McLemore Detachment #324 Marine Corps League Meeting Agenda 11 July, 2017 There were 27 members and associate members in attendance. Commandant: Sergeant at Arms, declare this meeting open for the transaction of official business. Sergeant at Arms: By authority of the Commandant of the McLemore Detachment, Marine Corps League, I declare this meeting open for the transaction of official business. Commandant: Introduction of Guests and /or Distinguished Attendees The Commandant introduced Charles Ynman. Charles has completed his tour as Department of Texas Commandant and is preparing to assume the office of National Senior Vice Commandant for the Southern District. Commandant: Any applications for membership? Shelly Easter introduced herself. Commandant: Officer Reports. Sr. Vice Commandant s Report (Chuck Dingus) The Activity Report for June is ready for issue. The report has the Detachment earning 192 points for the period. It was pointed out that our membership has exceeded 50 which puts us in the category with the largest Detachments. Last year we finished first in the under 50 member group. This year, although competing against Detachments with significantly more members, we were second in the number of activity points earned. Jr. Vice Commandant s Report (Jose Sanabria) No Report Adjutant s Report (John Pyle) Commandant - The Meeting Minutes of the 13 June meeting were issued electronically. A comment was received and revised minutes were issued. A motion was made, seconded and approved to accept the Minutes as revised. Paymaster s Report (Ken Knobelock) As of 30 June, the savings account balance was $10,548.28. The checking account balance was $44,395.30 reflecting the deposit of $25,236.47 from the golf tournament. The investment at BBVA Compass Bank was $42,933.04. The Detachment s initial investment was $40,000 on 14 August 2014. This money is the Detachment s emergency fund. Judge Advocate s Report (Pete Post) Nothing to report. Chaplain s Report (Bob North) Bob North reported on the Deceased Members Plaque. Webmaster s Report (Marty Sonnier) The Commandant advised that we would discuss the Web Page later in the meeting. Quartermaster s Report Larry Webber (Absent)
Commandant: Call for Old Business Funeral Honors: Pete Post reviewed our efforts to honor deceased Marines that are detailed below. He advised that we needed additional participants and pointed that at the most recent event there were only 4 of us present. This makes it difficult to conduct the ceremony with the appropriate decorum. Members present have to perform both the Fallen Marine Ceremony and the rifle salute. As a result they have to move quickly from the ceremony to a safe location to fire the rifles. Pete also advised that we have received notice today of a funeral tomorrow. He asked for a show of hands of members that could participate. Steve Oeding, John Pyle, Bob Young and Daniel Espinoza in addition to Pete signed up. Fallen Marine Ceremony Thursday 22June: The Detachment performed a Fallen Marine Ceremony for PFC Carl Merriman at the Houston National Ceremony. PFC Merriman was a veteran of Iwo Jima and had attended all three of our Iwo Jima Commemorations. The Marines from 1/23 provided the rifle detail, taps and folding of the flag. The following members were present: Steve Oeding, Jose Sanabria, Pete Post, Larry Webber, Calvin Poche, Scott Moseley and John Pyle. Funeral Honors Monday 26 June: The Detachment performed a Fallen Marine Ceremony and Rifle Detail for L/Cpl Johnny Boggs at the Dignity Westheimer Cemetery. Marines from 1/23 folded the Flag and played Taps. Pete Post, Scott Moseley and Bob Young performed the Fallen Marine Ceremony and the members of the rifle detail were Steve Oeding, Jose Sanabria and John Pyle. Funeral Honors Friday 7 July: The Detachment joined active duty Marines from 1/23 to provide funeral honors for Pvt. Ruth Smith, a WWII woman Marine. Pete Post and John Pyle supported by Steve Oeding with the music performed the "Fallen Marine Ceremony". Herb Myers guarded the rifles. Steve and John joined Herb for the three volley salute. The Marines from 1/23 folded the flag and played taps. Department of Texas Convention 22-25 June: The Commandant provided a report on the Convention. It was well attended and worthwhile. Charles Ynman provided additional information including the presence of the area Congressman. The Senior Vice Commandant (Chuck Dingas) provided information on the Chapel of the Four Chaplains and the Department of Texas Cam Posey Scholarship. He requested that the Detachment make contributions of $300 to each one. During the discussion, John Pyle pointed out that the normal process was to present non budgeted expenditures to the Officers Meeting for review prior to presenting them for approval at the meeting. He advised that he did not take issue with the donations themselves. Separate motions were made, seconded and approved to donate $300 to each. Raffle Ticket Sales: As of 27 June, including sales from the June Gun Show, State Convention and directly by members, the status is: Total receipts are $4623.40. Total cost $2696.55. Profit $1926.85 Sold: 149 tickets on the rifle 154 on the shotgun 303 total tickets 497 tickets available for sale.
