Skip to main content
  The Houston Canoe Club
Share our Joy of Paddling!		 P.O. Box 925516
Houston, Texas
77292-5516
Homenl-2026-09 Last Meeting Minutes

Last Meeting Minutes

by Mike Grove, Recorder

 

 

Houston Canoe Club

Draft Board Meeting Minutes

August 5, 2026



Officers in attendance: Natalie Wiest, Commodore; Christy Long, Vice Commodore and Website Master; Tracy Caldwell Becker, Purser; Harmon Everett, Newsletter Editor; Tyrone White, Boatswain; Tom Douglas, Conservation Chairman; and Mike Grove, Recorder.

 

Officers absent: Bruce Bodson, Fleet Captain

 

Commodore Natalie Wiest called the Zoom meeting to order at 7:00 pm.

  • Natalie first asked if anyone had comments on the Draft Minutes for the July 1, 2026, Board Meeting, which were distributed to the Board and posted in the August Newsletter. There being no comments other than those that had previously been addressed, Natalie asked for approval of the July 1 Minutes, which all present approved.
  • Natalie then directed discussion to the following items that she had addressed in an email agenda distributed prior to the meeting.
  • Near the bridge that was recently replaced on FM 787 at Romayor, 19.5 miles upstream of State Highway 105, a nice ramp had been built for construction purposes. The job foreman for TXDOT was approached about the possibility of leaving that ramp in place as a put-in location for paddlers, and the foreman replied that TXDOT might consider that if there is a demand. A Mr. McMahan is proposing the submission of a petition to TXDOT, using the change.org petition drafting and submission website, to allow the ramp to remain in place. Bruce has suggested that HCC join in signing that petition. After discussion, the current view of the Board is to remain open to further input from Mr. McMahan and to defer any immediate decision regarding joining in such a petition to TXDOT.
  • There was discussion about the possibility of HCC rejoining ACA as a Paddle America Club. Points raised included that ACA may no longer require member clubs to use the ACA-affiliated insurance coverage, but ACA might require any member club to require all of its individual members to also become ACA members. There was also discussion and uncertainty regarding the membership fee that HCC would be required to pay to become a member of ACA. Natalie said that she would circle back to Michelle of ACA to get clarification on certain points, but the current consensus of the Board seemed to be that HCC membership in ACA would likely not be warranted if HCC was required to use ACA insurance, or if all HCC members would be required to also become ACA members, or if ACC membership fees were several hundred dollars a year or more.
  • Constantine Platon has requested that HCC list several paddling races on HCC’s event calendar. Those he requested be listed are: the Neches River Rally on Saturday, September 12, 2026; the Rotary Regatta on Saturday, September 26, 2026; the Greens Bayou Regatta on Saturday, October 3, 2026; and the Dickinson Bayou Brawl (kids and adult races) on Saturday, October 17, 2026. Natalie commented that she is not opposed to the request and would be willing to list at least brief info on the HCC calendar as an activity that is open to club members, but that they would not be listed as Club-sponsored activities. Bruce had previously responded by email that he is fine with listing all of the races on the HCC calendar and would set them all up as events with outside registration. Bruce noted his view that the point of listing them is so that HCC members who participate can get credit for the miles that they paddle. Natalie noted in response to Bruce’s comment that if Club members are going to get credit for miles paddled in any of those events, someone from HCC must take responsibility for taking names of Club participants and confirming that that paddled the race.
  • In response to the discussion about the races that Constantine requested be listed on the HCC event calendar, Harmon commented that he intends to write an article for the Newsletter describing noteworthy paddling events, other than those that would typically be listed on the HCC calendar, just to keep members informed about other paddling opportunities. Tom concurred and reminded folks that events like that can also be mentioned and described on the Paddling Forum.
  • Natalie then asked the other officers present to make their brief reports.

Christy Long gave her Vice Commodore’s Report.

  • Christy reported that she will be speaking at the August Membership Meeting, Natalie will be speaking at the September Meeting, and Constantine will be speaking at the October Meeting. She said that she is now looking for a November Meeting speaker.

Tracy Becker gave her Purser’s Report.

