Skiff Eleanor Watson
Rob Pittaway rows Eleanor Watson and unidentified bow rider on the maiden voyage
of the skiff Eleanor Watson at the 2002 Mystic Small Craft Workshop

The
Traditional
  Small
    Craft
      Association
                P.O. Box 350
                Mystic, CT  06355

1999-2001 National Meeting Minutes

Back to Current Year's Minutes

TSCA Home | JOIN TSCA ! | TSCA E-Mail
TSCA Organization/Officers | Local Chapters | Calendar | Ash Breeze Journal
Members' Writings | The John Gardner Grant Program

Send comments about this site to Webmeister

National Meeting Minutes

TRADITIONAL SMALL CRAFT ASSOCIATION
MEETING OF THE COUNCIL
3 JUNE 2001
MYSTIC SEAPORT

The meeting was called to order by Peter Vermilya at 1400, President, who presided. Mary A. Brown served as secretary of the meeting.

Present: Mary A. Brown, Dan Drath, Frank Durham, John Summers, Peter Vermilya, Tim Weaver, John Weiss, Sidney Whelan, Andy Wolfe.

Acceptance of Election Results and Nomination of officers for 2001 - 2002:

The election results were accepted and the following officers nominated:

John Weiss assumed the Chair at this time, and Peter Vermilya became secretary of the meeting.

Three appointments were made:

The President also added Andy Wolfe to the Editorial Board as Sponsors Chair.

SNAME matter:

The leadership of the Society of Naval Architects and Maritime Engineers is championing a proposal to all state legislatures to mandate Professional Engineer testing/certification/licensing of ALL boat designers, including those who have designed virtually all our favorite boats. This will likely destroy the small craft boatbuilding industry, both professional and amateur.

The President appointed an advisory board of Ben Fuller, Sid Whelan, and David Cockey to work on this issue for the Association.

John Stratton, with the assistance of Andy Wolfe and Steve Weld, will write up talking points and/or sample letters to SNAME leadership and state legislators for use by TSCA members to encourage the termination of this initiative. Due by June 18th.

The Council will make its opposition known to elected officials and will encourage the membership to do the same.

Allocation of Secretary?Treasurer duties:

  1. The Secretary handles general correspondence, nominations, inquiries
  2. Mary Brown sends out postcards to renewing members and new member packets to new members (postcards to come from Drath, new member packet materials from Vermilya).
  3. The Treasurer deposits checks and maintains the member data base.
  4. Ken Steinmetz sends renewal notices.

Upon a motion by John Weiss, seconded by Mary Brown, this was approved. The motion also authorized Frank Durham and Peter Vermilya to review TSCA banking arrangements and make any needed changes, this authorization to include authority to execute any needed corporate resolutions etc. to effect the changes they agree upon.

The New Member Packet consists of a membership card, decal, welcome letter, current Ash Breeze, and a wares order form.

Peter, Tim Weaver, and Russell Smith will work with Eleanor Watson to get TSCA stuff down from her attic and arrange storage for it at the U. of Conn. Avery Campus (John Gardner Chapter).

Peter will see if Russ Smith can do Ash Breeze fulfillment.

Don Drath will advertise in TAB for a new Wares Meister.

The Ash Breeze:

John Stratton will publish the July issue; Dan Drath will publish November and future issues.

Andy Wolfe will clean up the Sponsor Member ads list. Discussion of whether/how to make a discernable difference between basic and benefactor sponsor ads included ad size in IA13 and larger web site presence.

Dan presented ideas regarding substance and philosophy of the TAB. He will work with the Editorial Board and continue to solicit articles.

The role of the website in our publication program was discussed - supplemental electronic newsletter, simultaneous publication of TAB on our website, this not to fireplace but to supplement the print issue. All this was tabled until Dan has the opportunity to discuss it with the Editorial Board and to get technical information from Judy Ricketts-White.

Due to the hour all other agenda items were deferred.

The President eloquently reminded us all that the future of our organization depends on our working to accomplish the tasks needed to make the transition to new formats of organization during this difficult time in our history.

