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January 28, 2020
Opening Ceremony:
1910 meeting begins
Roll Call of Officers:
Officers present: Bill, Tim and Mike.
Application for Membership:
One new member, Vietnam veteran Larry Gourdine.
Ceremony of Initiation:
Commandant Bill Swain conducted the Ceremony of Initiation followed by a 5-minute meet and greet.
Minutes of previous meeting:
Minutes from the November meeting were sent on December 2nd 2019
Correspondence:
Plan to use VFW Hall as mail box for snail mail. Need to verify with VFW 7472 Commander.
Report of Paymaster:
Ed presented his first paymaster report this month.
As of Nov 29th 2019, the account has been officially transferred to Ed.
Form 990 and Form 1 sent out for tax year 2019.
Changing reports from manual spreadsheet to Quickbooks.
Asked who has credentials for Web site: Saki does so Ed will reach out to him for help for task to process membership fees via PayPal.
Bill reminds members to pay up!
Ed setting up expense categories (Scholarship fund, Chaplin Fund, etc). Writing a budget will help Ed.
Motion made and approved pending audit.
Report of any Member/Family Sick or Distressed:
Dennis appears to be doing well based on Facebook entries.
Report of Officers:
Commandant: Put out reminder of elections. Bill has been Commandant 3 years now and would like to see others run for the job.
Sr. Vice: Attended VFW scheduling meeting to reserve meeting room for 4th Tuesday of the month.
Gave Marine Corps cake decorator a “Thank You†card to friend of the baker who spent some of her own time decorating the cake we enjoyed during the Marine Corps Ball.
Jr. Vice: NTR
Judge Advocate: NTR
Report of Standing Committees:
Plans to write a new scholarship mission statement. Bill talked to Howard High ROTC lead. Just needs to know our requirements. Kevin just learned he’s the Scholarship Chair but will help out. Committee members are Kevin, Dennis, Mike, Curtis and Tim.
Action: Present the rules for the February meeting.
Fund raising – Need someone to lead the Fund Raising committee. Ed volunteered.
Opportunities – Armed Forces Week offering roses at Giant or Ellicott City Mission BBQ.
Savage Fest but takes a large staff. Also conflicts with the PA pistol shoot.
Action: Need to find schedules of both events.
Ceremonies: Parade, color guard events. Mike Betts chair but nothing on the horizon until this fall.
Report of Special Committees:
NTR
Unfinished Business:
Still need to pay the bag piper $100.
Action: Mike to get Ed the information he’ll need to write and mail the check.
New Business:
Made $610 from the Gala. Motion to put that money into the Scholarship fund was made and approved.
Good of the League:
Flag retirement at the VFW Hall this Saturday Feb 1st.
Next Dept meeting 8 February at 0800 hosted by the Sgt. Jack Hettchcen Det. 1428 in Montgomery County.
Department Convention tickets still for sale: $5/ea or 3/$10.
On March 29th, Mission BBQ will have free meals for Vietnam Veterans.
Announcements:
Manchester Volunteer Fire Department (VFD) is having a gun bingo this Saturday night. (Feb 1st) More info on Manchester VFD website. Cost is $40 which includes a meal.
The Veteran Friendly Business (VFB) program has expanded to entire state and includes first responders as well as veterans. Ed working to steer donations to American Legion’s Boys State, Girls State and Honor Flights. This will be discussed at the HoCo Joint Military Council meeting set for Jan 30th. Ed to provide more details after Thursday’s meeting.
Dan oldest son’s Danny Rotondo, Jr. was accepted into the Marine Corps’ Special Operations Capable Training.
Closing Ceremony: Meeting closed at 2015 until the next meeting on February 25th at 1900.
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February 25, 2020
Opening Ceremony:
1905 meeting begins
Roll Call of Officers:
Officers present: Bill, Tim, Jesus and Mike.
Application for Membership:
NTR
Ceremony of Initiation:
NTR
February Nominations:
Commandant: Bill
Sr. Vice: Tim
Jr. Vice: Jesus
Judge Advocate: Mike, Curtis
Minutes of previous meeting:
Minutes from the January meeting were sent on February 2nd 2020
Correspondence:
Maryland Department – rewrote the membership initiation making it a bit shorter.
Report of Paymaster:
Deposited 2 membership dues. Wrote check for bag piper and check for Shrimp Feast table.
