January 2017 Club Meeting
17 January 2017
Guernsey County Republican Club Meeting Minutes
7:07 PM – President Robert Morris called the meeting to order, he welcomed everyone to the first meeting of the New Year. Nancy Umberger delivered the invocation and President Morris lead everyone in the Pledge of Allegiance.
The club was then introduced to the 2017 officers: President Morris resumed his role, Vice-President Sheila Cochran also returned, Nelson Roe was introduced as Treasurer, and Michael Segrest as Secretary.
Treasurer Roe then delivered his report of his first review of the finances and outlined some action items of which the club needed to be made aware. Most notably that club dues were once again owed and the status of the 2017 scholarship fund.
Secretary Segrest thereupon spoke briefly about the officer’s suggestion that the reading of the minutes at the outset of each meeting be waived, and that members be directed to other sources, if they wish to read them. The motion to accept the minutes and waive the reading in perpetuity was made by Gayle Heinton and seconded by Executive Committee Vice Chair Darrel Fawcett. The motion passed unanimously at 7:13 PM.
Elected Officials in attendance were then invited to speak:
County Commissioner Skip Gardner said the county was still working to finish the budget and that was the primary focus, of the moment. He mentioned he was looking forward to the promise of growth in the county and the region, associated with the oil and gas industry. Finally, that this was the most turnover in new officials that the county had seen in a while and everyone was still acclimating.
Cambridge Auditor Suellen Johnson agreed that this time was focused on closing out last year and preparing to pass a budget this year.
County Auditor Tony Brown likewise agreed that the primary focus was on the budget. He also wanted members to be aware of the information available on the County Auditor website, including new maps that have been digitized.
Cambridge Mayor Tom Orr expressed a great deal of optimism for the opportunities in the downtown.
Mayor Orr then transitioned to speaking on behalf of the Central Committee and informed the club of the status of the Lincoln Day Dinner. He was also able to show the club his letter of invitation to the inauguration of President Donald Trump. The club was invited to look at the letter.
At an appropriate pause in the conversation, Commissioner Gardner made the club aware that long time member, Jack Farley had passed away in assisted living.
President Morris was then able to attend to a few outstanding matters of club business. It was decided that the club would plan to have a meeting in February, as the date for the Lincoln Day Dinner had not yet been set. It was also decided that the club would hold no official get together for the inauguration, as time had gotten short and schedules busy. The need for new club business cards was brought up and President Morris directed Secretary Segrest to develop a proof for club review. Treasurer Roe and Secretary Segrest were also given permission to develop a mock of a new website layout for the club website. President Morris concluded by introducing a poem about President Elect Trump, which was then read by President Morris, Treasurer Roe, and Secretary Segrest.
In lieu of a speaker, a club discussion was held about the state of the Ohio GOP and the new Chair of the state party. The conversation was generally very hopeful and that sentiment continued as the discussion drifted to the state the local party and how well positioned we are to continue doing good work.
The meeting closed and was adjourned at 8:09PM.