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Meeting Location: Davis Library
November 29, 2006

Members Present: Mark, Jason, John V, Nathalie, Tracy

Meeting Times - Start: 7:05 pm - End: 8.55 pm

1. Graduate Student
   
   Mark informed the members present that starting in January he will be focusing on his health and continuing to prepare for his upcoming 15-year college reunion. Mark had attempted to have a member(s) step up and fill in. However, nobody wanted to take on the responsibility. The Montgomery County Learning Disabilities Association wanted to see the Fun Bunch continue running without Mark. Mark knows that Daria is getting busy now, so to take the pressure off both Daria and Mark, the Montgomery County L.D.A. is going to get a graduate student to take over and run the group for a few months. The L.D.A. has started to advertise for a graduate student to run the group,at various colleges and universities. With this in mind, the L.D.A. wants the group to come up with a job description for the graduate student.
   
   Job Description
   The members present at the meeting, came up with the following thoughts:
   
   a) Have a good agenda ready for the meeting, with copies to hand out to the members.
   
   b) E-mail a draft of the agenda, at least 4 days prior to the night of the meeting, to both Mark and a Fun Bunch liason to ensure that the agenda is one that the group approves of.
   
   c) Be at the meeting at least 15-20 minutes prior to the meeting to set-up and to greet members as they arrive.
   
   d) Be a people oriented person
   
   e) Record who attends the meeting
   
   f) Record both the start time and the end time of the meeting
   
   g) Help the group stay on task/stay on goals during the meeting. The order of the first hour of the meeting is as follows: Taking care of any unfinished business from the prior meeting, planning new activities, and then if any time remains before Dr. Jessie arrives, 8:00 p.m., the group may discuss any issues or any emotional items that are or have been affecting the group.
   
   h) Consult with Dr. Jessie and the Fun Bunch liason to ensure that there is a topic in which the group really wants to discuss that evening.
   
   i) Type up minutes of the meeting and e-mail them to the group



2. Bowling
   
   Mark mentioned how he had called Strike’s in Bethesda. It is indeed an expensive place to bowl. The lone exception is on Sundays, after 5:00 p.m. the cost per game per person is $5.25. Rental shoes are $4.50 a person. Mark has not contacted the Naval base in Bethesda in regards to bowling.



3. Holiday Party
   
   Mark reminded people that this year’s holiday party is going to be a brunch at Jasper’s located in Germantown, Maryland. It will take place on Sunday December 10th at 10:30 a.m. Mark also reminded people that there is only a 15 minute grace period. That means that everybody has to be present no later than 10:45 a.m. ALSO, just to be seated, at least 80% of out party has to be present. MAKE sure to be on time on Sunday morning!!!!



4. Secret Santa
   
   We will once again do the Secret Santa gift exchange. We will do this at some point during the brunch. The only difference this year is that in order to participate in this year’s exchange the person must have a wrapped gift at the brunch. Also, there is a $25 limit on the cost of a gift.



5. Valentine’s Dance
   
   Mark stated that Daria had informed Mark that Dave N’ Buster’s is out of the question as they are seeking $2,000 just to reserve one of the party rooms. Daria is working on alternatives. Also, after consulting with Daria, I think that if we should do a Valentine’s event in 2007, it should only be Fun Bunch members only. Perhaps in 2008 we can invite other groups and organizations to a Valentine’s event.



6. Winter Social Activities
   
   Mark asked the members present what type of winter activities that they might be interested in doing. Here are the answers:
   
   
   
   a) Holiday lights- Both Seneca Creek Park and the lights in the Wheaton Park
   
   b) National Christmas Tree and Menorah in Washington, D.C.
   
   c) Snow Tubing
   
   d) Ice Skating



7. New Business
   
   Mark asked for new ideas that the group has never done before, that the group would like to see in 2007. Here is a list of the ideas:
   
   a) Toastmaster’s- A group that teaches you how to better write and to present a speech.
   
   b) Chincoteague, Virginia- Take a trip down to Chincoteague to see the ponies crossing the bay into Maryland. Maybe afterwards do a crabfeast someplace.
   
   c) Virginia Beach- Take a weekend trip to Virginia beach
   
   d) Bicycling, Hiking, Walking, Swimming- Starting for sure in spring 2007 and do this on a constant basis. The group decided that the best day of the week to do this would be on Saturday. The group agreed that if we have a mild winter with not much snow, maybe we could some of this during the winter months. But definitely in spring 2007! Mark noted that this would really help him get into shape and would be fun to do as a group.



8. Non-Fun Bunch Members
   
   During the meeting, the topic of non Fun Bunch members attending events was brought up. Mark went ahead and clarified the issue, saying that there was officially no rule, at least not in writing. However, in the past it has been discussed and we came up with the “72-hour” rule. Where if somebody asks to bring a guest at least 72 hours (3 days) in advance I most likely would say “YES” to bringing a guest. If somebody asks to bring a guest an hour or two hours before the event, I most likely would say “NO” unless I personally knew the person. In that case, I would say “Yes” if I knew that the person was nice, and was most likely not to cause problems. After clarifying for the group, I wrote a note to myself to put this into the rules in some fashion. I will work on that in the coming weeks.



9. Dr. Jessie
   
   The topic that we discussed is being alone at the holidays and dealing with stress. First, Dr. Jessie handed out a packet of information regarding this topic. Then she asked the group why do people get depressed during the holiday season?
   
   The group reply ranged from family members that have died in past years, not having a significant other, recently breaking up with a significant other, planning too much stuff on a daily basis.
   
   Dr. Jessie also asked the group what can you do to limit the amount of stress. Among some of the replies were taking a nap in order to refresh yourself, listening to either holiday music or classical music, and exercise, and also to learn how to say “no” to some of the events that you might be invited to, as a means to avoid becoming overburdened.
   
   Dr. Jessie also asked what topic members wanted to talk about at next months meeting; the topic that the group agreed upon was to follow up on the same topic and see how we have coped with the early portion of the holiday season stress. Also examining specific ways that we have attempted to reduce stress. The other part of the discussion topic is to discuss the best ways to meet people of the opposite sex and the best ways to make “small talk”.
   
   Mark mentioned to the group that one way the group could become more focused and/or better in 2007 is for everybody to come up with one “personal” goal and also as a group come up with one “group goal” for 2007. One idea is to look into Toastmaster’s. That way everybody in the group will be better at speaking, especially around the job, at family functions, wedding speeches, etc.
   
   I look forward to seeing everybody at the next meeting!



10. FUTURE MEETING SCHEDULE
    
    The next meeting will take place at the Davis Library, lower level meeting room on Wednesday December 13th, 2006 at 7:00 p.m.