Have total $9240.87. $8240.66 in checking and $1000.21 in savings and approx. $1800 for scholarships.
Report of any Member/Family Sick or Distressed:
Mike Blum’s wife diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. Ed to make sure League plugged for updates on her well being. Bill to call Mike letting him know the Detachment is there to help.
Report of Officers:
Commandant: NTR
Sr. Vice: Wrote Quarterly Report
Jr. Vice: NTR
Judge Advocate: NTR
Report of Standing Committees:
Tim presented scholarship requirement changes to focus on JROTC students with 3 main criteria; academics, Americanism, extracurricular plus required essay. Looking at offering just one scholarship. Right now, there’s about $1800 in that account.
Saki needs the current mailing address for requesting funds from his company. It now is the VFW’s address. 4225 VFW Lane, Ellicott City, MD 21043. Need to look at scholarship details on web site and let Saki know if changes are needed.
Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Col. Dorsey Chapter – Their charter is to support veterans. DAR member Sheila approached Ed and would love to support the MCL’s scholarships. Not sure how they see themselves in this. Could be one scholarship with their name on it. Would we be able to keep it as our scholarship? Would they want to nominate a student? Have a place on the scholarship recognizing donations? It was speculated that they want to be able to make a report that they helped the MCL by donating money for this cause which is a part of their charter.
Motion: Ed to make connection for the committee to develop the joint resolution describing how it would work. Ed will write a draft for Bill’s or the committee’s signature.
Tim to send letters to Department to update them on our current scholarship plans and informing JROTC Senior Instructor.
HoCo Veterans Commission – Send them a courtesy copy of new requirements.
Fund Raising – Several shooting events being planned and offering roses at a Mission BBQ. Ed suggests we could set up at the Columbia Mission BBQ for Sat and Sun of Memorial Day weekend. Curtis asked about the roses so may need to order some more.
Fathers Day is a Boy Scout merit badge shoot. May be have a Game Hen shoot at the conclusion of the merit badge event as it’s already well attended.
Col Lou Schott 200-yd offhand tentatively set for November near the Marine Corps birthday date.
Bill received the Savage Fest application set for June 6th. May conflict with Pennsylvania Pistol Shoot. Mike to look for dates of Pistol Shoot. Current thinking is to run both as a few Marines don’t want to shoot anyway so they would be available to hand out roses. Mike Betts to coordinate the Pistol Shoot.
Curtis will present next Eagle Scout award in early March.
Report of Special Committees:
NTR
Unfinished Business:
NTR
New Business:
Saki mentioned that there are three vacancies: Adjutant, Chaplain and Auditor.
Mike Bechetti is the current Chaplain
Adjutant – still open but Tim agreed to be the acting scribe.
Auditor – Used to be Ed but as Pay Master, he can’t do that so Saki will take over.
Memorial Fund Raising Committee Chairman: Mike (not Blum) representing MCL for all memorial fund raising.
Insurance for MCL members at the range is slow to deal with as they won’t deal directly with us. They are asking questions we don’t know until the event is going on such as how many participants will there be. Ed will continue to work this and we’ll discuss the money aspects of this at the March meeting.
Made and approved motion for up to $800 to reimburse Mike for gifts presented at the Gala.
Good of the League:
Planning for Lou’s 100th Birthday celebration at one of the local Mission BBQs is in the works.
August 7th possible trip to 8th & I Marine Barracks.
Ed passed around comments concerning a Veterans Monument being considered for the Lake Front in Columbia. There were several concerns such as no flag, no service branch insignias, KIAs or mention of campaigns. The Lakefront includes an adjacent Free Speech Zone which is redundant as Free Speech is already a Constitutional Right veterans swore to protect. Requested that Detachment members provide feedback about the plan.
Announcements:
Tickets still available for Shrimp Feast (which were sold out after the meeting).
Closing Ceremony: Meeting closed at 2015 until the next meeting on March 24th at 1900.
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Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, there was no meeting March through June.
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July 28, 2020
Opening Ceremony: 1900 meeting begins
Roll Call of Officers: Bill (late), Tim (presiding), Jesus and Mike.
Application for Membership: NTR
Ceremony of Initiation: NTR
Nominations: NTR
Minutes of previous meeting: Due to Maryland Covid-19 concerns, our last meeting minutes of SSGT Karl G Taylor Monthly meeting were from February 25, 2020.
