Larry Puzen called the meeting to order at 6:30 pm at the PACE room. Those attending were Larry Puzen, Roger Brzeczkowski, Katie Walters, Chris Jaworski, Larry Szymanski, Sharon Bauer, Claudia Ryczkowski, Rock Manigel, Pam Mannigel, John Mihalko, Mike Blohowiak and Norine Heuser.
Secretary’s Report – Norine mentioned changes she had made regarding the Casimir Pulaski Day paragraph. That should have read, “Pam said the museum will be open on Wednesday from 5:00 to 8:00pm. All 4th grades from the Pulaski school district will be touring the museum….almost 300 students! Two students will be recording Rock’s presentation. Doug Prentice asked to help out. Since Glenbrook and ABVM students need to walk, he will have them go to his office so they see his statue of Casimir Pulaski and ask them questions of what they learned while at the museum. He will have a little treat for them.” With those changes, Mike made a motion to accept the minutes and Rock seconded. Motion carried.
Treasurer’s Report – Larry Szymanski reported the check book balance is $12,707.72. He mentioned we had three people donate online using our new website. Chris made a motion to accept the report. Sharon seconded. Motion carried.
Communication – Larry Szymanski passed around the mail. He said he has set up online banking with Huntington Bank to avoid a monthly charge of $3.00 for our statements. Tammy showed him how our Pay Pal works for our online payments.
Current Operating Budget – Larry had explained this in his treasurer’s report. Larry Puzen asked him to keep an accumulative balance each month of our income and expenses so we can judge where our short months are.
Details of Classes of Membership – Norine handed out samples of other historical societies’ membership fees. After much discussion it was decided to use the following for our future membership: Individual $15.00 annually Family $25.00 annually Business $30.00 annually Casimir Pulaski Level $100.00 annually Individual Lifetime $500.00 (one time) Claudia said if anyone does become a lifetime member, we should give them a free annual dinner ticket that year as an added thank you. Mike made a motion to accept these fees. Rock seconded. Motion carried.
Newsletter – Chris said they are working on it. Website – No report
Casimir Pulaski Week – Roger gave a synopsis of the week. It opened Sunday at the Cobblestone Hotel. Monday Roger played his concertina at the Senior Center along with Richard Hodkiewicz & Fabian Holewinski. Rock gave his presentation. In the evening, “Casimir Pulaski” met people at the Dairy Queen. Tuesday thru Friday of that week plus the following Thursday, Rock gave his presentation at the museum for the 4th graders. Friday they had a jam session at Wicka’s with fellow area musicians. The schools served pierogi’s to all students in the Pulaski school district. Saturday Bruce & Tammy played at Smurawa’s Bakery and Cocktales had a dance at night that was very well attended. Sunday Tom Busch and his Bohemian Bunch played at Smurawa’s and there was a polka mass at ABVM.
Rock explained he and Pam had visited 52 businesses taking pictures with “Casimir’s mustache” asking “Where’s Casimir?” (similar to Where’s Waldo?”) They were posted on Facebook and our website. He mentioned that Casimir Pulaski Day is a legal holiday in Illinois so some schools, libraries, banks and courts are actually closed. He gave the presentation to 14 classes of 4th graders and it was accepted very well by the students and teachers. A couple students even brought their parents back to visit the museum.
Brick Sales – Larry Puzen will be taking our orders in to be completed. Mike will purchase another 100 bricks. We will start installing the ones we have at the museum
World War I Celebration – The museum will be open on May 20th and 21st from 10:00 – 2:00. During that week on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday it will be open from 1:00 – 4:00. Claudia will find articles we have regarding that war and have them on display.
Mike mentioned the need for outside lighting at the museum. He will get an estimate for next month’s meeting.
Funding for 3 Scholarships – Pam said we have three senior girls this year and we have been giving $250.00 per person so we will need $750.00. Larry said we could use our operating budget to fund those. Pam said they received a letter from Morgan Linzmeier, who had worked at the museum. She is currently attending Butler University studying to be a museum curator.
Building Insulation Update – Rock said he has not heard back from them yet.
Summer Hours – Claudia said she and Marian thought it would be nice to be opened two days a week during the summer. Claudia suggested Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1:00 – 4:00. She will finalize the dates and get them to Chris for the newsletter and Tammy for the website.
Claudia said they have been working on the list of people who originally donated for the renovation of the museum when the Segall family donated it in 1992. At that time, they were told their names would be displayed. Patty Cooney helped compile the list of 266 names. Claudia received an estimate of $180.00 for a 16×20 inch plaque. She will check into this further and report back to us.
Roger made a motion to adjourn. Rock seconded. Meeting adjourned at 7:50pm. Next meeting will be April 24, 2017. Minutes taken by Norine Heuser, recording secretary.
