Annual & Executive Meeting Minutes to Current

26th Marines Annual Meeting Minutes Springfield, Virginia September 24, 2011

Sonny Hollub, filling in for Harvey Lang called the meeting to order at 8:00 am. Ten were in attendance including Sonny.

Sonny recognized new member Bob Heffelfinger and made mention of the passing of Member Ken Williams and long time Association friend and friend of Harvey's Jimmie McCants. Bob Heffelfinger served with the 26th Marines, Second Battalion, Golf Company, 2nd platoon, in Vietnam during 1968 and 1969. Bob was an 0311. Bob's wife's name is Sally. (as an added note, we acquired an additional member Saturday night... William Griffith. William served with the 26th Marines, Second Battalion, Echo Company arriving during the siege of Khe Sanh, January 1968 until September 1968, when he was medivaced from LZ Margo).

First order of business was to elect new officers. The motion was made; seconded and approved by all attendees to retain the existing officers with a 100% vote as follows: Executive Director, Harvey Lang, Secretary/Treasurer/Webmaster., G. H. “Sonny” Hollub, Jr., Public Relations Officer, Richard Soto. Sonny recognized Bill Hoffman for his excellent work in advertising this year's reunion. In addition Sonny indicated "backups" were in place for all of his positions, Walter Heim for Treasurer, Greg Freeman for reunion pictures and McDonald Peoples for the Associations website. All three have been provided passwords and log in names. Many thanks to these guys as well, for assuming these back up roles.

Second order of business was the reading of the agreed upon financial reports... that is year ending bank balance, balance prior to each reunion and approximation of each year's reunion and miscellaneous expenses.

Third order of business was the reading of the last annual meeting minutes. Motion was made, seconded and all in favor approving the San Antonio 2010 minutes as read.

Fourth order of business was a brief explanation of our current method of keeping books. That is, all association expenses are paid by either the Association checks or checking debit card. No suggestions for a change in this method were made and all accepted the continuing in the same manner.

Fifth order of business was picking a site for the 2012 reunion. The three sites descriptions provided by the Executive Committee were reviewed. A bit of discussion was had regarding each site. A vote was taken and was as follows: Seattle - 4, Albuquerque - 5 and Las Vega - 1. Two different dates, May and September were discussed for the reunion. A vote was taken regarding the month. There was one vote for May and 9 for September 14, 15 and 16, 2012.

Sixth order of business was selection of the cities for our 2013 reunion. Sonny indicated the area based on our geographical rotation would be the central US north of Texas. Some discussion was had regarding if we wanted to keep the same geographical rotation system in place or change to picking any place in the US each year. A motion was made and seconded to vote on the matter. There were 5 votes to keep the same rotation system in place and 4 to choose any place in the US, with one abstaining. Various cities were discussed in this years region and resulted in the selection of St. Louis, Minneapolis and a city in the Mt. Rushmore area. A vote was taken adn it was unanimous to select these cities for consideration in 2012 for the 2013 Association Reunion.

Seventh order of business was discussion regarding the use of donated money used to pay other member's dues when they are sick or otherwise experiencing financial difficulties. More precisely how to show the Dues Data sheet, how the person receiving the donated funds to cover their membership dues, which is currently PBD... Paid by Donation. After some discussion, there were no members concerned about the use of PBD. A motion was made and seconded to keep it as it is. It passed unanimously to keep it as it is.

Eighth order of business was a general discussion regarding other methods of creating incentives for people to remain current on their dues. Sonny explained that the hard letter along with a status of each member's dues and balance due, along with a stamped envelope was very useful in getting several members current. It was suggested the association pay for that mail out in the future, but not voted on since the Executive Committee has discretionary power.

Ninth order of business was how to handle data for members requesting to be dropped from the Association. A motion was made, seconded ansd carried unanimously to remove all data from the website (i.e., Public Roster, etc.) for those requesting removal.

Tenth order of business was a short review of a commercial company who sets up reunions for organizations. It was estimated it would increase each members cost $25.00 and up. A short discussion was had and a motion was made, seconded and unanimously approved to not use such a company at this time as long as Sonny will continue setting up the reunions for the Association.

