HOPE HISTORICAL SOCIETY MINUTES
October 15, 2024

After a pleasant potluck dinner at the Hope Firehouse, President Juanita Hunt called the Annual Meeting to order at 7:00 PM. There were twenty-three people present - Juanita & Roger Hunt, Dan Smiley, Ron Howard, Bill & Judith Jones, Margaret Morse, Marie S. Berry, Nancy Ford, Donovan A. R. Bowley, Gwen Brodis, Gordan Page, Diane Sprowl, Ann Leadbetter, Linda Hillgrove, Mary Ireland, Catherine Pease, Linda Black, Bruce Linthicum, Regina Lucchese, Jim & Cindy DellaPenna, and guest speaker Bill Packard.

The secretary's report for the September meeting had been forwarded to all members via email and a copy was placed on each table; reading was dispensed with. There was a motion to accept, the motion was seconded, and the minutes were approved.
The Treasurer's report was distributed to everyone. Gwen, our Treasurer, briefly highlighted the reason for the net operating loss for the fiscal year, which was due to Capital Improvements i.e. rain gutters and a new septic system. HHS took in $11,921. 25 and had $25,941.15 in expenses for the year. This leaves a total cash amount of $44,088.47 between three accounts at the end of September. There was a motion to accept the treasurer's report, the motion was seconded and all approved.

Old business:
Marie Berry informed us that the Hope Orchard Festival table reaped $666.25 - she thanked all those who had contributed apple pies.

Juanita reported that she and Margaret Morse have gone through the Veterans Cabinet at the Town Office, Margaret has retyped the list of names to correspond with the shelf the Veteran's picture is on, and they were able to identify one formerly unknown picture.

New business:
Cindy gave notice that she was resigning as HHS Secretary effective at the end of this month - she had already provided this information at the September Executive meeting. The Nomination Committee had been notified and Mary Ireland was asked to provide names for Cindy's replacement. Mary advised that Linda Hillgrove was willing to take over as Secretary; there was a motion to accept Linda as the new Secretary, the motion was seconded, and all approved.

Marie made us aware of the need for HHS to have a discrimination policy clause, which Gwen had brought to the attention of the Executive Board at its last meeting as some corporate donors have asked for our policy statement. Catherine Pease had been asked to do some research; Catherine provided us with a Statement of Inclusivity, and copies were distributed. There was a motion to accept the Statement, the motion was seconded and accepted.

Juanita advised that ordinary mail to HHS should be addressed to 479 Camden Road, Hope, ME 04847 but invoices and monetary donations should be addressed to our Treasurer, Gwen Brodis, 364 Buzzell Hill Rd., Hope, ME 04847.

We have been floundering regarding volunteers on committees. Juanita announced we now have three members on our Building Committee, Ron Smith, Jarvis Johnson, and Scott McIntyre. She stated we need people for the Program Committee; we had no one this past year so Margaret, Bunny, and Juanita organized the programs. Donovan spoke up and said he was willing to be on the Program Committee as long as there was another member - Ron Howard spoke up and said he would be willing to work with Donovan, thank you.

Tim Field donated a handmade shadow box to house the Union Fair award ribbons which will be placed on the inside wall of the garage near the house entrance door.

Marie discussed the need for volunteers to check on the house from January to April, check to make sure the heat pumps are functioning, shovel the entrance ramp, and do a general overview. There will be a signup sheet at the next meeting in November. It was pointed out we will be burning off the oil in the tank and not replenishing it relying on the heat pumps to heat the house during the winter.

Next month, on November 19th, Peter Ogden, curator of the Maine Military Historical Society, will be our speaker - we will meet at the HHS home. Our Christmas Brunch is scheduled for December 10th and will be held at the Firehouse, as we were cramped at the HHS home last year.

The meeting concluded and Juanita introduced the evening's speaker, Bill Packard.

Bill presented a talk with slides from 1971. He was a member of the Navy Seabees and takes pride in his involvement in building a mile-long airstrip on Diego Garcia which sits below the Maldives in the Indian Ocean. The island is to this day a Naval Support Facility.

Respectfully submitted,
Cindy DellaPenna, Secretary