Details

Written by Melissa Pierce

Published: March 10 2022

Last Updated: March 10 2022

Hits: 357

St. Louis Area Geocaching Association

MEETING MINUTES 2021

10th Jan 2022/ 6:00 PM / meet at SmithPro Painting

ATTENDEES

Steve Bromley, Robert Klemme, John Layman, Nan Dabler, Melissa Pierce, Michael Smith

Meeting called to order at 6:03 pm. 

      Motion called to approve November 2021 minutes by Robert, seconded by John. There was no meeting in December 2021.

Motion called to approve November 2021 treasurer's reports by Robert, seconded by John.

Motion called to approve December 2021 treasurer’s reports by John, seconded by Melissa.

• Can we also set up a listing of the specific types of gift cards we have on hand and total? IE: inventory.
• Money in/out is stagnant.
  • Will need to figure out some fundraisers.
• UPS has a special rate on the mailbox, see below.

Retrospective

• Cachemas
  • There was some drama with one of the First to Find competitions where someone fell going up a hill and did not receive help from other cachers going to the location.
    • Two of the individuals involved were very vocal about this.
      • Did later apologize for comments that were made in person and on social media, as many people reached out to them after learning of the incident to make sure they were ok. Including those that were at the location at the time of the incident.
    • We will ask the organizer of Cachemas to add into the standard write for each cache that this is a competition and that there are several highly competitive individuals in the area that participate.
      • Should also add to Facebook.
  • RDW and Curious George made it in time to join most of the First to Find groups.
  • Cost to SLAGA for this year was $76.88.
    • Thanks to John Elfrank for purchasing and painting this years First to Find ornaments.
• Christmas Party
  • Was held at Fortel’s Pizza in their party room.
    • Was a bit cozy, could not fit all attendees into the room.
      • Could’ve rearranged some things to be outside the room. No one seemed to mind much however.
  • We donated 183 food items, 67 toys, and 20 pet or other items.
    • Thanks to TerriBikes+ for setting up, running, and dropping off the donations.
  • Maybe next year we could go to St. Charles county or to North St. Louis county for our holiday event.
• New Year’s Day event
  • We were very surprised how many people showed up to the event considering the weather.

       Events

• Winter Potluck will be held on January 29, 2022 from 9 am to 4 pm at The Pavilion at Lemay. Hosts are LFrank and Denmother.
  • Will be handing out milestones
    • One - 100 finds pin, two - 500 finds pin, one - 1,000 find coin, and one - 10,000 chair.
  • Mask mandate is currently enacted. Unsure what the status of that will be on the day of the event.
    • John Elfrank will check on this a few days prior and update on the cache page.
  • Will have gloves and will be handed out at the start of the food line, for handling the serving spoons.
  • Will also sell preforms and log books.
• Slurpin’ Soup event
  • Robert will be hosting it this year.
    • Went and moved the caches around, as per usual.
    • Will do the event for the weekend.

      Ongoing Business

• Milestone Awards
  • Devon Morgan’s gift card was received. 
  • Robert brought one chair back for Steve to get to David for embroidery.
• 22222 Geocoins
  • Bought 50 sets of coins.
  • Have already sold 27 sets.
    • Still need to get money from 3 people for 4 sets. 
  • Invoice needs to be uploaded at this time.
  • We are hoping that we will have them by the Winter Potluck.
  • We can notify people on FaceBook about what remains
    • Give those who already bought a set another opportunity to purchase
  • Can mail a check for the coins as well.
  • Add this information to an Upcoming Events email
    • Add to email the officers if interested.
• 20th Anniversary Coins
  • Have 38 left.

New Business

• Mailbox through UPS
  • Nan called them today, they are running a special on buying 6 months, receiving an additional month free.
  • If the deal works out to buys one year and get 2 month free we would like to take advantage of it.
  • Nan will look into this deal further and try to buy a 2 year maximum with a 20 month cost.
    • Motion called by Nan, seconded by Robert
• Pathtag credits
  • We still need to use the credits that we have.
  • Suggested to use this to get a SLAGA officers pathtage made
    • Would be divided between the 5 officers to be passed out to new people at events as a way to promote SLAGA.
  • Nan will contact Sarah Chisolm about a logo for this.
• Fundraiser opportunity for SLAGA
  • Get apparel branded with SLAGA logos to sell.
    • We have had several people express interest in these types of items.
• John Elfrank is not receiving emails 
  • Steve will check with David to see if they can find the problem.
• St. Charles Library
  • John gave out information to the staff there about geocaching and our willingness to teach a GC 101 class there.