Respectfully submitted,
Peter Vermilya
Secretary

Top Of Page

TSCA Home | JOIN TSCA ! | TSCA E-Mail

TSCA Organization/Officers | Local Chapters | Calendar | Ash Breeze Journal

Members' Writings | The John Gardner Grant Program

Send comments about this site to Webmeister

TRADITIONAL SMALL CRAFT ASSOCIATION
ANNUAL MEETING
MYSTIC SEAPORT
3 JUNE 2001

The meeting was called to order at 1202 by Peter Vermilya, President, who presided. Mary A. Brown served as secretary of the meeting.

Minutes: Upon a motion by Weld, seconded by Ben Fuller, the reading of the Minutes from the 2000 Annual Meeting was waived by unanimous vote.

Treasurer's report and Membership status: Frank Durham reported the Treasury balance as $16,419.13, with 650 paid members. 850 names are in the database, of which about 85 are complimentary memberships and the rest, non?renewals.

TSCA Wares: There was no Wares report.

Council report: Peter Vermilya reported on the Council meeting held 3 March 2001 at Mystic Seaport:

Three Ash Breeze issues are in the works and an editorial board has been established to work on Ash Breeze issues, consisting of Feeney, Tim Weaver, John Stratton, and John Summers.

As of 3/3, there were 643 members.

A proposal to increase annual member dues was tabled.

John Weiss is to get updated chapter information.

Dan Drath, John Weiss, Ben Fuller, and Peter Vermilya are to work on a vision and mission statement for the TSCA website.

Back office operations were described. Office space has been made available at the Seaport and Helen Packer has been assisting the Association with the work. Ken Steinmetz has been doing the membership portion, and Frank Durham has been taking care of the finances and tax reports. All of this work has been done by Eleanor Watson and it is proving difficult to divide it up and keep it going timely and orderly. An important goal established by the Council is digital transmission of membership and payment information from Mystic to Ken.

Other:

This report was accepted upon a motion by John Weiss, seconded by Ben Fuller.

Web report:

John Weiss reported that TSCA.NET is registered. Many chapters have sites and they are linked. The Web Committee will be looking into the role of the site as a clearing house. It is hoped that a larger role for the site will give visibility to the TSCA.

There is a list serve on Yahoo: groups.yahoo.com, go to <tsca-traditionalsmallcraftassn>

A big thank you to John, by acclamation.

John Gardner Grants:

Ben Fuller reported that the corpus of about $50,000 produced about $2,000 to be granted in 2001. Five grants were given in 2000. A couple of applications are in hand for this year and more are needed.

We need to encourage bequests, collect unpaid pledges, and solicit new contributions.

The Association thanks Ben who has paid for administrative costs associated with this program.

The Ash Breeze:

John Stratton introduced Judy Ricketts-White who has converted TAB production from a manual to an electronic basis. This will, inter alia, permit seamless transfer of TAB issues to the web. Pros and cons of this were discussed, with much sentiment in favor of doing it. This is a Council decision.

Dan Drath, our next editor, was introduced. He stated that the big job for a successful magazine is to get contributors.

Upon a motion by Mary Brown, seconded by Frank Durham, a resolution of thanks is extended to John Stratton.

Boat Livery:

Sharon Brown extended her and the Seaport's thanks for the TSCA donation.

Recognition of Eleanor Watson, TSCA Secretary Emeritus:

Upon a motion by Mary Brown, seconded by Ben Fuller, the Association will prepare and present a certificate to Eleanor recognizing her 19 years of service. This tenure goes back to the Association's very beginnings and we all have benefited from Eleanor's attention and care for us and for traditional small craft.

Elections to the Council:

All individuals nominated for the TSCA Council were elected.

The Bylaws revision was approved 126 - 12 and rebates from Member dues no longer will be made to Chapters.

The SNAME issue:

The Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers is proposing legislation which will require all boats, including home?built boats, to be designed by a naval architect. This will virtually eliminate the boats TSCA is concerned with and we oppose such legislation vigorously. John Stratton volunteered to write a position statement for the Council to consider.

Chapter reports:

Puget Sound: John Weiss: "We just mess about!" Are working toward a bigger event - a West Coast Small Craft Festival, as it were.

Sacramento Chapter: holding 15 events/year and had a 10% membership growth.

Connecticut River Oar and Paddle Club: is building two more boats, is rich in boats, which other TSCA members are welcome to use.

John Gardner: are building a skiff, have the use of a building on the University of Ct. campus. Their boat will be named the ELEANOR WATSON.

