Next Board Meeting:  Tuesday, January 25, 2005, 7:30 p.m. Maurer’s Dive Shop

Next Regular Meeting: Thursday, February 3, 2005, 7:30 P.M. at Penn Gables, Ebensburg

There was no Board Meeting in December.

President Donna Bender brought the meeting to order with the Royal Conch Blowing.

Treasurer’s Report:
Ron Peterson was not in attendance; there was no Treasurer Report this month.

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The Laurel Divers wish to extend their sincerest sympathies to Harvey Montgomery in the recent death of his wife, Dee.  Harve and Dee have been members of Laurel Divers for many years and are operators of Advantage Scuba in Altoona, PA.  Dee was a Master Diver and a very accomplished travel planner who planned many group trips to wonderful tropical locations.  Dee will be missed by the many whose lives she has touched.  A contribution to Diver’s Alert Network has been made in Dee’s name from the Laurel Divers.

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OLD BUSINESS

New Board members have been elected and they are Greg Lilly, Bert Sharbaugh, Denny Beecher, and Barb Wyland.

Members are reminded to bring any new or interesting “Gizmos or Gadgets” to our monthly meeting to show to their fellow club members.

NEW BUSINESS

Bob Maurer spoke about winter storage for tanks.
Bob suggested keeping the tanks stored with air pressure of between 500 – 1000 psi.

Anyone with any ideas for planning for next year’s trips, please contact one of the officers.
We will be working on the calendar in January. Calendars will be available online to those who receive e-mail newsletters and will be mailed to others.

UPCOMING EVENTS/TRIPS

Dominica with Jonathan Bird - January 15-22, 2005.  If anyone is interested, please contact Donna Bender at 695-0540.  The cost of the trip is $1,045 plus airfare of $750.  The cost of the trip includes unlimited shore diving, boat diving, accommodations and 2 meals per day.

Don’t forget:  We will make slates at the February meeting!

After the regular meeting on Thursday, March 3, Laurel Divers will be having a Pizza Party/Movie Night.  We will be showing Jonathan Bird’s DVD The Silent Wrecks of Kwajalein Atoll.  The following is a brief summary by Oceanic Research Group about the DVD: During WWII, Kwajalein Atoll, part of the Marshall Islands, saw several battles during which many ships and planes came to rest on the floor of her lagoon.  This film examines the battle for Kwajalein through the underwater wrecks of those battles.

The “Beneath the Sea” Exposition will be held on March 18-20, 2005 at the Meadowlands Exposition Center, Secaucus, New Jersey.  For more information, contact Donna Bender. You can also check the web site for information.  The web address is www.beneaththesea.org

Morehead City trip with Jim Smith and Diver Down - June 23 - 27, 2005.  This is limited to 18 people.  A deposit of $100 is due by the end of February to sign up for the trip.  The cost of the diving is $255.

TRIP/DIVE REPORTS

Bert Sharbaugh reported on Paul Brawley’s New Year’s Day Ice Dive in the quarry.    Visibility was great and although there was no ice, the water was cold, in the upper 30’s.

Jim and Sandy Smith reported on a ten-day trip to Costa Rica in November.  Six days were spent diving and three days were spent in the rainforest. Jim commented that they were amazed by the amount of wildlife they managed to see when riding the boat to the dive sites. They saw turtles, dolphins, and even humpback whales.  The vegetation of the country was lush and the people were helpful and friendly.  Jim said the dive conditions were quite interesting.  They varied minute by minute as far as visibility, water temperature and current were concerned.

The daybook winner was Eric Steinbring who was not present.

The door prize was a Z-Knife – Won by Lois Keegan.

Meeting was adjourned.
For Sale Items: can be found at LaurelDivers.com, and then select "Classified Ads"

Laurel Divers patches are available for $3.00.

If anyone is interested in adding any trips to our list, please send all information to wkerc@uplink.net Thank you!

The next Board meeting will be held on Tuesday, January 25, 2005 at 7:30 p.m. at Maurer’s Dive Shop.

The next regular Club Meeting will be on Thursday, February 3, 2005 at Penn Gables at 7:30 p.m.

--Wendy Kerch

We’d like to put more pictures on the web page.  If you have anything related to a member or any club activities, please send pictures with descriptions to Ron@LaurelDivers.com or Technique Systems, 3133 New Germany Road, Ebensburg, PA 15931.