FLORIDA REGIONAL GROUP, INC.
3801 Coco Grove Avenue
Miami, Florida 33133
FRG
NEWSLETTER, June, 2007
Recorded FRG Newsletter: For
25 years, the Florida Talking Book Library in Daytona Beach has recorded our FRG
Newsletter, free of charge, to all BV's who
desire to receive it in a recorded form. It
takes a great deal of volunteer work to accomplish this task. The Newsletter is recorded on a standard tape
speed so that BV's who do not have a TB cassette player may listen to it on a standard
tape recorder. BV's in Florida greatly
appreciate the work done through the TB Library in providing this service. If you prefer to use the printed copy and do not
want the recorded version, please let us know. We
can code your file, at the BVA office in Washington, so
that your label will not go to the TB Library. The
TB Library does not generate the label for the FRG Newsletter. Consequently, you need to notify us if you want to
cancel your cassette subscription. Just cut
the label off of the envelope containing the print copy of this Newsletter and send it to
the address at the top of this Newsletter, indicating you want to cancel the cassette
version and we will code your file. .
FRG President's Message: Well
folks, another FRG State Convention is behind us and a good one it was. As forecasted, we kicked off our first annual FRG
Horseshoe Pitching Tournament. Twelve members
participated, and it was a great fun adventure. Honors
for total blindness went to a tie between Ron Mackie from Jacksonville and Rick Calissi
from Ocala. The low vision honors went to
Leonard Hieber from Punta Gorda. It is
definitely a keep for next year's Convention. Special,
and I really mean special ,thanks to Mickey Burgess, Nancy Cantrell, Mary Kunkle, Myrtle
Wells, Elva Dexter, and my wife Maureen, for clanging in the stakes so we could zero in on
the targets and finding and running the horseshoes back to the throwers. Without their help, it would have been a total
disaster. Notes were taken on how to do
better next year, like having water, chairs, and shade.
We found out later that there were spectators that wanted to participate, but
thought it was too late. So, they stood
silently and enjoyed the fun we were all having. Next
time, might I suggest that standing silently around a bunch of Blinded Vets is not going
to get one noticed? Just say, "got room
for one more" and we will find room. Of
course the dinner dance went off without a glitch. Marsha
Summers, our entertainment, played song after song for us ands once we cleared the floor
of tables, the dancing went on for quite awhile. First
thing the next morning, the dreaded business meeting took place. Why we have to ruin a fun time with boring
meetings, I'll never understand. I know, they
tell me it necessary. Something about
electing officers, approving budgets, and other like stuff.
Anyway, I counted the members as they went in, and the same number left the room,
which tells me we all made it out alive. Moving
on to the evening, the Installation Banquet, now wow! If you weren't there, I'm really
sorry. We had a terrific M.C., okay! it was
me, and I wasn't that great, but at least I didn't faint.
We kicked off the dinner with the Plainsfield, New Jersey Jr. ROTC Drill Team
presenting the colors. That was quite
impressive in itself. The Drill Team lined
the room with smartly uniform clad young men and women, as the flag was paraded in. Then our honored guest speaker, Rear Admiral Leroy
Collins gave us a brilliant insight into how our state looks out for our veterans' well
being. Florida is truly a veteran friendly
state. Then came the happy hour in the
hospitality room, where everyone buys everyone else a free drink. Them, it was over.
I think we need longer Conventions. So,
maybe for next year, start dropping pennies into the mail jar and save up for next year. Hope to see you there.
Reminder: The applications for the Iowa TEE Tournament have
been mailed out. If you attended last year,
you should have received a new application already. If
not then visit our FRG web site and down load a copy or call me at (904) 291-0576 and I'll
mail you a copy.
FRG Lapel Pins: Bob Fick, Lakeland BV,
submitted a design and source of supply for our first BVA-FRG Lapel Pin. The membership approved the purchase of 100 of
these pins. The plan is to sell them starting
at our luncheon meetings. The pin is gold
with the BVA logo over the Florida outline, and the letters BVA FRG at the top part of the
pin. The anticipated price is $5 per pin. Bob, thank you for your efforts. Paul Kaminsky, FRG President
FRG Auxiliary President's Message: Hello! Fellow Auxiliary members. I hope that you have recovered from the FRG State
Convention and everyone had a great time. The
Auxiliary meeting seemed to go well. Things
were done differently this year. I felt that
the Auxiliary members would be more relaxed and enjoy themselves while they were
conducting Auxiliary business if they had a cup of coffee and refreshments. Initially, there was a mix up but finally, the
hotel graciously gave us complementary coffee and muffins.
