Next Board Meeting:  Wednesday, April 27, 2005, 7:30 p.m. Ron and Lois’ house

Next Regular Meeting: Thursday, May 5, 2005, 7:30 P.M. at Penn Gables, Ebensburg

The Board Meeting was held on Wednesday, March 30, 2005.

Membership approval for Yvonne May is pending dives with club members.

The Treasure Dive Prize list was reviewed in light of the 2005-2006 Budget.

Upcoming trips were reviewed.

Discussion was held about the upcoming speaker with the Shark Institute.  Denny Beecher is working on details for fall 2005.

Board Meeting was adjourned.

President Donna Bender called the meeting to order.

Treasurer’s Report:
Ron Peterson, Treasurer, reports the following  amounts for February:  income of $1,208, expenses of $1,183.69 and an available checkbook balance of $1,329.46.
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OLD BUSINESS

Fund Raiser money is due to John Augustine by May 23.

NEW BUSINESS

Nominations were held for club officers.  The following members were nominated:  President – John Augustine; Vice President – Greg Lilly; Treasurer  - Donna Sabol; Secretary – Joe Gordon.

Joe Gordon said divers are needed to map wrecks in Lake Erie and Joe asked if any club members would be interested in this project.

Clyde Mighells did a slide presentation showing the highlights of the upcoming Kingston, Ontario trip.

Laurel Divers won Scuba Olympics in February.  The winning team members were presented with t-shirts.

UPCOMING EVENTS/TRIPS

A Spring Dive is planned for 1:00 p.m. on April 23 at the quarry.

Ron Peterson will give a presentation on doubles at the May meeting.

Sue Morra will speak about coral reefs at one of our meetings.  The date is not yet scheduled.

May 4 and 5 – Check Out Dives

Bob Mauer said there is a Nitrox class starting on April 23.

The 9th Annual Make-A-Wish Treasure Hunt sponsored by D & R Divers will take place on Saturday, May 14, 2005 at Parker Dam State Park.
Registration fee is $25 before April 15 and each diver will receive a free T-shirt.   After April 15, the registration fee is $30 and divers do not receive a t-shirt.
Morehead City trip with Jim Smith and Diver Down - June 23 - 27, 2005.  This is limited to 18 people.  14 people had signed up as of the date of the club meeting.  The trip has been opened to other divers. All money owed for the trip should be paid by April 25. The cost of the diving is $270.  This does not include accommodations.

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, two 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

Summer Dive Trips:
There is a trip planned to Millbrook Quarry in Fairfax, Va on Sunday, June 12, 2005. Cost for the dive is $20 per person.  See John Augustine for details.

Denny Beecher is planning a trip to Lockhaven during one of the summer months.

TRIP/DIVE REPORTS
Dan Turcovsky gave the report on the lecture given by Dr. Joseph MacInnis at the Penn State Altoona campus. 17 club members attended the lecture. Dr. MacInnis, one of the world’s foremost explorers, spoke about diving under the ice of the Northwest Passage and landing a mini-sub on the RMS Titanic. After the lecture, members bought a poster and Dr. MacInnis signed it. The poster will be hung at the dive shop.

Lois Keegan gave the report on The “Beneath the Sea” Exposition held on March 18-20, 2005 at the Meadowlands Exposition Center, Secaucus, New Jersey.  Five club members attended.  There was plenty of dive equipment to see and seminars were held all day.  Lois won the Grand Prize – a trip to the Grand Caymans!

Donna Bender showed a DVD of her trip to Dominica.  The local scenery shown on the dvd of the mountains and waterfalls was beautiful. Donna said both shore and boat diving were great. In fact, they spent more time shore diving than going out on the boat.

Jim and Sandy Smith gave a report on their recent trip to the Bahamas.  They saw a Lion Fish and it was the highlight of their trip.  They enjoyed diving the swim thrus and coral caverns but said the reef was unhealthy.  Jim also said they speared 17 lobsters (not on scuba).
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The daybook winner was Patrick.  He was not present.

Diane Turcovsky won the door prize.  She won a Z knife.

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!   --Wendy Kerch