Eleventh orderof business was discussion regarding offering/including membership to the current 26th Marines (i.e., MEU, MAU, etc.), similar to what we had done by adding WWII 26th Marines to our Association. After some discussion, a motion was made, seconded and unanimously voted to make the change. The Executive Committee will pick a 3 man team to investigate how to contact such 26th MEU Vets. (Quinn volunteered as one team member), so the EC will select two others to work on this issue.

The 2011 Annual Membership Meeting for 26th Marines Association was adjourned by Sonny Hollub. All members congratulated each other for concluding the meeting in a timely manner and sticking to the agenda. The meeting ended at 9:30am.

Meeting notes were taken by Quinn Harry filling in for Sonny Hollub.

Completed by G. H. “Sonny” Hollub, Jr., Association Secretary/Treasurer/Website Mgr.

October 2010 26th Marines Annual Meeting Minutes San Antonio, Texas

Sonny Hollub called the meeting to order. Recognized new members Jim Atkinson, Walt Griffin, Dale Costilow and Ron Butler… all served in Intel (Hector and Elaine Perez joined Saturday. Hector was a 0353 in 1/26. Harvey had been lost with his pipe, returned and took over.

First order of business was to elect new officers. The responsibilities of the Executive Director Position were maintained as is. The Organization Secretary/Treasurer/Website Mgr., responsibilities remained the same. The Public Relations Officer responsibilities remained the same. The motion was made; seconded and approved by all attendees to retain the existing officers with a 100% vote as follows: Executive Director, Harvey Lang, Secretary/Treasurer/Website Mgr., G. H. “Sonny” Hollub, Jr., Public Relations Officer, Richard Soto.

Second order of business was to review the annual meeting minutes from 2009 and approve. Motion was made and all voted to accept the minutes as read.

Third order of business was a brief financial report. Sonny provided information related to the Association’s bank balances before and after each reunion for the two previous years. Details of how extensive “financial data” would be reported in the future were discussed. Motion was made to only provide a verbal presentation of before and after bank balances along with approximate yearly/reunion expenses in the Annual Membership Meetings only, as opposed to posting such data on line or in handouts. Motion was made and all voted to accept such a reading at each year’s annual membership meeting.

Fourth order of business was the current Annual Membership Dues of $40.00, the Registration fee of $25.00 Banquet fee of $40.00 will remain the same as motioned, seconded and all in favor vote. (Note: As you all know, the banquet fee had to be changed due to increasing costs.)

Fifth order of business the due dates for dues and fees as well as the late penalty were discussed. Motion was made to keep them the same, seconded and all in favor vote.

Sixth the 2011 reunion site discussed and the DC area site was voted in. With the main points of interest being the Marine Corps Museum, Vietnam Veterans Memorial and other sites in the DC area. Cities in the Seven Corners or Springfield area, was discussed and a city in the Srpingfield/Seven Corners/Alexandria, VA areas were highlighted since it was between the two main points of interest. The conclusion was for Sonny to investigate the area and pick one in this area.Three cities were selected by vote to be considered for the 2012 reunion. Those were Las Vegas, NV, Seattle, Washington and Albuquerquer, New Mexico. Motion was made to keep to accept this and all in favor vote.

Seventh the trial Sunday breakfast buffet at the Menger Hotel was discussed and whether we should add a Sunday Morning Buffet breakfast to our event schedule in the future. Motion was made to not continue a Sunday morning Breakfast Buffet, seconded and all in favor vote.

Eighth, the need to rent a vehicle for the week of the events was discussed. Sonny agreed to continue either bringing a vehicle or rent one for his personal use, but also to do errands during the reunion to pick up supplies etc. It was voted to allow Sonny to purchase a “tank or two” of gas when he does this. Motion was made to allow this, seconded and all in favor vote.

