---

	Nominating Committee: Natalie, Christy, John & Dave

It is election time once again, and this year will bring a number of changes to the board of directors of the Houston Canoe Club as some current officers retire from their positions.

Christy Long has spearheaded the nomination committee of Natalie Wiest, Dave Kitson, and John Ohrt to put forth a slate of candidates to fill the vacant positions on the board.

 

Here is a list of the board positions, the current officers, and the candidates running for the positions for the year 2013.   

 

Position		Current Officer		2013 Candidate
Commodore		Ken McDowell		Harmon Everett
Vice-Commodore		Joe Coker		Phil Matticks
Fleet Captain		Tim Garber		Dave Kitson
Purser		Harmon Everett		Bob Naeger
Recorder		John Berlinghoff		Tisha Matticks
Boatswain		Honey Leveen		Honey Leveen
Newsletter Editor		John Rich		John Rich

Harmon Everett		Phil Matticks		Dave Kitson		Bob Naeger

Tisha Matticks		Honey Leveen		John Rich

The election will be held at the Nov. 14th general membership meeting.

 

In addition to these elected positions, there are two Standing Committees which are appointed by the Commodore:

Position		Current Officer		2013 Candidate
Conservation Chair		John Bartos		John Bartos
Webmaster		Greg Walker		Greg Walker

John Bartos		Greg Walker

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

All candidates were requested to provide biographical info and statements, and here are the replies which were received:

 

Dave Kitson:

I started paddling in April 2008.  In 4.5 years I have put a little over 1200 miles on the boat, all of it on the lakes and bayous around here including Galveston Bay and the Intercoastal Canal.  I guess that is a tribute to the amount of paddling available around here.  Before the kayak I had a Nacra catamaran so I sailed all around here, mostly off of Texas City Dike.  

Bob Naeger:

I’m 57 Years old. Married for 35+ years to Melanie. We have four children.

I’m a Chemical Engineer by Education. I’m currently working as an Engineering Manager on Natural Gas Liquefaction Plants in Cyprus and Israel.

I joined Houston Canoe Club in the late 90s. I’ve enjoyed every type of paddling I’ve tried but most of my boating time these days is spent canoe poling.

Honey Leveen:

This will be Honey’s third—and final—year as HCC Boatswain. Honey loves this position and has been reluctant to give it up. Boatswain duties primarily involve membership welcome, recruitment, and retention. She says, “being Boatswain is a fun and pretty easy job. It’s a great way to get to know people. If anyone aspires to this position, please contact me, I am already on the lookout for my replacement in 2014.”

Since taking office, Honey is proudest of starting a monthly pre-meeting dinner. Using HCC’s Forum, she announces where HCC members and guests will meet for dinner, prior to HCC’s general meeting. She says, “The Bayland Park area is loaded with very reasonable, independently owned ethnic eateries. Many allow us to bring our own wine…and we do! We have tried West Indian, Columbian, Mexican, Ethiopian and Greek/American restaurants this past year, all within less than a mile of our meeting. Typically, 4 to 10 people show up. If you haven’t joined us for dinner before the meeting, please do!”

Honey grew up in Great Neck, NY, which is right over the NYC line, on the north shore of Long Island. Although she did go on the occasional Girl Scout camping trip and attended summer camp in NH’s White Mountains, she is mostly a “city girl”. Living so close to NYC, there was cultural emphasis on exposure to art, museums, theater and music, over outdoor experiences. Thankfully, Honey was a “water baby” and an advanced swimmer at an early age. Taking up kayaking, which she has only done in recent years, was not much of a leap for her. Honey is not a daredevil. Although she has successfully paddled Class 1 rapids, she is less interested in tackling whitewater than she is in enjoying the beauty and serenity of nature, in the good company of the friends she has made at HCC.

Honey is a day-trip paddler. She does aspire to one day go on an overnight, or perhaps longer, paddling trip, but she has not slowed down long enough to do this. Her excuse for not trying this yet is that she is self-employed and still working full-time. Honey is very active in a number of civic, social, and professional organizations, in addition to HCC. For lots of information on Honey’s career and community involvement, please visit www.honeyleveen.com.

John Rich:  

My career has been as a computer geek, and I have two sons and two granddaughters.  Other hobbies include skydiving, marksmanship, hiking, camping, ancient Indian rock art and archeology.

