On
a warm and sunny fall day, this year’s Annual Meeting of the
Members of the New England Chapter of the Antique and Classic
Boat Society was held on Sunday, October 26, 2008. Our Social
Chair, Anne Sanderson arranged for a very nice meeting at the
Puritan Conference Center in Manchester.
Many
people attending the meeting had fond memories and stories about
the Puritan Back Room Restaurant on the Daniel Webster Highway.
The business was established in 1917 as an
ice cream & candy shop on Hanover Street in Manchester. Two
years later, the owners opened a restaurant on Elm Street. In
1936, they opened an ice cream stand on their current location
and continued to expand and make improvements. In the 1970’s the
Puritan Front Room was opened, later the Back Room. In 2002, a
state-of-the-art Conference Facility was opened, and provided a
nice function room for our ACBS Annual Meeting.
We had a special
presentation at our Meeting. Jonathan Downing and his wife Nancy
provided a slide show of the history of Alton Bay and in
particular, Downings Landing. Who can forget the speedboat rides
on the Legionnaire? The water planes and boats that Jonathan
featured in his talk and his many slides provided nostalgic
memories of an earlier time and many boats that we recognized.
Thank you Jonathan for your presentation.
Awards
Several awards were
given. A special award was presented to Watermark Marine for the
assistance and sponsorship they provide to the Chapter. It is
the barges of Watermark Marine that we have used at the Lake
Winnipesaukee Boat Show in Meredith for the last several years.
Mark Goodwin represented Watermark and was pleased to receive a
framed poster of the 2008 Lake Winnipesaukee Boat Show. A
special thanks to Watermark for their continued support.
One
award that we failed to present at the 2008 Boat Show Awards
Brunch went to Kevin Buttermore. He ably handled the launch ramp
at the town docks in Meredith. He was recognized as Launch
Master for that event. We thank Kevin for his tireless service.
Our
chapter magazine, The Cutwater, was recognized by the
national Antique and Classic Boat Society as the best runner up
magazine for 2008. Hal Sanderson, who has acted as editor of the
magazine for the past year, received a nicely engraved plaque on
behalf of ACBS. You’ll find a listing of the awards in the Fall,
2008 issue of Rudder, the magazine of the ACBS.
Hal
Sanderson was given an Award in appreciation for his service to
the New England Chapter. Both he and his wife, Anne, were given
a large round of applause for their service during the past two
years. The award is a large cut glass bowl with an engraved logo
of the Chapter on the bowl and an engraved note of appreciation
on the base. Both Hal and Anne Sanderson were seen with big
grins as they received this award. Some have speculated that
they were happier to be relieved of their duties than thankful
for the recognition. In any event, we appreciate all that Hal
has done to keep our Chapter active, alive, and well.
Business
Meeting
The business part of
the meeting included the passing of Amendments to both the
Constitution and the General By-Laws. The Constitution was
amended to provide for four Directors from the general
membership to be on the Board of Directors. The previous count
was three. This provides a Board of Directors of nine members:
the four Officers, the immediate Past President, and four
Directors elected from the general membership.
The General By-Laws
were amended to change the term of office of the Officers from
one year to three years. This will allow for more continuity
among the leadership of the Chapter. However, as was pointed out
at the meeting, both Officers and Directors may resign at
anytime by submitting notice to the President. Also, they can be
removed for good cause at any time.
The Secretary’s Report indicated that a
letter was sent on September 15, 2008 to Rusty McLear as Chair
of the Greater Meredith Programs, Economic Development Committee
indicating the Chapter’s support of their efforts to build a new
dock and ice clusters at the Meredith Town Docks. If this occurs
before the 2009 Lake Winnipesaukee Boat Show, the need for two
barges used for tying up boats may be eliminated.
In addition, the Secretary stated that
National is in the process of approving our Chapter’s
designation as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. As a 501
(c)(3) organization, the Chapter can receive tax deductible
donations. It is expected that this status will be approved by
the first of next year.
The Treasurer’s
Report shows that that Chapter is still healthy financially. Our
revenue comes from membership fees, registration fees from
events, advertising income, dividends, poster sales, and sales
from our ship’s store. Our expenses include the costs associated
with producing the Cutwater, donations to charitable
organizations, unreimbursed event expenses, meeting expenses,
and various small organizational fees and expenses.
Several
Committee Chairs reported on their events, including Charley
Train on Excursions.
Dave
Whitcher on the 2008 Lake Winnipesaukee Boat Show. Dave
indicated that he will be retiring as Chair of the Annual Boat
Show. He is very willing to work with any Member who is
interested in learning how to run this fun and exciting show.
Please contact Dave to advise him of your interest.
We
were pleased to have a Member from the National ACBS Board
present at our meeting. Gene Porter, the Immediate Past
President of ACBS, complimented our Chapter on its continued
vitality.
The members then
elected new Officers and Directors, following the
recommendations of the Nominating Committee.
Gerri Prusko -
President,
Bob Morrissey -
Vice-President
John Burk -
Treasurer
Kathi Smith Coco
- Secretary
Bill John and
Charley Train will join Bill Ferry and Joe Williams as
Directors.
The
meeting concluded with remarks by the new President, Gerri
Prusko. She expressed her gratitude for the confidence of
the Members in electing her President, and asked everyone to
participate or volunteer in the year’s upcoming events - to come
join all the fun !!!
Click here for the story of Gerri Prusko's "My Precious"
