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Meeting Location: DAVIS LIBRARY
December 12, 2007

Members Present: Eric(For the first hour), Lorin, Walter, Nathalie, Carla, John V., Daria, Mark

Meeting Times - Start: 7.05 pm - End: 9.00 pm

1. NEW MEMBER:
   We welcomed our newest member, Carla Shipp. We did introductions and welcomed Carla to the group.



2. HOLIDAY PARTY:
   We discussed the holiday party, to be held at Greenfields, which is located at 1801 Rockville Pike in Rockville, Maryland. It was discovered during the meeting, that the cost per person, for the buffet, was $32.95. This does not include tax, tip, and beverages, nor does it include dessert. There was a question of whether everybody in the group was able to afford the cost of Greenfield’s and there also was the issue of weather. As it turns out, the weather was fine, only rain, and everybody seemed to be comfortable with the cost of Greenfield’s. There was a nice turnout for the Holiday party. The following people were present at the party: ( Mark, Nina, Daria, Jason, Nathalie and her parents, John V. and his parents, Eric and his mother and step-father, Lorin and his friend Jill, Walter, Carla and her mother and her brother, and Steven D.)



3. Shower For Tom & Keri:
   We had decided at the November meeting that we would try and have a wedding shower for Tom and Keri, who were married back in July, sometime in January. After a discussion at the meeting, it was decided that the best day to attempt to have this event would be either on Saturday January 5th, 2008 OR on Saturday January 19th, 2008. All members present at the meeting were OK with those dates. The only issue now is passing those dates onto Tom and Keri to see if those dates will work for them.



4. December/January Birthday Celebration:
   The following members have birthdays in December: Martha & Tom. The following member has a birthday in January: Eric. Due to December being extremely stressful as well as extremely busy for everybody, we have decided to celebrate the December/January birthdays together on Saturday, January 12th.



5. Valentine’s Party Update:
   Daria spoke about hosting the Valentine Dance/Party in February 2009. Daria mentioned how she intends to invite several support groups and organizations that help the disabled to the dance. Daria mentioned that there are two locations for this event. One location is Glen Echo, and the second location is some recreation center in Gaithersburg. Daria also mentioned how she intends to charge around $4-$8 per ticket to non-Fun Bunch members. Daria also mentioned how she intends this event to be free for Fun Bunch members.



6. Game night:
   At last month’s meeting, some members expressed an interest in having a game night sometime in January. Do we still want to do a game night in January OR shall we hold off until February? Due to time constraints, this topic was not discussed at the meeting. However, if you are interested in doing a gamenight then please e-mail Mark AND Daria.



7. Fun Bunch Rules:
   During the meeting, we discussed the issue of alcohol consumption at Fun Bunch events. It was noted that we currently have a no-alcohol policy, except at special events. The group discussed the fact that we now seem to have a responsible group, and also discussed the possibility of allowing the group to allow one alcoholic beverage during a meal (lunch or dinner). Most members seemed to be OK with this. One member seemed to be pushing/wanting the limit to be two alcoholic beverages per meal. At the conclusion of the discussion, I, Mark, noted that I was comfortable adjusting the rules to allow one alcoholic beverage at a meal. Upon the request of two alcoholic beverages per meal, per person, I noted a concern of the issue of possible drinking and driving, as well as the danger of mixing medicine with alcohol. It appeared that people were OK with two beverages, but just to be sure, I would like everybody to contact me, both in the form of a phone call AND an e-mail to let me know your opinion on the issue of allowing alcoholic beverages to be consumed during meals( AND ALSO HOW MANY BEVERAGES). Once all members have had a chance to voice their input, I will update group with the results. Depending upon how members, feel, then at that time we may or may not officially adjust the Fun Bunch rules.



8. Fun Bunch Coordinator Position:
   As most of you are aware, we are still searching for somebody to fill the position. Mark has tried to contact one or two ladies at the LAB school in Washington, D.C. but they have not returned phone calls. The next steps in order to find a person to fill the role of coordinator are that the Montgomery County Learning Disabilities Association has posted a request for someone to step forward to fill the position in the December issue of the Montgomery County LDA newsletter. The other step that can be taken and will be followed up on in the very near future is to call up the Disability Support Office at Montgomery College in Rockville, and talk with someone at that office and see if anybody would be willing to step forward. We are trying to get either a graduate student or a undergraduate student to set-up an internship to help the Fun Bunch for a 6-month term. After announcing this to the group, Carla stated that she attended Montgomery College, and knew a lady, Karla Neighbors (sp.?), who worked with the disabled students, and thus may be a new way to get new members in the Fun Bunch. The reason for the search for a coordinator is because in January, Mark intends to start focusing on himself in terms of both career and in terms of health. Stay Tuned for details regarding the Coordinator position.



9. Movie Night:
   I recall that some members, over the last few meetings have also expressed an interest in having a movie night. I cannot remember if they were talking about going out to the movie theatre for a movie night OR if they meant renting a DVD to watch at somebody’s place. Are members still interested in doing a movie night? Once again, due to time constraints this issue was not discussed at the meeting. If interested please contact both Mark and Daria.



10. Dr. Jessie:
    Dr. Jessie attended the meeting, and was presented the baby shower gifts that were intended for the surprise baby shower at the November meeting. Dr. Jessie opened the gifts and the card. Dr. Jessie also indicated that tonight would most likely be her last meeting until possibly April. She also stated that she looks forward to working with us in the spring.
    
    The topics that we discussed tonight included, how to deal with people who are negative regarding the holidays/Christmas. We also touched on the topic of self-esteem. There was a discussion on how to be prepared for making speeches in public. Among some of the suggestions that were discussed were: speak slowly, speak clearly, limit hand gestures, try and speak on a topic that you know extremely well, and make frequent eye-contact with the crowd. Our final topic was starting to address how we have done in terms of meeting the group goals that we set way back in February. Due to time constraints, we only had time to focus on the first goal, which was increase membership by 15%. We acknowledge that we came short in this goal, but discussed ways that we might be able to attain this goal in 2008. We mentioned making FUN BUNCH business cards with a contact person and number to pass out to people who might ask about the Fun Bunch or might want to become a member; we also mentioned making new brochures for the Fun Bunch, and as our newest member mentioned, calling Karla Neighbors, and talk to her regarding the coordinator position, and ask if she might have any students that might be interested in the Fun Bunch. At this point, the meeting adjourned.



11. Next Meeting:
    The next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday January 9th, 2008. The meeting will take place at the Davis Library, in the BIG ROOM. I believe that the library refers to this room as ROOM #1.