CLOSED EXECUTIVE MEETING

• None

Meeting adjourned at 8:30 pm by Nan and seconded by Robert.

NEXT MONTH’S INFORMATION

Monday, February 21, 2022 at 6:00 pm at SmithPro Painting, 2655 Metro Blvd., Maryland Heights, MO 63043.  Dinner at 5:30 pm.

map, 2/17/2022 @ 1623

Details

Written by Melissa Pierce

Published: March 10 2022

Last Updated: March 10 2022

Hits: 359

St. Louis Area Geocaching Association

MEETING MINUTES 2021

15th Nov 2021/ 6:30 PM / meet at SmithPro Painting and via Zoom 

ATTENDEES

Steve Bromley, Robert Klemme, John Layman, Nan Dabler, Melissa Pierce, Michael Smith, John Elfrank, Laurie Elfrank

Meeting called to order at 6:10 pm.

The board would like to welcome our new Vice President, John Layman. 

      Motion called to approve October 2021 minutes by Robert, seconded by Nan.

Motion called to approve October 2021 treasurer's reports by Robert, seconded by John.

• Need to set up a way to reflect how many gift cards were given away versus how many were bought.
• Jacket for the 25,000 milestone award went up in price by $12. We will probably be needing one when we ask for the next milestone submissions.
• Brought in $10 for the month of October.

Retrospective

• Fall picnic was held on October 30th. Thank you to Patricia Hutchinson for being the hostess!
  • The lack of name tags was commented on.
    • We have a lot of sticker name tags and pens
    • At one point we had thought about offering personalized, magnetic name tags for sale on the SLAGA store.
  • Gift cards were drawn, however none of the winners were at the event.
    • Winners were: Devin Morgan, Candy Grisham, and John Christensen.
    • Devin Morgan’s will be delivered by Steve.
    • Will send the winners names out in an email blast and let them know they need to pick up within 180 days.
      • This sparked a vote on how to deal with the premium member gift card drawings. 
        • All gift cards need to be picked up within 180 days.
        • Gift cards that are not picked up after 180 days will be reused at that point.
        • Motion to approve called by Nan, seconded by Melissa, all in favor.
    • Decided to get a stockpile of gift cards for 2022 while we can get them in larger groups from Sam’s Club for the denominations available that we need. 
      • Needs: 6 - $25, 4 - $20, 4 - $15, and 15 - $10

       Events

• Holiday event will be held at Fortel’s Pizza Den from 1-3 pm.
  • Will have in the party room that holds 60 people
    • Previous years had 62 and 65 attendees.
  • Will be doing our usual food and toy collection
  • Have a drawing at 2 pm 
    • Will include some of BrawnyBear’s donated coins.
    • People can get up to 3 tickets
      • Attendance, toy donation, food donation.
• Cachemas will start December 13, 2021
  • Amount for the cachemas supplies to be set at $100
    • Motion to approved called by Nan, seconded by Robert. Approved by all.
  • Bonus contains another ornament and 2 coins.
  • John has the supplies and receipts for them.
    • Will turn in the receipts soon, they are for less than $100.
• Winter Potluck will be held on January 29, 2022 from 9 am to 4 pm at The Pavilion at Lemay. Hosts are LFrank and Denmother.
  • We will have the use of the gym and the “tot” room.
    • We will not have kitchen access this year.
    • “Tot” room does have a wet bar and bathroom.
    • It also contains more circuits, lessening the likelihood that we will cause issues with our crockpots and other electrical needs.
    • We can also set up additional tables if needed in the gym.
  • There are no currently enforceable mask rules, however the staff would appreciate it if we wear them when outside of our group’s area.
    • John will also be asking that attendees wear masks while getting food.
  • Agenda has a food set up starting at 9 am
    • Set-up for the tables will be done for us.
      • We will have 15 tables with 8 people per table set up
  • Will take the picture at 1 pm with the meeting portion to follow
  • Will have geobingo, raffle, coins for sale, $3 table, and the 50/50 raffle.

