ATTENDANCE: Chairman Spierling reported that 15 Sirs have called that they would not be attending the Thursday luncheon and estimates that 20 more Sirs would call before the Wednesday deadline.

Following the November BEC meeting, Big Sir Feaster appointed Sir Dave Holton to Chair a special committee with Sirs Jim Johnson, Lee Piercey and Dan Mohn as members. The committee’s purpose was to study the protocol for and produce a draft of a Branch Regulation (BR) to bring consistency into the Branch’s attendance and membership guidelines, working within SIR rules. Sir Dave Holton presented the Special Committee’s Draft BR to the BEC for review and comment at the December meeting. Following extensive discussions the BEC recommended changes to the draft. Big Sir Feaster requested that the committee consider the BEC’s recommendations and comments and return a final BR to the BEC for approval at its January 2, 2007 meeting. Sir Dave Holton incorporated the recommended changes into the draft BR and emailed the revised draft to Big Sir Roy Sweeney to be considered at the January BEC. Big Sir Sweeney presented the draft BR to the BEC for consideration. Extensive discussion ensued regarding the Sirs who leave the area for the south annually during the winter as well as those Sirs who have a planned trip that takes them out of the area for an extended period of time. Since there are no SIR Branches in Southern California, the Sirs that travel south for the winter do not have any opportunity to attend another Branch for make-up meetings. Even if they call for excused absences for their time away, many have a problem meeting the requirement of Rule 110b, attending one-half of the meetings during the previous 12-month period. It was the consensus of the BEC that these Sirs be given special consideration for planned extensive absences, provided that prior to the Sir leaving the area, the Attendance Chairman is notified in writing, by the Sir, that he would be out of the area for an extended period of time. Big Sir Sweeney thanked Sir Holton for his good work in chairing the committee and taking on this controversial subject. Big Sir Sweeney requested Attendance Chairman Lee Piercey and Secretary Dan Mohn to work this Special Consideration into the draft BR. Sirs Piercey and Mohn will also draft a sample letter that could be used by a Sir who will be out of the area for an extended period of time, and return the BR package to the BEC in February for final discussion and approval.

Past Big Sir Feaster, based on an attendance report emailed to Branch Officers by Chairman Herb Spierling last month, reported that Sir Austin Clarke is in violation of both Rule 100a, missed three consecutive meetings without calling and Rule 100b, and did not attend half of the luncheon meetings during the previous twelve consecutive months. Additionally, Sir Clarke has not been responsive to the written notification of violation sent in July. Further, his attendance has worsened since then. For these reasons, Sir Feaster recommends that Sir Clarke be terminated. Approved (Feaster/Sweeney).

MEMBERSHIP: Membership Chairman Lee Piercey moved the following actions: (1) Accept Sir Bert Kronnick’s resignation due to Sir Kronnick’s extensive travel schedule; and (2) approve the following new members pending memberships becoming available: Stan Codiga and Dan Schroeder. Approved (Piercey/Smith). The membership stands at 150 active, 6 inactive and 7 on hold.

LUNCHEON: Sir Henry Beltan has met with Twain Harte Golf Club’s Chef team and agreed that either the vegetable or the salad, chef’s choice, would be eliminated from the luncheon menu in an effort to hold the current price of $12 for the lunch. Following discussion, the BEC agreed that Sir Beltan would inform the Twain Harte Golf Club to set up for 110 lunches, and set up a projection table for the program speaker. Sir Beltran will assure that the "speaker parking" sign will be in place. Assistant Luncheon Chairman Jim McCracken reported that most Sirs pay for their luncheon with a $20 bill, requiring $8 in change. Unknown to the BEC, Sir Don Wooldridge was using his own money to make the change. It is the consensus of the BEC that personal funds should not be co-mingled with SIR funds and that Sir McCracken be issued $400 to make change at the luncheons with the understanding that these funds shall be held in trust by Sir McCracken and returned, in full, to the Branch upon Sir McCracken’s departure. Approved (Sweeney/Feaster).

PROGRAM: Little Sir Don Denhard reported that Thursday’s program will be a discussion covering all aspects of Hospice of the Sierra, presented by Ms. Pat Cervelli and Ms. Lynn Jerome.

COMPUTER USERS GROUP: There will be no meeting in January. Sir Rich Froisness has asked the CUG for items that could be covered in the meetings for 2007. Several Sirs have replied with ideas.

WEB PAGE: Little Sir Don Denhard reported that the Web Page is being revised for 2007 and requested that a new web master be found, as Little Sir Denhard has been Web Master for a number of years.

DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY GROUP: Sir Ray Pfoutz moved approval for a meeting on January 25, 2:00 – 4:00 PM at his house, 16383 Ridgewood Drive, Sonora. This will be an "Oval Table" discussion on the art of digital photography.

Approved (Pfoutz/Beltran)

GOLF GROUP: The first event is in April.