March 2010 General MeetingHeld March 28, 2010
| CHAIRMAN | JOHN BLAIR |
| VICE-CHAIRMAN | FERNANDO LEMUS |
| SECRETARY/TREASURER | DAVID LEAVITT |
| OUTSIDE COORDINATOR | JEFF LANGNESE |
MEMBERS AT LARGE
| NORTH BLOCK | CHRIS SCHUHMACHER |
| H-UNIT | ANTHONY PARKER |
Chairman Blair called the meeting to order at 8:10 hrs. Roll was called, 32 of 36 members were present, a quorum. 30 voting members were present. 1 voting member was on a visit. 2 probationary members were present. 1 probationary member was AWOL, so his probationary period will be extended by a month. 1 probationary member is out to court. Chief Sponsor Lieutenant J. Evans ws present, even and came in despite being on vacation to make it possible to have this meeting. Mrs. Gloria Godchauex of Operation:Mom and our Webmaster, J. Manley both left before sunrise and drove long distances to be with us for this meeting. Thank you all so much for going through all of the hassles and headaches involved to get here and share your knowledge and experience with us at this meeting.
Members were asked to remove their hats for a moment of silence for the American Prisoners of War, those Missing in Action, those Killed in Action, and for our Marines, Seamen, Airmen, Coasties, and Troops deployed around the world.
Members were asked if they received their minutes of the last month’s meeting. Secretary / Treasurer Leavitt stated that an error was made on the last minutes. The cover sheet had the wrong date on it. The minutes read, January General Meeting, Held February 28, 2010. It should have read, February General Meeting, Held February 28, 2010. A motion was made by Mr. Harry Barton to accept the minutes with the noted changes. Mr. Fernando Lemus seconded the motion. The vote to accept the February 2010 General Meeting minutes passed unanimously.
TREASURER'S REPORT :
David J. Leavitt: We have $1,981.47 in our account. We received a $1,000.00 donation from the San Francisco Archdiocese. The $1,000.00 donation was given to our Co-Sponsor, Sgt. Moore on Friday March 19, 2010, with the caveat that it be used as part of our 2010 Scholarship funds. So, our account stands as follows: $1,000.00 for our 2010 scholarship, $200.00 for the purchase of V.V.G.S.Q. hats, $390.00 set aside for this years Run to the Pen, and lastly $390.00 to be used for the 2010 Scholarship Banquet meal along with the group donations being collected for the same purpose.
OUTSIDE COORDINATOR :
Mr. Jeff Langnese: received the below listed correspondences during the month of March 2010.
| ”Between the Lines”, publication, VVA Chapter 20, Rochester, NY. This is a great articlre on Navy Ships that were exposed to Agent Orange. |
| Between the Lines, Veterans Incarcerated Author, Ron Trovato, 2 letters. The V.V.G.S.Q. is happy that you liked the Presentation Box. |
| ”The Ivy Leaves”, 4th Infantry Division, US Army publication from St. Peters, MO. Another great and informative publication. |
| 4th Artillery Division, US Army, Alumni. A letter from Vincent Milo of Hills boro Beach, FL. Thank you. It is always good to hear from you. |
| ”Airborne Quarterly”, Editor, Col. William E. Weber, (US Army Retired). Thank you ever so much for you many years of support for us veterans Incarcerated. |
| VVA Chapter 201, San Jose, CA. A newsletter. It is amazing to see al the events that Chapter 201 is involved with. |
| Jesus Wept Ministries , a publication from Richardson, TX. |
| Jesus Wept Ministries , A letter from Sister Vicki. Thank you for supporting the National Veteran Incarcerated Network. |
| National Veteran Incarcerated Network, a letter from Bill Anderson, of Euphrata, WA. |
| National Veteran Incarcerated Network, a letter from Reverend R. Dugdale, of Ridgefield, WA. |
| ”Getting Out by Going In”, a letter from Mara. G.O.G.I. is a fantastic self help organization that sent us books and a program to follow. |
| National Veteran Incarcerated, A letter from Tony Thompsom, Hays State Prison, Triton, GA. You’re doing great job Tony. If you would like a copy of our By-Laws and Constitution, please let us know. We will be more than happy to discuss supporting you at our next meeting. |
| Marine Mom, and our V.V.G.S.Q. Webmaster J. Manley. A letter with a very full schedule. Thank you for fitting us into your extremely busy schedule. |
COMMITTEE REPORTS :
BY-LAWS:
Mr. Fernando Lemus: Our Constitution and By-Laws was submitted to Ms. Laura Bowman for approval on Tuesday March 30, 2010. We made the March 31, 2010 deadline. We had a slight delay due to the election for Vice Chairman that was held at this meeting. The Executive Body asked Mr. Fernando Lemus to come up with a change to be voted on by the membership. This change will be for any Executive Body member that is indisposed for a period of time, be it out to court, in the hospital, in administrative isolation, etc. We would like guidelines to cover this eventuality. Mr. Fernando Lemus stated that he would like to meet with the Executive Body and come up with the verbiage for the V.V.G.S.Q. to read, discuss, and vote on at the next General Meeting.
