Meeting Minutes

In-Office Attendees:
Henry Dubarry, Bernard Malet-Dupont, Gérard Drouet, Roger LeBosser, Jean LeRouzic, Gérard Vidal, Maurice Bonté, Michel Carrer, Arno Schmidt, Vincent Delvaulx, Klodian Kokomani, Alain Quirin, Pascal Petiteau, Laurent Morisse

Zoom Attendees:
Jean F. Claude, Dominique Mitais, Yves Busnel, Dominic Cerrone, Michael Latour, Maurice Pailleret, Susan Lifrieri-Lowry, Claude Pottier, Remi Lorgoulloux, Dominique Payraudeau, Louise Hoffman, Laurent Richard, Pascal Goupil, Luc Holié, Kate Wayler, Joanne Lewin-Jacus, Claude Godard, Thom Smyth

Excused
Pierre Baran, Thomas Santamaria, Gerald Barthelemy, Hervé Riou, Jean-Jacques Bernat, Jean-Claude Blazy, Jacques Coustar. Nduvoakim Abdus-Salaam

President Pascal opened the meeting at 3:01 pm and welcomed everyone to the January 5th meeting. He wished everyone a Happy New Year. 

Pension: The January pension was distributed Wednesday, January 4th to one hundred and fifty-seven retired members. One hundred and fifty-six members received their payment via electronic transfer; one member received a check.

Death Notices:  Nothing to report.

Sickness Benefits: Nothing to report.

Culinarian Home Foundation: Jean Le Rouzic was in attendance and reported that he spoke with Terry Newman that morning. They hired a part-time cook for the weekend, he is a young man, 28 years old. So far, so good. A small Christmas party for the residents was held on December 10th. Each resident could have two guests. New residents need to wear a mask for 10 days and have their temperatures taken three times a day. Staff must wear masks; visitors to the Home must wear masks. The generator is in place and ready to go if needed. 

Dinner Dance:  Alain Quirin attended the meeting and wished a Happy New Year to all. the date of the Dinner Dance will be Sunday, April 30th. Alain said he will call the Yale Club next week. He will also call The Colony Club. The trustees have decided around $350.00 per person. The Socéte will kick in some money, it will be a flat price for everyone, $250.00, even if you have guests. It’s a good price, one and a half-hour cocktail reception and dinner. Alain said I hope we can see you all there. The venue wants the number of attendees as soon as possible. We haven’t had the Dinner Dance for three years now and it will die if we don’t. Most venues want 150 to 180 people. Alain said he’s counting on you. President Pascal said it’s a formal event, tuxedo. The decision is to stay away from booking at a hotel, they are too expensive. 

Picnic:  Steve Walljasper attended the meeting and wished everyone a Happy New Year. He said he spoke to Terry Newman about the liquor license and about proceeding with the picnic. Terry said it looks good. Steve said hope for the best, move forward, and proceed. He also reiterated the need for volunteers. Steve said to contact the office or himself if you are interested in helping. Jean LeRouzic spoke about the need for booking the hotel rooms. President Pascal said to book the rooms now. Jean LeRouzic also spoke about the Monday clean-up team. This will be addressed at the picnic meeting. Steve has scheduled the first picnic meeting for Thursday, February 2nd. 

Newsletter: Louise Hoffman said that it was nice to see everyone and wished all a Happy New Year. She thanked everyone who contributed to the next Newsletter that is coming out this month. A few things need to be stitched together and then we’re ready to go.

Report of the Chapters: 

• NJ Chapter: Michael Latour said hello and Happy New Year. He’s plugging away. He’s been in Ridgewood, NJ 25 years. Hopefully in the Spring they can hold another small meeting. Looking forward to moving forward.
• LI Chapter: James Mollitor called President Pascal in the morning and said he was unable to attend.
• Florida Chapter: Francis Richard was unable to report.
• Mid-Hudson Chapter: Cynthia Keller was unable to report.

Report by the Committee of French Speaking Societies: Henry Dubarry reported they are deciding if they are going to keep meetings on Zoom or not, he doesn’t know what was decided.

Membership Dues: The 2023 membership dues are $200 and were payable by December 31, 2022. Ninety members have paid their dues so far; eighteen members remain to pay. President Pascal said to pay your dues, he does not want to read your names at the next meeting.