Long Island: has 35 members

Maury River: located 1,000 feet above sea level, has built a boat.

Thanks were extended to Myron Young, the outgoing Chapter Coordinator, for all his work. Elizabeth "Cricket" Evans is the incoming Chapter Coordinator; we hope to reflect more Chapter activities in TAB.

The Atlantic Challenge:

July 12 - 17 in Rockland, Maine, will be held in conjunction with the Wooden Boat Show. The gigs will be there, and there will be a hopefully large exhibit of wood small craft, historic boats, museum boats, etc. We are hoping for a TSCA site and a nice selection of small craft. Y'all come!

Adjournment:

Upon a motion by Mary Brown, seconded by John Summers, the meeting was adjourned at 1307.

Respectfully submitted,
Mary A. Brown

Secretary pro tempore

Top Of Page

TSCA Home | JOIN TSCA ! | TSCA E-Mail

TSCA Organization/Officers | Local Chapters | Calendar | Ash Breeze Journal

Members' Writings | The John Gardner Grant Program

Send comments about this site to Webmeister

Traditional Small Craft Association
Interim Board Meeting
March 4, 2001

Present: Dan Drath, Tim Weaver, Peter Vermilya, John Weiss, Ben Fuller, Zel Steever, John Summers, Steve Weld, Mark Snyder, Eleanor Watson

1. Call to Order

The meeting was brought to order by Peter Vermilya, President, at 10:30am. A quorum of Council members was present.

2. Minutes

Reviews of the Minutes of the Board Meetings of 6/3/00 and 6/4/00 were dispensed with.

3. Secretary's Report

The Secretary's Report was dispensed with.

7. Gardner Grant Fund (agenda item taken out of order)

Ben Fuller reported that the balance in the Gardner Grant Fund account as of 12/31/00 was $44,340.05. and that $1000.00 had been donated to the Fund since 12/31/00.

Ben reported that $3000.00 in disbursements were made in 2000 and that $2050.00 would be available for distribution in 2001 (reflects the 5% distribution-of-assets rule of thumb). He said that no solicitations for further donations or reminder notes were sent this Fall because no Ash Breeze had been available for this purpose. Ben reviewed the progress of some of the year 2000 distributions. This progress is covered in the Fall 2000 Ash Breeze issue (distributed at this 3/4/01 meeting).

Ben Fuller will put together a Request For Proposal (RFP) and distribute it to the Chapter Presidents. Submitters will get their forms from the web or directly from Ben. Tim Weaver volunteered to help with this effort. John Weiss will post the revised RFP on the TSCA National Website. Ben Fuller will post the RFP on the Museum Small Craft Association (MSCA) e-list. Ben Fuller will check the lead time needed for use of both Peter Specter's column in WoodenBoat as well as Messing About in Boats for publicity purposes. MAIB for 4/1 is already at the printers as of 3/4/01 Proposals should be submitted, reviewed and winnowed by the Gardner Grants Committee, and voted on by the Council, in time for announcement of the awardees by the Annual Meeting 6/3/01.

Ben reminded the Council that John Roche's two boats - a Pete Culler designed and built Newport Point Boat (catboat) and a Bequia boat - were to be sold for the benefit of the Gardner Grant Fund. John Weiss said he will list them on the TSCA Web Site. Peter Vermilya will place notices on the Bulletin board at the John Gardner Small Craft Workshop, June 2 & 3, 2001. The Ash Breeze editor will run copy in the next possible Ash Breeze.

Tim Weaver proposed the development of general purpose mailing lists: 3 or 4 lists to be used for various target audiences for announcements, publicity, etc. Tim Weaver will develop a list of possible addressees and will circulate it around to the Council for their comments and additions. Examples of addresses to be included would be those of institutions, publications, TSCA sponsor members, Gardner Grant donors.

4. Treasurer's report

Treasurer Frank Durham was not able to be present but sent a written report which was reviewed by the Council. Ken Steinmetz also submitted a report which dealt with TSCA finances.

The two reports said that TSCA is financially healthy, now, because we have published only two of four Ash Breezes planned for the 2000/2001 publication year. TSCA's bank account has $17,206.80 on hand (4/1/01) after this years insurance premium was paid. Our financial position is equivalent to this time in 1999/2000. However, TSCA would be operating at a deficit if the two additional Ash Breezes had been published, given the present production values, present print runs, and current level of income.

