A board meeting of the Houston Hockey Booster Club, Inc. was held on Tuesday, August 12, 2008, at Ragin' Cajun in Houston, Texas. President Margaret Martin presided over the meeting. Executive board members present were Margaret Martin, Tom Huber, Kristi Parrott, Barbara Pride, John Shaw, Ivan Kusjanovic, Patrick Humphrey, Melanie Ogren, and Joy Lister. Also in attendance were Basil Reyna, Dale Humphrey, and Timor Martin. The meeting was called to order at 7:07 pm..

  The minutes from the previous board meetings were presented. They were reviewed by the board. Typographical errors were noted. Kristi made a motion to accept the minutes with the changes noted. Melanie seconded. The motion was passed unanimously.

  Barbara Pride presented the treasurer's report from the last bank statement. There is currently a balance of $5,917.94 in the account. Barbara advised that the treasurer information needs to be converted to a CD or USB storage device. Currently the information is stored on a diskette and her computer is not compatible. Ivan offered to assist with the conversion.

Old Business:

  Committee chairs were discussed. Basil will be the chair of the table committee with Barbara as the liaison. Barbara advised that one of the booster club members, Lisa, offered to help chair. Barbara will talk to Lisa about co-chairing the committee with Basil. Kelli Stohs will be the chair of the activities committee with John Shaw as the liaison. Joy Lister will act as the banquet committee chair with Margaret as the liaison. Renae and Ivan will act as co-chairs for the by laws committee. Tom will be the liaison. Margaret will act as the chair & liaison for the charities committee. Ivan will chair the membership committee, Kristi will chair the scrapbook committee, and Patrick will chair the website committee. The possibility of dissolving the Community Relations position was discussed. Melanie made the motion to accept the chairs as presented with the exception of Lisa as the table co-chair until Barbara makes contact with her. Tom seconded and the motion was passed unanimously.

  Locations for general membership meetings were discussed. Possible locations include Saltgrass at I-10 and Campbell. This location can provide room for 40-50 people and will separate checks.

  The new board members will have to sign on the bank account. Melanie made a motion to accept the new board members as signers on the bank account. Tom seconded and the motion was passed unanimously.

  Ivan is checking on renewing the domain name for another year. One year would cost approximately $26. If the price is $100 or less for a renewal of 3 years then Ivan would renew for that cost.

  Changes to the early bird membership were discussed. Options included discontinuing the special price and having a drawing for an autographed item for those joining early. If the early bird membership price was going to be continued then a specific date should be chosen and enforced. Tom made a motion to keep the early bird membership but make the deadline the last game in October (31st). Barbara seconded. Motion was passed unanimously.

  Margaret presented the possibility of raising the membership cost or limiting family membership to 4 members. A definition of family membership was discussed and decided. Family membership should be those members residing at the same residence. This was already listed on the current membership application. Early bird prices are $15 for single memberships and $20 for family memberships with prices increasing to $20 and $30 respectively after October 31st.

  Margaret advised that there are approximately 7 pad folios and 180 pens left.

  Premium items were discussed. Because this is the 15-year anniversary of the Houston Aeros and the Tailgunners the suggestion was made to have a lapel pin with the dates. No decision was made.

  Barbara is going to check on the shirts for the booster club. She will compare prices for the shirts with the logo. If anyone has a suggestion or price quote they should email Barbara with the information.

  Margaret advised that we can send out membership forms with the season ticket holder packets. They must be 1 page only and delivered to the front office no later than September 19th. Margaret stated that she would print the forms and deliver them to the office.

  The Kids Unlimited fishing trip was successful. Many booster club members donated various items including snacks, prizes, and cash. Kids Unlimited sent stickers for all who donated. The Bass Fishing Tournament is scheduled for October 25, 2008. Kids Unlimited is selling hats for $15 to help raise money. Anyone interested can contact Margaret for a hat.

New Business:

  The bylaws need to be amended to include the new board members. Melanie made a motion to amend them. Tom seconded and the motion was passed unanimously.

  Margaret stated that Helen said that there are two available dates for a Feed the Team. They are November 1st and January 17th. Helen will check and verify the dates with the coach and the ice rink. A sign up sheet for the first Feed the Team should be on the table at the first game.

  John presented prices for bus trips to San Antonio. Proposed dates included October 19, November 29, March 14, and April 11th. First Class Tours quoted a $100 deposit for each date and a price of $1600 for the October 19th game. This price includes a 50 seat bus with a handicapped lift. Tickets for the game would be $16 or $25 depending on which seats were chosen and the booster club would receive a $2-3 discount on the tickets. This would be a total cost of approximately $40 per member if there are 40 members signed up. If there is not enough interest, the booster club can cancel the reservation 7 days prior and receive their deposit back. The suggestion was made to email the membership to see what kind of interest there was. Dates were discussed and it was determined that the best dates were October 19th and March 14th. John made a motion to make a deposit for those dates. Tom seconded and the motion was passed unanimously.

  Activities for the membership were discussed. It was suggested that there should be a general membership meeting or an activity in September. Attending a Dynamo soccer game was discussed. Ivan stated that there was a game scheduled for September 20th and he would check the ticket prices. Road trip dates were also discussed. Dates for the road trips included November 7-9, February 6-8, and January 2-4.

  Margaret discussed having a Feed the Office in late September. She will need 2-3 people to assist.

  The next board meeting was scheduled for September 9, 2008.

  Tom made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Barbara seconded the motion and it was passed unanimously.

  Meeting adjourned at 8:29 pm.