In 2003 I kept running into HCC members Louis Aulbach and Dana Enos just by chance in Texas park campgrounds.  After several such encounters and much chatting under the stars, they invited me on a multi-day expedition canoe trip on the Rio Grande River in Big Bend National Park.  I rented a canoe, flailed through the rapids for days, and was hooked for good.  In the 10 years since, I have paddled over 1,200 miles.  Most of my paddling has been in Texas, but I've also been on the water in such far flung places as Florida, Utah and Minnesota.

As newsletter editor, initially with the assistance of Linda Gorski, I have published the "Waterline" every month for 3 years.  If re-elected as editor, I pledge to continue publishing regular monthly issues, and to make each one as informative and entertaining as possible.  And of course, the newsletter is only as good as the quality and quantity of submissions received from the membership.  I thank you for your past support, and look forward to receiving more of it in the future.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

As a refresher, here are the duties and office descriptions as defined in the club constitution:

 

Duties of the Board of Directors include:

1. promote and implement objectives of the Club;

2. set policies and rules with the advice and consent of the membership;

3. authorize expenditures of up to five hundred ($500). Expenditures over five hundred ($500)
    must be approved by the membership at a regular or a special meeting;

4. approve deposits of Club funds in checking or savings accounts or appropriate investments, as
    recommended by the Purser; and

5. conduct Club business between regular meetings. 

 

Duties of the Commodore include: 

1. preside over General Membership Meetings and over the Board of Directors Meetings;

2. appoint a nominating committee of at least three (3) persons with at least one (1) person
    being selected from the membership to compile a slate of qualified candidates for each
    office to be filled for the upcoming year at the August General Meeting;

3. fill vacancies;

4. appoint committees; and

5. represent the Club in communications with other organizations.

 

Duties of the Vice-Commodore include:

1. assist the Commodore in the discharge of his duties;

2. preside in the absence of the Commodore;

3. be responsible for a program at regular meetings;

4. post the General Meeting program to the website; and

5. maintain and keep current the documents of incorporation of the Club.

 
Duties of the Fleet Captain include:

1. coordinate the planning of Club trips;

2. solicit trip coordinators for trips;

3. maintain and distribute trip coordinator packets to trip coordinators;

4. act as a source of information for the members concerning rivers and waterways;

5. conduct a review of past trips and announce upcoming trips at regular meetings;

6. post upcoming trips to the web site;

7. post classes to the web site;

8. be the Club contact for upcoming trips, outings and activities;

9. keep a log of Club trips and outings (to include, at a minimum, dates, names of attendees
    and places of trips);

10. compile a list of trip statistics to be reported to the General Membership for review no later

    than the February General Meeting after the closing of the year; and

11. at the option of the Fleet Captain, compile a listing of award recipients such as 100 mile
    paddlers, trip coordinators, and notable paddlers, which awards to be presented no later
    than the March General Meeting after the closing of the year.

 

Duties of the Purser include:

1. collect all monies due and pay all accounts owed;

2. keep a correct record and account of all monies received and paid out;

3. maintain a current roster;

4. deposit the funds of the Club, in the name of the Club, in a depository or depositories approved
    by the Board of Directors;

5. present at each regular and Board meeting cash flow and balance reports stating the financial
    condition of the Club;

6. present a written, detailed and complete annual financial statement of all Club activities for the
    prior calendar year no later than the March meeting;

7. control all permanent property of the Club, both real and personal and make such rules and
    regulations for their care and use; and

8. with assistance from the Officers of the Club, conduct an inventory of Club property and present
    said inventory at the October meeting and have this listing available to the members at all
    regular meetings.

 

Duties of the Recorder include:

1. keep a log of the proceedings of General Membership and Board meetings;

2. maintain custody of all reports and documents connected with the Club;

3. conduct the Club correspondence; and

4. give notice of all special meetings.

 

Duties of the Boatswain include:

1. pursue, engage and coordinate the introduction of new members to paddling;

2. coordinate the Welcome Table to be present at each general meeting;

3. prepare and distribute New Member Packets;

4. promote the HCC in the local community including the participation at appropriate events, fairs
    and open houses;

5. coordinate a new member paddle at least every three months;

6. update and coordinate development of the website; and.

7. maintain and post membership renewal forms to the website.

The Boatswain may form a Membership Committee to assist with these duties.

 

Duties of the Newsletter Editor include:

1. management, preparation and distribution of a monthly newsletter; and

2. posting of relevant News Items to the website.

 

Please attend the November general membership meeting on November 14th to vote on these candidates, or to make other nominations from the floor.

  

---

 

Nominating Committe Chairman, Christy Long