August Meeting Notes

BLUE STAR MOM MEETING NOTESAugust 17, 2007

•MEMBERS Present (at Carson Tahoe Hospital’s Aspen Rm): Amy F., Debbie E., Erin A., Ana A., Barbara C., Leslie E., Norma S., Suzzie W., Cheryl G.

•MINUTES: NOTES from meetings posted as Blogger Update for review.

•CALENDAR: Monthly Meetings (2nd Tues. 6pm, NEW LOCATION Mi Casa Too, 3809 N Carson St, Carson City, NV Tel: (775) 882-4080) The next two meeting dates: Sept. 11th & Oct. 9th.

•TREAS. REPORT: given by Amy FJ. Balance on Aug. 17 of $1600. (Detail unavailable due to computer problems of treasurer. If you would like further information, contact Amy.)

•UPDATES ON SONS/DAUGHTERS:
oErin reported that Tony is still at Camp Pendleton but will be going to a ship. He may ship out in mid summer and will be working on helicopters.
oAna told us that Gieorag is at Bremmerton, Wa where she will be going to visit him and his family over Labor Day weekend. His boat is still in the yards. Andrew is still in limbo. He’s in Italy awaiting news from the Army as to whether or not they are going to be giving him orders or sending him into reserves. Just like the military….hurry up and wait!
oBarbara says that Patrick is doing well ….and is in loooove. She’s met the lady in question and approves. Patrick has been in and out of port and has been to such places as Seattle, WA and Alaska. - Another happy report from Barbara…her daughter graduated from college and is living in working Palos Verdes! Congrats to all!! It’s an accomplishment for the whole family!
oLeslie reported that Henry is very happy at Ft. Stewart, GA!!! He is looking at deploying late this year. Will has finished “A” school and will go up to Bethesda for additional training as a corpman. He will likely deploy with a Marine unit as a combat medic.
oAmy let us know that Nick is settled into Whidby Island and is going to school receiving some electronics training. Deployment doesn’t seem to be on the horizon until summer of 2008.
oPatti said that Nick is still in Iraq…doing okay…and she’s looking forward to having him back stateside later in the fall!
oCheryl reported that Matthew is working with the security forces in Iraq and doing good. He will be going to Germany later in the fall for a few months before the end of his enlistment.
oSuzzie shared that all is well with Jacquie and Tawofik. Both are busy as company commanders of their own commands now…but are both back at Ft. Campbell so that they can be together again following his graduation from Captains Career Course. Possible deployment for Tawofik late next spring or early summer??? No word on a deployment for Jacquie for the next 12 months. All is well.
oDebbie said that her son, Eric, is currently a cook at Ft. Benning, GA. He will be attending a Warrior Leadership course. There is a possibility of deployment to Afghanistan in ’08.
oNorma shared that her Marine son, Jared, has been in Iraq since July. News is kind of sparse but she says he’s assisting with the training of the Iraqi Army.
oGayle sent word that Jesse has graduated from Master at Arms school in San Antonio, TX and has gone to his new duty station in Everett, WA.

•NEW BUSINESS:

-Barbara brought forth some information regarding a new meeting place since we will no longer be able to use the room here at Carson Tahoe Regional. St. Theresa’s may be a possibility and they will have a meeting later this week in which the possibility of us having space to use there will be discussed. Barbara spoke with the manager at Mi Casa Too and they will allow us to use a room there at no charge. We can order from the menu. Many in attendance voiced a desire to have a meal there as we are just coming from work. Several would probably order a beverage as well. The room would be available on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday evenings and a discussion was held about possibly changing the meeting night. However, a consensus of those in attendance was that Tuesday is the best for all and a unanimous vote for Mi Casa Too was given.

-Leslie presented information about the upcoming Candy Dance in Genoa on September 22nd & 23rd. We will have a table there and will need 4 people each day. There will be two 4 hour shifts each day: one from 9am to 1pm and a second shift from 1pm to 5pm. Please contact Leslie if you can man the table for any of the available shifts. This was a terrific fundraiser last year and nice kickoff for Operation Postcard.

-E-mail etiquette and safety was addressed by Suzzie. Please see a copy of the handout that was given at the meeting following the Committee reports.

-Ana presented some information regarding financial aid at Nevada colleges for service members and their families (including widows, widowers). You can access the information at: http://system.nevada.edu/Board-of-R/Handbook/Title-4/T4-CH18.doc_cvt.htm or contact Suzzie for additional information.

COMMITTEE REPORTS:

oDeployment Support: Deployment boxes to go out in October. We will ask for donations of items to be brought to the October meeting for the boxes.
oBSM to BSM Support: No report given
oBlue to Gold: No report given.oWelcome Committee: No report given
oOperation Postcard: We will need true addresses for Operation Postcard this year. Please ask your friends, at church and in your offices for addresses of Northern Nevada service persons.
oBBQ Committee: No report.

Handout given at August Meeting:

E-mail Etiquette & Safety

Have you ever thought or heard yourself say, “I have too many e-mails!” It is a sentiment that most of us can relate to.

We are desperately trying to reduce the influx of e-mail to Barbara’s inbox so that she isn’t so bogged down and to speed responses to the senders. Many e-mails that she receives she then has to forward on to other chapter officers or committee members as the questions, suggestions, comments etc. fall under their area(s) of responsibility/expertise. Please review your e-mail and try to send it on to the proper committee for review. We hope to have a person to serve as a clearinghouse for e-mails when you’re not sure where to direct them. You could then send them to her or, at least, shoot her an e-mail asking where to send your info/request.

The following is only a partial list of tips to help make your e-mails safe for you to send & receive:

-Do not forward chain letters.
-If you want to forward information/poems/jokes etc. it is safer
to copy and paste the content into a new e-mail and send
it on to those whom you wish to share it with.
-Never open e-mails from senders you don’t know.
-If you don’t recognize the sender from their e-mail address
but suspect it might be legitimate e-mail, send them an
e-mail to verify identity before opening the e-mail in
question.
-Never open e-mail attachments from senders you don’t know.
-Never access a website from a link in an e-mail, especially a
website that asks for personal information.
-If you have any doubts about the authenticity of an e-mail, do
not respond to it.
-Beware of e-mails with a sense of urgency, attempting to rush
you into action (messages like “Update now or we’ll close
your account)
-Do not reply to spam.
-Do not include personal or sensitive data in an e-mail or in a
response to an e-mail.
-For unsolicited e-mails, do not go through the unsubscribe
process indicated on the e-mail. By responding, you are
verifying your e-mail address.
-Don’t forward virus hoaxes.
-If you doubt the content of a received e-mail, www.snopes.com
is a valuable resource to help check the validity of info.
-Read the mail before you send it! Maybe even save it to re-
read later before sending it. It can save some regrets
later if we send out e-mails in haste.

As mentioned before these are only a few tips to help with e-mail safety. There are many good sites you can use a search engine, such as Google, to find more security info.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned.THESE NOTES WERE FORMULATED BY Suzzie, IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, CONTACT her at: TweetySuz@aol.com