PLAIN Monthly Meeting Minutes
January 8, 2009
The meeting was called to order at 7:40 p.m. by Gwyneth Butera.
Attendees: Gwyneth Butera, President, Mary Stuckey, Treasurer; Linda Orgain, Secretary; Matt Pulsts, Faye Ridling, Co-chair, Neighborhood Watch Committee; and Karen Bernheimer, Cindy Brown, Paula Clancy, Matt Pulsts, Nicky Rosenbluth, and James Schwarzlose.
Review of the November Meeting Minutes. The minutes for the November 6, 2008, meeting were submitted and accepted.
Treasurer’s Report. Mary Stuckey provided the Treasury Report for November-December 2008. She reported that there were no deposits made in December, and that she has new checks to deposit. Without these checks posted, the balance in the main PLAIN account is $159.70.
To date, work on PLAIN’s 501(c)3 status has not been completed. She is still trying to find out what the questioned charges from the bank were for, however, she believes we had extra charges because we had more activity for that month than is allowed for that type of account.
Old Business:
Membership Status. PLAIN currently has 68 paid members/families who have joined or renewed for 2008. Thirty-one people did not renew in 2008.
Christmas Activities Report. Nicky says Breakfast with Santa went well. Mike Stuckey went to Santa School, bought his own costume, grew his beard, and bleached his hair to represent an authentic Santa. Nicky will work on an article about these activities for PLAIN Talk. There was a good turnout with a lot of children; all received candy canes. Each child had an opportunity to tell Santa what he wanted. The process of taking the children’s photos with Santa was the smoothest in years. People registered their children, who were called up in order of registration. The day after the photos were taken, the CD-Roms were delivered, and Nicky and Mary Stuckey received back-ups of all of the photos.
A New Year’s Party, which was “kid friendly,” also was held the evening of December 31. Matt Pulsts reported it was well attended. The karaoke activity was a lot of fun.
Caring and Sharing Baskets. Faye reported that as a result of the generous donations of the community PLAIN was able to provide food baskets to 5 families for Christmas. Among these, there were gifts for one child, who received a bike helmet, basketball, rcmote control car, and some clothing. Her helpers this year were Matt and Meghan Pulsts. Most families got two case boxes of food supplies.
Nicky mentioned that Angel Food Ministries also supplies food baskets to be picked up at St. Timothy’s. The cost of each basket is $30, and there is sufficient food in the baskets for 1-2 weeks. However, an organization must commit to providing these on a regular, as compared with on an as needed basis.
City Calendar. The Calendar of Pine Lake organization activities has been updated for 2009, and put into google calendars. Following review and feedback, the date of the city-wide yard sale has been moved to a week earlier so it doesn’t coincide with Easter. Nicky suggested including PRISM dates in the Pine Lake calendar, so we can become better informed of their activities. Faye said that the Neighborhood Watch group is thinking about sponsoring another luau this year (in August) for the National Night Out.
PLAIN Signs. Nicky will be making the new signs, which will be in neon colors. Lalah will laminate the poster board. James S. has collected a range of sign stands. The new signs will be taped onto the stands. Once laminated, they will be delivered to James, who will put them up in several spots before each meeting/event. We also need new Pancake Breakfast signs since the current one is deteriorating. It was decided that we will make 3 PLAIN meeting signs to be put on Spruce, Clubhouse and Poplar, and Spring streets.. We also will make 3 signs to promote the Pancake Breakfast and 3 to promote PLAIN Talk. The newsletter is available in stands at City Hall, the beach house, and at the western wetlands bulletin board. James thinks that the pancake breakfast signs should include information on receiving $1 off the price if you bring your own plates and utensils.
PLAIN Talk. Problems concerning the printing have been worked out. Nicky had been getting called by Office Depot when Ella put in the printing order because this is a part of her account. Ella will add special instructions for them to call her, and she will let Nicky know when she has put in the order.
New Business:
Chili Cook-off. The Chili Cook-off will be held at 5 p.m. on Saturday, February 21. Gwyneth will do an article for the February PLAIN Talk. Set up will be by Pam Heiges and other volunteers; we need onions, cheese, cornbread and sour cream. Faye R. will make broccoli bread. Faye will purchase drinks and cups; Nicky has leftover bowls. People must bring muffin tins for tasting or small tasting cups. Gwyneth will send e-mail for volunteers to bring their best chili and soup to the Cook-off so we know approximately how many people will be participating. The cost is free for people who bring chili or soup, and $5 for people who do not. Linda will purchase prizes (about $50 for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place for both categories).
Easter Egg Hunt. Nicky usually coordinates this, but she may be traveling that weekend. The date will be Saturday, April 11.
Events for Pine Lake Seniors. There was a general discussion of activities targeted to Pine Lake seniors (the definition of seniors is people age 65 years and older). Nicky said that there are a lot of activities for senior provided by city of Decatur Parks and Recreation and also by the YMCA, but participating seniors must provide their own transportation. In the past, we have had shopping trips and gone out to dinner, to the Fox theatre, and to a movie. Faye said that the last time she and Nita Towns set up a phone tree to try to recruit seniors for an activity, but only Nita participated. She recommended that Nita is the best person to organize activities for seniors, and she said she will call Nita to discuss. Many seniors also go to Pine Lake Baptist Church – they have a Triple L club once a month. This may be one venue to get our seniors together. Many of our seniors have also expressed that they are interested in having handyman services at an affordable rate to provide yard work and other outside help (helping hands); this would be a good volunteer project. Karen B. thinks that Decatur has a program like that. At this point, we would need to know which seniors in Pine Lake are interested in such group activities.
The next Pine Lake Leadership meeting is next Thursday, January 15. Gwyneth will ask Lalah to represent PLAIN. If Lalah is unable to attend, James S. volunteered to represent PLAIN.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:20 p.m.
The next meeting will be held on Thursday, February 5, at 7:30 p.m. at the Clubhouse.