      Ongoing Business

• Milestone Awards
  • Will send out a call for milestones.
    • Due by December 31st, 2021 for Winter Potluck pick up.
  • Hiking sticks were brought up.
    • $110 from geocaching.com store
    • Will need to do more research
• SLAGA store
  • We have preforms to put into the shop
  • Would also like to get some bison tubes and other things for sale.
• Brentwood would like for us to do another GC 101 class with them this spring
  • We will communicate with Allison on dates and review for conflicts.
• We have all of the boxes brought to us from the dissolution of MOGA to go through.
  • We will meet on Monday, December 8th at 6:00 pm to go through the boxes. 
• John spoke with a park ranger for St. Charles County about geocaching and how to get ones placed within the county park system.
  • The ranger seems excited to have caches in the parks
    • Was informed about the GC 101 classes.
    • We need to have Laura MacLeod write down the information that we use to work with St. Louis County.
      • We can then share this info with other counties and municipalities when talking to them about geocaching.
  • Discovered that St. Charles City has their own rules.
• Still need to perform maintenance on Leader of the Pack at West Tyson Park

New Business

• Cache in Greensfelder, Window on Caching, requires a key to access. This is also owned by the SLAGA Board.
  • Who currently has the key?
• SLAGA trailer might have a new storage area, courtesy of Michael. This could happen in 2022.
• SLAGA trailer does need some maintenance and repairs.
  • New tires and spare needed.
  • New tarp, if we are to continue storing it outside.
  • Doors need sandblasting and repair as they are oxidizing.
    • Michael may know someone who could do that.
  • Of note, trailer was purchased used in 2009.
• Another concern that was raised was if SLAGA needed to carry our own liability insurance.
  • Michael spoke with his insurance agent. They feel we do not need to have any.
    • The exception could be the ammo can toss. May want to stop offering it for this reason.
• Maybe we should offer a GC 202 class for premium members going over things such as Project GC, GSAK, and Cachetur.
• Our next GC 101 class at Queeny will be March 26th, 2022.

CLOSED EXECUTIVE MEETING

• None

Meeting adjourned at 9:09 pm by Robert and seconded by Nan.

NEXT MONTH’S INFORMATION

Monday, January 10, 2022 at 6:00 pm at SmithPro Painting, 2655 Metro Blvd., Maryland Heights, MO 63043.  Dinner at 5:30 pm.

map, 10/9/2021 @ 1919

map, 11/15/2021 @ 0949

Details

Written by Melissa Pierce

Published: November 15 2021

Last Updated: November 15 2021

Hits: 379

St. Louis Area Geocaching Association

MEETING MINUTES 2021

14th Oct 2021/ 6:30 PM / meet at SmithPro Painting and via Zoom 

ATTENDEES

Steve Bromley, Michael Smith, Robert Klemme, Nan Dabler, Melissa Pierce

Meeting called to order at 6:34 pm.

      Motion called to approve September 2021 minutes by Robert, seconded by Michael.

• There were a few typos, sent via email. Melissa will put in the corrections.

Motion called to approve September 2021 treasurer's reports by Melissa, seconded by Robert.

• Nan has added notes to certain cells with relevant information
• We will have Robert use the debit card for ordering milestone awards.
• No money came in this month.

Retrospective

• Brentwood Parks and Recs would like to see the agreement with St. Louis County Parks to understand what they require for geocache placements.
  • Steve will put together what he remembers about it. Maybe Laura MacLeod can help with this.

       Events

• GC 101 at Queeny Park is scheduled for October 16, 2021
  • Steve brought some swag for the class.
    • The box of class supplies is still missing at this time.
  • Volunteers for the class are lined up. We have four at this time.
    • Cindy Smith, Bill Lange, Dan Sovar, and Sandy Riley
  • Class will be held outside again.
    • This could be an issue at future classes in the spring. Would like to get the use of a pavilion.
  • Steve send the gpx file 
• Fall picnic will be hosted by Patricia Hutchison at Snyder Memorial Park on October 30, 2021
  • Gift cards for the prized need to be bought
    • We were too late to place the order with Kathy DeWitt
    • Steve will purchase them this week
      • Will purchase multi-packs instead of individuals if possible so we have them for later events.
  • The arrangements to have the trailer brought to the picnic have been finalized.

