SEDONA WESTERNERS MONTHLY MEETINGSEPTEMBER 12, 2019

Trail Boss, Scott McFeely, began the meeting at 7:00 pm.

Five new or potential members introduced themselves.

Scott announced two new honorary members, Helen Ducharme and Jim Warren. To become an honorary member you must be a member for a minimum of 10 years and hold four club positions. Helen is a 14 year member and has held five positions. Jim Warren is a 15 year member and has held four offices. Congratulations to them both.

Scott asked for a motion to approve the April 9th, 2019 meeting minutes, the motion was seconded, and unanimously approved.

Last year the club matched member donations to the Red Rock Trail Fund up to $1000. Scott asked for a motion to approve the $1000 match for this hiking season. It was quickly seconded and unanimously approved.

Liz Sweeny announced that two board members of the Red Rock Trail Fund, Paul Sullivan and Scott McFeely, are resigning and she thanked them for their service. Two new Red Rock Trail Fund board members are Don Kling and Pat Jager.

HIKE BOSS REPORTS

Elizabeth Sweeney Ambler Boss

James Kemper Cactus Dodger

Hassan Hosseini Dogie Boss

Ray Laporte, Assistant Drover Boss, reported for Sophia Sweeny Drover Boss

David Minott Mustang Boss

Donna Forsythe Rustler Boss

Jan Johnson Tracker Boss

The bosses thanked all the leaders and co-leaders for the recent hikes. Each Hike Boss gave a description of the difficulty, distance, and pace of hikes for the group that they lead. Go to https://www.sedonawesterners.org/groups.php for a detailed description of each Hike Group.

The hike bosses also described the upcoming hikes for their group. Hikes can change so always check https://www.sedonawesterners.org/schedule.php for the most current schedule.

OFFICER REPORTS

Jon Petrescu, Cliff Walker, reviewed guidelines that Sedona Westerners must follow to minimize our impact as hikers and at archaeological sites. A copy of Jon’s information follows the minutes below. Scott mentioned that many of these items are covered in the club Letter of Agreement with the Forest Service which you can read on the website at https://sedonawesterners.org/news/LOA.pdf

Dave Vanderwater, Foreman, reported that the club has a cash balance of $10,457 as of September 1, 2019 . The complete Foreman’s Report is on the website at https://sedonawesterners.org/minutes.php

Michael McCaffrey, Prospector, reported that as of September 12, 2019 the total members are 227, of which 29 are new members and 24 are honorary members. This time last season the membership was 203 total members.

Penny DeJarnett, Chuckwagon Boss, reminded the members that the Fall Picnic is Thursday, October 10 th at Posse Grounds. You must sign up on the website by October 3rd in order to attend. Volunteers are needed for many positions to staff the picnic. Penny thanked Dave Vanderwater, Gini O’Brien, Linda Warren, Hassan Hosseini, Donna Forsythe, Ray LaPorte, Colleen Barcus, Dave and Joyce Minott, Scott McFeely, and Terri Petrescu for bringing the treats for tonight. Penny needs sign-ups for the November 14th meeting snacks.

Michael Henry, Ranger, described his role of reporting issues the club finds on the trail to the Forest Service. To date he has reported three incidents of camping, one report of graffiti, and one report of a downed tree blocking the trail. When you find these types of issues on the trail, please send the information with the GPS coordinates to Michael. He would also like to track the amount of trash collected on Westerner hikes. You can email Michael through the SW website at https://sedonawesterners.org/contact.php?sendto=Ranger

Linda Warren, Roundup Boss, explained that her role is to interface with members writing articles and the Red Rock News. An article written by a club member is reported in the Red Rock News every Friday throughout the hiking season. She described the five great reasons for writing an article about a hike you participate in. They are: the articles are a great marketing tool for recruiting new members, it’s a great way to contribute to the club, you may discover you are a good writer, you may achieve fame ,and lastly the person who writes the most articles during this hike season may be eligible for a big reward. If you don’t subscribe to the Red Rock News, you can view the articles on the website at https://sedonawesterners.org/red-rock-news.php

Terri Petrescu announced an upcoming talk titled Chasing Centuries, The Search for Ancient Agave Cultivars sponsored by the Verde Valley Chapter of the Arizona Archaeology Society. The talk will be given on September 26 th at 7PM at the Sedona Library.

Following the break Terri Petrescu, Wagon Boss, introduced Dr Sandra Lynch who spoke about Beasts. Ice capped the world from 1.64 million to about 12,000 years ago. Arizona was a land of giants in an African-like savanna which included: American lion, saber-toothed cat, and dire wolf predators that contested camel, horse, mega-bison, and giant sloth. Dr Lynch shared pictures of mega-fauna bones excavated from some of the sites that are now on display at Sharlot Hall Museum in Prescott, Az.

Scott ended the meeting at 9:22 pm.

Respectfully submitted,Gretchen YagerWrangler

Cliff Walker Report from September 12, 2019 Monthly Meeting