  • Tracy shared her written Purser’s Report for the month of July on the Zoom screen and reviewed the revenues and expenses during July. The written report showed that the financial status of the Club is in really good shape, and Tracy reported that there continues to be no unusual revenues or expenses that are anticipated for the remainder of the year.
  • Tracy mentioned that the Club usually spends a little money in December for a Christmas party and that our insurance premium usually goes up a little every year, so the Club can expect to pay a higher insurance premium in 2027.
  • Natalie commented that in light of Tracy’s comment about Christmas party expenditures, the Club should begin thinking about Christmas party plans and expenditures. Christy responded that she has asked Frank Ohrt and Liz Dennis if they would check into some of the places that they have invited the Club to in the past, and that we should also consider restaurants and Bayland Community Center for the location of the Christmas party. Tom suggested that since the Club is a non-profit, perhaps we would qualify to hold an event at the United Way building. Tracy mentioned that we could also consider paddling somewhere and having a picnic or other social gathering afterwards. Natalie said that she was going to ask the Members at the next monthly meeting if they had input or requests about the type and location of a Christmas event.

Tyrone White gave his Boatswain’s Report:

  • Tyrone said that during July there were no new members, but there were 4 renewing members, bringing the current member total to 119, and that there are 1077 Facebook followers.

Harmon Everett next gave his Newsletter Editor report:

  • Harmon said that although he was travelling throughout July and early August, he was able to publish the August Newsletter on time. Natalie thanked him for being able to produce the Newsletter on time, while he was on the move under difficult publishing circumstances.

Tom Douglas next gave his Conservation Report:

  • Tom put his August Conservation Report on the Zoom screen and reviewed the listed events, which include: (1) the Marine Debris Survey at Seawolf Park on August 12; (2) Coastal Care Wednesday on August 19; (3) the Marine Debris Survey at the Texas City Dike on August 26; (4) the TPWD Angler Education Instructors Workshop on August 28; (5) the Neches River Rally on September 12; (6) the Greens Bayou Regatta on October 3; (7) Houston Parks Board Celebrates 50 Years on October 8; (8) Cleanup Day at Little White Oak Bayou/Woodland Park on October 10; (9) the Greater Houston Environmental Summit on October 24; and (10) the Bayou City Waterkeeper Celebration on November 7. A preliminary version of Tom’s August Conservation Report can be found in the August Newsletter at the following link:

https://s3.amazonaws.com/ClubExpressClubFiles/496051/documents/Aug_Conservation_Report_382644640.pdf?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIA6MYUE6DNCQ7GISON&Expires=1786499895&response-content-disposition=inline%3B%20filename%3DAug_Conservation_Report.pdf&Signature=EpHpLIgtCmFTV4Tn9OUQuRO3Y%2FM%3D

  • Christy made a supplemental comment to Tom’s report regarding an upcoming cleanup of the Medina River being coordinated by Bob Rochetto. Christy is going to send Tom information regarding that upcoming cleanup, which Tom agreed he would address in his Conservation Report.

Old and New Business.

  • Natalie asked Christy if she would include a Safety Minute during her presentation regarding House Boating on Lake Powell at the August 12 Membership Meeting.
  • There being no additional old or new business to address, Natalie adjourned the meeting at 7:51 pm.

Recorder,

Mike Grove

 

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                               

 

Houston Canoe Club

Draft Minutes of General Membership Meeting

August 12, 2026

 

Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 7:01 pm by Commodore, Natalie Wiest.

 

Officers in attendance: Natalie Wiest, Commodore; Christy Long, Vice Commodore and Website Master; Bruce Bodson, Fleet Captain (via Zoom); Tracy Caldwell Becker, Purser; Tyrone White, Boatswain; Harmon Everett, Newsletter Editor (via Zoom);Tom Douglas, Conservation Chairman; and Mike Grove, Recorder.

 

Officers absent: none.

 

Meeting attendance: 13 members were present in person. 4 members attended via Zoom.

 

Commodore’s Report:

  • Natalie introduced for approval the Minutes of the July 8, 2026, General Membership Meeting, a draft of which is published in the August edition of the HCC newsletter, the WaterLine. No one objected and all present affirmatively approved such Minutes.
  • Natalie then asked the HCC officers to make their respective reports, beginning with Fleet Captain, Bruce Bodson.

Fleet Captain’s Report: Bruce reported on the following events and activities.