      Ongoing Business

• Procedures/Systems
  • Website host has been changed to A2 Hosting and is now live
  • Found a new error on the SLAGA website regarding a choice in jacket color.
    • Jackets will be black only.
      • Will email David for the correction on this.
• SLAGA bylaws
  • Reviewed the changes to be made in the bylaws
    • Article II - Membership, #7 Annual dues
      • Needs to be changed to reflect the new prices
      • Also noted that the change needs to be emailed prior to the January 1st effective date.
    • Article III - Board of Directors
      • # 2 Term of Office
        • Will change President and one Vice President to be voted every two years starting 2022
        • Will change Vice President, Treasurer, and Secretary to be voted every two years starting 2023
          • This will extend Nan’s current office holding by one year.
          • This takes care of the bank account issues.
      • # 4 Nominations
        • Change wording for the nomination finalization. Instead of “at least one month prior” to a strict end date of July 1st.
      • # 5 Elections
        • Change the wording from “prior to” to “following” regarding the electronic notification of the elections.
      • # 7 Position Duties
        • President
          • Add bank duties to the President role, in conjunction with the Treasurer.
        • Vice President
          • Divide duties between the two individuals
          • Remove “fundraising committee” and replace with “milestone awards and merchandise”.
        • Treasurer
          • Will share some duties with President
          • Add time frame of 90 days prior to fiscal year on the budget
          • Change “taxes” to “tax returns”
        • Secretary
          • Change all document types to electronic maintenance.
    • Article IV - Board of Directors Appointments
      • Section 7. MOGA will be completely deleted.
        • MOGA has been dissolved.
    • Article IX - Bylaws
      • Please note that we are to review yearly.
  • Suggested that we look into adding a social media, public relations section.
  • Nan will make the changes to the bylaws
    • We will have a Zoom meeting to review and vote on October 28th.
  • Membership due changes will take effect on January 1, 2022.
    • Melissa will send out email blasts about this.
• Milestone Awards
  • Robert has pins and coins
  • Robert took the backs of the chairs to David
    • Three awardees for these
      • Blue Daisy
      • RickNJoy
        • Concern was voiced about only getting a single chair. The membership level is for individual, not family. A single chair is correct.
      • SpiritWolf922
  • Jacket was not purchased.
    • It is for IamGrateful
    • Email about purchasing the jacket was sent to the wrong email and was not discovered until tonight.
    • We will order the jacket now, but probably can not get the embroidery done in time for the picnic.
  • We have one 1,000 coins
    • MathManBill
  • We have three 5,000 coins
    • Flamingo4Ever
    • Breezy406
    • Geokid12
• PayPal
  • Nan was finally able to get added to the account.
  • Currently Nan, David and Kathy DeWitt have permissions on the account.
    • Kathy DeWitt can be removed now that MOGA is dissolved.
  • Nan spoke with Luke Omaha in the tax department.
    • He was able to change the name on the PayPal account to match the tax documents. PayPal was listed as SLAGA instead of the full name.
    • The documents may still get rejected. It might be considered “too soon” to the name being changed within their system.

New Business

• 1099K tax document
  • There was some concern over this
  • SLAGA would have to make over $20,000 per year AND have more than 200 transactions per year in order to meet the criteria for filing.
    • We should be ok as we don’t do that much with MOGA no longer being a concern.
• Nan went by the SLAGA mailbox.
  • Checked with them on our contract.
  • We will need to renew in February 2022.
  • Because we are long standing customers, we can pay in whatever terms we’d like.
    • We will get it set up to be a January and July six month payment schedule.
      • This will enable us to keep looking for better prices on mailboxes with real addresses.
    • Cost is $25.00 per month
• Bank
  • Have not changed official location at this time.
  • Should be going to the nearest bank to the treasurer, to make the job simpler, as long as everything can be accomplished there.
• Last Pass
  • Would like to use this in order to simplify all of the SLAGA websites.
  • Also would be easier to change at each election cycle.
• Steve announced that he will be learning David’s job after his retirement later this year so that we will have more than one person with the knowledge to take care of the systems we use.
• Steve would also like for us to try out Google Meetings
  • We would use this instead of Zoom, as the Google platform is free.
• John Elfrank brought us the remaining MOGA items in multiple boxes.
  • Included ammo cans, preforms, raffle tickets, pens, other office supply items, and many other things.
• SLAGA trailer might have a new storage area, courtesy of Michael. We can look into this as it becomes more feasible.
  • Question was brought up about licensing the trailer and the insurance on it.
• Another concern that was raised was if SLAGA needed to carry our own liability insurance.
  • Michael was going to talk to his insurance agent about it.

