New Breakfast Meeting Place: President Ron presented The Gray Goose proprietor Johnna with a dozen red roses in appreciation for hosting the club's Friday breakfast for the last few months. She has been a gracious hostess and we appreciate her getting up so early every Friday to serve us.

New Place, New Time for Friday Breakfast.

The Roamin Angels will now be meeting at the IHOP restaurant on Taylorsville Rd. for breakfast. Because the members indicated on the survey by a count of 3 to 1 that they wanted the meeting time to be 7:00 AM, that will be the new time. You can order off of the standard menu. There re seniors and promotional specials on the menu. These changes were made because of the will of the members. We hope to see all the old regulars there as well as new faces.

Engine Theft Update: The thief, Lucas Tate is currently in jail. We're asking the club members to write letters to the district attorney to help insure that this man receives the maximum sentence for this felony. Letters should be about Lucas Tate and how the theft of the engine affected the club and the affect on the community (ex.:scholarship funds for the youth of the community).

District Attorney Kathryn Francis
Criminal Division, 201 Church St. Ste. 8
Nevada City, CA 95959.

Check out the photos of the refurbished engine

General Meeting: If you haven't been to a general meeting lately, you may want to make them from now on. Newly added is the 15-minute open forum from 6:00-6:15pm. This is no-minutes-taken session when the general membership can bring up subjects that aren't on the meeting agenda. It is a good place to bring up ideas, problems, misconceptions, etc. There will also be guests occassionally and drawings for prizes at these meetings too. Next meeting is Feb. 23rd at the Salvation Army on Alta Street.

As I sit at my keyboard, I look out at a balmy late-January day. You just donÕt expect this kind of cruising weather in midwinter! It's been warm enough some afternoons to put the top down (if you have a convertible, of course). Or take off the T-tops, if so equipped. Or take off the hardtop, if you've got a Little Bird. Or roll down the windows, if nothing else. Unfortunately, it also means that our drought is continuing for the third year. Hmmm. Often it seems that the good in life brings some bad and vice-versa. How about in the club? Yup. Let's look at club events and the scholarship engine.

We recently had a planning session for upcoming events. Anyone who wanted to organize an event had an opportunity. We've got a lot of things planned and that is a good thing. Or is it? On our surveys, some people said we have too many 'social' activities and not enough 'hard-core car' stuff. Sure, most people cruise to the activities and back in their classic cars or rods, normally as a caravan, but that is not enough the critics claim. So they think that's a bad thing. But is it really? Who determines what activities we will have? Members who organize them. Who determines whether they are a success? Members who go to them. So, then, who is responsible for not enough 'hard-core car' activities? Those who didn't organize or participate in them. Bottom line is who is determining what activities we have and don't have? The members of the Roamin Angels Car Club. Is that a good or bad thing? You be the judge.

The next item of discussion is the scholarship engine. Before it and the trailer were stolen, the raffle program was under scrutiny as to whether it would continue. Depending on your viewpoint, that might be considered good or bad. After it was stolen, it looked like the decision was made for us by the thief. That was a bad thing. But we did get help from the community. Weaver donated another engine. Kragan helped us in tracking down the thief. These are good things. The trailer was recovered, albeit almost destroyed and missing a lot. That was a good thing and a bad thing. Then several club members decided we were not going to let the thief decided not let the thief decide for us and put the trailer back into primo condition to haul the engine to shows. I say that is a good thing. We also will be having more participation from the high school kids who are in the ROP program. That is a good thing, too. Now this scenario is not over. What will happen to the thief (who is presently in jail awaiting trial), what will happen to ticket sales in these tough times and what will be the final outcome of the engine scholarship program are all still up in the air. Whether these will end up as good or bad things is still to be determined and, in some ways, will depend upon your perspective. Stay tuned and we will keep you updated.

Hopefully all of you will be at the Annual Meeting on February 10th for a complete 'State of the Club' report. And free pizza, of course. That's a good thing. For now, I've written enough and I'm going to shut up now. And that is a really good thing.

'Nuff said, I'm outta here.

General Meeting Minutes
Jan. 26, 2009 • Salvation Army, Alta Street, Grass Valley

The meeting was called to order by president, Ron C. at 6 p.m. All board members were present as well as 61 members and spouses.

