The regular monthly luncheon meeting of the General George S. Patton, Jr., Chapter SAR was held Friday, 8 January 2010, in the Garden Room of Marie Callender’s Restaurant, 1295 S. Victoria Ave., Ventura, CA. The meeting was called to order by President Robert Taylor. The Invocation was given by Compatriot Chaplain Gary Smith, followed by the Pledge to the Flag and the Pledge to the SAR. In attendance were eighteen Compatriots: President Robert Taylor, Secretary Gil Anema, Treasurer Bill Bays, Registrar George Horne, Past Presidents Ward White, Hale Hamilton, Bill Henry, Steve Hurst and Ron Risley, Garland Middleton, Eric Stassforth, Gary Smith, Bill Hurley,
Frank Budroe, Ken Lynch, Richard McMullen, Bob Colbern, and Dan Sword. The seven guests included Mrs. Vicki Schmaeman (mother of compatriot Joel Schmaeman) and Compatriots’ wives Mrs. Rosemarie Risley, Mrs. Shirley Hamilton, Mrs. Rosalee Middleton, Mrs. Bernie
Smith, Mrs. Willie Budroe, and Dr. Sunny McMullen.

Reports: Reports were given by the following officers:

• Secretary Gil Anema presented the minutes of the 11 December meeting, which were approved as read.
• Treasurer Bill Bays presented the treasurer’s report, which was approved as read. $188 was collected by members and forwarded for the SAR library. Another $100 will be sent from the chapter as approved at the December meeting.
• Registrar George Horne presented the registrar’s report. Applications David Wyers, Gene Cooper and Leslie Howell are at NSSAR. Joel Schmaeman’s and Gil Anema’s supplemental applications were received at NSSAR. Three Regular and two junior member applications prepared by Jim Faulkinbury for our chapter Keith Nightingale, Ojai; Michael Nightingale, Scotch Plains, NJ; Christopher Nightingale, Encinitas; Andrew Nightingale, Encinitas; and Henry Nightingale, Encinitas) are at NSSAR.
• Membership Award Presentation: President Robert Taylor welcomed new member Compatriot Daniel Sword to the chapter and presented supplemental certificate for Ebenezer Whitney to Gil Anema.

Old Business:

• E-mail from Wayne Griswold, Executive Vice President, California SAR regarding the California SAR Compatriot Magazine. Now available only online. President Taylor appointed Ward White, Ron Risley, Bill Henry and himself to form a committee to address providing the magazine to members who do not have Internet access to receive. The latest (Fall 2009) issue is available at the state website at http://californiasar.org/compatriot. Some items of interest include information on uniforms and Red Skelton’s Pledge of Allegiance. Additional copies of the letter and CD from national President’s speech are still available. See President Taylor for copies.
• 135th Meeting of the California SAR membership is 9-10 April 2010 at the Embassy Suite in Sacramento. Rooms are $99/night.
• Ron Risley mentioned the Chapter’s annual report which was submitted to National includes lists current and life members. Contact him if interested in a copy.

New Business:

• Three Nominations for recognition of service were made and approved: Compatriot Charles A. Bennett for service to Veterans (He will be the guest speaker at the next meeting). David E. Pressey for the Good Citizen Award and Terri Taylor Gonzalez for the Martha Washington Medal.
• Members were invited to attend the DAR meeting to be held 11:00 am, 25 February 2010 at Marie Callender’s. The guest speaker will be Steven Hintz on “Constitutional Change – Good and the Bad”. He is a Judge from the Ventura Supreme Court. Lunch is $14 plus dessert.
• Massing of the colors for Sunday, 21 February 2010 at Forest Lawn in LA. Interested members to participate should contact Bob Taylor.
• Bill Hurley on behalf of Lou Kruezer that The Spirit of America Essay was due Saturday.
• Rosemarie Risley read a letter she received from Compatriot Bill Bays regarding her presentation last year growing up in Germany during World War II.
• Ward White suggested we invite a member at each meeting to provide a short biography of themselves and their Compatriot ancestor to educate the members. This was approved.

Program: “Your SAR Membership” by Compatriot Ron Risley. Upon conclusion, many members requested a copy of the presentation. Ron will provide a copy to the secretary and forward to members with e-mail addresses.

Next Meeting: Friday, 12 February 2010 – Compatriot Chuck Bennett presenting “One Vietnam Veteran’s Odyssey”

Closing: The meeting was adjourned following the SAR recessional and the benediction by Chaplain Gary Smith.

Respectfully submitted by,
Gil Anema, Chapter Secretary.