CLOSED EXECUTIVE MEETING

• None

Meeting adjourned at 9:15 pm by Nan and seconded by Robert.

NEXT MONTH’S INFORMATION

Monday, November 15, 2021 at 6:30 pm at SmithPro Painting, 2655 Metro Blvd., Maryland Heights, MO 63043 

map, 10/9/2021 @ 1919

map, 11/15/2021 @ 0949

Details

Written by Melissa Pierce

Published: October 17 2021

Last Updated: October 17 2021

Hits: 361

St. Louis Area Geocaching Association

MEETING MINUTES 2021

13th Sept 2021/ 6:30 PM / meet at SmithPro Painting and via Zoom 

ATTENDEES

Steve Bromley, Michael Smith, Robert Klemme, Nan Dabler, Melissa Pierce, David DeWitt, Patricia Hutchison

Meeting called to order at 6:53 pm.

      Motion called to approve August 2021 minutes by Robert, seconded by Nan.

• David sent corrections today. Melissa will put in the corrections.

Motion called to approve August 2021 treasurer's reports by Robert, seconded by Melissa.

• We have $383 in PayPal.
  • Nan is still working on trying to contact someone about the business status of the account.
• We have $8,000 in regular account
• Also need to obtain the formal tax document from the State of Missouri.

Retrospective

• Brentwood Parks and Recs GC 101 was on September 11, 2021
  • Feel like visuals, such as a powerpoint presentation, is needed.
  • Would like to disable the extra icons on the GPSr units.
  • Change format to have four people give the presentation at approximately 10 minute each.
  • The Brentwood facility was very nice.
  • Brentwood would like to see the agreement with St. Louis County Parks to understand what they require for geocache placements.
    • Talk with John Elfrank or Laura MacLeod to obtain a copy of the agreement.
  • Michael was unable to find the large box with the ammo can in it. 
    • He’ll look again to see if he has it somewhere else. The rest of the board will look as well, to see if they have it.

       Events

• GC 101 at Queeny Park is scheduled for October 16, 2021
  • Will it be inside or outside?
    • If inside, can we get some visuals ready prior to it
  • Melissa will send out an email for volunteers.
• Fall picnic will be hosted by Patricia Hutchison at Snyder Memorial Park on October 30, 2021
  • Will not be doing Closest to the Pin or Ammo Can Toss
  • Will do GeoBingo
    • 3 prizes
  • Will do a Kids, Adults, and Pet costume contest
    • Have 3 prizes for Kids and Adults, 1 prize for Pet
  • Will have various raffles.
    • Have a large amount of donated items for the raffles.
    • Melissa will run the various raffles.
  • With the uncertainty of possible Covid restrictions, we will NOT have the potluck or provide meat, like usual.
    • We will provide cupcakes.
      • Nan and Steve will take of purchasing them.
        • Will need to know how many attendees to get enough.
  • Gift cards for the prized need to be bought
    • Kathy DeWitt is selling those, so we will get them from her.
  • We will have the trailer brought in so we can access the picnic stuff.
    • If anyone needs barbeque supplies, they will be there. However we will not be broadcasting that information.
  • There are new caches planned for placement in the park.

      Ongoing Business

• Procedures/Systems
  • David DeWitt joined again tonight to go over the changes made and to see if there were any additional issues for him to work on.
  • Website host will be changing to A2 Hosting
    • A2 is out of Michigan 
    • Has multiple server farms.
    • We will know that the change happened once we receive a bill for the service.
      • David was able to get the service on a special for $179 for 3 years.
    • David has tested the website on the new server and everything looks good on it.
  • SLAGA Website
    • David implemented the changes to the awards page.
      • Steve and Michael reviewed.
      • We’ve had one submission with the new award page. 
        • Appears to have worked correctly.
      • A link to the men’s jacket has been added.
        • A link to the womens jacket will be added as well.
      • Will add in size for the jacket as well.
      • Want to add in a “when will you pick up?” options as well as the mailing it
        • Winter potluck, spring picnic, and fall picnic will be the pick up options.
    • A Facebook link is now on the website.