FOOD SALE:
Mr. David Leavitt: Sponsor signed off The Food Sale narrative on February 16, 2010. It is at the Community Partnership Managers Office. We should be getting a copy of it soon. Chief Sponsor Lt. Evans informed us that the In and Out burgers we hoped to sell is not possible. In and Out Burgers has sent its trucks south for the winter. When they were asked if we could pick them up at the restaurant, we were told that in order to maintain the quality of their food, In and Out Burgers does not sell more than 100 burgers to any single customer. So we had to remove them from our menu list.
The 5 members that volunteered to run the tiers in North Block are: David Elmore, Malcolm Jones, Ernie Vick, Kevin Hagan, and David Basile.
The 5 members that volunteered to take care of the ships in H-Unit are: John Warren, Edwin Torkelson, Bob Lott, Philip Kess, and Hugh Hickman.
How each crew is organized will be decided by the guys in each crew. The important things to keep in mind are that the completed food sale menu forms must be checked over to make sure that they are correctly filled out and that the math is correct, also it is important to turn the food sale menu forms into the Secretary / Treasurer, Mr. David Leavitt, as soon as you can so they can be entered into the computer system. This will alleviate having to do a huge amount of them at the last minute. We are experiencing a shortage of staff and “black out days” when we will not be able to go to work. This is also a concern to get the forms turned in as soon as you can.
A list of assignments was handed out detailing where everyone will work on May 23, 2010. A question came up concerning who and what time will we need to show up on Saturday, May 22, 2010 to unload all of the non-perishable food items. Mr. David Leavitt could not answer this question as yet, and will disseminate that information on April 25, 2010 General Meeting.
Please be sure and keep the below listed dates in mind :
April 1, 2010. Food Sale Menu Forms are handed out to the mainline.April 15, 2010 A 5 item Food Sale Menu is handed out to condemned inmates by Lt. Evans and crew.
April 30 2010 Last call for all Food Sale Menu Forms to be turned in.
May 5, 2010 Trust forms removing funds from inmate accounts and transferring the money to our account is turned in.
May 10, 2010 A list of inmates without funds is given to us. Their orders are pulled and a compilation of food to be ordered is done.
May 12, 2010 A list of Vendors and the amount of the check to be cut is sent to the Trust office.
May 17, 2010 Our Chief Sponsor picks up the Vendor checks, and reserves the rental truck to be used to bring the food into the institution.
May 22, 2010 Non-Perishable food is brought in, unloaded, counted, and organized.
May 23, 2010 THE BIG DAY!! Food will be delivered to everyone.
We will do our usual fantastic job of making sure that everyone gets what they ordered in as quick and courteous a manner as possible.
SCHOLARSHIP BANQUET:
Mr. Fernando Lemus: Mrs. Gloria Godchauex of Operation:Mom stated that Dottie will not be able to attend this year as she has an important prior commitment. Mr. Fernando Lemus stated that the narrative was turned into the Secretary / Treasurer. Mr. David Leavitt stated that he does have it and now that we have collected the V.V.G.S.Q. member donations and chosen Tracey Hutchison Catering as the one to cater the banquet on June 12, 2010. We are guesstimating that there will be approximately 100 people attending the 2010 Scholarship Banquet. As of this date, March 30, 2010, we are still awaiting info from Tracey Hutchison Catering that has to be on the Scholarship Banquet narrative, (gate pass info – names and equipment coming into the prison, a complete menu, a total cost, and the address to send the check to as well as a date they have to receive it by). As soon as this info comes in, it will be put on the narrative and sent off. V.V.G.S.Q. Chief Sponsor stated that a camera will be at the 2010 Scholarship Banquet to do update snap shots as well as function pictures for our web site.
COLOR GUARD:
Mr. Stanley Baer: The V.V.G.S.Q. Color Guard members are, Mr. David Leavitt, Mr. Ahmad Polley, Mr. Stanley Bear, and Mr. Giovanni Caffale. Mr. Spillman, (who is temporarily OTC), and Mr. Barton will be trained for the challenge. Welcome to the crewmen. Geo is still ill and not able to participate and Stan will be undergoing treatment for his illness again very soon. Our next Ceremonial function will be either the Opening Day Baseball Ceremony on April 27, 2010. Mr. Frank Kelum, Vice-Principal of San Quentin’s Education Department will contact us soon concerning the June 2010 graduation. We will also have the V.V.G.S.Q. Color Guard at our 2010 Scholarship Banquet on Saturday, June 12, 2010.
SCHOLARSHIP:
Mr. Fernando Lemus: The Scholarship committee members are Chris Schuhmacher, Joe Diggs, David Basile, J.B. Wells, and Scholarship Committee Chairman Fernando Lemus. Packets of information, application forms DD214 request forms, and informational flyers, were mailed out to 252 local high schools. As yet, no one has responded. We are expecting quite a few applications to come in this year. Since Ms. Debra Sheldon has transferred to R.J. Donovan Prison, any forms being to her must be forwarded to Lt. Evans or Sgt. Moore for processing. When a Scholarship Application form is received, V.V.G.S.Q. Sponsors make a copy of it. The Sponsor retains the original with the necessary info on it. The copy ten has all personal information blacked out, and it sent on to the Scholarship Committee Chairman. The committee chairman then makes copies for distribution to the committee members for review, discussion, and decision.
