The meeting was called to order by Commander Dave Baer at his home at 1900. A quorum was present.

Present:
Commander David Baer
Lt/C Katharine Law, ExO
Lt/C Thomas Griffin, AO
Lt/C John Isaksen, Treasurer
Lt/C Michael Fontaine, SEO
Lt/C Barbara Goddard, Secretary
Lt Richard Barck, Member at Large Lt Karen Glaze, Member at Large

Absent:
P/Lt/C Sterling Campbell, Member at Large
P/C Bob Hubbard, Member at Large

MINUTES: The minutes of the 6 July 2004 meeting were approved as published.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Commander Baer announced that the next General Members Meeting will be at Southwestern Yacht Club on Friday, 17th September, a week later than usual because of the Labor Day weekend and the Catalina cruise from the 6th through the 12th. The Sail Fleet Race will be coming up on Saturday, the 14th, in conjunction with the D/28 raft-up at Mission Bay over the 14th-15th. Commander Baer offered to take anyone interested on his boat.
The stubs for the Raffle tickets for the joint D28/D13 Fall Conference need to be submitted to Dave, so that they may be turned in with the money.
Articles for The Ship's Mail need to be submitted ASAP to Steven Bakalis so that the September-October issue may be published on time. The deadline is, as usual, the 15th.

OFFICERS' REPORTS:
COMMANDER Dave Baer noted that the San Diego Association of Yacht Clubs gives three awards: the Yachtsman of the Year, the Jessop award and the John M. Rumsey award. He commented that we should consider submitting a candidate, especially for one of the two latter awards since they involve public service in or around San Diego County. The deeds of gift are on the SDAYC website. Several potential candidates were mentioned. The deadline for submissions is October 15th.
The commander expressed disappointment with the membership renewals this summer; we lost 29 of 166 members. The Phoenix Squadron was top in the District in that they actually increased membership. San Diego is behind Balboa and comparable to San Luis Rey. John Isaksen said his final tabulation was not completed and will be available at a forthcoming meeting. Mike Fontaine indicated that some of the latest Boating class will be joining. Dave also noted that San Diego had lost a number of valuable members through transfers to other squadrons.
Commander Baer indicated that Dick Barck had checked out the new West Marine facility with regard to a site for public boating courses. The USCG Auxiliary is already giving a GPS class and a basic boating course there, and it was suggested that the West Marine store might be even more convenient than Southwestern Yacht Club in terms of accessibility. Mike Fontaine will follow up to check out this opportunity.

EXO Katie Law reported that the Big Yacht show on Shelter Island had been brought to her attention by P/C Shaun McArdle and she referred the information to the commander and SEO. She attempted to contact the organizers of the show in order to find out the possibility (and cost) of having a booth at the show, but they showed no interest. After a discussion, the committee felt by consensus that the nature of the show attracted attendees (at a ticket price of $75) who would probably not be prime targets for our public Boating course.
Katie noted that P/Lt/C Sterling Campbell was not recuperating as well as had been expected from his operation last month and--although back at home--was experiencing complications. Tom Griffin had spoken to him and said he was discouraged with his progress.
Dick Gaffney has submitted his Safety Officer's report to the District Safety Officer, John Lusson.
The Coop Charting outing, to be led by P/C J. Brockway Clark on Saturday, August 28th, will run from 1000 to about 1300 on Mike Fontaine's boat and--if needed--on Tom Griffin's boat, and all Bridge Officers need to participate if they have not already done so in order to earn district "Star points." Dick Barck reminded people that, since the San Diego Squadron had "adopted" the San Diego Bay chart, we bear the primary responsibility for keeping it up-to-date and need to be more vigilant in checking aids to navigation and other marks. The 10th Ave. Marine Terminal light changes are an example, as well as the "tower" in South Bay which was wiped out in the last El Nino. Mike Fontaine pointed out that the custom-printed charts are supposed to be current to within a few weeks' time. The commander agreed that we need to do a better job but stated that, even after being turned in, it was painfully slow in being reflected on the charts and that changes in the positions are more difficult to achieve than confirmations.