Ninth, developing new type memberships as follows was discussed… Associate Member, Booster Member or Nonvoting Member. After a brief discussion on the pros and cons of these, a motion was made and seconded to table the issue until another time. All voted in favor to table.General discussion provided the following suggestions. Bill Hoffman suggested putting more information into military magazines about our reunions, such as dates and locations of reunions. Bill Hall raised the issue of showing PBD (paid by donation) on the Dues log from 2007 to current. Some discussion was had and these items and any action taken will be discussed at the 2011 Annual Membership Meeting.The 2010 Annual Membership Meeting for 26thMarines Organization was adjourned.

All members congratulated each other for concluding the meeting in a timely manner and sticking to the agenda.

Completed by G. H. “Sonny” Hollub, Jr., Association Secretary/Treasurer/Website Mgr.

October 2009 26th Marines Annual Meeting Minutes San Diego, California

Harvey Lang called the meeting to order.

First order of business was to elect new officers. The responsibilities of the Executive Director Position were maintained as is. The Organization Secretary/Treasurer responsibilities remained the same. The Public Relations Officer responsibilities remained the same. The motion was made; seconded and approved by all attendees to retain the existing officers with a 100% vote as follows:

Executive Director, Harvey Lang
Secretary/Treasurer, G. H. “Sonny” Hollub, Jr.
Public Relations Officer, Richard Soto.

Second order of business was to review the annual meeting minutes from 2008 and approve. Motion was made and all voted to accept the minutes as read.

Third order of business was the current Annual Membership Dues of $40.00, the Registration fee of $25.00 Banquet fee of $40.00 will remain the same as motioned, seconded and all in favor vote.

Fourth, the due dates for dues and fees as well as the penalty when late was discussed. Motion was made to keep them the same, seconded and all in favor vote.

Fifth the 2010 reunion site was voted on and the city of San Antonio won. Three cities were selected by vote to be considered for our 2011 reunion. Those were New York City, St. Augustine or a city in the area of the New Marine Corps Museum.

General discussion provided the following suggestions. Bill Hoffman suggested putting more information into military magazines about our reunions, such as dates and locations of reunions. It was discussed and decided to sell our two cases of wine with the Associations special label applied, for $20.00 per bottle, which covered our approximate cost. The website offering our labels for wine, etc., will be provided on request, but not put on our website at this time. Sonny will contact the vendor for more information and update the EC.

The 2008 Annual Membership Meeting for 26thMarines Organization was adjourned.

All members congratulated each other for concluding the meeting in a timely manner and sticking to the agenda. Completed by G. H. “Sonny” Hollub, Jr., Organization Secretary/Treasurer.

October 2008 26th Marines Annual Meeting Minutes Atlanta, Georgia

Sonny Hollub, filling in for Executive Director (out due to family illness) called the meeting to order.

Second order of business was to review the annual meeting minutes from 2007 and approve. Sonny apologized for the brevity of the minutes. It seems some were lost in the fog in Atlantic City. If more details are ever found, they will be added in the appropriate spot.

Third a motion was made; seconded and approved by all attendees to elect the officers with a 100% vote as follows:

Executive Director, Harvey Lang
Secretary / Treasurer, G. H. “Sonny” Hollub, Jr.
Public Relations Officer, Richard Soto.

Fourth, old business was discussed. Motion that was passed in Atlantic City, that regarding payment of travel or hotel for members unable to pay that wanted to attend the reunion. The discussion centered on the cost to the paid members and who would be picked if more than one person requested help. After much talk/discussion there was a motion to drop/remove from our by-laws. The main reason was cost (would have to raise the members annual dues). All voted yes, to drop from by-laws.

Fifth - New Business - the 2009 reunion site was voted on and the city of San Diego won. The 2010 site was to be picked at the 2009 reunion, New Orleans, Kansas City or San Antonio. Richard would check on New Orleans, Harvey on Kansas City and Sonny on San Antonio. Details would be available at the 2009 reunion to pick one for 2010.

The 2008 Annual Membership Meeting for 26thMarines Organization was adjourned.

All members congratulated each other for concluding the meeting in a timely manner and sticking to the agenda.

Completed by Richard Soto, filling in for G. H. “Sonny” Hollub, Jr., Organization Secretary/Treasurer. Sonny was filling in for Harvey due to family illness.