  • Since the HCC’s July General Membership Meeting, the club has had 8 events that were available for paddling mileage. During July total available paddling miles were 77.35, and only 7 club members paddled in available events. So far in 2026, HCC has had a total of 40 paddling events. 53 different club members paddled in those 40 events, along with at least 11 non-members who joined in certain of those events. Year-to-date, there were 500.07 total paddling miles available in the club’s events and the resulting participant miles total 2,234.43. Leading paddlers’ miles include Bruce, Chris Clodfelter and Christy, each of whom is already over 100 miles, and Greg Fan, Kent Walters, and Sam Reyna, each of whom is going to be over 100 miles very soon. Trip Leaders and number of trips led during 2026 are Bruce -18, Kent -10, Christy -6, Natalie – 3, Joe – 2, Tom – 2, and Chris Arceneaux -1.
  • Each of the trip leaders during July and early August then gave brief recaps of their trips, including:
  • LaGrange Canoe Classica Preview on July 11, led by Bruce
  • LaGrange Canoe Classica on July 18, led by Bruce
  • Little Missouri River on July 24, led by Kent
  • DeGray Lake on July 31, led by Kent
  • Columbus Loop on August 1, led by Bruce
  • DeGray Lake on August 4, led by Kent
  • Colorado River, Smithville to Plum Park on August 8, led by Bruce
  • Little Missouri on August 11, led by Kent
  • Bruce then previewed the following upcoming events:
  • Colorado River 100K Race on September 12 - Bruce
  • Neches River Rally on September 12 – Fran Wilcox
  • Rotary Regatta on September 26
  • Greens Bayou Regatta on October 3
  • Current River on October 14-19 – Kent
  • Dickinson Bayou Brawl on October 17
  • Susan Eda then suggested that Bruce add that the 20th Annual Medina River Cleanup will happen on Saturday, August 22, at Bandera City Park, 1102 Maple Street, Bandera TX, and the contact person is Bob Brtischetto (210) 413-7264. Susan agreed to send information about this cleanup to Bruce, so that he can add it to the HCC event calendar.

Boatswain’s Report: Tyrone reported that:

  • During the month of July, the club did not gain any new members, but there were 4 renewing members, holding the HCC total membership at 119. Facebook followers have increased to 1077.
  • Tyrone then introduced a visitor to the meeting, Holly, who briefly spoke and said that she came to the meeting to check out the club and she is interested in learning how to become involved in paddling. 

Purser’s Report: Tracy reported that the financial status of the Club continues to be good, and there continues to be no unusual revenues or expenses that are anticipated for the remainder of the year.

 

Joe Coker:

  • Joe asked to mention a few words on trips available to HCC Members, prompted by discussion during the Fleet Captain’s report. Joe reported that he has been paddling a lot with HASK, and Houston Canoe Club and HASK have a lot of co-members. He said that there is usually room on the HASK trips for HCC paddlers to join. For example, there were 7 spots open on the Shell Midden trip that Joe led with HASK. He suggested that HCC and HASK could try to improve coordination to be sure that the word on available trips gets around. Joe mentioned that HASK routinely puts all of the HCC events on the HASK calendar, and maybe HCC should try to put all of our HCC trips on the HASK calendar. Bruce said that if any HCC members agree to duly report mileage for HCC members who participate in HASK trips, HCC would be happy to list those HASK trips on the HCC event calendar so that they qualify for HCC mileage. Joe also noted that he has put pictures from all of those HASK trips on Facebook and he also gives them to Harmon to include in the Newsletter. Harmon said that the Newsletter welcomes all of those reports.

Conservation Chairman’s Report: Tom next gave his August Conservation Report, which includes the following events.

Newsletter Editor’s Report:

  • Harmon reported that the August Newsletter is pretty interesting, including the picture on the front of the Newsletter that talks about how fires in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area have prompted several of the outfitters and camps to sink their canoes in the lakes up there to prevent them from burning up in the fires. A separate news article reported that archaeologists in Wisconsin are finding 5,000 year-old wooden canoes that have been sunk in one of the lakes in Wisconsin, and they think that the natives at that time also must have purposely sunk their canoes to protect them from some type of threat.
  • Harmon reminded all present to remember to send in trip reports, including a couple of pictures with each, so that they can be included in the monthly Newsletter.
  • Harmon also reported as a safety minute that we should all remember to bring and apply sunscreen to all exposed parts of our bodies when on paddling trips.

