Minutes by Rick Sinclair
We had a good turn out with about 25 members. Trains were running and the food was great.
There were thanks given to our host Joerg and Jane Rottenbacher for opening their home to the club.
The first topic was to ask for a volunteer to be Vice President of our chapter with me so that mine wasn’t the only opinion for the direction of the club. Manny Tobias stepped up and volunteered – Thank you Manny!
Secondly I asked if anyone would be willing to host the March meeting since it was scheduled to be hosted by Joerg and Jane again. Once again Manny Tobias stepped (I think it was more of a “push”) and agreed to host in March – Thanks again Manny!
So obviously the March meeting will be at Manny Tobias’ house.
There will be a module maintenance session on May 4th at the Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Encinitas to prepare the module for Eurowest. If anyone is willing to help, you can contact Jim Mastrogany as I believe that is his church.
We talked about a module display at the Maker Fair but unless there is a tent and if its a one day event, the likelihood of attending would be small.
The topic of the Module Group display this weekend was discussed with the another member volunteering to help. The Costa Mesa set-up time was changed to 12:00. There is some doubt if the actual set-up will start at that time due to the space the module is in. We were assured that there would be enough unpacking to do until the actual set-up begins.
It was brought up that the trailer needs service before the trip to Eurowest. Volunteers to do the service were Bill Henwood, Chris Higgins and Manny Tobias. Thanks to all three for their work in ensuring that we make it to the show safely.
Next was a discussion of Eurowest. As of right now, the Friday after set-up get together is up in the air pending if Andreas Hildabrandt’s house is available. There is the possibility of having the get-together at his beer warehouse (not such a bad idea, it is full of beer!). There is also his ’30s tinplate layout running at the warehouse for people to enjoy.
Also on the Eurowest topic, is the Saturday dinner. The dinner is at Izzy’s Steakhouse which is just on the other side of the hotel across the street. This restaurant is very much within walking distance of the Eurowest event.
I acknowledged that there are some members who prefer to go to San Francisco for dinner. This is always an option of all members.
I did mention another option which is to go up tho the Basque Center (where we had it last year). We would be in the dining room so we would be able to talk. Andreas has volunteered to shuttle people up in his Sprinter which seats about 15 people. I for one am choosing this option as the food is much better and it is a better value for my money.
I had floated the idea that we have a swap meet at certain meetings. I was told that every meeting is a swap meet if anyone has something to sell. This is great but I envision something more as in 5-10 people bring stuff to sell at 3-4 meetings of the year. There would be no limit of sellers, I just threw out 5-10 as a goal. So if Manny is willing, bring your stuff to sell! I plan on bringing a tub of items. I think a few meeting with bigger swap meets might draw more ETE members to attend.
Next there was discussion of a gift for Don and Cindy for all of their hard work as Chapter President and First Lady. We are working on ideas and even though Don is still Treasurer, (and we really can’t hide the cost of the gift), I think we should get some ideas together to show our appreciation.
New Business
One new item I would like to bring up, I feel that there is a significant burden put on the host of a meeting. I would like to make a change and have the meetings be more of a pot-luck. In this, the host will provide the main coarse and the attending members can bring side dishes, drinks and desserts. This is something that worked well in my last ETE chapter and I have been asked to consider it from a member or two. Please look for a email before the next meeting for guidance of what to bring.
Thank you all for attending the meeting and I hope this keeps the rest of the members informed on the current events of the club.
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