July 2023 Last Meeting Minute - Houston Canoe Club

Last Meeting Minutes

by Alice Nissen

Houston Canoe Club

Board Meeting Minutes

June 7, 2023

Recorder: Alice Nissen

The meeting was called to order at 7:05 p.m. via Zoom. Officers in attendance were Brent Hwang, Commodore; Greg Fan, Vice Commodore; Tim Brooking, Boatswain; Bob Nager, Purser; Bruce Bodson, Fleet Captain; Christy Long, Newsletter Editor; Alice Nissen, Recorder; Tom Douglas, Conservation Chairman. The last board meeting minutes were approved.

Tom gave us an overview of the conservation issues he will be talking about at the general meeting: the East Fork San Jacinto River Watershed, West Lake Houston implementation protection plan, and the bacteria implementation group meeting on water quality criteria for recreational waters (paddler contribution is needed).

Tim gave the membership report and stated there were two new members and five renewals for a total membership of 146 for May. Facebook membership continues to increase with a total of 915 members.

Bob gave the purser report through May. Membership dues were $1200 and total expenses were $1416, slightly in the red for the year due to the race. The first interest received from our new CD was $37.00, which is quite an improvement from our past interest of $0.55 per month.

Christy stated that the next newsletter will have to be completed by June 24 as she will be out of town the last week of June. At present, only board members can access the club store and place orders. HCC will have nothing to do with monetary receipts or the merchandise (other than design), and we will not make any money from sales.

Brent reviewed HCC’s vision statement. Do we need more income generation, i.e., garage sales, guided tours? Bob stated that our bank balance keeps growing. Income is not an issue for the club. We need more trips and trip leaders.

Tom said he would give his signed copy of “Viva Texas Rivers” to the club and Greg agreed that speakers like to receive books.

Greg stated that Bruce Bodson will speak in August about his trips on the Brazos River and Phil Salvador will speak about safety at the June meeting. We might have a movie night in July. Brent suggested that ACA Paddlers magazine has good movies. Joe Coker will speak in September about alligators. Wi-Fi is good at Bayland Community Center.

Bruce stated that Joe Coker led a trip in May on the Trinity Delta for 10 miles with 19 boats paddling. A recent trip on the Colorado River for 30 miles to look at perspective racing routes which included seven paddlers of which five were HCC members. Lots of members go on HASK trips, and although we cannot dually list on our calendar, we can get mileage accumulation. Tom stated we also get Sierra Club trip mileage. On May 21, six HCC members went on an East Matagorda Bay trip with HASK for 10 miles. Bruce said Friends of Brazos annual river cleanup was last weekend. Going to Brian College Station area with Stewards of Wildlife Foundation SH21 to FM60. We need to make a decision regarding racing: are we going to do it? Where? When? Other potential course: Liberty Park to Cedar Hill Park, 30 miles. Our Charlotte Challenge recreational race next year will be the same format. Bob reminded us that membership needs to vote on expenditures over 500 dollars.

Meeting adjourned at 8:30.

Houston Canoe Club

General Meeting
June 14, 2023

The meeting at Bayland Community Center was called to order at 7:05. Officers in attendance were Brent Hwang, Commodore; Tim Brooking, Boatswain; Christy Long, Newsletter Editor. Alice Nissen, Recorder; Tom Douglas, Conservation Chairman; and Bruce Bodson, Fleet Captain attended via Zoom. A total of 15 people attended the meeting in person and 11 via Zoom. Last month’s general meeting minutes were approved.

Tim gave the boatswain report and stated that we have two new members and five renewing members for a total membership of 146. Facebook has 915 members. Tim welcomed Sandy and Dave Rushworth as we had not seen them for quite a while. New member, Jim Stoa, and guest, Jeff Krukiel, were welcomed.

Christy stated the newsletter is going well. She encouraged us to send pictures and trip reports for the newsletter. She talked about our upcoming on-line store.

Christy gave the purser report and stated at the end of May income was $1200 (from membership fees) and expenses were $1416 (top four expenses were $590 insurance, $297 website fees, $229 race expense, $210 P.O. box fee), for a net loss of $216.

Tom gave the conservation report and stated that May 17th was wear-your-lifejacket-to-work day. Protection of the East Fork of the San Jacinto River which flows into Lake Houston: working on input, especially from the paddling community. One of the issues is OSSF (on-site sewage facilities). Next meeting is July 18. The Bacteria Implementation Group: how much contamination can go in a river is one of the topics discussed at the May 23 meeting. For more extensive information, please visit the Conservation Forum.

Bruce gave the fleet captain’s report and stated there have been two events since our last meeting with 26 participants (18 members and 8 nonmembers) for a total of 46.9 miles. Joe Cocker led a trip to Mud Lake/Miller Lake for 10 miles and had 17 boats. Christy commented that it was a fantastic trip. The Colorado River, La Grange to Columbus for 36.9 miles. Friends of the Brazos River Cleanup: there were 100 participants. Stewards of the Wild on the Lower Brazos SH21 to FM60 for a total of 16 miles. Upcoming trips: June 24, Brazos River FM413 to FM979 for 20.5 miles. Bruce commented on this being a beautiful stretch of the Brazos. On July 8, Brazos River US79 to SH21 for 26.25 miles.

Brent introduced Phil Salvador, HASK safety director, who will speak about safety for paddling. Safety involves proper planning which prevents poor performance. A safe trip is when nobody gets hurt and hazards are identified in advance. A safe trip includes training, behavior, equipment, and a proper mindset. Mindset is the belief that safety is important and can be achieved from both the leader and the individual. Behavior of the leader, group and individual involves planning and communication before a trip; and during a trip, observation, identification, and decision to act. Afterwards, reflect on the incident, what happened and why, and how better to handle the situation. Training involves environmental and behavioral hazards that are anticipated and avoided, and response to an event. Skills involve proper practice, maintenance and increase of skills, and good training equipment. Equipment should be appropriate for the trip, in good condition and correctly stowed and users should have a good knowledge of how to use the equipment. Lots of questions were asked and answered by Phil with extensive safety reminders and knowledge. His presentation was very beneficial to paddlers.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:40 p.m.

Recorder, Alice Nissen