Attendance today was 19 of 26, or 73 percent.
Today was another installment in our virtual meeting series. We had 19 participants in today's meeting. Those in attendance included: Rich Amato, Rob Banes, Gordon Beach, Richard Biggers, Doug Cargo, Mike Castro, Tim Chappell, Rick Chron, Larry Craghead, Steve Dippel, George Elking, Pat Hite, Sharon Lewis, Bud McBrayer, Piper McCraw, Maltee McMahon, Neal Norton, Greg Rushin, and Richard Wells.
We started the meeting with a round-robin report of club member health and wellness. Rich Amato reported that his wife is doing well after recent surgery to repair her heel. Sharon reported that herself and her family are doing well.
Our program for the day was a market update from Neal Norton. Neal started by stating the importance of staying in the market through turbulent times. He displayed graphs that illustrated the perils of trying to time the market. To buttress his thoughts, he explained that the S & P achieved a 6.1 percent average annual return for the past 20 years. Conversely, the average investor achieved a 2.5 percent average annual return over the same period. With the current pandemic, the bulk of investors left the market on or about March 18. Neal went on to state that a 12-month recovery is likely. He also explained the "Jelly Bean" chart (a by-sector analysis of market returns over the past 20 yrs). Neal's overriding message was that "things always get better". Another prophetic statement from our favorite financial advisor was as follows: "There are a lot of companies making the world a better place, these are the companies you want to invest in." Neal responded to several questions from staff members.
Announcements
1) Shout out to Neal, George, and Richard Biggers for their volunteer labor helping Lovepacs with their recent food drive.
2) The hours for Minnie's Food Pantry are Wednesday thru Saturday, 8:30 AM to 11:30 AM. Call ahead if you are planning a visit or drop-off, as the hours are subject to change with short notice.
3) Our virtual meeting platform will continue thru the Month of May. Settle-in, get your best virtual background loaded, and laugh at the humor that we enjoy (often at each other's expense). Please wear appropriate lower-attire to avoid becoming an internet celebrity, in a bad way.
4) For virtual meetings, here is a video on how to get into and participate in a ZOOM.US virtual meeting...
It is easy and fun and we get to laugh at each other stumbling through new technology.
