Our September Meeting

Our September 12 meeting was different to say the least. Most of our members were present, but we were surprised by the number of new people present. Tim introduced everyone and said that we have 14 possible new members. I recognized six of them as I had met them over the last few years. I knew they had type 2 diabetes. Three had not wanted to join earlier as they were still working and did not want the additional time taken from family. The wife of one of them was there and she said she now had type 2 diabetes.

Sue said she knew four others and thanked them for coming. Barry and Ben also knew them and said they could join when a vote was taken. Tim stated that he had invited five of them and one was one I knew. They all wish to join and this is the reason we do not have a program, as we want to spend time with the potential members before asking them to join.

Then Tim asked how many were receiving veteran's benefits and four indicated that they were. Three others said they were also veterans and were not receiving benefits. Tim asked Allen and Barry to ask them questions. With that, we dispersed into groups and started to get to know each of them.

About 30 minutes later, Tim called us back into the meeting and asked if there were any questions. Only one question and that was about dues. Tim said we do not have dues presently and we ask people to bring their own snacks if they need them. We ask everyone to pick up any trash that may be found at the end of a meeting and to put the chairs up and help with cleanup.

Then Tim asked for a show of hands from the new people that still wanted to join. When all hands were raised, he said then the current members will vote on acceptance. When that was unanimous, Tim asked if we wanted to change leaders for the coming year. Brenda moved that we keep the same leaders and Allen seconded the motion. A show of hands confirmed that we all agreed. This meant we went from 28 to 42 members.

Next Tim asked each of the new members to give him their email address and phone number. He explained that these would be used for sending out notices of a meeting and for emails after a meeting about what happened during the meeting so that if someone needed to miss a meeting, they did not need to feel they were being ignored and would know what happened. He explained that some of us exchanged emails between meetings about meeting topics and special things we might want covered. He continued that if someone is hospitalized, and wants visitors, this is a way to spread the word.

He collected the information and then said that they each would receive a master email list of all the members and their phone numbers. Then he asked if he should ask Beverly to give the presentation that we canceled at the last minute the first Saturday in June. Everyone agreed and then Tim asked Brenda and Jason if they would give their presentation in November. Brenda said that would be okay and she and Jason were ready, but could polish it after the long delay.

Tim stated that the meeting was over and cleanup started.