Hamden Fire Retirees’ Association
Minutes – November 10, 2009
Vice-Chairman Bob Viglione called the fourth meeting of the Hamden Fire Retirees’ Association to order at 7:15 p.m. at the Hamden Elks Hall on Tuesday, November 10, 2009.
Members present: Backus, Braun, Dobbs, Doherty, Doiron, Forsythe, Johnson, Leddy, Mangler, Manware, Mayhew, Moore, O’Hare, Poe, Spencer, Tortora, Viglione, Williams, Yocher, Yoga (20)
The chair asked all present to rise and observe a moment of silence in memory of member Warren Blake, who passed away on September 15th.
The chair thanked and congratulated Brian Forsyth for the excellent dinner that he arranged through the Elks this evening, which was met with a round of applause from the members present.
A motion was made, seconded and passed to accept the minutes of the September 22 meeting.
Treasurer Chick Manware reported no income or expenses since the September meeting. An annual dues rate of $12 was set at the September meeting. Chick accepted dues payments from several of the members present. 2010 dues notices will be sent to all other members shortly.
COMMITTEES - History Committee - The website continues to receive donations of pictures and news articles. John Tramontano sent us 325 color slides. Many of them show the Mountain Rescue Team in training and various other activities in the early to late 1980s. All images are excellent, and several slides show members who are no longer with us. Thank you, John!
The Secretary reported that new items are usually added to the website every two or three days. There have been over 5,500 hits so far with lots of positive feedback from web visitors, and many of them are active department members. There will be 45th anniversary features on the Weather Vane and Reilly’s fires in December, and a 25th anniversary feature on the French-Italian fire in January with lots of video.
Gil Spencer is our liaison to the Hamden Historical Society. They have assured us that we will have access to their historical information and pictures for our own archives. Gil recently provided some 8mm home movies of department activities during the 1960s. A home movie of the 1964 Weather Vane fire has been posted on YouTube, and it is linked through our website (www.hamdenfireretirees.org). We are always looking for home movies and home videos of Hamden fires, or any tapes of news reports.
A good friend of the Association is Chandler Brainard, who has provided some of his own photos and anecdotes of department activities from the 1940s through the 1960s. Chan was a member of Hamden’s Civil Defense Fire Auxiliary during the 1950s and he knew many of our members from that era. We appreciate his contributions very much and hope to see more of them in the future.
OLD BUSINESS - Widows – It was voted at the last meeting to invite widows of deceased Hamden firefighters to become honorary members of the Association. The Secretary reported that he does not yet have a complete list of the widows, but hopes to have a complete list by the next meeting.
Incorporation - The Secretary spoke with accountant Leonard Lye regarding the steps that we must take to incorporate and become a tax-exempt non-profit organization. A committee established for that purpose at the September meeting (Johnson, Mayhew and Yoga) will meet with Mr. Lye to get details and will report at the next meeting. Mr. Lye was the accountant for the former Sick Benefit Association.
To prepare for incorporation, we will have to eventually establish a set of by-laws and elect permanent officers. It was suggested that we have at least three standing committees: A Social Committee to arrange and prepare future association gatherings; a “Sunshine” Committee to send flowers or cards when members are sick or have passed away; and a History Committee to obtain and maintain an archive of photos, videos, articles and memorabilia relating to the history of the Hamden Fire Department for the benefit of all members.
The chair asked for volunteers for all committees. The Secretary noted that former chief Tim Sullivan has joined the History Committee, which already has several members. And more are always welcome.
Brian Forsyth volunteered to chair the Sunshine Committee. He will take care of sending flowers and cards to members’ families.
A consensus of the members present was that the Association should always send flowers when a member passes away, unless the family requests no flowers. In such cases an appropriate donation will be made in the name of the deceased member. A card will be sent when the Association is notified of the death of a member’s spouse or other close family member.
Members who learn of the passing of a retiree or a close family member of a retiree are asked to immediately contact both Brian Forsyth (203-281-1769) and Dave Johnson (203-288-2214). Brian will ensure that flowers or a card is sent to the family, and Dave will notify all members by email (or by postcard for those members who are not on the Net). Death notices will also be posted on the website once they are first published in the local newspaper.
The matter of By-Laws and a Social Committee will be left to a future meeting.
NEW BUSINESS - There was a discussion on when to have the next gathering. After a brief discussion, the membership decided to meet again on Tuesday, January 12th for a noontime lunch at the Elk’s Hall, with a brief business meeting to follow.
Brian Forsyth introduced Cathie Martus, Chairman of the House Committee of the Hamden Elk’s Hall, who will put on the luncheon for us. Brian will let us know the menu when it is available and it will be posted on the website and mailed to non-Internet members.
FOR THE GOOD OF THE ASSOCIATION – Rich Mayhew noted that legislation designed to tax so-called “Cadillac” health insurance plans is still pending in Congress, and he once again suggested that we individually contact Senators Dodd and Lieberman, and Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro, and express our views regarding possible plans to tax the value of our medical benefits.
From the late 1970s on, Brian Forsyth arranged numerous Yankee Stadium group baseball trips for members of the department. Brian reported that several overnight multi-ballgame trips are being arranged for the 2010 baseball season and he invited members to check out the venues, dates and prices. The Secretary will put details on the website. A new page will be added to the website to announce special events submitted by members that may be of interest to the rest of the membership.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 8:15 p.m. Many members remained afterward to share a few memories and a few laughs - a good time for all. See you at the Elk's Hall on Tuesday, January 12th at noon.
Respectfully submitted,
David G. Johnson
Secretary