Pennsylvania Cave Conservancy Meeting Minutes for October 12, 2014 This is a summary of the minutes of the meeting. The meeting was called to order at 10:04 am by President Pat Minnick at the Rupert Cave Preserve, McVeytown, PA The following officers were present: President P. Minnick Vice President C. Catherman Secretary G. Schock Treasurer G. Dunmire Representation was as follows: Bald Eagle Grotto J.D. Lewis Baltimore Grotto Kim Fleischmann (proxy) Bucks County Grotto Steven Warneck Cave Hills Grotto Amos Mincin Central New Jersey Grotto Amos Mincin Commander Cody Caving Club David Fricke Franklin County Grotto Pat Minnick Greater Allentown Grotto Dean Snyder Huntingdon Co. Cave Hunters --- Nittany Grotto Gary Dunmire Philadelphia Grotto Amos Mincin Seven Valleys Grotto Gretchen Schock York Grotto --- Secretary Report: The minutes from the May 18, 2014 meeting were read and accepted as published in the August 2014 MAR Breakdown. Treasurer Report: Gary Dunmire provided the latest treasurer’s report as seen below (corrections included). Finances from the 2014 Spring MAR field meet were finalized and provided during the PCC meeting showing a total profit of $338.15 with approximately half going to the MAR and $169.03 generated for the PCC. Gary reported that $158.00 was earned from the PCC 50/50 raffle during the 2014 Fall MAR. An additional $4.00 was earned from PCC t-shirt sales. 109 people attended the PCC pancake breakfast during the 2014 Fall MAR, generating a donation of $545.00 for the PCC. Pennsylvania Cave Conservancy Financial Summary 02-22-14 Thru 10-10-14 Interest Checking Account Account Balance Nittany Bank 2/22/2014 $5,074.93 Interest Payment 2/28/2014 $ 0.63 Lost River Caverns Donation 3/ 3/2014 $ 200.00 NSS Honorarium 3/ 3/2014 $ 800.00 Interest: Payment 3/31/2014 $ 0.75 Interest: Payment 4/30/2014 $ 0.76 Sunrise Sanitation Check # 113 5/ 2/2014 ($ 261.75) Zinn Inc Check # 114 5/ 2/2014 ($ 536.00) Cash Withdrawal Change for MAR 5/16/2014 ($ 200.00) Natalie Herneisen Check # 115 5/20/2014 ($ 403.15) Deposit from Spring MAR Registration + PCC Breakfast 5/23/2014 $2,595.00 Interest: Payment 5/31/2014 $ 0.79 Robertson Assoc. Check # 116 6/23/2014 ($ 450.00) MAR Payment Profit from MAR + $2 Per Person Check # 117 6/ 4/2014 ($ 321.12) Interest: Payment 6/30/2014 $ 0.86 Interest: Payment 7/31/2014 $ 0.81 Interest: Payment 8/31/2014 $ 0.81 Rebate from Sunrise Deposit 9/ 4/2014 $ 57.14 Interest: Payment 9/30/2014 $ 0.82 Ending Balance: $6,561.28 SAVINGS ACCOUNT: Maturity Date Certificate of Deposit 5/29/2016 $1,102.28 Certificate of Deposit 5/29/2016 $1,102.28 Certificate of Deposit 5/29/2016 $1,102.28 Tee Shirt Petty Cash $60.00 COMBINED TOTAL: $9,928.12 Web Page: Dave Fricke stated the PCC web page is up and functioning with no issues or problems to report. Dave requested that all grotto representatives check their contact information and provide him with any required updates / corrections. PCC Breakfast: 109 people attended the PCC pancake breakfast during the 2014 Fall MAR field meet. Christopher Catherman thanked all the volunteers that made the breakfast possible as well as all those who purchased breakfast tickets! This breakfast generated $545.00 for the PCC, the best profit since Christopher has been organizing this pancake breakfast fund raiser. Christopher noted that Joe Schock’s work on the grill has been invaluable. Steve Shawver has offered to store the PCC breakfast equipment until needed at the next field meet. PCC Brochure: Anyone interested in obtaining brochures should contact George Bange. Mail: Nothing received. Dean Snyder will check to determine who is responsible for paying the PO Box fee this year. Christmas Cards: Karen Bange continues to manage the yearly distribution of Christmas cards to cave landowners. PCC will reimburse Karen for the postage of the cards sent. Contact Karen if you have a landowner you would like added to the Christmas card list. It was requested that the two landowners associated with Nelson’s Pit be added to the distribution list. T-shirts: Gary Dunmire continues to have PCC 25th anniversary T-shirts available at $15 each (approximately $17.65 with shipping). Dean Synder also has older PCC shirts available for sale at $5 each. PA Cave Database: Keith Wheeland reported that he had been in contact with Tony Canike and the database continues to be up and running. OLD BUSINESS: Project List: Corker Hill and Frustration Pit (Franklin County, PA) – Nothing new to report. Dragon Cave (Berks County, PA) – Nothing reported. Dreibilbis Cave (Berks County) – Mike Mostardi maintains positive relations with the cave owner. J4 Cave (Centre County) – Gary Dunmire stated that no additional contact has been received from Graymont since the last PCC meeting. Kepler Cave (Centre County) – Gary Dunmire stated that the relations with the land owner remain good. Paul Winter is acting as contact for Kepler Cave. McFadden Cave (Huntingdon County) – Pat Minnick reported that the land owner, John McFadden, has passed away. Franklin County Grotto will pursue contact with the new land owner. Red Church Cave (Schuylkill County, PA) – Dean Snyder reported that one trip was taken by members of New Jersey Grotto. PCC Tax Exempt Status: Gary Dunmire contacted the IRS representative and was informed that the PCC’s tax exempt status will be re-instated back to the point in time when it was lost. The PCC will maintain its tax exempt status. Spring MAR 2014: There were 76 registered attendees and 6 TRA staff members in attendance at the 2014 Spring MAR held at the OTR site in Dailey, WV. The event reported a profit of $338.15. Thank you to all those that pitched in to help make the event a success! Fall MAR 2014: The Seven Valleys Grotto hosted the 2014 Fall MAR field meet. Red Schock reported that the unofficial attendance was 195 cavers. Thank you to all those who helped to make the event such an outstanding success! It would not be possible without the help of so many wonderful friends and fellow cavers. A special thanks to the Banges for the use of their property and all their hard work before, during and after the weekend! NEW BUSINESS: Loss of a friend: The caving community lost a good friend and active member in Ken Tayman of Franklin County Grotto, who passed away unexpectedly on June 3, 2014. An auction was held during the 2014 Fall MAR to benefit Ken’s widow. Pat Minnick reported that the auction did very well and a portion of the money raised may be donated toward cave conservation. Future MAR field meets: Jose Martinez, Vice Chair of NRO, expressed interest in coordinating a joint NRO/MAR field meet in the near future, with the possibility of including VAR as well. There are currently no hosts designated for any future MAR field meet events. Additional information and guidance about hosting a MAR field meet event can be found on the MAR Web Site (http://caves.org/region/mar/hosting.htm). Next meeting: The next meeting of the PCC will be held on Saturday, February 28, 2015 at the Mt. Laurel Church of God, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania following the MAR Business meeting. For directions and details, please see the MAR Web Site (http://www.caves.org/region/mar/main.htm) (*NOTE* – This is a new location down the road from last year’s meeting site) Dean Snyder moved and Kim Fleischmann seconded to adjourn the meeting. The meeting was adjourned at 10:48 am. Respectfully submitted, Gretchen (Red) Schock, Recording Secretary