Minutes
Minutes for meeting on 4-3-2011 The Calabar Old Boys meeting for April 2011 was held at the school on 4-3-11 and was facilitated by COBA president John Messam outside the chapel. Steve Golding and I represented the Florida chapter and witnessed a positive meeting. Several recent and seasoned old boys such as Russell Thompson and Cannon Clark were in attendance. Also present was the principal, Captain Thaxter as well as members of the PTA. President Messam led us on a tour of the campus which is still in need of serious repairs, especially the bathrooms.
The repair of the bathrooms seems to be the major priority but the weight room needs to be properly secured and several louver panes were destroyed by the discuss athletes. Those athletes have been moved to another location. There was also the issue that there are 300 boys who will be taking CXC exam, competing for only 90 spaces in 6th form. A proposal to expand the 6th form block was made. The local old boys see the need for mentors for the boys at the school as a lot of these boys are in homes headed by females coupled with the fact that there are hardly any male teachers that are available as positive role models. Nutrition also presents a problem and it was revealed that many boys attend school hungry and many parents do not have enough money to provide these boys with sufficient food.
This is an opportunity for old boys overseas to assist these needy boys. Assistance can also be provided to boys who do not have the money for exam fees. There appears to be some fragmentation at the local Chapter where certain old boys are not working with the current president. As a result, the chapter is not realizing its full potential due to silly personality conflicts. The Centennial celebration is being planned and an overall renovation of the school is being proposed, which will not conflict with the present immediate renovation needs.
Serious financial assistance will be expected from every old boy from all chapters. Several other events are being planned for the Centennial celebration and a website detailing centennial events will be developed soon. There is a need to re-instill pride among the present group of students at Calabar, where a significant percent would rather be attending other schools. (I had occasion to visit another boys’ school near Cross Roads the following day. After speaking with 3 sixth formers at this school, the opposite was true, most of the boys were glad that they were attending that school). The New York Chapter met with the principal on Monday and addressed other issues such as improving the track and field performance so that we can have a better result at Champs next year. I understand that it was quite an emotional meeting.
Minutes for meeting on 2-19-2011
The meeting was called to order at 6:54 PM at Top Hop Gardens in Lauderdale Lakes Florida. Present were, Michael Schloss, Michael McCalla, Chris Stennett, Dwight Robinson, Colin Beaumont, Sid Dixon, Kirk Ennis, Leroy Harding, Hugh McLean. The minutes for 1-22-2011 were read and approved. The next order of business was elections of officers for the executive board. Sid Dixon proposed that Michael Schloss should be re-elected as president and Leroy Harding seconded the proposal which was unanimous. Leroy Harding proposed that Michael McCalla should be re-elected as Vice President which was seconded by Colin Beaumont. Kirk Ennis nominated Dwight Robinson as treasurer which was seconded by Michael McCalla. Michael Wynter was nominated by Sid Dixon and Colin Beaumont seconded the nomination. Michael Schloss nominated Colin Beaumont as trustee which was seconded by Michael McCalla. All officers were unanimously nominated and approved by attendees without any protest.
An operational budget will soon be determined by the treasurer and checklist systems will be developed for each planned events and used as a blueprint for our annual events (3 annual events currently, 8-20-11 Wagga Hunt Football, 9-17-11, Dance, 12-4-11 Herb McKenley Football).
Leroy Harding will be absent for the next dance to be co-hosted with Queens H.S. Alumnae but he will arrange to provide donated items for the event. The venue for the dance will be the “Warehouse” in Lauderhill. A more vigorous marketing and promotional campaign will be needed due to the additional cost of the new venue. Presold tickets and sponsors will be vital. Pre-planning and getting the word out to the public in advance will be necessary. We will meet with representatives from the Queens school shortly, in order to plan the details for the dance. Donation/sponsor letters will be furnished by President Michael Schloss. A proposed advertising budget of $800 was suggested. The media campaign should start ASAP for written media eg. Caribbean Today Magazine, All-Alumni Newsletter etc. Radio ads should start 3 weeks prior to the event with a blitz radio ad 2 days prior to the event. Proceeds from the operational budget will go toward liquor purchase but liquor donations will still be accepted and secured at least a week prior to the dance. A computer generated flyer will be printed by Colin and volunteers will be needed to distribute these at local events.
Annual chapter goals/objectives will be defined each year and will be specific so that we will know what we are working toward each year. In addition to the on-going feeding program, it was suggested that we should plan to paint the first form block (4classrooms) with the assistance of the students.
