Chapter Meeting Minutes November 2022

Meeting Minutes: November 16, 2022

Location – Tiny Turtle Restaurant, Cocoa Beach

6:30 Call to order/Intros - Kris Baker/ Vice Chairperson welcomed new attendees and introductions were made with a fun raffle game.

6:45 Past Events Recap

 10/22 Highway A1A and Beach Cleanup, Sebastian. There was 50 pounds of trash collected which include a pair of working boots. Beach Cleanups are recorded on the Surfrider’s cleanup site. Scott Maki mentioned he performed a beach cleanup after Nicole and collected 25 pounds of trash consisting of many plastic debris and fishing nets.

11/4-11/6 Florida Conference 2022 in Sarasota. Fran Buchness, Kris Baker, Dean Budney, and Bill Deluccia and son attended the conference. Surfrider’s CEO, Chad Nelson stated this conference was one of the most attended in the nation. There were several breakout sessions to include: climate and resilience opportunities; ocean protection and beach access in Florida; Florida’s 2023 legislative forecast and legal matters; cultivating quality campaigns and leveraging social media and digital transformation to the new website and email program. Programs were presented to include Blue Water Task Force (BWTF); Ocean Friendly Restaurants; and Ocean Friendly Gardens presented by one of our own—Bill Deluccia. There were several student clubs from Florida State and University of Florida. Kris Baker suggested our chapter reach out to FIT and Eastern Florida to organize student clubs.

11/5 Space Coast Music Festival, Downtown Eau Galle. Chris Smith presented there was a great turn out with new volunteers. It was a successful fundraiser for our chapter with public awareness, requesting membership information, and merchandise sales.

 7:00 EC/Program/Campaign Reports

Kris Baker announced Dean Budney is moving from the area and the position of Vice Chair is available. Scott Maki volunteered to take the position, and all were in favor. The chapter will miss Dean’s involvement and wish him the best of luck. The chapter welcomed Scott as the Vice Chair.

•  Secretary Report: Fran Buchness- Fran stated the website is complete and will be launched shortly. Also, Fran has created QRcodes for events so volunteers can easily sign in using a smartphone or tablet.
• Treasurer Report – Chris Smith reported the budget balance with ORB vendors deposits and $455 from the Space Coast Music Festival. Expenses included BWTF testing materials, ORB electric sign and other ORB costs.
• Blue Water Task Force “BWTF” – Kris Baker noted testing occurred before Nicole and some red areas were Ramp Rd., Goat Creek, Ballard Park. After Nicole, Ballard was less red. Sampton Island and Paradise Beach were green. Cocoa Beach Pier was also green. Pineda testing site was red. Kris indicated that Paradise tests consistently green that Mullet Creek near Honest John’s will replace Paradise for now. A volunteer, Sandra Sullivan asked if St. John’s River was being tested. Currently, the chapter does not have the funds to test new sites. Fundraising initiatives are continuing to add more sites.
• Ocean Friendly Gardens “OFG” – Bill DeLuccia reported a successful planting on November 12^th at Green Gables Historical Building on US 1 in Melbourne. Although there were only a few volunteers from our chapter, the beds were weeded, and new native plants were planted as well as small native trees. Fran mentioned how much she learned during the planting.
• Ocean Friendly Restaurants “OFR” – Kris stated the OFR lead had to step down due to personal reasons. A new lead is needed to communicate to restaurants the importance of reducing the use of single use plastics for the environment. Kris mentioned The Tiny Turtle Restaurant is the chapters only OFR.
• Beach Bucket Foundation Update –Andy Abbott reported 6 more stations to be placed in Cocoa Beach area. Keep Brevard Beautiful (KBB) volunteers will help maintain the buckets as well as residents. Indialantic beach bucket unit was covered over with sand after Nicole. City of Indialantic is currently removing the sand and repairing walkways.
• Ocean Reef Beach ORB Event Update –The ORB festival will be in 2 weeks. Randy Gray arranged a meeting to discuss final action items. Some of the items involved solicitating more vendors; beer license progress; parking and shuttle arrangements; and social media publicity.

 7:30 Upcoming Events

•  12/3 Ocean Reef Beach Festival 10:00 to 5:00, Pelican Park. Volunteers are needed and need to sign up through the email program.
• 12/21 Social December Meeting, Melbourne Biergarten, downtown, Melbourne. Everyone is welcome and an email is coming out with details. Sign up through the email.

 7:40 New Business

• Kris applied for the grant provided by the Surfing’s Evolution & Preservation Foundation.
• Roger has donated and ordered new chapter stickers in assorted sizes.
• LICENSE PLATE DESIGN CONTEST: The Florida license plate art design is still pending.
• No smoking on beaches and city parks has been implemented in Indian Harbour and Indialantic. The chapter will approach City of Cocoa Beach, Satellite Beach and Melbourne Beach. Also, inland cities will also be approached in Brevard County. Kris Baker has asked for volunteers to help with this effort.
• Styrofoam and single use plastics in Cocoa Beach. John Hearin reported that the city is having a meeting on 11/17/22 to discuss banning Styrofoam and single use plastics at events held on city properties.
• 2022 Accomplishments were reviewed to include BWTF adding 10 testing sites; awarded grant for BWTF by Surfrider Headquarters and the grant from Surfing’s Evolution & Preservation Foundation; Beach Bucket added more sites and Indialantic; Beach Cleanups were successful and recorded; Brewery events were successful fundraiser for BWTF; and educating the public regarding OFG and reducing single use plastics (e.g., bring your own takeout container for leftovers).
• 2023 Objectives. EC committee to meet ito plan 2023 objectives and budget.

8:00—Open Comment

• Diane’s new movie to be shown in Cocoa Beach, July 8^th. This event is a good opportunity fundraising and membership drive efforts. Dr. Diane’s movies are a sellout—expressing how people can connect to the ocean.
• Website issue under “Donate”. “Join” is not clear that it is a donation only. Kris will contact regional manager for correction.
• Ocean Reef and Coastlines. Sandra Sullivan expressed concerns of the ocean reef and provided handouts of the artificial reef not working. Kris recommended the EC committee will have to review and communicate with the regional manager, Evan. Surfrider always stressed natural ways to handle storms hitting the coastlines.

8:30 General Meeting Adjourn