Additional New Business Items reported on by the Commodore:

  • Natalie said that she has been contacted by a fellow who is part of a group that intends to prepare a petition using the change.org site, asking TXDOT to allow a ramp that was installed during construction of a new bridge at FM 787 where it crosses the Trinity River to remain, because that ramp would be useful as a put-in for future canoe trips. If TXDOT is not convinced to allow the ramp to remain, the construction company that did the work has been instructed to remove the ramp now that construction is complete. Natalie hopes to hear more about the preparation of such a petition to TXDOT, and when we know more, we can decide whether HCC will join in that petition.
  • Natalie also reported that subsequent to the most recent HCC Board meeting, where there was discussion about whether HCC should consider rejoining ACA and Paddle American Club, she has learned that the cost of annual membership would be $175. After further discussion, there did not appear to be any strong sentiment expressed for HCC to rejoin ACC and PAC. No motion was made by anyone to rejoin ACC and PAC, so no vote was taken. The matter appears to be tabled for now in the absence of subsequent Board action on the matter.
  • Natalie mentioned that the topic of a Christmas party this year was raised at the most recent Board meeting, and she is leaving the topic open for further consideration if someone is willing to step forward and coordinate a Christmas Party.
  • Finally, Natalie mentioned that a nominating committee of Tracy Caldwell Becker, Alice Nissan, and Joe Coker has been appointed to come up with nominees for the various HCC officer and committee chair positions to be voted on during the upcoming November General Membership Meeting.

Natalie then introduced the evening’s Principal Speaker, Christy Long.



Christy gave her presentation, Lake Powell by Houseboat.

  • Christy began her presentation by orienting the audience on the awesome size, shape, geography, and location of Lake Powell. She emphasized that it is not the type of “lake” that we see around here in Texas. It is a large man-made reservoir on the Colorado River, located primarily in Utah and extending into Arizona, and being part of the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. It is about 186 miles long, with a maximum depth of 558 feet. Christy noted that although it is very beautiful, it is also desolate around Lake Powell. She cautioned that if you take a vehicle out there you need to make sure you have a full tank of gas and plenty of water and food, because if something happens, help might not be close or quick to arrive.
  • Christy showed pictures of Bullfrog Marina, where her group had rented their houseboat. She said that since the water level in that area is going down, the rental boats at Bullfrog Marina will be moving down to either Halls Landing or Halls Crossing or even about 90 miles further south to Wahweap Marina. Bullfrog Marina is on the northern side of the main reservoir body on the upper section of Lake Powell and Halls Crossing is located directly across the water on the southern shore of the main reservoir body. Wahweap Marina is in the southern portion of Lake Powell near Page, Arizona.
  • Christy said that her group decided on a houseboat trip on Lake Powell because of the stories she had heard about staying on a houseboat as if it were an RV, having a stove, refrigerator, and air conditioning, and cooking fresh food every night, and keeping their kayaks on the houseboat. Then, being able to offload the kayaks from the houseboat, and being able to hop into the kayaks and paddle 10-15 miles or whatever, at a stretch, to explore the endless interesting places on Lake Powell.
  • Gear and kayaks were initially transported to the Marina by car, and then ported over to the houseboat docks, where the gear was loaded onto the houseboat and the kayaks were hoisted up onto the roof/top deck of the houseboat, where they would be carried until the houseboat got to its next anchor point somewhere on Lake Powell, where the kayaks would again be offloaded for the next paddling opportunities.
  • Christy described the anchoring procedure, each time the houseboat arrives at its next layover location on the shore of Lake Powell. The stern of the houseboat would be backed to the shoreline, and anchor lines were then run from the starboard and port bow of the houseboat back to the shore, where pits were dug in which the two anchors would then be solidly buried. Once the anchors were buried, both anchor lines would be tightened resulting in the houseboat being very securely anchored against the shoreline.
  • From those various anchoring locations, folks on the houseboat could either depart to do further exploring on their kayaks, or they could stay near the houseboat to swim, hike, watch birds, and in the evenings spend time around campfires.
  • Although folks could sleep on the houseboats, they could also pitch their tents on the roof/top deck of the houseboat and “camp out” up there.
  • Christy noted that there are numbered buoys throughout Lake Powell, and that visitors can use those numbered buoys to guide themselves to particular locations that they want to explore. Places like the famous Rainbow Bridge, many interesting canyons, coves, areas populated by bighorn sheep, various ruins, etc., provide seemingly endless interesting places to explore.
  • Christy said that the experiences that she described were a composite of Lake Powell houseboat trips that she took in 2021 and in 2025, and that Tracy and Dutch were also on the 2025 trip, so they would also have their own set of experiences to remember and relate from that trip. Christy said that she would be glad to follow up with anyone who wanted more information regarding a houseboat/kayaking trip on Lake Powell.

Old and New Business.

  • After those present applauded Christy’s presentation, Natalie thanked Christy for the informative and colorful presentation. Christy was then presented with her speaker’s gift, which is a writing pen that lights up on the side with the words “Houston Canoe Club” when a button is pushed.
  • There was then no additional old or new business to address, and Natalie adjourned the meeting at 8:40 pm.

Recorder,

Mike Grove