• 20th Anniversary Coins
  • David will get prepaid coins to Rick Evans (4ranger13) as he lives in the same area.
• SLAGA bylaws
  • All officers need to review their job descriptions
  • May need to have a specific meeting to review and make changes to the bylaws prior to October 30, 2021.
  • Because of the term changes for the Treasurer and President being at the same time, instead of alternating, we may need to consider extending one of them.
    • The reason is that the two officers on the bank accounts must be the President and Treasurer. This can cause issues if they are both leaving at the same time.

New Business

• Awards
  • Brantole got her coin at the Ted Drewes event in August.
  • Any awards that need to be embroidered needs at least 3 weeks lead time for safety.
  • Potential upcoming awards
    • 1 - 25K
    • 2 - 10K
    • 1 - 5K
    • 1 - 1K
• Steve will purchase 6 chairs from Wal-Mart for upcoming awards.
• Would like to purchase a small Geocaching flag for smaller SLAGA sponsored events where the large banner would be too bulky.
  • Will purchase at the same time as the award coins.
• Discussion was had about making Adventure Labs out of the Boone’s Lick Road
  • Could use the BLR coins for completion of the labs, if this can be done.
    • So far we have sold none of those particular coins.
• Susan, OhLookItsARabbit, has made some geocoins.
  • She may be donating some to SLAGA for future use.

CLOSED EXECUTIVE MEETING

• None

Meeting adjourned at 8:35 pm by Nan and seconded by Melissa.

NEXT MONTH’S INFORMATION

Thursday, October 14, 2021 at 6:30 pm at SmithPro Painting, 2655 Metro Blvd., Maryland Heights, MO 63043 

map, 10/9/2021 @ 1919

Details

Written by Melissa Pierce

Published: October 09 2021

Last Updated: October 09 2021

Hits: 361

St. Louis Area Geocaching Association

MEETING MINUTES 2021

16th Aug 2021/ 6:30 PM / meet at SmithPro Painting

ATTENDEES

Steve Bromley, Michael Smith, Robert Klemme, Nan Dabler, Melissa Pierce, David DeWitt

Meeting called to order at 6:35 pm.

Motion called to approve July 2021 minutes by Robert, seconded by Nan.

Motion called to approve July 2021 treasurer's reports by Michael, seconded by Robert.

• Nan asked David about the way Amazon charges for their services. It is a pay per use charge set up so the amount owed changes from month to month.

Retrospective

• None

       Events

• Brentwood Parks and Recs GC 101 will be held on September 11, 2021 from 10 am - 12 pm.
  • Currently have four volunteers to help with the class.
• Fall picnic is upcoming and should be held in October.
  • Will send out an email looking for a host.
    • Deadline for response is September 3rd, 2021.
  • Robert has a copy of the host duties for SLAGA sponsored picnics.

