During the Club's September 3rd meeting, Dr. Reynolds took advantage of a captive audience to relay stories from a February 26-March 11 voyage he and his family (including his 81 year old mother!) made to Antarctica to celebrate the life of his recently deceased father. Dr. Reynolds completed the voyage aboard a vessel named the "Polar Pioneer," which was operated by a Russian crew. The trip included a great many exciting encounters with local wildlife, such as seals (leopard seals, elephant seals, crab-eater seals, and fur seals), humpback whales, and multiple species of penguins. After initially flying to Chile, Dr. Reynold's and his family began their journey in earnest in the Shetland Islands, which is home to scientific research stations from 18 different nations. Club members were dazzled by pictures of icebergs of all different sizes and color varieties (we learned that blue icebergs are fragments from glaciers and the blue comes from the ice's heightened oxygen content). In addition to visiting the continent's solo post office to send post cards that would arrive at their target destination some months later, Dr. Reynold's and his mom participated in a "Polar Plunge"... which could have killed lesser people. The trip concluded with the Polar Pioneer traversing Drake's Passage on what Dr. Reynold's characterized as a "calm" couple of days because the waves were only 10' high. Although Dr. Reynold's failed to conclude his presentation at 1:14 as promised, the presentation was well-received and enjoyed by all.
In place of a speaker last week interested members held a preliminary auction meeting. Gail Molari and Joan DiMartino will chair the auction this year, which will be held at the Crowne Plaza on Saturday, January 30. The theme has not yet been selected, so if you have suggestion get it to one of them sooner than later. Likewise, if there is something about our auction that you think we can improve upon, don't be shy about it. Speaking of sooner than later, the overriding focus of this year's auction will be getting items in sooner than later so that the club can be more organized and assured of procuring items otherwise overlooked. This is especially critical this year because we will not be meeting on December 24 and December 31, which effectively puts us behind by two weeks. Auction planning and activities will officially kick-off at our Club meeting on September 10.
Please remember to use a non-denominational prayer - be respectful of others' beliefs. If you will not be at the meeting, please notify Joel Scussel (joel.scussel@mountainone.com) who your replacement will be in advance.
The board voted to reinstate the $2.00 fine for members needing to leave the meeting before the speaker. Please make the effort to stay to hear the speaker and the 1:15 meeting end time.
