Meeting Minutes Feb. 7, 2015

[Russell Albright]

Greetings. NORPAC Co-chair Dennis Simpson opened the meeting at approx. 12:50 pm and greeted the 47 people attending. That number included 31 Santas, several wives/Mrs. Clauses, elf Marty Horton, and other guests.

Santa Oath was recited, led by Co-chair Trever Waltos.

Introductions. Dennis S. introduced the NORPAC Executive Board which includes himself and Trever, Treasurer Dennis Gorley, Secretary Dale Scott, Ron Kearns, Gene Sanders, and Jerry Galland. (Ron and Gene were not able to be at this meeting). Dennis then asked first time attendees to introduce themselves. We welcomed Bill Strong, Dick and Tami McKinley, Timothy Hunter, Russell Albright II, Ted Rusk, and Dan Burke.

Minutes. Dennis S. called our attention to the minutes of two NORPAC meetings. One was the general membership meeting of Nov. 6-8, 2014, at the Great Wolf Lodge (NORPAC’s Annual Conference), and the other was the Exec. Board’s meeting of Jan. 31, 2015 at Round Table Pizza in Auburn. Both sets of minutes have been posted on the NORPAC website. There being no corrections or additions, both sets of minutes will be considered approved as posted.

Treasurer’s Report was given by Dennis G. who reported total revenues in 2014 of $5383.58 and total expenditures of $6589.21, with a balance of $2616.30 as of Jan. 1, 2015. Dennis also reported that the Exec. Board has approved a budget for 2015 including anticipated revenues of $4076.90 and anticipated expenditures of $4430.00. NORPAC had 44 members at the end of 2014.
Background Check. Dennis further reported that per a decision made by NORPAC last year, members must have a current background check (BGC) on record in order to be included on NORPAC’s website. The BGC’s need to be submitted to Dennis and the deadline for that is March 1, 2015. If an individual does not have a BGC, Dennis can obtain that for them through IntelliCorp for a cost of $12.95. IBRBS members can also obtain a BGC through that organization for $7.95.
Salary Survey. Dennis has developed an anonymous Salary Survey which he plans to send out on Feb. 8th (several people completed the survey and returned it to Dennis during the meeting today). The compiled results of the survey will give all of us a clearer picture of what Santas are paid for various types of events. We believe this information will be particularly useful for some of our newer Santas. The deadline for returning a survey to Dennis G. will be March 1st.

Get Well Wishes. On behalf of NORPAC, Dennis S. extended best wishes to Irene Long (wife of Russ Long) who was severely injured in a fall from their roof in December, and also to Ernie Walker who is recovering following back surgery a few weeks ago. Russ reported that Irene is making good progress in a rehab facility and they’re hopeful she might return home by the end of the month. Ernie reported that he too is recovering well. A get well card and plant were presented to Ernie, and to Russ for Irene.

Reports
South Sound Parent to Parent Fundraiser. Dennis S. shared a letter from Kim Smith, SSPPF’s Exec. Director, letting us know of their annual fundraiser coming up on Sat., Feb. 21 from 6:30-9:00 PM at the Children’s Museum in Olympia. Dennis G. has tickets to that event (cost/ticket is $10). For further information about the event, please contact Kim Smith at 360-352-1126, ext. 108.

Upcoming Santa Meetings Discover Santa 2016*
July6-10, 2016
Branson, Missouri

NORPAC at Tacoma Rainiers Baseball Game**
July 26, Aug. 9, or July 19

Santas Pack (IBRBS chapter for the Portland/Vancouver area)
Apr. 12 Vancouver
July 2 Beaverton
Oct. 11 Vancouver
Dec. 29 Vancouver

*Dennis S. asked that those who may be attending the Discover Santa 2016 conference in Branson send him an e-mail to that effect so he can share information with them as it becomes available. Dennis plans to attend and has already sent in his deposit.

**The Tacoma Rainiers will be notifying us as to which date we’ll be able to attend. The dates listed above are our 1st, 2nd, and 3rd choices. Tickets (we’ve reserved 50) will be $11.50 with payment to Dennis G. We also discussed the hope that we can combine attendance at the ballgame with a toy drive or something similar. Dennis S. also mentioned that when we’re at Cheney Stadium or other public places as a NORPAC group, that we should be project the desired Santa image by refraining from alcoholic beverages.

Santa Schools. Trever reported that Santa Tim Connaghan will be holding his 2-day School for Santas on May 30-31 in Portland, OR at the Hyatt Place Hotel near the airport. Santa Gordon Bailey also has a 2- day workshop that he hopes to bring to the Seattle area this year. Trever said Santa Gordon’s workshop appears to cover a variety of topics and the anticipated cost would be approx. $225/Santa and $100/Mrs. Claus or other guest. A show of hands indicated considerable interest in this potential opportunity, so Trever will have further contact with Gordon to see if this can be scheduled.

Social Media (website). Trever gave a report concerning the NORPAC website and reminded us that a Santa needs to be a paid member of NORPAC (with a BGC by March 1st) in order to be listed or to have a personal profile on the website. Trever also reminded us that NORPAC has both Facebook and Twitter accounts with many followers.

Conference @ Great Wolf Lodge. New management at the GWL has notified Dennis S. that the discounted room rates we’ve enjoyed the past five years will not be available on the same weekend (Nov. 5-6-7) this year. It’s still possible that this could change and the discounts become available again. This will be pursued further in the next week or two. There was agreement that if we return to the GWL, it would need to be on the dates indicated above, and at the discounted rates. Meanwhile, Dennis plans to research other possible venues (Seattle, Leavenworth, and Ocean Shores were mentioned) regarding availability and costs. Karen Hayes commented that she and Eddie have a good contact in Leavenworth who may be able to help us locate something there). Another option mentioned was the possibility of not having the conference this year but of holding a single day event or perhaps a dinner instead.

Group Sharing. The rest of the meeting was spent in visiting and sharing a variety of information on various topics, e.g., Santa costumes/belts/boots, whitening of hair and beards, Santa Ed Taylor’s upcoming “webinar,” etc. As the conversations continued, the value of NORPAC’s website and its many links and references was strongly reinforced. We especially encourage our newer Santas to spend time exploring the resources of the website.

50/50. Dennis G. shared that $165 had been collected in the 50/50 raffle so the winning ticket, held by Dale Scott, was worth $83.

Adjournment at 3:10 pm.

Next NORPAC meeting will be at noon on Apr. 4, 2015 at: Billy McHales Restaurant
1320 So. 324th, #A10
Federal Way, WA 98003

Future NORPAC meetings: June 6 Panorama City, Lacey
Aug. 1 Ernie & Ginny Walkers’ Home, Lakewood
TBD Nov. Conference

Respectfully submitted,
Dale Scott, Secretary

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