Newsletter
M.T.A. Lodge 88 Minutes
July 13th, 2010
Barrack “O” Hagerstown, MD
In attendance: (14) President B. Kloos, Vice President D. Seiler, Secretary J. Barnes, C. West, W. Talbert, D. Bittinger, E. Schlotterbeck, D. Caldwell, G. Johnston, R. Plante, K. Lewis, W. Bergan, R. Miller, R. Narron
Guest Speaker: Julie Lewis – Scholarship winner.
This meeting was called to order by President Kloos at 4:36 p.m.
Prior to conducting official business, the Lodge recognized Julie Lewis who won the Lodge Scholarship. Julie is the daughter of the Hagerstown Barrack Assistant Commander, First Sergeant Kevin Lewis. Julie will be attending Liberty University where she will pursue a degree in nursing with aspirations of becoming a nurse practitioner. Congratulations Julie!
President’s Report:
- President Brian Kloos attended the MTA Board Meeting in Pikesville on June 15th, 2010. Topics of interest included:
- Endorsement for the candidates for Governor. President Kloos is tasked with surveying the Lodge members and reporting on our position concerning the endorsement of potential Governor’s.
- Mo Krome will be attending the August 3rd meeting at the Bittinger’s river lot. He will address concerns and questions about benefits.
- The MTA Legislative Report has been produced.
- The “move-over” law has been passed, requiring motorists to vacate the lane nearest a police or emergency vehicle with its lights activated.
- FOP President Rodney Parker is pushing for a revision of Handgun Permit laws and procedures. He and many current and retired officers are seeking to expedite the process and make it more accommodating for retiring officers.
- SLEOLA is looking to bring our safety to the attention of the Governor. SLEOLA has cautioned that focusing on the dilapidated condition of our vehicle fleet may cause undesirable repercussions such as pulling vehicles from the road and further depleting our fleet.
- $1,000 was donated from the main Lodge for the funeral reception for TFC Wesley Brown who was murdered while working secondary employment in Prince George’s County.
- The 2011 MTA Convention will be held at the Carousel Hotel in North Ocean City.
Vice President’s Report:
- The Lodge website is fully functional and members are encouraged to join the website and view it on a routine basis. As a reminder, the poll concerning endorsing political candidates is posted on the website. The address is: http://mta88.org.
Treasurer’s Report: (Treasurer Blubaugh was excused from this meeting for a family vacation)
Account Balances:
- Checking: $15,261.94
- $38.77 was spent for food for the meeting (AC&T subs)
- $30.54 was spent for a fruit basket for President Brian Kloos following his back surgery.
- $200 will be provided to Scott Miller and Josh Barnes for Advanced SWAT Training (Addressed in the June minutes. Due to unforeseen circumstances, TFC Mike Hegedus can no longer attend the training, therefore the expense to the lodge has been reduced by $100)
- Community Donation Fund: $2,000
- Death Relief Fund: $7,087.00
Old Business:
- Discussion was held concerning the procedure for reporting and posting the Lodge minutes. Currently, the minutes are prepared and presented to all Officers of the Lodge for review prior to being published and provided on the Lodge website. A suggestion was made that future minutes be presented to the membership and voted on at the succeeding meeting prior to being posted on the website. Considering that minutes often contain information pertinent to the next meeting, they will continue to be reviewed and posted in accordance with the current procedures. Members are welcome to post comments on the Lodge website to address discrepancies, or attend a future meeting to address the issue at which time corrections will be made and properly distributed.
New Business:
- Vice President Seiler made a motion to re-name and commemorate the annual August river meeting as the “Cecil Bittinger Memorial Meeting”. In addition, he requested that a plaque be obtained and presented to the Bittinger family to thank them for their extensive efforts in providing years of memorable meetings. The motion was approved unanimously.
- Retired PCO Karen Davis approached Secretary Josh Barnes and expressed a desire to make a very generous donation to the Lodge to begin a training fund. Ms. Davis wishes to contribute $1,000 to Lodge 88 to be used solely for training expenses for Lodge members. Her offer was presented and accepted by all present members. Rules concerning the use of this fund will be forthcoming following appropriate discussion. Ms. Davis has been invited to the August 3rd “Cecil Bittinger Memorial Meeting” to allow the members to express their gratitude.
- Retired Lieutenant “Bill” Bergan attended the meeting and made a request for his retirement statue. His request was granted unanimously by all present members.
- Construction has begun for the new Hagerstown Barrack.
- Doug Bittinger made a request for a donation for refreshments for the “Cecil Bittinger Memorial Meeting”. This request was granted unanimously by all present members.
Good of the Order:
- As mentioned above under the Treasurer’s Report, President Brian Kloos has been recovering from a recent back surgery. We wish him the best in his already speedy recovery.
- Kevin Lewis addressed the present membership and expressed a sincere “thank you” for his daughter’s scholarship.
Next MTA Lodge 88 Meeting: Wednesday August 3rd, 2010 at 3:00p.m. This will be held at the Bittinger family lot located at the Potomac Fish and Game Club. To reach the location, follow Falling Waters Rd. south from Spielman Rd. At the end of Falling Waters Rd., enter the gate to the Potomac Fish and Game Club. (If the gate arm is in the lowered position, simply pull up to the post and depress the large silver button to activate the gate). Upon entering the club grounds, proceed down the hill and cross over the towpath. After crossing the towpath, turn left and continue east (downstream). The Bittinger lot will be on the right side after you cross back on the towpath.
**Although the meeting begins at 3:00p.m, members are welcome to arrive from noon on. The Bittingers could use some assistance in preparing for the meeting as well as cleaning up afterwards**
Meeting adjourned at 5:33 p.m.
Respectfully submitted by Secretary Joshua Barnes – 7/25/10.
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