Next Board Meeting:  Wednesday, February 23, 2005, 7:30 p.m. Maurer’s Dive Shop

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

The Board Meeting was held on Tuesday, January 25, 2005.
Quarry expenses and contributions were reviewed and discussed.
The calendar was completed.
The annual fundraiser of selling books of tickets was discussed.
Meeting was adjourned.

Vice-President John Augustine called the meeting to order.

Treasurer’s Report:
Ron Peterson, Treasurer, reports the following  amounts for January:  income of $440.00, expenses of $412.79 and an available checkbook balance of $1,629.58.

There were no new members this month.

OLD BUSINESS

A volunteer was needed for the April meeting presentation.  Donna Sabol said Clyde Mighells told her he had slides to show for the Kingston, Ontario area.  (A trip is planned there in September 2005.)  Donna will ask Clyde if he will show the slides at the April meeting.

The calendar is available on the web site.  It will be mailed to those members who receive post mail.

NEW BUSINESS

There has been a suggestion to setup a “Dive of the Month” for the summer months.  Denny Beecher, John Augustine, and Greg Lilly have volunteered to coordinate these day trips.  These trips are still in the planning stages and will be to the following locations:  John – June, quarry in Fairfax, VA; Greg  - July, Waubank quarry in Lancaster, PA; and Denny – August, Susquehanna River, Lock Haven, PA.

Everett Newkirk brought a hunting tool similar to the Z-knife to the meeting.  The tool was compared to the large Z-knife and John Augustine demonstrated its cutting ability.

Lois Keegan presented Greg Lilly with a cake in honor of his 50th birthday.  Club members sang to Greg and all enjoyed a piece of the delicious cake.

Make a slate night with John Augustine
John set up stations for performing each of the tasks to complete the slate.  He demonstrated a few different configurations and sizes for the slates.    Everyone had a good time creating their slates.

UPCOMING EVENTS/TRIPS

Scuba Olympics will be held on Sunday, February 13, 2005 from 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. at Saint Francis University.

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 – May 6-8, 2005.  A deposit of $135 is due by Feb 6th and the final payment of $135 is due by March 6th

Morehead City trip with Jim Smith and Diver Down - June 23 - 27, 2005.  This is limited to 18 people.  A deposit of $135 is due by March 24th and the final payment of $135 is due by April 24th.  The cost of the diving is $270.

Thousand Island Trip, September 9 – 11, 2005, Kingston, Ontario with Clyde Mighells
$100 deposit due as soon as possible to hold your spot.  The final payment is due at the August meeting.  Reservations are limited to ten people.  The itinerary is as follows:
Friday evening:  Arrive at Alexander Henry, Coast Guard Cutter B& B, Night, shore dive under the Alexander Henry
Saturday :  Awake to breakfast aboard ship, Two boats pick up divers at Alexander Henry, Two tank dive to Wolfe Islander II & KPH, Return to ship, rest of the day and meals on your own
Sunday:  Awake to breakfast aboard ship, tow boats pick up divers at Alexander Henry, Two tank dive to Marsh & Aloha and Effie Mae, depart for home.
Cost:  Diving(without tip) $120 for all four boat dives  $12 for nitrox refills and $6 for air (Saturday night tanks will be refilled), $35 per night per person  B & B (2 people per room, each room has two bunks)
$15 tank rental Nitrox, $10 tank rental air

TRIP/DIVE REPORTS

John Augustine and Ron Peterson reported on their recent trip to Boca Raton, Florida.  They were wreck diving.  They said the water temperature was warm, no thermocline. Wreck depths were from 55’ to 150’ just a mile from the shore..

Denny Beecher reported he and his wife, Sandy, made a trip to Washington, D.C. to an Adventure Travel Exposition.  The exposition featured booths promoting adventure sports and travel.  Denny said it was an interesting day and worth the trip.

Sue Morra spoke about her recent trip to Australia.  She said the diving conditions weren’t that great.  There were huge crowds; visibility and reef conditions were poor.  They dove two days with improvement in the second day of diving when they were able to get away from the crowds. They also participated in land tours.  Sue said that their group had a great time.

The daybook winner was Mary Green who was not present.

No door prize this month since we all made slates.

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 Wednesday, February 23, 2005 at 7:30 p.m. at Maurer’s Dive Shop.

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