This of course made everyone happy. Next
year, I will ask for the complementary libation. Everyone
was relaxed, expressed themselves, and the meeting was worth while. We had the election of officers and they are the
following: President - Joyce Thornton, Vice
President - Nancy Geden, Secretary - Patricia
Taylor, and Treasurer - Maureen Kaminsky. The
President gave the Auxiliary Charter that was presented to the FRG Auxiliary at the
National Convention in Buffalo last August. It
was voted that the Charter would stay with the office of Secretary. We had several applications for the FRG Auxiliary
Scholarships this year. The Committee had
difficulty choosing because they were all worthwhile this year. However, Lily Bean from Ft. Myers won a
scholarship for the second time, as her grades were outstanding, as were her community
service activities. She will be attending
Boston College again this year. The second
scholarship was awarded to Peggy McCloud, a single mother of a 12 year old son. She wishes to go to a computer school to be a
computer programmer and technician so she can earn a living for her son and herself. Her grades were high and her community service was
outstanding. These two recipients will
receive a letter in the mail from the Scholarship Chairman and their checks will be mailed
to the institution of learning that they have chosen to attend. For those who were not recipients, please apply
again. Even though you were not selected this
year, there is always another year. Keep
applying and as President of the FRG Auxiliary, I appreciate your efforts to fill out the
application. The Auxiliary program of
reaching out to a lonely vet so their phone rings once in awhile is working. Pat Holcomb found a new friend in the Ocala area
who had a phone that never rang. Now, they
are friends. Try to make someone's phone
bright with a friendly hello, are you okay? You
can't imagine how this can help. Hope to see
all of you at the various luncheons around the state.
If you have anything to ask me or to request, you may get in touch with me at:
(239) 433-7722 or (239) 839-5825 which is my cell phone, or (239) 939-3939 ex 6284 at
work. Have a wonderful summer and stay safe. Joyce Thornton, FRG Auxiliary President.
Minutes, FRG Annual Business Meeting: The
meeting was called to order at 9:01 AM by President Paul Kaminsky in the Ball Room at the
Plaza Ocean Club Hotel in Daytona Beach. The
pledge to the flag was led by FRG Past President Terry King and the invocation was given
by George Stocking. A motion was passed to
waive the reading of the 2006 Annual Business Meeting Minutes and to accept them as
published in the June 2006 FRG Newsletter. The
Treasurer reported a balance of $23139.17, in the FRG checking account on April 20, 2006. During
the year, income totaling $58924.90 was received, making a total of $82064.00 available in
the checking account for FRG use. Expenditures
during the year totaled 15821.97. In
addition, $40,000 was transferred from the checking account to General Fund Certificates
of Deposit. Thus the balance in the checking
account, available for FRG use on April 20, 2007, was $26242.03. During the year, three major fund raising events
occurred . Larry Newman, Southwest District
Director coordinated, with the help of Joyce Thornton VIST Coordinator and Terry King, a White Cane Walk-A-Thon in Ft. Myers raising
$1048; Southeast District Director Paul Mimms
with the leadership of Mike Nagelberg, raised $1365 through a Walk-A-Thon in Palm Beach
County. In addition, Bob Fick a BV in the
Lakeland area, invited FRG President Paul Kaminsky to speak to the Cypress Lakes Veterans
Association, resulting in $2557 being donated to the FRG.
In addition, we received a bequest of $29575 from the estate of Howard Strosser, a
BV from the Ft. Myers area. The value of the
CD's in the general fund, on April 20, 2006 was $28328.21.
Interest on the two CD's during the year was $998.75
. This left a balance in these two
CD's on April 20, 2007 of $29327.00. During
the year $40,000 was transferred from the checking account to three CD's. Interest on those 3 CD's was $964.15. The total funds in the 5 CD's
as of April 20, 2007 was $70291.15.The total funds available, excluding the Scholarship
Fund, on April, 20, 2007 was $96,533.18. On
April 20, 2007 the FRG Auxiliary Scholarships Fund CD , a restricted account, was valued
at $12,650.98, available for future FRG Auxiliary Scholarships. The Convention accepted the Treasurer's report as
presented.
