our guests had a great time and could- Don’t forget to contact : n’t get enough of the subject matter of our Gene Gallagher (415) 472-7865 To report your absence. speaker. Along with our loved ones present we had a guest from Branch 7, John Campusano Lunch Menu for October: who was invited by Rich LeFrancois. It’s always fun to be in a large gathering with good food, Chicken Toscana with Pasta lively topics and good friends. Hats off to Ed Page 2 Sabrack for putting all of the fun together. Low: Fish and Chips Brian Johnson’s Travels Branch 68 October 2016 Newsletter Member News We’ve once again crossed the Mediterranean and are back in Europe. Their first stay on the continent was in the French city of Aix-en-Provence where the guys spent a couple of days getting back into the swing of Europe- an living. The main street in Aix was especially crowed with tourist but using the training they have acquired on their travels they wandered away from this area and enjoyed the sights, sounds and feel of the city. Rather than using the train (which didn’t go to most of the places they wanted to see) they decided on renting a car and headed for the Mediterranean coast and spent a week in a lovely small apartment on the beach near Mont- pellier. While in Montpellier with the weather slightly on the cooler side and the crowds smaller they enjoyed shop- ping at the markets, cooking their own meals, strolling the beaches and just relaxing with no agenda and no obligations. When doing extensive travel this is the kind of stay that brings everything back into perspective and reenergizes you. Their finial stop on the Mediterranean coast was the ancient city Narbonne once a major seaport but after it’s river silted up 500 years ago had stopped growing and fell into decline. In the heart of the city stands its partial- ly built cathedral which was started in 1272 but was never finished due to material and cost restraints. Nar- bonne is also the birthplace of Saint Sebastian, a Roman soldier and early Christian martyr. The guys meet back up with Dave and David and spend eight days together in the historic Dordogne Region, a quiet, agriculturally rich area with great food, well-preserved medieval towns and villages, and castles and cha- teaus. They were also joined by Brian’s son Mark. Their base in the region was the town of LeBugue. Life was easy in LeBugue. Most days they would pick a nearby town to explore. It typically would coincide with their day on a rotating schedule of local open air markets. This would allow them to find fresh produce around which to build meals. They also spent time wandering around LeBugue itself. It is a really charming old town. Their house was uphill, a pleasant short walk from the center of the village. Two notable stops were the 12th century castle in the town of Beynac-et-Cazenac and a quaint little amusement park LeBournat, a recreation of an Early- Twentieth Century rural French village. After traveling across the southern portion of France they ended up at the Atlantic coastal village of L’Herbe where they spent a week in an apartment loaned to them by friends who live in San Francisco. L’Herbe is locat- ed on Cap Ferret which is about an hour west of Bordeaux, situated on a thin strip of land separating a bay, the Bassin d’Arcachon, from the Atlantic Ocean. We’re almost hesitant to describe Cap Ferret. In contrast to the crowded, busy, highly-developed resorts along the Mediterranean coast of France, this little jewel on the Atlan- tic coast is quiet, pristine and unspoiled. It is understated and atmospheric, a lot like Martha’s Vineyard off- shore of Cape Cod. One sunny day, the three of them headed to an ocean beach on the southwest cor- ner of the cape to watch the waves. There they discovered large concrete blocks half buried in the surf and sand. They speculated among themselves about their origins, they discovered they were bunkers that were part of Hitler’s defenses during World War 2 against allied forces landing on the coast of France. The quiet waterfront apartment in L’Herbe was the perfect nest for the three of them to enjoy some low-key, quality family time. They had wonderful meals together, mostly home-cooked, including plenty of fresh oysters. Page 3 Next month we will be heading into Paris, until then checkout their BLOG for more details and a lot of great pictures. BEC Minutes Recap Treasurers Report August, 2016 August 2016 Big SIR John Noren opened the meeting on time @ Beginning Balance $3,146.53 10:00AM. Deposits $4,020.00 Secretary Report: July minutes were emailed to BEC members. Additional copies were available at the meeting. Expenses $2,225.00 Minutes were up dated to reflect Larry Lonn was accepted Outstanding Checks $0.00 as new member. Motion Made, Seconded, & Approved Branch 68 October Cleared Previous Outstanding $0.00 (MMSA) to accept prior meeting minutes with correction. Checks 2016 Newsletter The Little Sir position is still open. Ending Balance $4,941.53 Treasurer Report: Several copies of Treasurer’s report Business were available at the meeting. Ron mentioned a few MEMBERSHIP ATTENDANCE REPORT checks remain outstanding, one from Christmas party, which one new check has been written. The Treasurer’s September 2016 John Zeiter report was accepted by (MMSA). The Bocce Garden Party Total Members 123 Secretary may have some refunds due and to be resolved with Event Chairman. Total Active Members 113 Big Sir John Noren indicated all job descriptions have Total Non-Active Members 10 Ron Gurich been completed and turned over to Kent Dutrieux for his record files as Newsletter Editor. John Zeiter will present Gains Or Losses This Month -2 Treasurer the 2017 officers and directors at lunch meeting for the Luncheon Stats membership vote. Little Sir Position is open. Active Members Attending Ed Sabrack indicated he had prepared an email notice 58 that was distributed to the membership requesting RSVP Not Attending 55 Ray Crawford for actual count of members, wives or guests who are plan- Guests & Speakers 33 ning to attend the BBQ lunch, so an actual count can be Membership Chairman % Of Active Members Attending given for the manager’s lunch preparation. Ed will be tak- %51.3 ing signups and payments at lunch. Branch 68 Honorary Ray Crawford passed around new membership applica- tion for John Evans, A motion made, seconded and ap- Lifetime Members proved (MMSA) to accept John Evans as new member. Three new members, Larry Lonn, John Evans and Malcom Don Gregory Barker will be installed at today’s lunch meeting.