We have two major opportunities for additional sales Gun Shows at the Pasadena Convention Center on 15/16 July and 12/13 August. Gun Show Saturday 15 July and Sunday 16 July: The Detachment will be at the Premier Gun Show Pasadena Convention Center on Saturday from 9am to 4pm. On Sunday, the hours are 10am to 3pm. We plan on having two shifts each day. Seven members committed to working on Saturday and four members on Sunday. The Commandant asked the members that had not committed to please consider helping even for an hour or two. Future Gun Shows: Aug 12 & 13 Pasadena Convention Center Oct 14 & 15 - Pasadena Convention Center Nov 4 & 5 - Pasadena Convention Center Dec 2 & 3 - Pasadena Convention Center The Detachment will be at the August Gun Show. This is our last chance to sell raffle tickets as the drawing will be held at about 2pm Sunday 13 August. We will need to decide whether we will participate in the shows in the fall. Silkies Hike Saturday 23 September: The Detachment will participate and have the jeep present for the Silkies Hike planned for 23 September. Details will be provided when we get closer to the event. Plan for Secure Storage for the Detachments Property: The Detachment has rented storage space at Kingwood Oversized Storage. We have a large space that can hold a trailer, the jeep and all our other gear. Steve Oeding, John Pyle and Jose Sanabria loaded most of our gear from the shipping container and it was transported to the new location on 19 June. The container remains at the Stafford VFW; the major item remaining inside is the filling cabinet with the Detachment records. Now that we have secure storage, the Detachment needs to purchase a trailer to replace the one stolen. If you have any suggestions please let one of the officers know so that we can present a plan at the next meeting. Insurance for the Jeep: The Detachment had insurance thru 9/26/2016 with J.C. Taylor Automobile Agency, Inc. Unfortunately the renewal notice was sent to an incorrect address so the policy was not renewed. The Adjutant (John Pyle) contacted the agency and asked if we could renew. They advised that we would need to execute a new policy we have the packet to establish a new policy. Our expired coverage included liability and $10,000 comprehensive; the cost was $75 per annum. John Pyle advised that we will increase the comprehensive coverage to $20,000 and the new cost will be $166 per annum. Jose Sanabria will submit the policy packet and was furnished a Detachment check to cover the cost. Combined Arms: Because of the expected value of our associating with Combined Arms the Commandant has initiated the process and will provide additional information as things progress. Prior to joining, the membership will be consulted. Chuck Dingas advised that he had seen a new report where Senator Cruz visited the Combined Arms Offices. If we were present as a member of Combined Arms, we would have received some positive publicity. Commandant: Call for New Business Scrap Book for the Americanism Award: The Commandant will provide information on the Americanism Award and solicited a volunteer to prepare the scrap book. Marsha Ynman volunteered to prepare the book and a budget of $200 was approved. This is for the book and does not cover the costs of members providing her information.
Article for Department Newsletter: McLemore does not take advantage of placing articles into the Department Newsletter. The Commandant requested a volunteer to do this quarterly task. Daniel Espinoza volunteered. Charles Ynman pointed out the 15 July was the deadline for articles to be submitted for the next edition. Due to the short amount of time available, the Adjutant advised that he would submit an article on the 4 th Marine Division Memorial Ceremony and if he can obtain pictures on the Okinawa event. Oath of Membership: We have signed up a number of new members and they have not been sworn in. A Swearing In Ceremony was conducted for the new members: Michael Chance, Shelly Easter Bob Fash, Carl Krueger and John (Mack) McKinney. McLemore Web Page: For a number of years, we have been struggling with maintaining an up to date web page. None of our members has the required capability and the efforts of several members have not been able to do more than input the Detachment schedule. Even this is currently out of date. At the State Convention, the Commandant identified a person that will update the web page for $200 and maintain it for $30 per month. We will obtain a sample of his work before we go ahead. There was discussion of how we should move forward as new member Mike Chance has web experience and is willing to help. The Commandant will discuss the plan with Mike and recommend how to proceed. Detachment Committees Requiring Member Participation: The Detachment has established the following committees to assist the Officers in executing the work of the Detachment. Committee Chairmen will update the Detachment as required. a. Jeep Management Jose Sanabria, Ruben Amaya - b. Color Guard/Rifle Detail Scott Moseley - c. Membership including both current and new members Steve Oeding - d. Social Events Bob North, Linda North Bob North advised that he had made arrangements with the Skeeters to furnish a Color Guard on Saturday 29 July. In turn, the Skeeters will provide tickets to members and family that wish to attend. There is a possibility that we could be assigned a suite; this depends on availability that night. Bob will issue an e-mail to sign up as he needs to advise the Skeeters of the ticket count. e. Fallen Marine Pete Post, Dave Tucker f. Business and Finance John Pyle, Ken Knobelock The Financial Report for June has been issued. John Pyle pointed out that although we have significant funds on hand that we also have significant commitments. So far this year, we have spent $18, 890.64 and have an additional $9,277.91 budgeted. If we budget a similar amount in 2018, the total funds required for the remainder of this year and next are about $36,000. Commandant: Any other New Business? Commandant: Any other announcements, for the good of the Corps? Scott Moseley pointed out that there had been two serious accidents that resulted in a number of Marines being killed. It was agreed to have the Chaplain conduct a prayer service for the Marines involved and their families after the meeting is closed. Commandant: Sergeant at Arms, declare this meeting of the McLemore Detachment, Marine Corps League officially closed. Sergeant at Arms: By authority of the Commandant of the McLemore Detachment, Marine Corps League, I declare this meeting officially closed until 8 August when it will be reopened for the transaction of official business. Commandant: (one rap) Meeting adjourned.