Correspondence: NTR
Report of Paymaster: The Detachment has $7,410.94 in the bank. $2000 of that is for the scholarship fund.
Colonel Hall now has the PayPal link back up to pay your Dues. If you have already paid via PayPal and have not received your membership card yet please resend Colonel Hall a copy of your receipt.
Report of any Member/Family Sick or Distressed: Mike Blum’s wife is still dealing with cancer. We need to follow up with Mike.
We mourn the passing of Detachment members Everette Runkles and Thomas E. Clark. We need them removed from active membership in the detachment and added to the fallen on our web page
Report of Officers:
Commandant: NTR
Sr. Vice: Saki will now be Auditor in place of Ed Hall who is now the paymaster.
Jr. Vice: NTR
Judge Advocate: NTR
Report of Standing Committees:
We discussed 2021 as our next Scholarship season. Our focus will still be on JROTC students with 3 main criteria: academics, Americanism, and extracurricular plus required essay. Looking at offering just
one scholarship. Right now, there is about $2000 in that account and there is a possibility we have time to raise enough funds to award a second scholarship just for next year only.
Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Col. Dorsey Chapter has still expressed interest in supporting MCL’s scholarships. Still in the works.
Tim reported that the Department of Maryland saw no issues with our scholarship plans and informed JROTC Senior Instructor.
HoCo Veterans Commission – Ed announced so far, the Veterans Day parade is still a go. Mike Betts volunteered to be our chair for the parade.
Fund Raising:
We now have 400 Marine Roses in our locker for fund raising.
Also 2 magnetic car signs for advertising also in our locker should anyone need to do a little advertising.
Colonel Lou Schott 200-yd offhand is tentatively set for November near the Marine Corps birthday date.
Curtis Atkins and or Mike Betts will present next Eagle Scout award set for 23 August. Right now, we have awards for Shepard Stevens, Zachary Haines, and Benjamin Jacob Songtag.
Report of Special Committees: NTR
Unfinished Business: New membership; everyone keep working on increasing our membership.
New Business:
Adjutant is Curtis Atkins.
Auditor is now Saki.
Mike Bechetti is the current Chaplain.
Memorial Fund Raising Committee Chairman: Mike Blum(?) representing MCL for all memorial fund raising.
Good of the League:
Ed reported
Lou’s 100th Birthday celebration will be August 9th at American Legion Sykesville Memorial Post 223.
There will be a vehicle parade. If you plan to drive in the parade be there by 1230 hours.
There will be a joint Color Guard Detail. Steve Kovalchik will be our representative in the detail.
1300 the Color Guard Starts.
Ship’s bell ringer will either be Mike Betts or Curtis Atkins.
We will need 3 verses of the Marine Hymn Printed out – Any volunteers?
There will be cannons and discussion of some sort of Joint toast.
I am calling all hands from our Detachment to support this celebration if able.
As a side note the next day, August 10th, Colonel Hall is setting up Breakfast with Colonel Schott.
I believe this will be at Ed’s home. The Specialty of the Day will be Mike Betts S.O.S over toast served the way we all used to get it in the Corps! More info to follow.
Announcements: NTR
Closing Ceremony: Meeting closed at 2030 until the next meeting on August 25, 2020 at 1900.
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August 25, 2020
1900 meeting begins
Roll Call of Officers:
Officers present: Tim (presiding), Jesus, and Curtis.
Application for Membership: NTR
Ceremony of Initiation: NTR
Nominations: NTR
Minutes of previous meeting: Minutes of SSGT Karl G Taylor Monthly meeting were sent out by email July 29th
Correspondence: NTR
Report of Paymaster: The Detachment has $8664.97 in the bank. $2000 of that is for the scholarship fund. A vote was held and approved to set aside $2000 for the scholarship fund.
Also, the Paymaster reported PayPal charges $1.17 when you renew your dues. We want to discuss the possibility of members adding $1.17 to your $30 when you renew your dues to cover the cost to the detachment.
The Paymaster has reached out to Saki for audit.
Report of any Member/Family Sick or Distressed: NTR
Report of Officers:
Commandant: NTR
Sr. Vice: Saki will now be auditor in place of Ed Hall who is now the paymaster.
Jr. Vice: NTR
Judge Advocate: NTR
Report of Standing Committees:
HoCo Veterans Commission – Ed announced that on Veterans Day we plan to do something. Things are still in the works. Columbia Association pulled out. Ed is working on a small military vehicle parade or some sort of procession so stay tuned.
