The meeting was called to order at 7:05 p.m. Officers in attendance were Brent Hwang, Commodore; Greg Fan, Vice Commodore; Tyrone White, Boatswain; Bob Nager, Purser; Christy Long, Fleet Captain; Harmon Everett, Newsletter Editor; Alice Nissen, Recorder. Tom Douglas, Conservation Chairman, and Bruce Bodson, ex-officio, were in attendance. Twenty-one attendees in person and 4 attendees via Zoom for a total attendance of 25.
The October and November meeting minutes were approved.
Tyrone gave the boatswain report. He stated there was one new member, Taylor Chapman, and six renewing members for a total membership of 141. There are 973 Facebook members as of the end of December 2023. He welcomed guests.
Bob gave the purser report and stated at the end of December we have a balance of $7,277.90, checking account balance of $3,272.81 and debit was $3,165.09.
Harmon, as newsletter editor, encouraged members to submit articles to the newsletter.
Tom gave the conservation report and talked about the Thanksgiving Parade in November, the Bacteria Implementation Group meeting, the Texas Water Development Boards meeting, the Flood Control Project on Horsepen Bayou, which was cancelled, and the Great Texas River Cleanup, which includes the San Marcos River Rendezvous and the 20th Annual Trash Bash. For more information, see the conservation forum in the newsletter.
Bruce Bodson gave the December fleet captain’s report. There was a total of 736.34 miles for the year with 99 total participants of which 57 were members and 42 were nonmembers.
Christy stated the 60th anniversary party will be held in October.
Pharr Smith, our speaker for the night, is a long-time member of HCC and HASK. He spoke about whitewater paddling in the Tennessee, Georgia, North and South Carolina regions on some of his favorite rivers such as the Tuckasegee River, Nantahala River, Wesser Falls, Pigeon River, Ocoee River, French Brood River, section 9, Nolichucky River and the Chattooga River. Along with pictures and videos he explained how to navigate the treacherous whitewater and rocks. It was a captivating look at the adrenaline aspect of paddling, and he is very knowledgeable in this sport and a great speaker as well. Thank you for an exciting and great evening.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:40.