General Membership Meeting 9 August 2012

The Daedalian General Membership Meeting was held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in North Austin at 1700 hours on Thursday, 9 August 2012. It was a dinner meeting with members gathering as early as 1800 hours.
Following a social period, the Flight Captain, Ron Butler, called the meeting to order at 1910 Hours. Following the invocation, the Flight Captain led the group in the Pledge of Allegiance. Provost Marshall, Mike Rhodes, then toasted our departed brothers and sisters, and the Commander-in-Chief. The Flight Captain introduced our honored guests.
A list of guests follows:
GUESTS HOST
Mary Boyce James Boyce
Bonnie Burris Darrel Burris
Pat Densford Charles Densford
Jo Jo Edwards George Edwards
Sara Eppinger Dale Eppinger
Marge Meyer Andy Meyer
Joy Stanford Nolan Stanford

The meeting was reconvened at 2040. The raffle winners were Don Mishner, Ted Drake, and Sig Dahl.
Our next meeting will be at the Officer's Club at the San Marcos airport. Tim Black and Grant Lannon will be coordinating the details which will include BBQ.
The Austin Veterans Day Parade is November 11. If you have a convertible or would like to ride in a convertible please email Ron Butler.
Tim Black is conducting a golf tournament to generate funds to pay for rebuilt engines. You can golf, buy balls, or donate to the cause. The balls are 10 Dollars for the helicopter drop. The closest 3 balls to the hole win $1000. Please support this old plane.


There were 33 members and 7 guests in attendance. $ 166 was collected for the raffle. Following dinner, the meeting was reconvened at 2018. The minutes from the last meeting were approved. The next meeting will be October 11 at the Commemorative Air Force Hangar in San Marcos. We are making arrangements for the Veterans' Day parade on November 10, 2012.
George Kennebeck spoke about a benefit for those who had received a Bronze Star or a Legion of Merit. The State of Texas will provide a free lifetime license plate and covered parking at the Austin-Bergstrom Airport. He suggested you take that savings and donate to the scholarship fund. To find out the details, Google TxDOT--Under "Quick Links" go to "Vehicle registration". That page will redirect you to DMV. On the DMV page, open the "How Do I" box and open "Forms". On the Forms page select "License Plate Forms" and then "Military and vets" You want VTR 421.
VTR 421 is listed several times but the form is all the same--any one will do. Follow their directions.

A few helpful hints- If you have two cars -register one under LOM and one under Bronze star. If you register two cars under one award you must pay for the second one. Check your DD214-It must list your award or you will have to submit proof of the award with your application. If your DD 214 doesn't show you are retired then copy your ID card as proof. Your plate should take about 3-4 weeks. Good luck and if you have any problems just let me know. Several people have tried to speed up the process by walking the applications thru--but that didn't help--Use the mail ---George

The Flight Captain said we needed funds to support scholarships and the CFIP program. He thought that most members would rather donate than hold a fund raiser. He reminded all that he had sent a letter to everyone with the details and hoped for a good response.
There is a flight captain meeting on September 25th at Randolph, and Ron Butler requested any concerns that he could take to the meeting.
One of our CFIP cadets, Mark Jbeily, soloed. Jenna Fetcher had a hole in her eardrum and could get a medical certificate to solo, but she would have. Every one of our cadets has received a pilot training slot except one.
The Flight Captain inducted Col Dale Eppinger (USAF, ret) into Daedalians
The Flight Captain introduced Marty McKellips, the Chief Executive Officer of the American Red Cross of Central Texas. She grew up in Lawton, Oklahoma, and has worked with the Austin Red Cross for over eight years. She briefed us on the services that the Red Cross provides for military families. They serve 24 million veterans with about 1.4 active duty personnel. They provided 600,000 emergency communications to 150,000 families last year. They provide official communications every time a child is born or there is a sickness at home. They handle about 8 events a day in Central Texas.
Operation Outreach is a program of the City of Austin for all veterans and specifically female veterans. They provide a comprehensive referral service and a proactive outreach program. Their goal is the successful reintegration of vets into civilian life. They provide therapy dogs, medical equipment, volunteers, and a free shave and a haircut by local donors.
They participate in an oral history project which was started with the Library of Congress (LOC). Because of their military connections, the LOC asked the Red Cross to take down the history of veterans. Texas has the third most veterans in the country. At your place or the Red Cross office, they will use a video camera and record whatever you would like to say about your service experience, why you joined and after you left the service. Preserving these oral stories often is the only record of service of people who actual experienced it with their own eyes. It's important to all of us to get your story.
They have volunteers who take one-day training and do the recording. There are many vet volunteers who know the right questions to keep you going. It really is an honor to do this. We have a very special person who creates a cover photo, chapters of your story, and provides a family presentation plus a copy for the LOC. The Austin group is proposing this level of effort to the other Red Cross districts. The speaker invited all of us to tell our story. The contact information: 928-4271, www.centex.redcross.org . You can call Phaedra at 929-1277 to make an appointment at the office, 2218 Pershing Drive, or they can come to you for the day.
The Flight Captain thanked everyone for coming and especially five new members: Don Cook, CH Cooley, Dale Eppinger, Lyle Sproul, and Stanley Stevens. The meeting was closed at 2104.