STAMPS FOR SOLDIERS:
Mr. Pete Rooke: Nothing new to report at this time.
(We would like to clarify that the stamps for Soldiers Program is used stamps still on the ripped off corners of the envelops. These stamps are peeled off the envelopes, then used as therapy for wounded Marines, Sailors, and Soldiers.)
CAMARADERIE NIGHT:
Mr. Fernando Lemus: Our next Camaraderie night will be Saturday April 24th, 2010. The movie will be GO FOR BROKE. This is a black and white 1951 movie. It is the tale of a bigoted Texan assigned to train and lead all the Japanese 442nd Regiment during WW II. It should be interesting to say the least. Last Saturday’s movie was UP PERISCOPE. It feels weird for us today, to see the portrayal of bigotry and racism that permeated the Armed Forces during WW II. Sure glad that times do change.
R.E.A.L. CHOICES:
Mr. Harry Barton: Committee Chairman Harry Barton stated that new members for Team “C” are being chosen as we speak. Anyone wishing to be a part of this worthwhile endeavor, please contact Mr. Harry Barton as soon as you read this.
TAB'S FOR TOT'S:
Mr. Pete Rooke: We have an awful lot of tabs to send out. Committee Chairman Rooke will box them up and await an address to send them to. Secretary / Treasurer David Leavitt is to get the address of where to send them. Somehow this information is no longer available.
COMMEMORATIVE BOXES:
Mr. Chris Schuhmacher: We currently have a dozen very special boxes to present at the Scholarship Banquet.
OLD BUSINESS:
Chairman John Blair opened the floor for any old business. Though the room was full of a bunch of “old business”, no one spoke up with anything constructive to introduce.
NEW BUSINESS
A vote was taken for the vacant position of V.V.G.S.Q. Vice-Chairman. Mr. Fernando Lemus won the election. Congratulations Fernando.
Mrs. Gloria Godchauex of Operation:Mom, spoke about everything that they are currently doing. She mentioned that one of the VFW chapters is giving them a lot of support working through another organization. Gloria stated that Governor Arnold Alphabet last name, had made March 30 WELCOME HOME VIET NAM VETERANS DAY. Thank you Governor. Mr. Jeff Langnese was asked how long it has been since he got back from Viet Nam. We has a good laugh about what took him so long, and felt enormous gratitude toward the Terminator for MAKING OUR DAY. Thanks Arnold! Gloria also stated that there will be a huge Veterans parade on that same WELCOME HOME DAY. Thank you so much for everything you do for us Mrs. Gloria.
Mrs. J. Manley our own V.V.G.S.Q. Webmaster brought us copies of what web page looks like. We not have two websites due to the amount of info that she has put on them for us. Mrs. Manley also stated that she needs information from us to update the websites. Our donation page has to be made current. The website page that has the V.V.G.S.Q. history has to also be updated. Since Mr. J.B. Wells is one of the founding members of the V.V.G.S.Q., he was asked to volunteer to review the history page and to please do an update. Mr. Bob Kaser has some information, newspaper articles, and a picture of the founding members that will be made available for the website. A copy of the article will be add to these minutes.
A motion was made by Mr. Harry Barton to adjourn the meeting at 0915 hr. Mr. John Warren seconded the motion. A vote was taken. The motion passed. The meeting adjourned at 0915 hrs.
NEXT MEETING: NEXT CAMARADERIE NIGHT Will be on Sunday, April 25, 2010. will be on Saturday, April 24, 2010.
David Leavitt K. EVANS
Secretary/Tresurer CORRECTIONAL LIEUTENANT
V.V.G.S.Q. CHIEF-SPONSOR
VIETNAM VETERANS GROUP OF SAN QUENTIN
WEB SITE http://vvgsq.tripod.com
Lt. J. Evans, Chief Sponsor, (Extension 5205)
Sgt. D. Moore, Co Sponsor, (Extenstion 5861)
Telephone (415) 454-1460, EXT. 5205 or 5861
FAX Telephone (415) 455-5113 ATTN: Lt. K. Evans
Brothers Helping Brothers
| April 1, 2010 | Food Sale Forms Go Out | April 24, 2010 | Camaraderie Night @ 1730 hr | April 25, 2010 | Monthlly Meeting @ 0800 hr. | April 30, 2010 | Last Call for Picking up Food Sale Forms | May 22, 2010 | Non-perishable Foods delivered and stored | May 23, 2010 | Food Delivery to Mainline Population And Monthly Meeting with all supporters present. | May 29, 2010 | Camaraderie Night @ 1730 hr. | June 12, 2010 | Scholarship Banquet and Presentations | June 26, 2010 | Camaraderie Night @ 1730 hr. | June 27, 2010 | Monthly Meeting @ 0800 hr. and Annual Nominations for Executive Body members. |