The Council unanimously voted to ask the TSCA membership to approve an amendment to the By-laws which would end the present membership rebate provision. Under this provision, the TSCA National organization is required to rebate $3.00 to each TSCA Chapter for each of that Chapter's active national members. The provision has proven cumbersome to implement and has not been done in the last two years. Peter Vermilya will mention this request in his Presidential message in the upcoming Winter 2001 Ash Breeze.

5. Ash Breeze

The Council agreed that:

a) Present costs do not seem to be out-of-line with the Council's experience.

b) The present level of quality of the publication should be maintained.

c) The publication schedule should be changed to three times a year:

March 1
July 1
November 1.

d) That an Editorial Board be established to assume the following Managing Editor functions:

  • Responsible for seeing that the magazine is published
  • Shall choose one of its membership to be the designated editor
  • Acts as collective editor, and provides continuity, in the event that a designated editor does not exist.
  • Establish a production schedule and budget for each issue and for the year.
  • Aids the Editor in identifying potential content and follows up with authors at the request of the Editor

Proposed Editorial Board Members (3/4/01)

  • Dan Drath
  • Larry Feeney
  • Tim Weaver
  • John Stratton [has declined to serve, 3/8/01]
  • John Summers

Will communicate primarily by e-mail, conference call

e) That the Editor:

  • Is a member of the Editorial Board
  • Is responsible for choice of content for each issue
  • Works with authors and Editorial Board to develop content
  • Determines the design for each issue
  • Works the with pre-press designer to achieve the design for each issue

f) That Sponsor member advertisement obligations will be honored.

6. Membership

As of 4/1/01, our paid up membership had slipped to 643 members.

The Council agreed that the basic dues of $15.00 per year should be raised. The Council did not set an amount, and decided to table the issue until the Ash Breeze publication schedule stabilizes. Because the dues are set in the By-laws, the membership would have to approve the increase by means of a ballot.

The position of Chapter Coordinator was discussed and Council members were requested to submit recommendations for a job description for this post to Peter Vermilya (peter@mysticseaport.org).

The Chapter Coordinator will supply John Weiss with current information on individual chapter mail addresses, officers names.

The Chapter Coordinator will need to educate the membership that local membership does not imply national membership. A chapter education issue.

7. TSCA National Web Site

Council members felt that because the web may increasingly be TSCA's major means of communication between individual members, chapters, and the national, and as a repository of information, that the Council should develop a Mission Statement for TSCA Web Site. A committee was formed to do so:

Peter Vermilya
John Weiss
Dan Drath
Ben Fuller

John Weiss will be happy to put additional elements on the TSCA website such as archived minutes and Gardner Grant material. However, on-line membership, payment of dues, forms-based activity, etc., is not an option at this point.

A motion of thanks and gratitude to John Weiss for his efforts was approved by acclamation.

By-the-Sea is hosting the TSCA National site, and some local TSCA sites, for a $70.00/year fee. TSCA has its own domain name and maintains its own site. There have been no size limits set for the site by the host.

John invites everyone to participate in the Puget Sound Chapter mailing list forum. All Council members agreed to the importance of a national level discussion forum. John will inform the Ash Breeze editor of the steps necessary to sign up for the Puget Sound Chapter mailing list forum once the migration of the list from e-Groups to Yahoo has been finished. John will research any changes in privacy practices which may be entailed by this shift to Yahoo.

8. How we do business

Peter handed out two work flow diagrams for the TSCA back office functions. He went on to report that:

Eleanor Watson now has office space in the Ships Plans section of Mystic Seaport's Library.

The secretarial functions have been split in two:

  1. Helen Packer, retired Mystic Seaport staffer, logs in membership status changes and dues receipts using a MacOS/Filemaker v4.0 based data base.
  2. All other duties are handled by Eleanor Watson, as before.

Helen Packer sorts the mail received at P.O. Box 350, Mystic, CT 06355

Membership status information goes to Ken Steinmetz, who maintains the membership database, does the reminder mailings, and handles the bulk mailing of the Ash Breeze under TSCA's own mailing permit. Ken uses a DOS based database developed by Frank Durham using dBase 4.0 . As of 4/3/01, Ken keys in the data received from Helen by hand. Ken then sends a copy of his database to Frank as a backup.

