Meeting Date: March 31, 2008 Place: Papa’s New Roost

Big Sir Don Denhard opened the meeting at 8:00 AM. Secretary Dan Mohn reported that a quorum was present (see attached attendance report). The minutes of the March 3 BEC meeting were approved, including the addendum (Feaster/Nissen).

TREASURER’S REPORT:

Treasurer Rich Brandau reported a beginning balance of $4828.71 and an ending balance of $4800.45 for the month of March. The major expenditures were: Printing and supplies- $86.61; postage - $61.50; and guest expenses - $12.00, for a total of $160.11. The Treasurer’s Report was approved (Spierling/Beltran).

ATTENDANCE:

Attendance Chairman Herb Spierling reported that 15 Sirs had called that they would not be attending Thursday’s luncheon, plus 6 that were previously excused for a total of 21, to date. Assistant Attendance Chairman Bill Bamford reported that, to date, 6 guests will be attending. Sir Bamford distributed a Member Applicant List showing that many applicants for membership are regular attendees at the monthly luncheon.

MEMBERSHIP:

Membership Chairman Ralph Legg requested approval to add Jack Aydelott to the waiting list for membership. Approved (Desrosiers/Feaster). The membership now stands at 150 active, 4 inactive and 20 on hold. Sir Legg noted that at the current rate of attrition, a person approved for membership today will have to wait more than two years for a place to open.

STANDING COMMITTEE REPORTS:

LUNCHEON: Sir Henry Beltran reported that all arrangements were in place for our Thursday meeting. He is planning on 130 set ups plus the head table.

PROGRAM: Little Sir Ed Nissen reported that our speaker will be Jerry Tannhauser, President, Tuolumne County Fire Safe Council. Next month’s program will be presented by Master Gardener Becky Cripps.

COMPUTER USER’S GROUP: Attendees reported that the March meeting discussing the attributes of the Mac System was very well received. No meeting is scheduled for April.

WEB PAGE: Big Sir Denhard reported that our Web Page provider has changed ownership and that the new owner has given Web Master Dick Chimenti some start-up problems, but the Web is now up and running again.

DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY GROUP: Sir Ray Pfoutz reported that the meeting previously approved for April will be at 2:00 pm on April 17^th at his house in Ridgewood.

GOLF: Nothing to report.

BULLETIN: Sir Stu Heller stated that the deadline for our next bulleting is April 10, 2008.

PUBLICITY: Sir Gil Wesson reported that the meeting announcement was posted in the Sonora Union Democrat but not in the Sierra Mountain Times although he had sent it in a timely manner.

TRAVEL: Sir Earl Nelson reported that the bus trip to Reno in March was cancelled due to lack of interest. The Rivers of Europe trip is still on the schedule.

RV: No Report.

THEATER: SIR Rich Brandau reported that he has secured 90 tickets for the next play at the Fallon House Theater in Columbia and that 72 tickets have been sold. Dinner following the play will be at the City Hotel in Columbia and the capacity is 65 people. Sir Dick Feaster will present a proposal at the May BEC, when Group Chairman Ralph Bushnell is present, to break the Theater Group into two smaller counterparts, each attending consecutive Wednesday matinees. These smaller groups will allow participants to all have better seating, and it will be easier to find a local restaurant to accommodate us for dinner after the play.

MOVIE: SIR Ray Pfoutz requested approval for “A Movie and Dinner” including spouses/friends, during April at the Sonora Regal Entertainment Group Theatre, the movie and the date to be determined. Approved (Pfoutz/Beltran).

FELLOWSHIP: N/R

HIKING: Sir Jerry Jensen reported that 17 went on the hike last month, and requested approval for a hike on April 23^rd to the Red Hills area to check out the wild flowers, carpooling from the Junction Shopping Center. Approved (Nissen/Desrosiers). A hike at Calaveras Big Trees State Park was discussed as an alternative; however, there is still snow on the trail in the North Grove.

OLD BUSINESS:

None

NEW BUSINESS:

The Branch is very concerned about the number of applicants on our membership waiting list, and the length of time an applicant must wait for a membership opening. The Branch membership is capped at 150 members so that when a facility in the Twain Harte area becomes available for our luncheon meetings, the facility will be able to accommodate the size of our Branch. In the interim, many of the approved applicants on the Branch Membership waiting list are attending SIR Branch functions as guests. The BEC has concerns about a third party liability claim that may be filed should a guest be injured attending a SIR function, or a liability claim be filed by another party as a result of an action by a guest attending a SIR function. Big Sir Don Denhard requested approval for Secretary Dan Mohn to write a letter to SIR Inc. through the Area Governor requesting clarification of allowing guests who are on the membership waiting list to attend Branch functions, and to assure that SIR Inc. liability insurance will continue to cover Branch activity’s guest attendance. Approved (Feaster/Spierling).

The meeting was adjourned at 9:10 am.

The next BEC meeting will be at Papa’s New Roost on April 28, 2008 at 8:00 AM.

Dan Mohn

Secretary