Minutes of the
President Lloyd called the
meeting to order at
Members present: Jack Bolen,
Marty Miller, Allen,
Welcome guests:
Wives:
June Bolen, Jeanne Lloyd, Judy Copeland, Phyllis Ward
Other
guests: David Bryant, Charles Kligg, Sarah Boyya and
Helen Arnold from Southeast Guide Dogs
The President introduced the
guests.
The minutes of the January
meeting were approved.
The Secretary shared a brief
antidote regarding a recent order with the SAR merchandise center. In this instance
the center responded promptly and somewhat above and beyond the call of duty.
He also announced a fundraising golf tournament sponsored by the Army ROTC unit
at USF and pointed out that the chapter had begun to receive invitations from
local high schools regarding our JROTC awards.
Jack Bolen commented
positively on the JROTC awards and encouraged members to participate in the
presentations at the local high schools.
Marty Miller reported that
his audit of the chapter books had been successful. He found a few minor errors
(dealing mostly with the sometimes inadequate handwriting of the treasurer, but
concluded that the books were correct and in order. All the treasurer’s
materials were given to our new Treasurer Chuck Copeland who reported a cash balance
of $2808.45.
Registrar Alan Bell reported
that he had received inquiries from two prospective members.
As Color Guard Commander,
Alan announced a Massing of the Colors, Sunday, March 7th, 2pm. He
will meet with the members after the meeting to provide further details.
President Lloyd reported that the color guard was asked to present the colors
at an event this fall at
Vice President Bob Yarnell
detailed the programs for the next few months. These include the JROTC luncheon
in April and a presentation by Jim Schnur in May
discussing the situation in
President Lloyd offer
favorable comments regarding the chapter website and encouraged those not
familiar with it to look through it.
President Lloyd brought up
the issue of awards for members. He was prompted by noticing John Skillman’s
service award. He’d like to be sure that those in the chapter are honored for
their work. In the spirit of those comments the President presented a Past
President’s pin to Alan Bell in appreciation for his service to the chapter.
The President proposed that
we might devote a few minutes each meeting to allow a member to share a bit of their
background and story. Members interested were asked to speak to the president.
The meeting recessed for
lunch.
The President introduced our
speaker, Helen Arnold, who spoke on the Southeastern Guide Dogs’ Paws for
Patriots program. The facility is located on 23 acres in
Helen took the audience
through the process by which the dogs are trained. The facility breeds and then
raises their own dogs. New born pups are isolated from
the public but after 6 weeks are moved to a puppy center that is open to the
public. This is, of course, popular with the public but it is also good
training for the dogs as it exposes them to many situations they will encounter
later.
After 3 weeks the dogs are
given to dog trainers located throughout the country. For a year to 18 months
the dog is house broken, taught obedience, and generally socialized. The dogs
accompany the trainers on their normal day to day activities. Only the medical
expenses are paid for by Southeastern. Everything else is paid for by the
trainers. At any one time they will have 250 dogs in training. Helen spoke to
the sacrifice that the trainers make when they give up the dog at the end of
the training phase.
The dog is then returned to
Southeastern and the dogs are trained in the specific skills needed to be a
guide to a visually impaired person. Helen spoke to the benefit they received
from an on-sight veterinarian which was made possible by a recent donation.
They next plan to build a veterinary clinic.
The next phase is to match
the dog with the person needing the animal. The ‘students’ as they are called
spend 26 days at the Palmetto facility where they learn to work with the dog
under the supervision of an experience trainer. Some of this training is done
on site but the team of student and dog also goes to malls and other public
places to better simulate life experiences
Southeaster maintains
contact with the teams (person & dog) throughout the life of the dog.
Not all dogs are suitable
for guide dogs and those identified as such are then trained for other roles –
police work: drug dogs, arson dogs, etc. Other dogs work as therapy dogs. Helen
detailed several examples where a dog was of benefit to children, autistic, or
other challenged individuals.
Helen then discussed the
Paws for Patriots program. She related a story where a dog was provided to a
soldier with severe post traumatic stress syndrome. Since 2005 the program has
serviced 10-15 veterans. Four are from this area.
The animal is a $60,000
investment over the life of the dog. The dog, training and follow-up is
provided at no cost to the recipient.
A short video was shown to
the membership that detailed the story of a woman who lost her sight as a
result of her tour in
Questions followed.
Kevin won the 50/50. The
treasury was enriched by $9.00.
The President announced that
we will have two school participating in the poster contest
this year. Each school will be submitting their three best entries and these
will be on hand at the March meeting for members to judge.
The President led the
recessional, Jack Bolen gave the benediction, and the meeting adjourned at
Respectfully submitted,
Kevin Yarnell
Chapter Secretary