Fund Raising:
We now have 400 Marine Roses in our locker for fund raising. Also, 2 magnetic car signs for advertising also in our locker should anyone need to do a little advertising.
Col Lou Schott 200-yd offhand is tentatively set for November near the Marine Corps birthday date. Date to be determined.
Hen Shoot was cancelled.
We have a larger than life sized cutout of Col Schott. We have an idea to use it to try and collect donations for a picture with Lou. Pair it with Lou’s Ships Bell. Make a donation, ring the bell and take a picture with Lou. We’ll pass out roses as well.
Report of Special Committees: NTR
Unfinished Business: New membership, everyone keep working on increasing our membership.
New Business:
Good of the League:
Col Schott made a personal thank you for our part in his 100 year birthday celebration. He appreciated our surprise Chow Hall Breakfast toast at his home. Thanks to all who attended. We also have pictures from Col Schott’s Trip to DC 8 th and I and the Sunset parade. I myself was lucky to be able to go and it was a show to remember.
Announcements: NTR
Closing Ceremony: Meeting closed at 2015 until the next meeting on September 22, 2020 at 1900.
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September 22, 2020
Opening Ceremony: 1914 meeting begins
Roll Call of Officers:
Officers present: Bill, Tim, Mike Betts
Application for Membership: NTR
Ceremony of Initiation: NTR
Nominations: NTR
Minutes of previous meeting: Minutes of SSGT Karl G Taylor August meeting were sent out by email.
Correspondence: NTR
Report of Paymaster: The Detachment has $7453.84 in the General Fund. $1041 in the Scholarship fund. Another official vote was held and approved for the Paymaster to increase the scholarship fund to $2000.
The Paymaster & Saki report that the Audit is still under review.
Report of any Member/Family Sick or Distressed: NTR
Report of Officers:
Commandant: NTR
Sr. Vice: If you did not get to attend the Mission BBQ 9/11 luncheon that presented a $5000 check to the Honor Flight, you missed a worthy cause.
Jr. Vice: NTR
Judge Advocate: Although it was short notice, Mike Betts was able to attend the funeral of Victor Perry, one of our members who passed away. Mike reported the family was very grateful for the attendance.
Report of Standing Committees:
1. HoCo Veterans Commission – no parade for Veterans Day but Sunday November 8th 0930 there will be a ceremony at the area next to Whole Foods in Columbia. Ed is planning on a small military vehicle parade.
There will be a joint veterans groups Color Guard. Steve will be our representative. Thanks Steve.
We are calling for 3 Marine Corps League volunteers to present the Flag and ring the Ships Bell (the uniform of the day will be the undress uniform). Reach out to Ed Tim or Bill in you can do this.
2. Saturday November 7th 1700 hours. We are looking for participation in the Howard County Harriet Tubman flag raising ceremony at the VFW Memorial at the Howard County Court house.
Fund Raising:
1. We still have Marine Roses we can use.
2. Col Lou Schott 200-yd offhand is tentatively set for Sunday November 8th at 1230 in Marriottsville.
Scholarship Committee
Reach out to Kevin Oliver regarding the subject of honoree names for our scholarships and also the possibility of outside organizations assisting us with scholarships funds.
Report of Special Committees: NTR
Unfinished Business: New membership…everyone keep working on increasing our membership.
New Business: NTR
Good of the League: NTR
Announcements: For the Marine Corp Birthday, Col Hall has offered the use of his house! The date is Friday November 6th. Tim will pick up the cake and we will fancy toast & party. The uniform of the day will casual come as you are and have fun!
Saturday October 17th 0830 Flag Retirement bring you Red Cap and try to attend.
Closing Ceremony: Meeting closed at 2015 until the next meeting on October 27th 2020 at 1900.
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October 27, 2020
1920 meeting begins – we had to adapt and overcome. The VFW was unexpectedly closed. We had a quorum so we had the meeting outside on the picnic table under the stars.
Roll Call of Officers:
Officers present: Bill, Tim, Mike B.
Application for Membership:
Associate Member Joe Fedorko renewed his membership and also became a life member in Detachment 1084. As a side note his wife Sandra is already a life member with us. Welcome back!
Minutes of previous meeting: Minutes of SSGT Karl G Taylor August meeting were sent out by email.