October 2007 26th Marines Annual Meeting Minutes Atlanic City, NJ

Executive Director Harvey Lang called the meeting to order and welcomed all in attendance.

A motion was made; seconded and approved by all attendees to elect the officers with a 100% vote as follows:

Executive Director, Harvey Lang
Secretary / Treasurer, G. H. “Sonny” Hollub, Jr.
Public Relations Officer, Richard Soto.

Second a motion was made; seconded and approved by all attendees to look put in place, a rule providing financial support to members who wanted to attend, but could not afford it.

Third - New Business - the 2008 reunion site was voted on and the city of Atlanta Georgia won. San Diego, Las Vegas and Seattle were selected to be studied an presented at the 2008 reunion for vote.

The 2007 Annual Membership Meeting for 26thMarines Organization was adjourned.

October 2006 26th Marines Annual Meeting Minutes

Executive Director Harvey Lang called the meeting to order and welcomed all in attendance. He advised he wanted to stick to the posted agenda.

First order of business was to elect new officers. The responsibilities of the Executive Officers were discussed. The Organization Secretary was combined with the Treasurer. A new Officer, Public Relations Officer was established. This officer’s responsibility will be to promote the association to prospective members, and various entities such as American Legion, DAV, Army Times, MOPH, VFW, etc. These three offices would combine to be the Executive Committee which will continue to manage the organization.

A motion was made; seconded and approved by all attendees to elect the officers with a 100% vote as follows:

Executive Director, Harvey Lang
Secretary / Treasurer, G. H. “Sonny” Hollub, Jr.
Public Relations Officer, Richard Soto.

Second a motion was made; seconded and approved by all attendees to follow the posted agenda.

Total attending this year’s reunion banquet was 41 (up from 31 the previous year).

Third order of business was to elect new officers. The responsibilities of the Executive Director Position were maintained as is. The Organization Secretary was combined with the Treasurer. A new Officer, Public Relations Officer was established. This officer’s responsibility will be to promote the association to prospective members, and various entities such as American Legion, DAV, Army Times, MOPH, VFW, etc. These three offices would combine to be the Executive Committee which will continue to manage the organization.

A motion was made; seconded and approved by all attendees to elect the officers with a 100% vote as follows:

Executive Director, Harvey Lang
Secretary / Treasurer, G. H. “Sonny” Hollub, Jr.
Public Relations Officer, Richard Soto.

Fourth order of business - The next item of “Annual Dues of $40.00” was discussed. The current dues status is based on a “calendar” basis. Various suggestions were voiced regarding this status.

A motion was made; seconded and approved by all attendees as follows:

Annual dues of $40.00 will remain $40.00 per year and be based on a calendar basis, January 1 – December 31 of each year.

The annual dues will be due no later than March 31 of each year. Dues received after March 31 of each year will incur a penalty of $10 per year.

Only Members current on dues will have voting rights.

New Members annual dues will be prorated on a semiannual basis. Join January 1 – June 30, pay full amount. July 1 – December 31, pay ½ of amount.

Effective Date of this system is January 1, 2007.

The fifth item of business was“Financial”. The last “balance sheet” submitted by the previous treasurer, who resigned about a week before this years reunion, reflected a balance of $3,798.00. Two checks were sent to Executive Director by the previous treasurer as follows: Cashiers Check (Clayton Bank and Trust # 324343) in the amount of $3100.00 and a personal check from the previous treasurer (Check # 1556 in the amount of $500.00) for a total of $3600.00, leaving a deficit of ($198.00). This deficit was discussed.

A motion was made; seconded and approved by all attendees, after a review of existing data was made, to accept this deficiency as long as it did not exceed $200.00. In that neither check provided by the previous treasurer was cash-able in Reno for payment of this year’s reunion expenses, Harvey Lang agreed to pay all unpaid reunion expenses.

A motion was made; seconded and approved by all attendees that Sonny Hollub would immediately deposit the checks in a new account for the association and refund funds covered by Harvey to him.