VESSEL SAFETY Chair Lt Dick Barck reported that the squadron has again remained as the top squadron for the district. Dick has received from National several packets of materials, including a video aimed at public service airing on television stations.

SEO Mike Fontaine stated that Ken Glaze's Seamanship class, to begin soon, will have fewer students from the recent Boating course then expected as fewer of those students actually joined the squadron. JN is still in progress, with the N course to follow thereafter.
The new laptop has been received and prepped by Tom Fota, and it and the new projector will be ready for the fall classes. Mike had found an ad for the America's Boating Course in the latest issue of Santana. There followed a brief discussion of what happens with regard to inquiries from the 1-800-SEASKIL number, when people inquire about the ABC classes.

AO Tom Griffin reported that Ted and Claudia Bowler will be the speakers at the September GMM, discussing their recent sail from San Diego to Hawaii. They now have their boat back and the logistics of that will also be discussed. The July meeting/barbecue was a success.

SECRETARY Barbara Goddard thanked John Isaksen for his rapid response to her inquiry about membership numbers following the renewal period, which enabled her to establish a quorum at the July GMM. She had nothing further to report.

TREASURER John Isaksen noted that, prior to the purchase of the new laptop, funds on hand had been briefly up from the same period last year. But following reimbursement to the IT officer, we are in substantially the same position as a year ago. The status of the individual funds was detailed. John noted that there is a form for use in submitting requests for reimbursement and had vouchers available for anyone wanting one. In response to a question about expenses, he noted that while some people did not want to be reimbursed, he would and could provide a letter for tax purposes to those who submit proof of contributions in kind. People should keep a running tally of money laid out on behalf of the squadron and submit it to him in December, in order to receive an acknowledgement of tax-deductible contributions. This is also true with respect to travel expenses on squadron business. John and Dave both stressed that it is important to report real expenses so that there can be an accurate record of what it costs to run the squadron.

OLD BUSINESS:
Dave Baer noted that we had discussed the non-renewals earlier in the meeting and asked if there was other old business to cover.
Dick Barck mentioned that he had attended the 1st Annual Summer Boat Show at the Sheraton on Harbor Island in July. There was a USCG Auxiliary booth and there were a few empty booths, so we could have definitely had a booth had we applied for one. He noted that there were complaints being made that there was a low flow of attendees during the week which may have picked up on the weekend. We will apply for a space next year, as it could be a "feeder" event for a late summer ABC or BoatSmart course.

NEW BUSINESS:
Karen Glaze, in her role as Assistant Membership Chair, submitted the names of people who had applied for membership in the squadron. The six (6) new members were accepted by a unanimous vote. Karen will provide the names to the Secretary. Karen also mentioned that students in the Boating course should be told about USPS earlier in the course, and that it should be explained to them that they cannot continue to take classes unless they join the squadron. Mike Fontaine had made up a flyer to promote the Seamanship class among the students. Dave, John Isaksen and several other ExCom members remarked that, in the past, National insisted that we not promote squadron membership whereas now it is encouraged.
Commander Baer indicated he is still interested in making a connection with the Sea Scouts, and Katie Law will give Dave the information she gathered last year. Several ideas were advanced as to what we might offer a Sea Scout Ship if such a connection could be made, including being taken out on the boats of SDSPS members or a cruise or a race, and even possibly being able to be present for a vessel safety check.

The meeting was adjourned at 2013. The next meeting will be held at the commander's house at 1900 on 13 September 2004. Barbara Goddard noted that she is planning to attend the USPS Fall Governing Board meeting in Jacksonville, FL, and will not be home in time to attend the September 13th meeting.

Respectfully submitted,

Barbara A. Goddard
Secretary