President Wendy opened the meeting at 6pm with the Pledge and Rev. Dan’s prayer.
Announcements:
President Wendy discussed with the membership whether the members wanted to have a meeting on Valentine’s Day, Feb 14th . There was broad agreement members would prefer to shower love and affection on their spouses that day so there is NO MEETING Feb 14th . Hart’s, incidentally, was OK with that.
The following week, Feb 21st , will be the Derby Thank You dinner.
Gary Dehnel announced that Interact will be selling raffle tickets for a Bob House.
Happy Dollars:
Bill Kaik for successful Derby ticket sales
Gary Dehnel for skiing
Jim McFarlin for the Meredith Veterans Memorial (MVM) award from GMP
Chuck for skiing and MVM
Bonnie Hunt for her World Cup skiing experience
Bob Kennelly for some Columbia University stuff (Sorry, I’m a Penn guy) and being able to ski
Steve Aiken for the useful Select Board meeting
Dick Gerkin for Carol being named by GMP as Volunteer of the Year
Harry for he and Libby becoming Grandparents soon!
The 50/50 winner was prospective Rotarian Janine Neggars.
Program:
Derby Update and Training – Derby Chair Mike Pelczar
Ticket sales are 12% ahead of last year at this point.
Shirts and sample merchandise will be available at the meeting on the 7th .
Mike requested volunteers to bring soups and desserts for the food tent. Please let him know if you will bring something.
The sign-up sheet was passed around. Mike was going to add spouses – those who had been previously requested- to the sign-ups after tonight’s meeting.
There will be a phone installed in the trailer for the Derby and the Rotary phone number will be forwarded to it.
Mike requested that members let him know what additional spots they will fill so he can finalize the sheet as soon as possible.
Bill Golden reported that the food is all set up, both for the food tent and for the trailer evening workers.
Wendy requested the club approve allowing a local Eagle Scout candidate to work at the Derby to help fulfill his requirement for 8 hours of service. The club approved unanimously.
Mike also noted that HS students will have a booth set up to sell food near the ramp.
The judges are committed. Don Miller, Rick Forge and Chuck Kenney. Steve Bennett, long time judge, is no longer able to help due to health issues.
Pat Kelly will be the voice of the Derby again.
Mike then asked each of the area heads to discuss their areas and any key points, some of which are listed below. There is help available from the area heads, Derby chair/co-chair, and other experts if you have any questions while you’re on duty. Just ask!
John Moulton (Inside weigh-in) – Scale is calibrated. Clean out tray if it doesn’t read zero before adding the fish. Get help to re-zero if cleaning out tray doesn’t work.
“X” on a ticket means the fish gets donated
Bonnie Ireland (Data-entry). Bill Kaik walked through the ticket input process. Review with Bill, Bruce or Bonnie when you start your shift. Most lakes are on a drop-down list this year and the rest is fairly self-explanatory. The key point is Don’t use the back arrow to change screens – it will double enter a fish or otherwise mess things up. Bill and Bruce are available to help with any technical issues.
Mike (Outside Weigh-in). One of the best duties at the Derby. Get to be the first interaction with the fishermen. Outside weigh-in length is official; weight is not. Round down, not up, on weight so there’s no disappointment caused by the fish weighing less on the official inside weigh-in. Judges review and verify fish species and double-check body of water. A picture of the fishing license and Derby ticket are OK.
Betsey (Outside Fish Board). The other best job at the Derby. Talk to people and encourage pictures of fish.
Fish runners take fish to the Board. Have the fisherman follow you off the deck to help keep the deck clear. Tell the Fish Board people what species the fish is to get them oriented quickly to the right place on the Board and then get back to the trailer as soon as possible for the next fish.
Ticket selling – if working ticket sales in the trailer get a refresher from the area lead, or Bill or Bruce on the credit card machine when you arrive. Very easy to use – click the picture of the ticket to add a ticket and the “charge” to add it to the cart. Click the ticket picture as many times as needed to get the right number of tickets. Print one receipt for the bag and another if the buyer wants one. Receipts can also be emailed or texted. Make sure the ticket buyer writes legibly and includes a phone number - critical in order to contact them if they win a drawing prize.
Heidi (licenses). If working licenses, get a refresher from Heidi when you arrive. Very straight forward system to use.
The meeting adjourned after the 4-way test at 7:23.
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