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Boxer Shorts, February, 2005 - 3 of 4

January Meeting Minutes

by Fred Kolack, Secretary and Clerk

Fred Lots to pack into my inaugural run of writing the monthly meeting minutes. So much transpired during this meeting, and I don't want to miss passing along any of the highlights to those of you who did not attend. Suffice to say that all 75 attendees had an absolutely first class evening, by all accounts. The meal was truly excellent, and the surroundings perfect for the event. Three motorcycles (a R 1200 GS, an R 1150 Boxer Cup Racer and a K1200GT) graciously on loan from the showroom of nearby Wagner BMW of Shrewsbury, MA, were placed on display and graced the cocktail area for the evening. Thanks go to TJ Inman for agreeing to do this for us. It was amusing for me to see the kitchen staff all flood into the room to eagerly ogle and drool over the bikes when they were first brought into the room, earlier that afternoon.

This meeting was touted in last month's edition of the Boxer Shorts and on the Yankee Beemers' Website as The Holiday Function and Annual Meeting. January is also the month for the transition of both elected officers and, this year, 3 of the 5 appointed Board members. The new Board members, to serve terms of two years are: Irene Boettcher, Bob Hadden, and Doug Morrison. They replace outgoing members Craig Cleasby, Steve Terrien and Jeff Leavitt. Muriel Farrington and Jeff Stein remain on the BOD, through the end of 2005.

Recognition of outgoing officers is also a traditional portion of the January meeting. Bruce Ferguson, outgoing secretary, a position, which he held for the past 3 years, was presented with a plaque and a fleece jacket, appropriately monogrammed "Secretary Extraordinaire". His prodigious wit and sharply honed use of the written word, previously applied to this monthly column, will be missed by all of us. 2004 VP Dave Harmacek, who has contributed so much to the club over the years, and still will retain the important role of Webmaster, also was presented with a plaque and monogrammed fleece pullover vest. Kit Wise also received an outgoing award of a beautifully engraved plaque and a monogrammed jacket, in recognition of his service as President in 2004.

This is a good chance for me to remind the reader to do a simple courtesy and take a moment to personally thank the above outgoing volunteers for all their time and effort, and to congratulate and wish the newly elected and appointed members well.

Awards, including a plaque and a fleece vest, were also given in special recognition of certain individuals:
Doug Morrison received the Best Damn Yankee Award, associated with his efforts during the Damn Yankee Rally, held last July.
Chase Wessling received an award as Outstanding New Member.
I, Fred Kolack, received a Best Volunteer Award, a plaque and a fleece vest inscribed Best Volunteer, 2004. The vest fits quite nicely. I was taken by surprise with this award, and want to take this opportunity to once again say Thanks. My efforts were all about the YB'ers having a good time.
The Greg McQuide Literary Award was given to past Secretary, Bruce Ferguson, for his numerous monthly and literary contributions to the Boxer Shorts. This award is presented yearly in remembrance of a past Yankee Beemer who was a writer for Motorcyclist magazine. An oncoming auto tragically killed him during a test ride of a Honda motorcycle for an article, while at Honda Hoot 2000.

The Steve Gooding Award was presented to Mike Andrews. Originally created by Phil Rose, and ably presented by Dave Harmacek, this is the 10th anniversary of the award, which is given in recognition of a former Yankee Beemer, who died of cancer in 1988. Selection of each year's honoree, chosen by the previous recipients, is based upon attributes of being a friendly, helpful, and passionate individual whose actions are selfless and of long-term benefit to the club and this sport, as a whole. Those who know Mike Andrews certainly agree that he deserves this award.

An extensive array of door prize donations made this year mandates that certain people deserve recognition for their generosity. The sheer volume of prizes allowed a sizeable portion of attendees to depart with very nice gifts. Phil Foster won a BMW fleece jacket donated by Wagner BMW. Mark Grabowski won a SK100 cleaning kit donated by MotoMarket in Acton, MA. Most generous was a series of ten $100 gift certificates donated by Max Stratton of Max Motorcycles of N. Hampton, NH. Winners included Kathy Hadden, Debbie Inman, Alan Reynolds, Steve Hadden, Bob Iacobucci, Sue Cleasby, Vicky Straley Cruz, Laura Foster and Pamela Souza. Plus one other member whose name escaped me.

Bob Greenbaum, Rob Nye, Bruce Ferguson and Tom Grassi won Red Sox Calendars, donated by Village Photo. Victor Cruz won a book entitled The Great Life. Nina Glavin and Jeff Stein won Red Sox memorabilia poster boards, donated by Village Photo. Vicki Lapierre, Dana Lewis and Roger Van Tassel won gift certificates for custom shirts, donated by Autumn Riders. Pascal Healy won a genuine Potato cannon dubbed "Natasha", which he later swapped for the prize, which was won by Jeff Stein. Carl Saccoccio won a book entitled Motorcycles Remembered, donated by Don Lapierre.

Magician and comedian, Mike Bent, performed to the laughter, wonder, amazement and amusement of all. He started his act with a trick using a jacket from Bob Greenbaum, which the performer described as a Salvation "Armani" jacket. I suspect that Bob was glad to get his jacket returned in one piece. The "Cord of Death" trick followed, with volunteer Gail Hatch. The act continued with "Dog Tricks" with TJ Inman, and moved on to the "Yes" game with Bruce Ferguson. Bruce was presented with his own wristwatch, at the conclusion of this act. Following a routine entitled "Hello Kitty", a book of Japanese Magic, the act concluded with a Blindfold Trick with assistance from Sue Cleasby. Thanks go to Tom Grassia for his most excellent entertainment suggestion for the evening.

Dana Lewis did not escape the evening without having the rare privilege of having 75 people cheerfully sing "Happy Birthday" to him, in celebration of his 53rd birthday.

No monthly meeting is complete without a "preview of coming attractions". This started with an invitation to and reminder of the next monthly meeting, on Sunday morning, February 20th, at Stones Public House. The March meeting, again falling on Sunday the 20th, at the same time, same place will be the annual Gold Card Meeting. This will allow prepurchase (for the yet-to-be-determined sum of $50 to $55) of admission to all YB Rallies in 2005, including the Frosty Nuts, Pemi River, Damn Yankees and the Wacky Hat. Doug Morrison announced that on May 9th, Tony's Track Days will be holding a riding skills enhancement event at Louden International Speedway. This event will be sponsored in part by Max BMW, and will be slated to be a BMW motorcycle exclusive event, if filled to school capacity of 75 riders, by March. President Cleasby announced that he is in the process of creating a couple's getaway weekend (Sept 10/11) entitled "YB in the Whites".

At the conclusion of the evening, 2005 Yankee Beemers Wall Calendars, still "hot off the presses", were distributed to attendees. VP Dana Lewis, will also make these calendars available for sale, for $3.00 each, starting at the February meeting.

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