The deposit information goes to Frank Durham, who develops his Treasurer's Reports, handles TSCA's tax reports, etc.

Peter will work with Frank and Ken to develop a process for transferring the data developed at Mystic Seaport to them digitally.

The Council decided to continue to issue TSCA membership cards. The cards are of use when applying for retail discounts offered to TSCA members and for discounted admissions to boat shows.

The Council also decided to continue the distribution of the Pocket Diary to Sponsor members. They cost about $2.50 apiece with a minimum order of around 50. It should be distributed by October to be timely and does require a separate mailing.

The Council decided not to change the current system of depositing and reporting of income. The Council recognized the convenience of the physical proximity of the permanent TSCA P.O. Box 350 with the Chelsea Bank account. Helen will continue to record income from various sources and make deposits directly to the Chelsea Groton checking account. She will report these deposits to Frank.

9. Wares

No report by Bruce Thurston, Wares Manager

10. Insurance

Peter will request that Bruce send a copy of the insurance policy to Larry Feeney, a retired attorney who worked in the insurance field. Larry has volunteered to review the policy and to report to us what it does and doesn't cover and make recommendations on what we might be able to do to get better service.

11. Communication among Board Members

Possible use of conference calls. John Weiss reports that he has successfully used this procedure in his union business. One party needs a speaker phone. Usual cost range, $60 to $200 depending on the time length of the meeting. AT&T has provided an 800 number.

12. Nominations for 2001-2004 Council Class:

  Nominated By Permission?
Elizabeth Evans Dan Drath permission in-hand
John Stratton Tim Weaver permission needed [has declined, 3/8/01]
Andy Wolfe Ben Fuller permission in-hand
Sam Johnson Dan Drath permission needed
John Ford Tim Weaver permission needed

The nominator must supply a biographic piece on the nominee. Send the bio pieces to Peter Vermilya. Peter Vermilya will ask Sam Johnson. A call for further nominations will be in the Presidents next Ash Breeze msg.

Nominations will close as of 4/15/01. The Ballot should be mailed as soon as possible following, by 5/1/01 at the latest, and contain:

Ballot returns will be accepted through June 2nd, 2001.

13. Strategic thinking for the future

a) Ben Fuller discussed the event "Rockland 2002".

The Rockland Apprentice shop is hosting the Atlantic Challenge (AC) for 2002 in Rockland harbor during the summer of 2002. Considerable non-AC activity is planned. The event will be similar to a small scale Dournenez.

The non-AC boats taking part will fall into three classes:

  1. Museum boats of regional interest (the larger types - baggers, etc.). Organized, perhaps, by the Museum Small Craft Association (MSCA)
  2. Community boating, similar to those participating at the recent Snow Row in Hull, MA
  3. Privately owned traditional boats.

Ben, who is in charge of rounding up the non-AC boats, is hoping that TSCA will take charge of getting the privately owned boats to the event. Target boats would be a few good whitehalls, a few good peapods, a few good dories, a range of American small craft types. The event might double as a national TSCA meet. TSCA could arrange several pre and or post event cruises. A general messabout.

The event will use the Town wharf, there will be a tent, etc. TSCA would be one of 3-4 major players. Camping will be available.

WoodenBoat is involved, therefore wooden boats are preferred as enrolled, spotlighted participants, tied to the Town dock. Spectators might come in boats of any material.

b) Expansion of membership

Several suggestions were made for groups of people who might be approached for membership in TSCA:

  • Sea Pearl owners of western Florida
  • Kayakers
  • Canoeists
  • Skin boats users
  • Electric boat owners

Information about the requirements for new chapter formation needs to be centrally located and accessible.

c) The suggestion was made that the Council put Planning for the Future

  1. on the agenda for the next board meeting as the first item, or
  2. hold a special meeting on the Friday evening prior to TSCA Annual Meeting, June 3rd, 2001, or
  3. hold an e-mail discussion, prior to 6/2.

14. Other Business

There was no other business.

15. Adjournment

Meeting adjourned at 3:00pm.

