Great meeting, guys! For all members and interested parties, here are the details on what transpired:
MEETING BEGINS: 1:15 p.m. with Ron, Wizard, AZ Mike, Sycamore Laughing and Paul in attendence. The meeting was held at a picnic table by the main swimming area, near parking lot 1 and the beach store.
1. Spring Clean Up Date--proposal to set a date of the last saturday in March to coincide with a meeting. Consensus easily reached.
2. The USFS has not made an official response to our brochure, but Ranger Brad has given Ron a few suggestions for changes. With some discussion, all present agreed that we make the proposed changes, which are:
> 1st page, 2nd paragraph, spell out United States Forestry Service (USFS) as I have just done. After that, all other references could be made with the acronym.
> Inside middle panel, third item down in bulleted list, add that toileting should be done at least 200 feet from Deep Creek.
> Add one more bullet to the same section and specify that no chemicals should ever be poured into Deep Creek.
> Add a reference to the rare amoeba that was detected in the water in 1979, which was discussed on the forum a while back. Some discussion on how we would word such a statement, and we agree that it should be kept to a simple mention.
> Clothing Optional Custom, inside 3rd panel, keep the first sentence but replace what follows with a statement that nudity is tolerated within the Deep Creek Drainage area.
> Other feedback from the USFS not related to our brochure will be discussed later.
3. Current Membership:
> Information requirements: Need full name and either mailing address or email address and a clear request to join.
> Recognition by others: Anyone who joins is recognized as a member, but voting rights will begin when the person attends one meeting. This will be for the purpose of recognition, and not to make meeting attendence mandatory.
> Proposal to have a page with the specific suggested activities for our members as an internal document. Suggested that other feedback from the USFS not related to our brochure be added to this document.
4. Contact Information: The PO Box and email address are both working. Ron has asked Rick about a link to the forum. Rick asked what we wanted. Ron described a link with a statement about our group and discussed its location. At the time of our meeting, Ron had not heard back from Rick. How about it, Rick?
Well, we still have items #5-9 to cover, but I'm tired so I will post the rest of the items tomorrow. Feel free to comment on anything thus far in the meantime everyone.
One last note: the meeting was friendly and focused, and consensus was reached on all items without the discussion ever becoming too heated. Whenever a disagreement occurred, everyone was able to understand and respect the views of other parties and find a way to agree. It made me proud to be a part of the group!