A motion was made; seconded and approved by all attendees future reimbursements will be made for expenses approved by the Executive Committee prior to spending and only those expenses with a paid receipt for those expenses. Invoices made by the individual do not qualify as “paid receipts”. Qualifying receipts for reimbursement must come from the “company or business” providing the merchandise or service.

A motion was made; seconded and approved by all attendees that the Treasurer, Sonny Hollub, would take necessary action to legitimately form the association, “new from scratch, in the simplest, legitimate and most economical manner”.

The sixth item of business was - The next item was “2007 Reunion Site Selection” (3) for current membership to vote on” for the 2007 Reunion. Discussion regarding possible “piggy backing” with the Khe Sahn” Organization was discussed prior to selection of potential sites. The following cites were discussed and proposed for selecting 3 cities for membership vote at a later date:

Myrtle Beach, S. C., Atlanta, Ga., Atlantic City, N. J., Jacksonville, Fla., Norfolk, Va., Orlando, Fla.

A round of voting to reduce the above number of cities to a choice of 3 cities was conducted.

The results were as follows: Atlanta, Ga., Atlantic City, N. J., Orlando, Fla.

A motion was made; seconded and approved by all attendees that Atlanta, Ga., Atlantic City, N. J., Orlando, Fla., would be researched by Richard Soto - Atlanta, Ga., Sonny Hollub - Atlantic City and Harvey Lang - N. J., Orlando, Fla., for current membership vote in early 2007.

Seventh item was “2007 Reunion Date Selection”. The following times were proposed and discussed: September – October, April – May, and July – August.

A membership vote was taken to select the time frame.

A motion was made; seconded and approved by all attendees that the time for 2007’s reunion would be the September – October time frame.

Eighth item - The next item was discussion of and selection of the “Organization Websites”. We have two at the present. www.26thMarines.com and www.26thMarines.org

The www.26thMarine.com site contains all the business, reunion, meeting minutes, membership rosters, etc. While the www.26thMarines.org contains Nam pictures, historical data, etc.

A motion was made; seconded and approved by all attendees www.26thMarines.com would be our organizations “official website” while the www.26thMarines.org would be a supplement to the organizations official website and a compendium of Nam photos, Unit Historical data and whatever the Executive Committee decided should be reflected on that site which Quinn Harry (the org Site Manager) agrees to post. Each site will refer to the other as necessary.

Ninth the costs of maintaining the two websites were discussed. The approximate cost of each website is $10 - $14 per month (subject to increase).

A motion was made; seconded and approved by all attendees that all costs approved by the Executive Committee, related to the purchase, registering and maintenance of each website be paid by the organization.

Tenth business item - The next item was discussion of and selection of the “Current Public Roster” as shown on the organizations official website, www.26thMarines.com . The “Current Public Roster” contains, the Member Name, Email Address, Phone #, Unit served with, Years in Nam and MOS. The potential sensitivity of data included was discussed.

A motion was made; seconded and approved by all attendees that the “Current Public Roster” should remain “as is” and all requests to be added or requests for change must be done by email or in writing. Such requests should specify what items the member wishes to reflect on the “Current Public Roster”.

The eleventh item was discussion of the organizations “Original Colors”. A review of the previous “Executive Meeting Minutes” was made and discussed to explain/determine any disputes, etc., regarding the organizations original colors.

A motion was made; seconded and approved by all attendees to allow time for proper review and accumulation of information, then the Executive Committee take whatever action it deems necessary.

The 2006 Annual Membership Meeting for 26thMarines Organization was adjourned.

All members congratulated each other for concluding the meeting in a timely manner and sticking to the agenda.

Completed by G. H. “Sonny” Hollub, Jr., Organization Secretary/Treasurer

Minutes reviewed by Executive Committee, Harvey Lang, Executive Director, Sonny Hollub, Secretary/Treasurer and Richard Soto, Public Relations Officer.

Posted on www.26thMarine.com November 29, 2006

Minutes prior to this date starting with the Annual Membership Meeting Minutes of July 9, 2005 are maintained by the Secretary G. H. "Sonny" Hollub, Jr. They can be provided upon request for a fee of $.35 per page, plus postage and handling.