General Membership Meeting of the Vernon Placer Miners Club

Met March 5, 2019 at the Hall at 1204 30th Ave, Vernon BC.  President Gerry Morrison opened the meeting at 7:00 PM. Note-taker was Cal Olsson. 31 members and four guests (Elizabeth and Jackie as well as Dillon from Vernon and Mike Cloet from out west) attended the meeting. The minutes of the last meeting were read and after being amended by President Gerry were adopted by a show of hands.

  • Old Business Arising out of Last Meeting’s Minutes:

ü  Sun Fun Festival in Vernon. Rick is looking at setting up a ‘learn to pan’ event its set for June 15th. Any members willing to help please call Rick at 250-681-0908. Some volunteers who offered to help: Robin Jenner, Attila Vasarhelyi, Linda Morrison, Pat and Louie Yonkman, Gerry Morrison. Rick has a key to the c-Can to get equipment. They say there is on average 15,000 people who come to this event on the one day so it may get busy. Vernon fire department is going to fill the panning tubs. Please come in some sort of costume, as a good representative of the club.

Correspondence:

ü    Email from Merv Mathers letting us know there is a place in Enderby where we can get trophy plates engraved. He won’t be able to let us use his pa system at the BC Open this year.

ü  Email from Gold Panner restaurant and campground giving club members a half price deal if we have our annual picnic there.

 

Reports:

  • Membership Report by Donna Smith.

ü 23 families are currently paid up members in good standing.

ü 14 Life timers in good standing

ü 3 Honorary members in good standing.

ü There is a common dues due date of October first. Dues are $20.00 per year per family, Oct. to Oct. However there is half price deal if joining the club from May 1st. on till end of season.

Treasurer’s Report by Donna Smith

Income………. $______________ Expenses………..$__________  Balance……..$_____________, Adopted by a show of hands

for this information, you must be present at the meeting.

  • BC Open Report by Jonathon Paull

The gaming license for 2019 is in place. The raffle tickets are to be printed up at 17cents per ticket.

Jonathon checked in to radio advertising for the BC Open. Three packages were put forward for consideration. Also suggestions for other ad spots like castanet.

Once last year’s winners are engraved on silver plates they will be tacked on to the trophies at the Enderby Chamber of Commerce.  Ken Montie said he will line up his neighbor who is an engraver to do the work.

We need volunteers for this year’s BC Open Gold Panning Championships. Please consider giving a hand to help?

Bill Allen has volunteered to visit the businesses on Donna’s list to ask for prize donations. I hope we can get some great prizes this year! Let’s make this year’s BC Open the best on record!

New Business:

ü    Donna Smith moved we spend $400.00 on radio advertising for the BC Open Gold Panning Championship event. Seconded by Karen MacKenzie, discussed voted on and passed.

ü  Gerry Morrison moved we swear in Donna Smith as the new Treasurer and have Donna and Gerry Morrison put on as cheque signers for the club bank account Seconded by Rick Peterson. Discussed; voted on and passed.

ü  Robin Jenner moved we buy gold for the BC Open from Ernie and Mary Erickson for $2,650.00 Seconded by John MacFarland, discussed; voted on and passed.

ü  Dave moved we buy 5 gm gold nugget from Louie Yonkman for second prize at 2020’s BC Open. Seconded by Wayne Thompson, discussed; voted on and passed

ü  Ken Montie moved we give fifty dollars for gas money to the Yonkmans to help a bit to cover the cost of going to all the local businesses for BC Open prizes. Seconded by Brian Callaghan. Discussed; voted on and passed

Presentation:

We were privileged this evening to have Ministry Energy Mines and Petroleum Resources Permitting Inspector Mike Cloet come and talk to us. Mike encouraged us to write permits for anything we wanted to do. Many regulatory questions came up and were discussed. The Permitting Inspector answered many of the queries well, since he has a background in the forestry sector, yet he often knew how to dig the right end of the number 2 shovel into some pay-dirt.

Even though the presentation went on and on, driving the meeting into overtime some interesting questions came up. Just one example was the question whether an unsympathetic ministry used drones to keep watch on us? He confirmed that they had access to drones. Being an ex- bee keeper at first I pictured this as huge genetically engineered bumble bees. Like the police have trained dogs to chase perpetrators it seemed the mines ministry may have giant bees to hunt down prospectors and miners?

But no, no, these drones are small unmarked heliocopters like the ones Amazon is going to use to deliver parcels. I guess once the whirlybirds had run down a prospector or miner they would buzz down and drop a copy of the book;  health, safety and reclamation code for mines in british columbia, on their heads. This could be dangerous though as the book weighs as much as a small cobble (400 gm). Only lawyers could make a book that heavy by taking the simple unwritten laws of nature; turning them into a written, heavy book of regulations.

Mike’s presentation was excellent! He concluded by telling us that talk was cheap, and that he and other MEMPR members were willing to talk over any prospecting/mining related things we were concerned about. (Club members see minutes email for scan of card)

Announcements.

ü  There will be a yard sale in Vernon across from the Vernon Rec. Center (The Performing Arts) on Friday and Saturday, April 19 and 20th respectively. Tables are bring your own and the spot is $5.00 per family.  It is a typical yard sale, not just gold panning things. Club members willing to attend will be greatly appreciated. If you are not willing to set up and sell, please drop in and give your members some support. Get in touch with Donna Smith at her phone number 250-309-9117 for more details.

Social Convener’s Report by Donna Smith:

Best Wishes for a happy birthday for March 2019 go out to: Bill Harding     Mel Huizinga    Dan Hurd    Merv Mathers

Diane Fulbrook    Trina Panich     John Schmitutz

Happy  Birthday everyone. Thankfully no members passing, and no serious illnesses to report.

Results from last years advertising survey went as follows:  5 newspaper ..46 from word of mouth..  4 by radio..  4 other..  5 internet.. 2 just passing through.. 1 from TV..  1 Rivertalk paper..  1 Salmon Arm Lundry bulitin board..  1 from Campsite..  1 came before..  2 did not answers.

Bill Allen won the first nugget door prize, and Ken Montie the second.

Donna Smith won the 50/50 draw $26.50.

The meeting adjourned at 8:55 PM.

Political Liaison and Information CommitteeReport by Rick Petersen

Rick deferred to the Permitting Inspector’s presentation.  get in touch with Rick at 250-681-0908 or email trimguy@live.ca for any questions, clarifications etc.