Office: The 2022-2023 Yearbook is being updated. The last entry will be with the June Quarterly Meeting.

• The PKF half-year audit has wrapped up.  Jean F. Claude asked how that went.  It appeared all went well.
• Prepping for the 990-tax return filing with Spence.
• A medical insurance audit has been completed and approved.
• The scanning of members files is in the process to be created into a digital database. Jean F. Claude asked Olivia Guillotin the status of this project.  Olivia replied all the active members files are completed; she is now working on the retired members files.
• Christmas cards are being addressed and will be mailed the beginning of December. – The 2022 – 2023 Yearbook is being updated; the last entry will be the June 2023 Quarterly Meeting Minutes.

Condominium:  Nothing to report.

Report by Archivist: Nothing to report.

Miscellaneous:  The office will be closed Monday, January 16th in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

Members Discussion: Roger LeBosser – So far so good. He made a surprise visit to the Culinarians Home on December 22nd, the residents were happy, and everything was good. Jean is doing a good job. Gérard Drouet – Happy New Year! Good Health to all, have fun. Covid will disappear soon. Jean LeRouzic – Francis Lorenzini, Patrick Smet-Chevron, Joseph Rahm, they have all asked about the Dinner Dance. I think we have about a dozen people attending. Maurice Bonté – Thank you to the Société for all the support. Gérard Vidal – Retired. Arno Schmidt – He said Franz Wielander was in rehab, he goes back and forth, he’s homebound. Michel Carrer – Retired, Happy New Year. Michel Pombet – Happy New Year. Steve Walljasper – Happy New Year. If I’m not working, or working on the picnic, I’m fighting illness. Vincent Delvaulx – Been a long time since I’ve been in the office. Happy New Year. Didier Dumas. Happy New Year. Pascal Petiteau – Not retired. Owner of Bistro Vendome. Bernard Malet-Dupont – Happy New Year. Anthony Arbeeny – I’m at the River Club. Angel Sanay – Best wishes to everyone in the New Year. Laurent Morisse – Happy New Year to all. Alain Quirin – My company is Moveable Feast. I’m hoping to be retired soon. Henry Dubarry – Retired. Dominique Mitais – Happy New Year. Yves Busnel – I’m happy to see everyone. I wish you all a Happy New Year. Jean F. Claude – It’s nice to see Roger LeBosser sitting in his chair. Happy New Year to all. Claude Pottier – Happy New Year. Dominick Cerrone – I hope everyone stays busy and healthy. Bonne Annee! Michael Latour – Happy New Year. Everything is going well. Maurice Pailleret – Happy New Year to all you guys. Sorry I couldn’t make it, but I’m trying to get the same tan as Jean Claude! Susan Lifrieri-Lowry – Happy New Year everyone! Sorry I couldn’t be there, I’m recovering from Covid. Thank you for the pension check, always appreciated. Don’t think I don’t want to come to the office, I do. My schedule is changing, hopefully I’ll be able to make meetings in person. Remi Lorgoulloux – I’m in South Carolina, new restaurants are opening, all is good. Happy New Year. Dominique Payraudeau – I lost my dad two weeks ago. Hopefully I’ll see you next time I’m at the office. Happy New Year. Louise Hoffman – Happy New Year again! I try to come down to the city as much as possible. Laurent Richard – Happy New Year everyone. He spoke about the food competition held in France in November. Pascal Goupil – Happy New Year! Nice to see you. I just got back from France. Luc Holié – Nice to see you. Happy New Year! Kate Wayler – Kingsborough is doing well. I’m glad to see so many people at the SCP office. Happy New Year to you all. Joanne Lewin-Jacus – I’m still teaching at City Tech. I wish everyone a Healthy, Happy 2023! Claude Godard – I’m still at the Union Club. Happy New Year! Thom Smyth – Hi everybody and Happy New Year. Today I wasn’t feeling good, so I zoomed in. 

President Pascal Guillotin inquired if anyone had any comments.

The next Officers’ Meeting will be held February 2, 2023.

Meeting was adjourned at 3:46 pm.

The next Quarterly Meeting will be held June 2, 2022.

Meeting was adjourned at 3:42 pm