The Membership Committee reported the Florida Regional Group had a total of 1302
Members and Associate Members as of May 1, 2007. This
is an increase of 4 over the 1298 at the time of the 2006 FRG State Convention. The FRG continues to have the largest membership
of any Regional Group in the BVA. It will take a significant effort on the part of all BV's
in Florida if the FRG is to exceed the 1350 we had at the end of the 2005 BVA Fiscal Year,
June 30, 2005. In addition to those Blinded
Veterans who actively support the BVA, there are a total of 880 BV's on the FRG - BVA
mailing list who have not paid their dues for 2007. The
FRG - BVA new mailing list contains a total of 2182 Blinded Veterans in the State of
Florida. A discussion was held regarding
those Blinded Veterans who were not Members or Associate Members of the BVA. Those in attendance were encouraged to become
actively involved in recruiting new Members and Associate Members during the coming year. Now that we have reached 1302, let's work for 1500
members.
The District Directors presented reports regarding activities in their Districts. This included information about their Assistant
District Directors to expand contacts with Blinded Veterans in the six Districts. A highlight of Darryl Goldsmith's report was the
holding of the first FRG Northwest District Meeting In Pensacola on April 7.
The Legislative Committee presented information regarding National legislation of
interest to Blinded Veterans. All Blinded
Veterans in attendance were encouraged to become actively involved in writing to their Senators and Representatives regarding
legislation. President Kaminsky encouraged
all BV's with computer access to add their name to the BVA-FRG Distribution List. BV's on that list receive legislative and other
current information of interest to BV's in Florida.
President Kaminsky opened the floor for the discussion of old business. The format of the FRG Newsletter was reviewed. There were no recommendations regarding the
Newsletter. Consequently, it will continue
with the same format as in the past. The FRG
District meetings were discussed. President
Kaminsky announced that the FRG would hold meetings in Orlando on September 1,
Jacksonville in October, Ft. Myers in November, Clearwater in December, Ocala in January,
Tampa in February, Ft. Lauderdale in March, and Pensacola in April. No recommendation was made to change the schedule
or location of the District meetings. A
discussion was held regarding the remaining activities at the 2007 FRG State Convention.
President Kaminsky opened the
floor to New Business. A motion was passed to
donate $1000 to the Talking Book Library. A
motion was passed for the FRG to take out a one page ad ($100) in the 62 BVA National
Convention Program. A motion was passed to
purchase 100 BVA-FRG lapel pins at $2.86 each. This
pin is shaped like the State of Florida. The
pins will be sold at FRG District Meetings for approximately $5 each.
The 2007 FRG State Convention was discussed. The
Convention Chairman George Stocking reported on contacts with the management of the Plaza
Ocean Club Hotel. The proposed arrangements
for the 2008 FRG Convention will be essentially the same with an increase from $72 to $77
per day for rooms. A number of other hotels
in the central part of Florida were contacted with similar or higher prices. A motion was passed authorizing the Convention
Committee to negotiate with the Plaza Ocean Club Hotel and accept the contract if it
continues to meet the FRG needs. It was the
consensus of the Membership that we remain in the Daytona Beach area.
A resolution was passed to maintain FRG accounts in the First National Bank of
South Miami, with the President and Secretary-Treasurer as co-signers on all of the BVA -FRG accounts.
The following BV's were
elected as Officers and District Directors for 2007-20
Officers
President Paul Kaminsky
Vice President Terry King
Secretary-Treasurer George Stocking
District Directors
Northwest Darryl Goldsmith
Northeast
Bill Burgess
CentralWest
William Geden
Central East Rick Calissi
Southwest
John Thomas
Southeast
Simon Buchsbaum
An election was held to select the Florida Regional Group Delegation to the BVA 62
National Convention as follows: Delegate -
Dr. George Stocking; Alternate Delegates: Paul Kaminsky,
Terry King, Mike (Myron) Nagelberg, Bill Burgess, Bill Geden, Ronald Mackie, Darryl
Goldsmith, and Norman Cosby. Terry King was
elected as FRG Representative on the By-Laws and Resolutions Committee, with the Delegate
and/or Alternate Delegates, in the order listed above as Alternate Representatives on that
Committee. A motion was passed to send the
Delegation uninstructed.
The
Business Meeting adjourned at 11:48 AM.
Respectfully submitted, George Stocking Secretary-Treasurer