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Meeting Location:
Mark's Condo
July 26th, 2006

Members Present: Daria, Tracy, Walter, Nina, Mark, Andrew

Meeting Times - Start: 7:10 pm - End: 8.40 pm

1. Welcome
   
   We welcomed Andrew to the group. He was unsure as to whether or not the group was the right fit for him. He is currently looking for a support group for individuals ages 21 – 25. At one point, he stated that he thought that is was not the right group for him, yet at the conclusion of the meeting he told Mark that he would see us at the next meeting.



2. Dr. Jessie
   
   Mark informed the group that two hours before the meeting Dr. Jessie had called and said that she was not feeling well; that she was sick and apologized about canceling on such short notice. Mark also announced that Dr. Jessie emphasized the fact that she would be attending the August meeting AND that she would not be attending the September meeting as she is getting married



3. August Meeting
   
   Mark asked the group, what they wanted to do in terms of the August meeting. Mark told the group the choices, Have the meeting on August 16th at the Special Needs Library without Mark OR have the meeting on a different August night at Mark’s condo. The group decided that with Mark present it is hard enough to get many members and without Mark that it would be a very small meeting. The group decided to have the August meeting on August 23rd at Mark’ s condo.



4. September Meeting
   
   Mark discussed the date of the September meeting. From my records there was no set meeting date at the Special Needs library, so the group decided to hold the September meeting on September 13th at Mark’s condo. Mark also notified the group that Dr. Jessie would not be present at the September meeting as she is getting married, so she is unable to make a September meeting.



5. Six Month Rule
   
   Mark mentioned to the group that in an effort to increase attendance at both meetings and activities, Mark thought it would be a good idea to create the “six month” rule.
   
   Essentially the “six month” rule is to take effect as of July 26th, 2006. As of that date, any member who does not attend either a meeting and/or an activity for six months, would then be marked as “inactive”.  As an “inactive” member, that person would then be taken off of the Fun Bunch Address Book.  After a vote at the meeting, it was decided that if a member does not attend a meeting and/or an activity for one year, then that person would then have to reapply for membership in the Fun Bunch. At such time the membership committee would then meet and decide whether or not to reinstate that person.



6. Birthday Celebrations
   
   Mark discussed the situation regarding the May/June birthday celebration which was held on June 24th. Making a long story short, there were not many members who attended that event. YES, there were two sessions; an afternoon and an evening session. The members that showed up for the afternoon session were Nina, Nathalie, and Mark. The members that were present for the evening session were Walter, Mark, Nathalie, and Jill.  Due to some of the birthday people not in attendance and also due to the poor turnout, the group decided to have a “make-up” date for the May/June birthday celebration. The “make-up” date is now set for August 25th. The group decided that since we really do not do many events in Virginia, to have this event in Virginia. The group decided to meet at East City in McLean, Virginia. East City is located on Spring Hill Road in McLean, Virginia. If anybody has any questions or concerns or have another idea where to meet at please e-mail Mark as soon as possible!!! As of now the event is scheduled for



7. Crab Feast
   
   Until now the group had planned on having a crab feast on September 23rd to commemorate the Fun Bunch’s 7th anniversary. After a discussion at the meeting, it was determined that Walter, Nina, and Eric do not eat crabs. It was also determined that quite a few members had concerns about the cost of a possible crab feast. So after a good conversation it was agreed that we would scratch having a crab feast on September 23rd.



8. Fun Bunch 7th Anniversary
   
   After agreeing to do away with the crab feast, the group brainstormed some ideas on how to commemorate the anniversary. Here is a listing of some of the ideas that came up:
   
   Washington Nationals baseball game
   Maryland Renaissance Festival
   Picnic in Black Hills Park in Germantown
   
   Among all of the ideas that came up, it sounded as though having a picnic in Black Hills Park in Germantown, Maryland was the most popular amongst the members who were in attendance at the meeting. The group decided to go to Black Hills Park on



9. Future Events
   
   The events that people would like to see happen, are the Maryland Renaissance Festival, the Germantown Oktoberfest, a Washington Nationals baseball game, resume bowling, and have more movie nights, both at a theatre and rental movies, attend a Maryland Terrapins football game, attend a Frederick Keys baseball game. Please let Mark know if there is something that you would like to do and it is not on this list.



10. Holiday Party
    
    Mark and the group discussed the holiday party. Mark asked the group what they wanted for this year’s Holiday party. The group stated that they wanted to have the party the same way it was last year;- families invited. Mark suggested putting a limit on how many people attend this year’s party. Essentially, at last year’s party there were a lot of people in attendance and it was just about to the point where it was pretty hard for people to move around. That is why I think that we should have a first come-first serve attitude in terms of people signing up to attend the holiday party. I know legally in the community room we were just under the mandated maximum of 45-50 people in the room at one time. At next month’s meeting we can discuss what people feel is a safe and manageable crowd for the party. Mark also asked the group when they would like to have this year’s party. The group decided the best days to have the party would be either Saturday December 2nd OR Saturday December 9th. At the meeting, the most popular answer seemed to be Saturday December 9th. Mark also wants the input from the other members who were not present at the meeting. So a final answer is yet to be determined.



11. Fun Bunch Valentine Party
    
    The group discussed the 2007 Valentine party to be held next year in middle of February. The group discussed a lot regarding the party. Mark informed Daria of the fact that members have come to me and expressed the fact that they do not feel comfortable driving to Anne Arundel county to Dave N’ Busters. They have expressed that they would prefer to keep the event in Montgomery County.
    
    Upon hearing this Daria was shocked and wondered why people could not come to her to tell her. I did not have an answer for Daria, but did tell her that it would be February and the threat of snow and ice that time of year, not to mention that some people would be coming all the way from Virginia and from D.C.  Among the sites that Daria has looked into include the Casey Community Center, which is located in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Daria indicated that the Casey Community Center would be more expensive than the Arundel Mills Mall Dave N’ Buster’s.
    
    Daria also mentioned that she had also looked into Glen Echo. She said that this would also be expensive but it would be $50 cheaper than the Jewish Community Center (J.C.C.)
    
    Mark told Daria to send everything that she has to Judy Lantz and Judy will be able to see all of the documents that Daria has, and once Judy has all the information, we will evaluate the situation further. Mark did say to keep all options open, but that Montgomery County, Maryland would be the preferred location for the Valentine Party
    
    Mark then asked the group what exactly were people looking for in a Valentine party. Mark also told the group to forget about price for a moment. Mark wanted to know if people wanted an event where people could dance and mingle, or an event where people could get a bite to eat and mingle, or an event where people could mingle and play games. One of the first reactions of the group was “dancing would be cool”. They also want food. Those were the two common answers to the question. In terms of the actual Valentine party, the group agreed to have the party either the weekend before of the weekend after Valentine’s Day.



12. Suggestions
    
    Andrew mentioned how it may be a good idea to advertise the Fun Bunch in the Montgomery College newspaper, and the Jewish Community Center newsletter. Daria suggested that we could also advertise the Fun Bunch in the University of Maryland newspaper.



13. Omission
    
    Mark wants everyone to know that in the minutes from the June meeting, Mark omitted the fact that at that meeting I believe the issue of allowing individuals who were 18 and older to join the Fun Bunch. After a discussion, it was OK with everyone present at the June meeting.



14. NEXT MEETING
    
    Just a reminder that the next meeting will be held at Mark’s condo, Look forward to seeing all of you there!