The chapter’s bank balance as of 2-19-11, is $16,319.86. Of this total, our chapter is holding $11,408.25 for Michael McPherson and the remaining balance of $4,911.61 is available for general use. There is also an outstanding receivable of $500.00 from Elegant Affairs, representing a deposit for the 2010 dance venue.
President Michael Schloss provided a brief overview of recent COBA activities as well as plans for project 2012 which the Florida chapter will work with as the Centenary celebration approaches.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:40PM. The next general meeting will be on March 26th at Top Hop Gardens, starting at 6:30PM.
Calabar Alumni Association, Florida
Minutes of the Last General Meeting
Held 3/28/09 Call to Order: Association president Michael Schloss called to order the general meeting of the Calabar Alumni Association, Florida at 5:35 pm on 3/28/09 at Top Hop Gardens located at 4340 N State Road 7, Lauderdale Lakes, Florida.
Roll CallThe following persons were present at the meeting: Stephen Golding, Carl Harrison, Michael Schloss, Douglas Streete, Robert Carter, Theodore Hammond, Sid Dixon, Dwight Robinson, Kirk Ennis, Glendon England, Colin Beaumont, and Ralston Lyons.
Absent were Christopher Stennet and Michael McCalla. Both members gave prior notification.
Michael Schloss led the opening prayer.
Approval of Minutes from last meeting:Theodore Hammond read the minutes from the last meeting. Spelling of “Glendon English’s” name was corrected to “Glendon England”. Minutes were then approved by Stephen Golding and Robert Carter.
Treasurer’s Report.Douglas Streete gave a report on the organization’s finances. Two approved expenditures were made since the last fundraising event. Expenses included organization’s website renewal. A final balance was reported.
Open Issues I. The annual Calabar-Queens dance was discussed. Due to additional mandatory costs imposed by the usual venue, all members were asked to urgently seek alternative venues and report findings to the president accordingly. If a more suitable venue can be located the event will be moved to that location. A deadline for deciding on a venue and to begin full advertisement was set for mid April.
II. Michael Schloss confirmed a procedure for the distribution of sponsorship letters. The president will be notified of all potential sponsors at which point he will forward an official letter from this organization; through the individual identifying the potential sponsor, to the sponsor.
New Business: • Kirk Ennis notified attendees of an invitation extended to Calabar Alumni to participate in an exhibition game at the JC-Georges Ziadie Cup tournament. The game is set for 4/18/09 at Broward Regional Park. The invitation was accepted. Douglas Streete, Dwight Robinson and Robert Carter volunteered to hand out flyers to advertise the Calabar-Queens dance at this event. Kirk Ennis will confirm the provision of refreshments with event organizers.
• Robert Carter volunteered to be in charge of advertising for the Organization. He will take the lead in getting the word out on fund raising events.
• Michael Schloss informed attendees that Don Phillibert, president of the New York Chapter, is seeking assistance to sponsor Calabar High School‘s Penn Relays team. The following suggestions were made:
1. Donations may be solicited and made to the organization.
2. Mr. Schloss and Douglas Streete will investigate a proposed budget and
spending plans for the funds received.
3.Donations should be kept separately from currently raised funds.
• After much discussion it was decided that this organization would contact Calabar High School when funds are ready to be distributed to the school at which point transparent communication will be made as to the allocation of these funds. Dwight Robinson has agreed to be the person who makes direct contact with the School’s principal to determine how funds will be spent. $1000.00 will be sent now. Another donation will be made after the next fund raising event, the sum of which will be determined pending returns.
• Events planned for 2009 include Queens – Calabar dance, Calabar dance, Wagga Hunt Memorial football match, and Calabar Soccer tournament.
• Carl Harrison has identified computers (CPU only) that can be donated to Calabar High School. This organization has agreed to cover the cost of shipping, up to $100.00, pending more details from Carl Harrison, Douglas Streete, and Michael Schloss.
• All members are expected to contribute (work) as needed at the Queens-Calabar dance. Duties/responsibilities will be assigned at a later date prior to the event.
• Robert Carter requested an update on the e-mail and address database being compiled to obtain pledges/contributions. Douglas Streete suggested that further detailed discussion was required for this project. Attendees agreed.
Adjournment Michael Schloss adjourned the meeting at 7:43 pm. The next meeting will be at 5:00pm on 4/25/09 at 4340 N state Road 7, Lauderdale Lakes, Florida.
Minutes Submitted by: Stephen Golding
Minutes approved by: Michael Schloss