Respectfully submitted
Peter Vermilya, President
for the Secretary

Top Of Page

TSCA Home | JOIN TSCA ! | TSCA E-Mail

TSCA Organization/Officers | Local Chapters | Calendar | Ash Breeze Journal

Members' Writings | The John Gardner Grant Program

Send comments about this site to Webmeister

TSCA Council Meeting
June 4, 2000
Mystic Seaport Museum

TSCA President Ben Fuller called the council meeting to order at 13:05 on June 4, 2000, in the Clagett Boat Shed at the Mystic Seaport Museum (MSM). There were five council members and three visitors present.

Nomination/Election of Officers:

Peter Vermilya, Vice President, took nominations for the following offices:

President - Peter Vermilya
Vice President - Tim Weaver
Treasurer - Frank Durham
Secretary - Eleanor Watson

A motion was made and approved to accept the slate as presented. Since the slate was unopposed, the secretary cast a single ballot in favor of the officers as nominated.

Business:

TSCA has been making a donation to the MSM to cover the cost of livery rentals by the public during the John Gardner Small Boat Workshop. A motion was made and approved to make a donation of $750 next year provided TSCA is given recognition for the donation. Recognition should be provided in the form of a sign at the museum's entry and a brochure at the livery.

Six grant proposals, from historical documentation to youth-oriented activities, have been submitted for consideration by the Gardner Fund committee. There is $3,300 available for grants this year.

Ben Fuller will facilitate the payment of awarded grants. The Gardner Fund Grant Committee consists of: Dave Cockey, Mike Porter, Zell Steever, Dick Wagner, Steve Weld, and Sid Whelan. The council adjourned at 14:36.

Mark W. Snyder, Recording Secretary
Accepted: Eleanor Watson, Secretary

Top Of Page

TSCA Home | JOIN TSCA ! | TSCA E-Mail

TSCA Organization/Officers | Local Chapters | Calendar | Ash Breeze Journal

Members' Writings | The John Gardner Grant Program

Send comments about this site to Webmeister

TSCA Council Meeting
February 2, 1999
Mystic Seaport Museum

Present were: Geoffrey Conklin, Peter Vermilya, Ben Fuller, Peter Schmid, Stephen Weld, Bruce Thurston, Frank Durham, Myron Young, Sidney Whelan, John Stratton and Eleanor Watson.

Council President Ben Fuller opened the meeting at 12:30.

Ben Fuller announced that Vol 20, No. 2 of the ASH BREEZE was in the mail to TSCA members.

The Council decided that there would be a Summer/ Fall issue for 1998 (Vol 20, No. 3), to be published in March, and a Winter/ Spring issue (Vol 21, No. 1), to be published in May.

Editor John Stratton said that Vol. 20, No. 3 has already been laid out, while he is seeking material for Vol 21, No. 1.

John Stratton said that the total cost for Vol 20, No. 2 was $3280.92, with prepress costs of $1280.00 and printing costs of $1076. The total cost amounted to a $600.00 increase over the cost of Vol 20, No. 1 and represents the cost of digitizing the production process. 1200 issues were printed and 900 were mailed. Future issues should cost around $2500. to produce.

The Council decided that the approximately 100 members whose memberships have expired since 6 / 98 will be receive Vol 20, No. 2 and No. 3.

There was discussion of which non-profit institutions should receive free copies of the ASH BREEZE. Council members agreed that the current list of institutions should be edited.

Ben Fuller will write a combined update letter and Call for Nominations to members to be distributed by the end of February. John Stratton and Geoffrey Conklin will see that the letter is printed and mailed. Corporate Sponsor members will receive a separate letter from Ben.

TSCA's new web address will be included in the ASH BREEZE. [Ken suggested that John look into getting a separate email address apart from his personal one for the editorial stuff, using AshBreeze. Ken will keep his compuserve AshBreeze account up for another month].

Treasurer Frank Durham outlined TSCA's financial position:

On hand, 2/1/99:
 

 

 

$25,687.00
 

Income

    CROPC Donation
 

 200.00
 

Expenses

    Owed CROPC

2,500.00

    Vol. 201 No. 2 expenses

3,280.92

 

5780.92
 

Estimated funds on hand after above deductions:

$20,106.08

Frank Durham said that TSCA should always have funds in reserve sufficient to publish three issues of the ASH BREEZE.

Council members decided that the TSCA mailing list could be shared with boat oriented non-profits for non-commercial use. Corporate Sponsor members, on a case-by case basis as decided by the Council, may use the list on a limited basis only. They would pay for the mailing labels and could not reproduce or distribute the list.

