Airstream Flight 039 made one great touchdown and landing at the St. Louis Regional Airport in Bethalto.  Thanks to the professional air crew and the great cooperation of the air field ground crew, the rally weekend went by with no more than a few glitches in the electrical system.  That and a minor mishap or two in navigation just couldn’t dampen the spirits of those attending.  Another rally plus?  Try the installation of a new member and the signing up of several more.

First VP Erika Schattae posted her list of next year’s rallies.  Take a look at the list at the September rally, and please sign up to host or help with a rally.  Our club activities can be only as good as the effort that club members put into them.

Thanks to the efforts of our Constitution and Bylaws chairman, Roland Keim, and his assistant, Gordon White, we will have a by- laws change to vote on at the September meeting.  The slate of officers has also been filled (see page 3) and will be put to the vote at the same meeting.  Be there!  This is your time to make your voice heard.

The Region Rally looms right around the bend.  Our unit is preparing and serving a special dinner as a fund raiser.  For information about helping, ring up Sarah Doerr.  Don’t forget to help Welcome Committee chair Bob Zoeller at the gate.  If you need to know more you might ring up Bob, too.  Plan to wear red and white when you help greet.  We have a list of early parking dates for committee people and unit officers.  The list will be posted on the BB at the Pinckneyville rally.
The usual talk about unit merit award: If you have done something towards the award, please get it to us.

Also, let Erika know of any changes to your directory information so we get everything straight for the 2010 pocket directory.  There is a lot of paperwork to be performed with the regular changing of the guard in October and the sooner we get the necessary information, the sooner we can get it all accomplished.

Come and be with us in September.  Come to the unit rally, come to the Computer Rally, come to the Region Rally.  We will see you there.  God bless!

Art and Doris Meier, President and First Lady

June is busting out all over! We were happy it didn’t bust out raining at the recent rally in DuQuoin. The weather couldn’t have been nicer and the rally was another good one. For a minute I thought I was in an August rally because that is when we encounter the “dog days.” Seriously speaking, we had quite an attendance of our furry friends. Let’s see. There was Little John Schwartz (who makes at least four critters all alone), Jacki Howell, Callie and T-Rex Koen, Sammie Broughton, the brand new Jess Gogolek, and the always dignified Max Lockin. The attending children and grandchildren thought this abundance of four legged playmates to be a real good thing.

The proposed amendments to the International constitution were approved; the slate proposed by the National Nominating Committee was approved. This vote will be carried forward to Madison. In other actions, the July free rally will take place July 17-19 at Giant City SP. The club executive board also took some action concerning rally fees. Starting with the past June rally, we will be looking at a minimum rally fee of $10 per (adult) person and a maximum fee not to exceed $15. This will help keep fees at any given rally from getting too high when a lot of replacement supplies are needed or when rally attendance is small.

Our August rally is right around the corner and we hope to see all of you there. Traffic is not a real problem when traveling to the East Alton airport. The folks at the airport are going out of their way to see to it that we have good electrical hook ups and other amenities. To all you people looking for a rally with something different, here is your chance!

It is already time to be thinking about the unit Merit Award. If any of you participate in anything for the good of the unit or WBCCI, be sure to document what you have done and let us know. We want our peers to be well aware of our fun and wonderful unit.

Next stop is Madison. We hope to see many of you there. Once more, peace and God Bless.

Art and Doris Meier,
President and First Lady

These comments are being written as our May rally draws to a close. The newsletter editor wants to go to print early and told me to “get ‘er done!”.  It has been a good rally but a bit on the small side.  Lay it to weather, health issues, and other commitments like graduations.  Folks, between the “r” and “y” of the word “rally” is the word “all”.  To make our organization a success we need you all!  And when you aren’t at a rally we sure do miss y’all!

The June rally will be here before you know it. There are two amendments and a slate of officers to decide on.  Your vote will direct our Delegate how to vote at the Delegates meeting at International.  This is covered elsewhere in this newsletter.  We will also have to decide the July “free rally site.  Although the July rally is usually a get-together for those not attending International, I think a lot us attending International will also be home in time for the rally.  So come in June and cast your vote.  We want to see you all there.

Peace and God Bless
Art and Doris Meier, President and First Lady