Minutes

CELEBRATORS BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING MINUTES
MARCH 1, 2024
The meeting was called to order at 11 a.m. on Friday, March 1, 2024 at the
Artisan Park Clubhouse by President Carol Coelho.
Also present were Rita Carafello, Martie Collins, Ann Fitzpatrick, Kathy
Gordy, Mary Hurley Smith, Nancy Jones, Carolyn Maranca, Rita Roberts,
Cheryl Rosenberg, Cindy Swisher and Pat Wells,
Absent were Phyllis Boyle and Phaedra Durost.
1-Officer Reports:
Carol asked for a motion to approve the Secretary’s minutes from the
February 2, 2024 Board of Directors meeting and the February 7, 2024
General Meeting. Motion was made by Cindy and seconded by Pat and
unanimously approved. Rita Roberts, Treasurer, reported that the group
has a checkbook balance of $6,860.78. Pat reported that we have 287
members.
2-March Activities:
Lunch at the Club will be on March 2 at noon at the Artisan Park
Clubhouse. Lunch will be at noon on March 11 at Town Tavern, 721 Front
St., Celebration. Social Supper is planned for March 19 at 5 p.m. at Little
Italy, 2901 Parkway Blvd., Kissimmee. Dinner will be on March 28 at 4:30
p.m. at Saltgrass Steakhouse, 8850 Vineland Ave., Orlando, limited to 20
attendees.
3-Overview of speakers scheduled, requesting surgestions/contacts:
Kathy reported that our March speaker will be Lydia Rivera, speaking
on Brain Health. In April, Stephanie Garber will speak on organizing. In
May, Mr. Taylor from the Library will speak to us.
Upcoming events will be “How to Play Dominoes”on May 17 at the
851 Building, supported by AARP, and the AARP sponsored Warrior
Games from June 21-30 at ESPN where they are looking for volunteers.
4-Change events protocol for payment/ non-payment due to cancellation:
Carol has to argue with members who don’t want to pay when they
have cancelled. Therefore it was agreed that payment will be due 30 days
before the event occurs. 25 people must be signed up or we will cancel the
event. Checks will be held until the last payment due date. All events
should be listed on top of our weekly newsletter.
5-Greeters:
We will have “greeters” showing new members into the meeting room
and Ann, Mary, Cindy, Michael Coelho and Rich Collins have agreed to do
this.
6-Events, Nancy and Rita:
There is a bus trip to the Strawberry Festival on March 5, costing $40
per person. The bus will leave from Corpus Christi Church at 9 a.m.
Attendees are asked to park in the back of the lot at the request of the
Church. The bus will return home at 5 p.m. There is a possibility of a trip
to the Victory Casino boat in April. The St. Patrick’s Day party is on March
16 from 5-8 p.m. at the Artisan Park Clubhouse at a cost of $25 per person,
maximum of 50 attendees. The Magic Kingdom Happily Everafter
Fireworks cruise is scheduled for April 10. Arrive by 7 p.m. at the
Contemporary Resort. The boat leaves at 7:30. 30 spots are available at a
cost of $45 per person.
Mary reported that final payment has been made for the May cruise
but that she is still talking with people.
7-Review of all February activities:
Artisan Lunch at the Club—good
Lunch at Columbia Restaurant—good
Social Supper at Logan’s—good; remind members to get a receipt
when paying cash
Dinner at Bahama Breeze—good
8-For the Good of the Order:
We need to change the Treasurer’s profile on our website as it still
refers to Jeff Church as Treasurer. Rita Roberts and Cindy are working on
this. Members who haven’t paid dues by March 30 will be removed from
the membership list. Carol is working with Bill Long to change the
availability of the Celebrators website. We need a new webmaster for the
regular Celebrators website. We should put out our suggestion box again.
The next meeting will be on March 29, 2024 at 11 a.m. at the Artisan Park
Clubhouse.
Meeting adjourned at 12:01 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Phyllis Boyle
Secretary

CELEBRATORS GENERAL MEETING MINUTES
MARCH 6, 2024
The meeting was called to order at 9:33 a.m. at Town Hall on March 6,
2024 by President Carol Coelho.
Stephen Prendergast led the group in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Carol requested that members silence their cell phones.
Phyllis Boyle introduced 8 new members.
Membership currently stands at 296. March 30 is the last day to pay 2024
dues or those not paying will be deleted from the Celebrators mailing list.
Carol indicated that there were sign up sheets in the back of the room for
upcoming activities or that members could sign up on line. She reminded
members to please cancel if they are unable to attend an event as there
may be a waiting list. Also, if you attend one of our dine out events and pay
cash for your meal, please get a receipt as the server may forget you paid
when there is a large group.
Carol then announced that we have a new procedure for all pay in advance
events: when a member signs up for an event at a meeting, payment is due
at that time. If you sign up online, payment should be mailed on that same
day. All payments will be held until the last day to pay occurs. On that day,
if we don’t have a minimum of paid sign ups (generally 25), the event will
be cancelled and your payment will be returned at the next meeting. The
rationale for this new procedure: Our President spends a lot of time asking
people to pay for events for which they have signed up but then decide not
to attend. The Celebrators must pay the vendor for the number of people
expected to attend and if we don’t have payment from individuals not
attending, the money must come out of the Celebrators treasury which is
unfair to the rest of the group. Reminder that if you mail your check from
the Celebration Post Office it can take from 7-14 days to reach our mailbox.
Rita Carafello announced upcoming events. The St. Patrick’s Day party at
the Artisan Park Clubhouse will be held on March 16 from 5-8 p.m.
Payment of $25 is due today. The Magic Kingdom fireworks cruise is
scheduled for April 10 at a cost of $45. per person.
Carol announced that the Royal Caribbean Cruise from May 17-20 is still
open for reservations.
Kathy Gordy reported on service projects for the Celebrators. The Lions
Club and Thriving in Place are collecting hearing aids and eyeglasses.
AARP needs volunteers for Warrior Games from June 21-June 30. There
are sign up sheets for this in the back of the room.
She also reported that Steph Garber will speak on decluttering and
organizing at our April meeting. There is a Shredding event in town on April
27 , a “Domino Event” at Town Hall on May 25 open to a limited number of
Celebrators and the monthly “Walk with the Doc” on March 11 at 8:30 a.m.
starting at the North Village pavilion.
Kathy then introduced our speaker, Lydia Rivera, a retired nurse, AARP
volunteer and fellow Celebrator who spoke regarding “The 6 pillars of Brain
Health”. This was followed by a Question and Answer period.
Tim Swisher announced that the 50/50 winner would receive $63. There
was also a drawing for an AARP “swag bag”.
Meeting adjourned at 10:08 a.m..
Respectfully submitted,
Phyllis Boyle
Secretary

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