Myron Young will be the new Chapter Coordinator. He will develop an up-to-date list of Chapters. The list will be published in the ASH BREEZE. Peter Schmid will do the calligraphy on Chapter Certificates and Ben Fuller, as President, will sign them.

The Council reaffirmed that the Adirondack and Puget Sound Chapters had been accepted as chapters at the TSCA Annual Meeting, June 7, 1998. and went on to accept membership applications from the Pine Lake Small Craft Association, and Annapolis, MD. Maury River was accepted pending the receipt of paperwork.

Ben Fuller announced that CROPC had received a donation of $2500. from John Stratton which included matching funds from Pfizer. These funds were donated under the 501-C-3 umbrella of the TSCA. TSCA will retain $200. of this sum to help in the funding of a Connecticut state-level TSCA organization.

Ben Fuller announced that John Weiss was now the webmaster of the TSCA web site and that he was in the process of obtaining "tsca.org" as a domain site name. [Looks like TSCA.ORG is gone; now looking at TSCA-Boats.org or TSCA.net if it is legal. Ideas?]

Ben Fuller announced that the total of funds now in the Gardner Fund was $31,499.93, but that this figure does not include any interest accrued. Ben passed out a draft paper which set down the purpose, eligible project scope, applicant eligibility, project requirements, application requirements, review criteria and definitions for the Fund. Ben asked Council members to review this document and to send their comments to him. Ben said he would like to announce the initial Gardner Grants at the upcoming Small Craft Workshop on June 6th, 1999. Invitations for grant proposals will be placed in the Vol. 20, No. 3 ASH BREEZE, and possibly in relevant issues of MESSING ABOUT IN BOATS, and on TSCA's web page. The deadline for proposals will be March 15th, after which they will be circulated to the Gardner Grant Committee which will then make its recommendations to the TSCA Board. The Gardner Grant Committee will review grant proposals on a semi-annual basis: in February for June announcements and in mid-July for December announcements.

 The solicitation for nominations for election to the TSCA Board in June, 1999 will be sent out at the end of February as part of Ben Fuller's update letter. Bruce Thurston agreed to put together the descriptions of nominees which will accompany the Vol. 21, No. 1 issue of the ASH BREEZE. Council members suggested Tony Dias, John Summers, John England, John Weiss, Ken Steinmetz, Sharon Brown and Bob Farwell as possible candidates.

Secretary Eleanor Watson agreed to study her duties and to determine if her new access to a computer will help ease her work load. Myron Young agreed to take over Boat Show duties. Peter Schmid agreed to help Myron.

Council members agreed that it would be good to announce at the next Small Craft Workshop in June of 1999 what the TSCA gift of $700.00 to Mystic Seaport Museum, made on June 6th, 1998, would be used for.

The John Gardner Award was discussed. Bruce Thurston, Stephen Weld and Peter Schmid agreed to form a crew to determine if there is a worthy recipient this year. Myron Young agreed to produce the plaque if needed.

Bruce Thurston agreed to renegotiate the insurance fee with our carrier. The new fee should reflect TSCA's diminished membership.

Council member agreed on a new pricing structure for TSCA wares: Burgees 30.00 Caps 15.00 T-shirts 15.00, 16.00 for XXL

Ben Fuller announced that he may be calling on local TSCA members to participate in a small boat parade in conjunction with the International Congress of Maritime Museums/ Museum Small Craft Association Annual Meeting in Philadelphia in mid-September of 1999.

Bob Getman [Sp?] of the Small Craft Committee of OpSail 2000 may talk to TSCA at the upcoming Small Craft Workshop in June of 1999 about participation in an invitational small craft race between New York and New London in conjunction with OpSail 2000.

John Stratton discussed the many opportunities available to TSCA to encourage youth participation in on-the-water boating activities, boat building, and other experiential educational opportunities.

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 4:00 PM.

Respectfully submitted.

Eleanor Watson, Secretary.

Top Of Page

TSCA Home | JOIN TSCA ! | TSCA E-Mail

TSCA Organization/Officers | Local Chapters | Calendar | Ash Breeze Journal

Members' Writings | The John Gardner Grant Program

Send comments about this site to Webmeister