The minutes from the last general meeting were approved (Edie H./Sheila A.) as was tonight's agenda with one additional item in new business. (Edie H./Sheila A.). Sheila A. gave a brief treasurer's report, and it was approved with no changes. (Karen S./ Edie H.)

Other board member reports:
Ron N. announced that after the engine was stolen, donations began to come into the club. One of these donations is a 1964 Corvair. He is going to turn it over to Joey Silva, head of the Nevada Union ROP program. He asked the board to approve $2,000 to rehab the vehicle, with the intent of raffling the car at this year's car show. This should be a great beginning for getting young kids interested in our hobby. Bruce B. volunteered to do the paint prep on the vehicle. In addition, he indicated that Wayne D. has a 53 Pontiac (steel woody) he may donate for next years show.

Terry E. reported that the annual events planning meeting was held at Dave and Sue G.'s 'garage-mahal'. Only 42 members attended, and few had an event to put on the calendar. He stressed that this is not a board function, that the trips and events that we do as a club are member driven. So, if you have a trip you'd like to lead, please call him and he'll get it on the calendar.

Dave G. indicated that although he has tried to contact Autorama promoters several times, we still do not know where our club display will be situated. Autorama is Feb. 6-8 at Cal Expo.

Old Business:
1) Raffle Engine. Larry E. announced that the main structure of the trailer has been rebuilt and it is now being powder-coated. Several Roamin' Angel members have been very helpful getting this trailer ready to go in time for Autorama.
2) Court Case- Ron C. and George M. have been going to court whenever Justin Tate is supposed to appear. We need members to write letters to the DA who is handling the case - Kathryn Francis- and let her know how this has affected the club.
3) Toy Drive Report- We had about 50 Roamin' Angel cars but still could have used more donations. We appreciate all the support the club members showed. Toys for Tots donated all but one of the bicycles we gave away this year.
4) Christmas Distribution - Lynne F. will be chairing next year's committee. She plans to meet with Ron C., Sheila A., and Edie H., on Wednesday, Feb. 25 to decide how much the club will commit to. Ron C. reminded the club that this is NOT a Roamin' Angels function, it is the Salvation Army's program, we're only there to help.
5) Telephone tree - Nolie M. has set up a telephone tree for anyone who does not have a computer/email. If you'd like to be added to her list, please call her directly.

New Business:
1) Reserve account - (please see the newsletter for this information)
2) Annual meeting - The annual meeting will be held at the GRASS VALLEY ELKS CLUB, on Tuesday, February 10 at 6 p.m. This is a very important meeting for ALL members to attend. You can meet your newly elected board for 2009, pick up your new member roster and gift, and the president will go over the results of the 2008 survey. There are some interesting responses this year.
3) Friday Breakfast. The club attendance at the Friday a.m. breakfasts has continued to decline, even though the Gray Goose's owner Johnna has done her best to support our needs. IHOP has indicated they would like us to have us for breakfast on Friday mornings. We can order off the menu, there'll be no minimum charges, and have individual tickets. The decision to make the change was not made by the board alone, but weighted heavily with member input. Members tonight agreed that the parking area would probably work, but there was some concern that service would be slow. Ron C. indicated the owner was putting an additional cook and additional servers on the floor to cover our needs. Please plan to attend the first breakfast on Friday, Feb. 6 at 7 a.m. (Yes, this is a change the members overwhelmingly wanted). Announcements will start at 7:30. All members - Please Remember how we show our appreciation to the restaurant is tipping WELL!! Plus, we're getting this facility for FREE!!
4) Friends of the Angels - KNCO, Weaver Auto, and the Union were the first recipients of the new awards. The board has also voted to give Kragen Auto an award. They were very instrumental in locating the engine trailer.
5) Club Building - Several members indicated an interest in researching the possibility of the club purchasing a building. Ron C. suggested forming a committee to do this research. Contact any of the following members to get more information - Larry E., Tom T., Duke, Landon, Den R., Bob G., Ted C., Dusty, Bill B., or George M,.. In addition Ron C. and Ron N. will attend any meetings as board observers only.

There being no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 7:30 p.m.