Vicki Judson welcomed us into her home in Glen Echo for the February meeting and provided substantial and delicious food and drink.

President Tryon Wells called the meeting to order sometime after 8:00 p.m., when it was determined that we had a quorum.

Attendees
Tryon Wells, Bill Marmon, Karen Possner, Jim Drew, Drew Walsh, Stan Fowler, Vici Judson, David Gustafson, Kathy Carroll, Marianne Ross, Sherry Fizdale, Kathy Carroll, and Jane Winer. Also in attendance were David Gustafson and Rodolfo Castro and Lisa Catalone, who entered the meeting as prospective new members and left it as members.

Minutes of the January 2016 meeting, as printed in The Islander, were approved by unanimous vote.

Membership Bill Marmon announced the death of long-time member Charlotte Brewer in January, and noted that her obituary in The Washington Post suggested that those wishing to make a memorial gift consider a donation to the Sycamore Island Club, among others of her favorite organizations.

In the absence of chair John Noble, copies of his written membership report were passed to the attendees. There were three resignations since the last report: in addition to Charlotte Brewer, Sara Clark, who is more often in Michigan than D.C., and George Malusky, a senior member who joined the club in 1977.

John Noble’s membership notes were emailed to the editor for inclusion in The Islander and are as follows:

"As of February 28, there were 37 applications from 40- and-overs and nine applications from 39-and-unders to be considered for the waiting list lottery. It will be conducted at the April monthly meeting. We expect there will be 25–30 vacancies in the waiting list roster.” Tryon Wells noted that when past illustrious members who resigned, such as George Malusky, a former club president and “an august figure from an earlier time,” they have been honored for being a credit to the club. A motion was made and passed to add George Malusky’s name to the roll of Honorary Members. Next on the membership report was the proposal of three families for regular membership:

-- Rodolfo Castro and Lisa Catalone and their two children, sponsored by Dave Winer

-- Robin and Florin Kogelnik and their two children, sponsored by John Noble

-- Sharon and David Gustafson and their four children, sponsored by Andrew Umhau

Attendance David Gustafson, and Rodolfo Castro and Lisa Catalone introduced themselves and spoke about their reasons for wanting to join. After a brief discussion, a motion was presented to admit them all, which passed in a unanimous vote.

Archive
Karen Possner reported that her appointment to deposit club records at the DC Historical Society were hijacked by the snowstorm in January. A discussion followed about why we deposit records there, why paper records, why print any newsletters at all—a topic which has been discussed many times in past and likely future meetings.

Captain’s Report
Drew Walsh first expressed thanks to our Caretaker Joe Hage for taking care of the Island in the high-water event in early February that followed the January blizzard. The Little Falls gauge showed a flood level of 9.92 feet.

Old Business
Vicki Judson said that she will head up the June Solstice party efforts, depending on response to the notice she plans to submit to The Islander.

New Business
Drew Walsh expressed the club’s thanks to Steve Newman for serving as Deputy Captain. He then proposed newly-minted member Rodolfo Castro as Deputy Captain, and this proposal was immediately met with a vote of approval.

The date of the Spring Workfest was changed to April 17, with a raindate of the 24th.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:40 p.m.

Respectfully submitted, Sherry Pettie Fizdale Substitute Recording Secretary