Correspondence:
The detachment is in possession of a nice thank you letter from Robert Michele for our scholarship.
Report of Paymaster:
1. The Detachment has $6,408.60 in the General Fund. $2,000 in the scholarship fund.
2. Audit is still under review with the details being worked out with Ed & Saki and bank account access.
3. Reminder to send a roster report to National.
Report of any Member/Family Sick or Distressed:
Canteen was closed. Hopefully Donna was not sick and is ok.
Report of Officers:
Commandant: Bill: 2020 is a bust, but he wants to kick around some ideas for 2021 improving meeting turnouts, and to do more just plain fun get togethers.
Sr. Vice: Tim will send a small thank you letter to Robert. He did a nice flag etiquette class presentation.
Jr. Vice: Not in attendance.
Judge Advocate: Mike: NTR.
Report of Standing Committees:
1. HoCo Veterans Commission: Sunday, November 8th 0900-1045 there will be a small ceremony at the area next to Whole Foods in Columbia. Ed is planning on a small military vehicle parade: Marine 1 jeep Ed, a Humvee, 4 WW2 Willys jeeps, 1 Dodge, and WW2 Weasel.
2. Saturday, November 7th 1500 hours Flag Raising
Gary W. Hanna Memorial dedicated to Howard County Veterans killed in Vietnam.
Located at St John’s Episcopal Church, 708 Frederick road, Ellicott City, MD.
Uniform of the Day is the undress.
Joint Color Guard – Steve Kovalchik is our Representative for the Color Guard.
Ship’s Bell – Mike Betts.
Each veteran’s organization will also make a short 3 minutes presentation – Bill Swain for the Marine Corps League.
The rector of the Church is the Reverend Ann Ritonia who is a Marine Corps Veteran, a musician, and a possible future member in our Detachment. She would like a rehearsal at 1500 hours on November 1st (short notice).
Fund Raising:
1. We have Marine Roses that we are looking to distribute on November 11th in front of Mission BBQ. The plan is to set up a table to pass out roses and raise funds. A motion was made and approved by the detachment to earmark $500 – $1000 using these proceeds along with our available funds to help a Marine in need. Needless to say we need volunteers to help with this.
Col Lou Schott 200-yd offhand is Sunday, November 8th at 1200 at Marriottsville.
Friday November 6th: Our Marine Corps Birthday Celebration will be at the home of Col. Ed Hall. Tim will pick up the cake and we will fancy toast & party. The uniform of the day will casual come as you are and have fun! There will be a fire pit. Mike Betts has volunteered the wood (he’s an old man so maybe a nice young lad with a pickup truck can pick up a load of wood for Mike and drop it off at Ed house before the party!)
We need 2 extra full propane tanks.
Any special drinks you would like to bring are welcome.
We also need a few volunteers to arrive at Ed’s House at 1600 to help setup and bring ice (Curt will come early and bring ice).
Scholarship Committee: Nothing to report for now.
Report of Special Committees: NTR
Unfinished Business: December 5th make plans to support the VFW’s annual Ms. Millie Baileys Bundles Drive in Package drop off.
Toys for Tots: No info for now.
New Business:
There are 3 Veterans Memorials in Howard County. We would like to do a simultaneous wreath laying ceremony next year.
1. Howard County Memorial 1961 WW I, WW II & Korean War at the Courthouse Ellicott City MD.
2. War of 1812 Cannon War of 1812 Courthouse Ellicott City MD.
3. Garry W Hanna Memorial Dedicated to the Howard County Veterans killed in Vietnam located at St. Johns Episcopal Church, 708 Frederick Road, Ellicott City, MD.
Good of the League:
We are throwing around some ideas to improve on Tim’s Flag Etiquette presentation. Maybe make a quality video for schools to use. Stay tuned…we’ll probably need some members who are savvy actor types to help with the production.
Announcements:
Bill S – will reach out to Terry at Daughter of the American Revolution (DAR) & Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) about their interest in our Scholarship program.
Tim – Post 223 luncheons – the Marines Corps League has an invite. Check your email for dates.
Veterans Day: If you already didn’t know free Lunch at All Mission BBQs.
Closing Ceremony: Meeting closed at 2035 until the next meeting on November 24, 2020 at 1900.
December 22nd will be decided if to be a meeting on an event.
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November 24, 2020
Attempted to hold meeting via Zoom. No quorum.