Post date: Jan 21, 2009 2:45:7 PM
IBM Tampa Bay Retiree Club
Steering Council Meeting
January 13, 2009 Meeting Minutes
Presiding: Jim Hughes
Attendees: Hari Arora, Donna Fryza, Susan Gryzbowski, Dianne Hartt,
Judy Manowitz, Mary Ann McCoy, Norm Prenzel, Harry Schaffhauser
Officers and Membership Report - Hari Arora
Hari opened the meeting and advised that Jim Hughes would assume the office of President for 2009. Hari agreed to be Vice President as no one else volunteered. Norm will continue as Treasurer and Donna Fryza will take the office of Secretary. Jim then chaired the meeting.
After discussing areas which need coordinating and back-up, there were enough volunteers and it was agreed to maintain the current number of council members and not seek additional members at this time. It was mentioned that the ITBRC was started in 2002.
Treasurer's Report - Norm Prenzel
Norm reported the current account balance to be $2,120.15. He then issued a check to Dianne for the June 5 golf outing deposit in the amount of $500.00 which will be recuperated. Balance is consistent with the past two years.
Retiree Database and Membership Registration Report - Hari for Dick Soucy
Hari mentioned that Dick has been traveling and we should look for someone else to take over the management of the database. Mary Ann volunteered to obtain the database from Dick and maintain it. Per Mary Ann, the data base contains over 700 entries.
Social Events Report - Judy Manowitz
The 2008 Picnic was attended by 76 people which is a drop from the previous event. Only a few regular employees attended. Whaley’s Catering didn’t bring enough ribs, but are the only caterer who would do the event for under 100 people. They had to throw out a lot of food in the past. It was decided to not hold a Picnic for 2009. The 2008 Day at the Races was attended by 50 people. The number drops each year. It was agreed not to hold this event in 2009.
Seminars Report – Susan Gryzbowski
Susan will be taking over the seminars from Harry. The Tax Update Seminar is scheduled for February 25 in conference room 113. A Hurricane Preparedness Seminar is being planned for May 6 which will be a joint event for retirees and active employees. Stu Bean will coordinate the effort with the regular employees. It will be held in the large conference room. Seminars will be planned for the the Financial Seminar in October and the Medical Seminar in November. The same speakers will return and will be coordinated in the same manner as in 2008. Once dates are determined, Donna will reserve the conference room
Golf Event Report - Dianne Hartt and Donna Fryza
Donna reported the Spring 2009 outing is being planned for June 5 at Plantation Palms. It was decided not to hold the outing as an IBM Club event due to the restrictions of charging money for contests, etc. A concern was raised regarding the cost of $60 per golfer. Dianne said she will go back to the Pro to see if a better price can be obtained. Flyers will be ready for the April mailing, if not for this mailing.
Volunteer Council Report - Mary Ann McCoy
Mary Ann reported that the Bucs Toys for Tots Drive went well although she did not get any volunteers from IBM. She mentioned that Donna coordinated a Toy Drive at the IBM office, volunteer effort for the Child Abuse Council where she and two IBM employees volunteered, as well as coordinating a Left-over Wrapping Paper & Bows Drive. The Volunteer Council will meet later this month to discuss the 2009 Volunteer Calendar of Events. They typically seek volunteers for three events in February: The Gasparilla Classic , IBM Engineering Week, and Black Family Technology Conference
IBM Club Synergy - Donna Fryza
Donna has added a link in the Florida IBM Club website for IBM retirees. Accessing this link will enable retirees to access discounts to movie theatres, theme parks, etc. Donna will continue to include a paragraph in Stu Bean’s monthly Community Newsletter advising anyone about to retire to register in the itbrc.org website or contact Hari Arora.
Mailing and Mass Email Report – Mary Anne
The next mailing will be in about two weeks to include the cover letter from Jim which will mention all planned events for 2009, Tax Update Seminar and Hurricane Preparedness Seminar flyers from Susan and Golf Outing Flyer and Registration Form from Dianne. Materials are due to Donna by end-of-day Tuesday, 1/20. Mary Ann will obtain the envelopes from the mailroom and label them. She will also coordinate a team to come to the office on 1/29 to stuff the envelopes. Donna to alert the IBM Mailroom staff for the need of envelopes, copying and mailing. Mary Ann will look into creating an email distribution list from the current membership database.
Website Report - Harry Schaffhauser
Harry suggested creating a free website using Google as it will handle what we need to post for now (minutes, contacts, photos, membership registration, etc.). May even be able to get the membership database loaded into in. He will try to keep the same url. Everyone was giving input. Goal is to get the main set-up finished immediately and have the new website functional by the April mailing.
Next Meeting: Thursday, April 2 from 11 AM to 1 PM at IBM Harborview in Room 103