      Ongoing Business

• Procedures/Systems
  • David DeWitt was able to join us tonight to go over questions and to relay information related to the SLAGA website, store, and other online concerns.
  • Store issues
    • Can we add milestone awards to the store in some way for people to “purchase” the award and then be able to choose to pay for shipping (excluding the chair and jacket due to shipping costs) or state which picnic they will pick up the award at? 
      • Can we also include an option for “no award” wanted? 
        • It was mentioned that not everyone wants the milestone award, simply the recognition.
      • When a member signs up for an award can we include a form for updated information such as their current email and phone number?
      • Would like to also change how long we will hold onto an award.
        • Currently we have some that are several years old that have yet to be picked up by the recipients.
        • Suggested that we hold on to them for 90 days after missing the pick up date.
          • We could then reuse the award for ones not personalized.
          • Personalized awards could be placed in a cache
    • Can we add a place to renew or purchase a membership to the store?
      • Feel like it is currently somewhat confusing and bulky to do as it is now.
      • David thinks we might be able to. 
      • No can not change, this is built into the system.   David walked everybody through the process at the August meeting.
    • Can we add the old coins and trackables to the store for sale?
      • Absolutely can add to the store.
      • We will also include the Boone’s Lick Road coins for purchase at $15 plus shipping.
  • SLAGA Website
    • Is our Facebook page linked to on the site?
      • It is not currently, David will add.
    • Can we improve on the membership milestones area. It doesn’t go over what exactly is included with them.
      • Can we include pictures of what the milestone awards are?
      • Is there a way to get from the Facebook page to this area?
    • We currently email a reminder for membership renewal.
      • Can we have the email send them straight to the store?
    • We will be updating the membership prices on November 1, 2021 and need the updated information placed on the website.
  • Other technical concerts
    • Is there a way to automatically track how many total years a member has paid for?
      • David does not believe this to be possible 
    • Is there a way to ensure that individual information for family memberships are flagged that way?
      • Family memberships mean living at the same house.
        • We do have a few of these however it is not a widespread issue.
      • Family memberships are allowed 2 awards.
      • We would like to prevent extra awards going to families.
    • We need to find a new hosting website.
      • Current website, Joomla, has now hit its end of life and will no longer be doing upgrades. Community Builder will require the new version fairly soon. Blue Host will not update the MySQL to a new version
        • We probably have about a year before we will need to move.
      • David has been looking for a new hosting service that is comparable to what we have now in both services offered and cost.
        • Approval was given for David to find and acquire the needed change by Nan, seconded by Robert. No objections.
    • Is there a way to find invalid emails and then remove those people from the SLAGA membership rolls?
      • Valid email is a condition of membership for SLAGA.
    • David does have a budget for our website related costs, however can not find it currently.
      • David was the only one to turn in a budget to Steve
      • David will see if he can locate it.

• 20th Anniversary Coins
  • John Elfrank has sold all the coins he had.
    • Money was received and is in account.
• Election
  • Ballots were sent out.
    • Will send out once again in hopes to get additional votes.
  • Voting ends on August 31, 2021.
• SLAGA bylaws
  • Need to make any changes to this prior to the Fall Picnic business meeting, to take effect on November 1st, 2021.
  • Expense review needs to be added to be done yearly.
    • Fiscal year or calendar year.
  • All references to MOGA need to be removed
• Bank issues
  • Nan will need to order more check 
    • Steve thinks he may have some and will check.
  • PayPal is still listed under Pam Ueltzen as the owner.
    • In order to change this we have to give them a change with an actual person, not an organization, and with a real address. Also must be completed on SLAGA letterhead.
  • MOGA account has now been closed and remaining money has been placed into the SLAGA account.
  • A thumbnail drive with old financials had been given to a previous treasurer however it is unable to be found.
    • David located old financial information from 2014 through 2018.
  • US Bank account
    • Nan finally received a debit card for the account in June.
    • Had previous communication with Amanda, the Vice President of the Granite City, IL branch, about changing branches to one within St. Louis, MO.
      • According to Amanda all that needs to be done is to send of documents for the transfer
      • Nan talked with someone at the Kirwood, MO branch and they stated we would have to close the account and reopen it as a new account.
      • We have not been able to get a response from Amanda about this situation.
    • Steve would like to move to a new bank.
      • Will need to look at what types of fees and charges a new bank has for a 501(c)7 organization with less than $10,000 in revenue
        • Suggestions were given of banks that the board use
          • Enterprise, Royal, and Regions banks 
            • Nan will look into the suggestions.

Donated items

• Megan had donated items and asked for a statement for taxes.
  • We are unable to do that as we are a 501(c)7 organization.

New Business

• Write up for Dane Morgan’s passing
  • Melissa will complete and get out via email.
• Would like to start updating the SLAGA website four time per year
  • Ask for article contributions from members.
• Michael would like to try to get a Zoom meeting together with other geocaching groups in order to brainstorm and share ideas.
  • Michael will see if he can get some people together to do this.

CLOSED EXECUTIVE MEETING

• None

Meeting adjourned at 9:03 pm by Robert and seconded by Michael.

NEXT MONTH’S INFORMATION

Monday, September 13, 2021 at 6:30 pm at SmithPro Painting, 2655 Metro Blvd., Maryland Heights, MO 63043 

map, 7/28/2021 @ 1954, corrections 10/9/2021 @ 1126