Minutes: 20 November 2021

Saturday, November 20^th 2021

The business meeting was held at Signature Lanes, Elkhart Ind. The meeting started at 1 PM and the meeting was opened in due form by President K Holmes.

President K Holmes gave the opening prayer.

President K Holmes declared the business session open.

1. Roll call of Officers: Completed by Secretary Jeff Schrock.
2. Reading of Membership Applications: None
3. Reading of the minutes: Secretary J Schrock read (emailed) the minutes from the last meeting, and asked if there were any corrections or amendments. Seeing none Treasurer A O’Toole made a motion to accept the minutes as read. Vol J Schlorke seconded the motion and the motion passed.
4. Treasurers Report: A O’Toole made the Treasurer’s report. Currently, FS has (redacted) in the Credit Union and (redacted) in Pay Pal. H/R Dir J Schrock made a motion to accept the report, subject to audit. E. Dir S Holmes seconded the motion, and the motion passed.
5. Bills: A O’Toole reported that there were no bills since our last meeting. H/R Dir J Schrock made a motion to accept the report. Vol F Schlorke seconded the motion, and the motion passed.

Unfinished Business: 1) President K Holmes brought up the fundraiser/benefit Dinner, scheduled for Saturday, June 4^th 2022. During a lengthy discussion, it was decided that E. Dir S Holmes and Secretary J Schrock would get together (via emails) and revise the old to-do-listing. Among other topics, High Gravity would be asked to play again this year. For the light dinner music, Sam Brown would be asked. For MC Scott would be asked again as well as Guest Speaker Jim Bontrager. 2) The FS Drink would be Margarita’s; Secretary J Schrock would supply the machine. 3) President K Holmes reported that he had been trying to contact Federated Media, with little success. He is going to focus on radio, rather than TV spots. 4) Advertising was also brought up; the BoD would again be posting on their personal Facebook pages as well as some group pages that they have administrative rights to. Anyone associated w/FSO (specifically volunteers) were asked to share the advertising on their pages too. 5) Flyers being handed out was a hot-button topic also. A lengthy discussion ensued and it was decided that President K Holmes would again put them together. They would be mostly 5” x 7”; however, probably a dozen or so would be 8” x 10” for larger window displays. President K Holmes and E. Dir S Holmes are going to make up a complete listing of places where the flyers would be dropped off, but some of those are listed below.

Goshen and Elkhart VFW’s; Goshen, Elkhart, Bristol, Middlebury & Millersburg American Legion’s; Steve’s Gym; Lauren’s Gym; area bicycle shops; Goshen & St Joe Co VA’s; Libraries; Chambers of Commerce; area Police & Fire Departments. Stops would be assigned to various Board of Director members (and volunteers). President K Holmes would put a QR code on the flyer(s) and they would be sent out along with the donation letters which will be mailed as the date gets closer. 6) Hacienda will be approached to see if we can get them (Goshen and Elkhart) to give us donation or give-back night. Amazon was also discussed as a possible source of income – donations can be given through them when placing an order. 7) President K Holmes brought up the Martial Arts Program, has anybody come up with a new name for the program? One option was “Veteran Centered Sensei”. President K Holmes said he hoped to be released to go back to teaching come January. His doctor has to sign-off on him after his shoulder surgery, and it is hoped the class can restart then. 8) Treasurer A O’Toole brought up the bike program and said he hoped it could start up in March 2022. Starting it would most likely be a bi-weekly program, but hoped it would turn into a weekly thing. The possibility of giving away a new bike at the fundraiser in June was brought up. It would need to be “trail-rated” and Adam said that he might have a source for one. A website for scratch and dent from Amazon, where the bikes are sold for very little where they have a scratch and can’t be sold on Amazon. A possible name for the program could be “Freedom System Mountain Bike Assn.” Adam even has a logo (which was shown around the Bod). The program would be open to all vets and their families, but we would want a waiver to release us from any potential problems. Adam said we would discuss finances for the program in the January meeting. President K Holmes brought up Dave Mickelson, he wants to be a part of the program and participate in it. E. Dir S Holmes made this as a motion. H/R Dir J Schrock seconded the motion, and the motion passed. 9) E. Dir S Holmes brought up the Cardio Drumming program. The location is still pending, but wherever it is; we would need storage space. The instructor(s) would most likely need to get certified; however, it would not be mandatory. E. Dir S Holmes is going to shop around for prices for the balls, stands and drum sticks. Pending item for January meeting. 10) President K Holmes brought up the Get Wet for a Vet program. He is on the Board of Directors there, and there is an upcoming meeting. There, a dinner will be scheduled where FSO will have a check donated to us. He, cannot accept the check on behalf of FSO (as previously mentioned in other FSO meeting minutes), so another Board member will need to be there for the dinner to accept the check. Once that date is finalized, President K Holmes will notify the rest of the BoD and all who can attend will. Most likely it will be in January, mid-week, at the South Bend Elks. 11) E. Dir S Holmes brought up the bottle cap program. Just checking in on how many (pounds) everybody has, and asked the new volunteers Fred & Jenn to please keep them for the FSO bench at the Elkhart Co Fairgrounds. The program was explained to them, and Secretary J Schrock was asked to send an email to them with the details for the program as well as the FSO recall and email rosters.

New Business: No Report(s)

Good of the Order: No Report(s)

Next Meeting: The next meeting would be: 18 Dec, 5 PM, at Heinies for our annual Christmas Dinner. The January 2022 meeting was scheduled for Saturday, 8 January, at 3 PM, at the Goshen VFW. Afterwards, there would be another/continuing part-A at the Holmes household to celebrate Kenny’s birthday…

President K Holmes asked if there was any further business. Seeing none, H/R Dir J Schrock made a motion to adjourn the meeting and Vol Fred Schlorke seconded the motion. The motion passed.

President K Holmes gave the closing prayer and the meeting was adjourned.

J Schrock

Secretary