Upcoming Meetings Board:      Oct. 4 Map B.O.R.D.: Nov. 4 General Meeting: October 18

No General Mtg. Minutes 9/6 Board Mtg. Minutes Chapter Supporters Blue Card  Continuing Ed. Form Calendar of Events

The annual Region 7 picnic was great according to my wife and six-year old son.  I
have to agree. A BIG THANK YOU TO DAVID COUREY OF POOL SURFACING 2000, OUR ENTERTAINMENT COMMITTEE, SPONSERS AND THE MEMBERS OF OTHER CHAPTERS, ALL OF WHOM CONTRIBUTED TO MAKE THE PICNIC A SUCCESS.  I LOOK FORWARD TO NEXT YEAR

Please plan on attending the general meeting on September 20th. John and Jon will be speaking on time management. They will also comment on the Board of Region Director's meeting held on August 26th. One of the topics will be the changes in licensing requirements approved by the BORD (see the September issue of the Ippsan).

A benefit of time management is the ability to take a vacation. I will be on vacation from September 14th to the 26th. This is the first of four weeks that I will take before the end of the year. I only say this to remind some of you that it is OK to take time off. You deserve it.
 

JON

Attending: Gregg, Rumble, StewarL, Nichol, Silcox and McArthur.

Secretary Report

No correspondence to report on.

Treasurer's Report

Mark presented his monthly report of income and expenses. As always we are in good shape financially. (See printed Skimmer for the detailed report). Blue card fines were all paid on time. Three of four attendance fines were paid in a timely manner. New chapter supporter SDG&E sent in there $200.00 check.

A donation was made in the name of one of our members to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.

Vice President's Report

Mike has been receiving some inquiries from the IPSSA sign at Superior etc. Guest Speakers this month will be John & Jon. They will be speaking on Time Management. All of us can use 'in this area, so come on in and get some ideas on how to manage your time.

President's Report

B.O.R.D. Meeting: Contractor license issue. The B.O.R.D. did discuss this issue. Come to the meeting and hear from your fellow members what position the B.O.R.D took.

Water Chemistry Certification:

Our chapter is only 47% compliant. This is not a good number for a "cutting edge chapter", It puts us near the bottom in our own region. The Association is 65% compliant. Rick Bishop will be administering the test in the future, so lets make an effort to get those numbers up.

Region 7 Meeting: Picric review: Good picnic, thanks to all who volunteered their time.

The Region made a $1,000.00 donation from the emergency fund to an employee of SCP. Ernesto Hernandez was diagnosed with "Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia". See John Nichol for more details or if you would like to help Ernesto.

The following members received Blue Card fines. Leif Leloup, Abel Morales, Eric Petersen, Tom Richardson & Tony Ruf. The following members received Attendance Fines. Alan Jaquish, Gary Sevigny, Tim Splinter & Tom Sweeney.

 SICK LEAVE
Trudy should be returning in 4 to 5 weeks.

Public Relations:

The public relations committee will be enlarged to include Lief Leloup, Paul Williams, Jon McArthur and of course Terry Bussard.

Manufacturer's Rebate

Mark Curran and Jon McArthur will be sharing duties by dividing up the suppliers between them. Laars may be sending us four heaters and Raypak should be sending one.

BLOOD DRIVE

Next blood drive will be Sept. 23, 2000

Unfinished Business

New Business

9/29/00 NSPI Golf Tournament. A motion was made and carried to sponsor a hole for $1 00.00.

We are researching costs & choices for having food at one of our last meetings. Need input from the membership.

A motion was made to inform Alan Jaquish that his total attendance fine must be paid by the Sept. 20, 2000 General Meeting. If the fine is not paid in full, further action will be taken by the Board. The motion was passed.

Meeting adjourned: 10:05 p.m.
 

Rick Bishop and IPSSA Emergency Fund Board Members

In January of this year one of our members of the pool industry, Ernesto Henandez was diagnosed with "Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia".  I'm sure you can imagine how financially and emotionally devastating this would be to any family.

Ernesto was immediately placed in the hospital and his chemotherapy treatments began.  He lost his hair.  He became weak and ill from the treatments and worse yet was quarantined from everyone in fear that he might catch a simple cold and die.

Ernesto is a family man in his mid twenties with a loving wife (Tammy) and 8 year old daughter (Angel).  He has worked in the pool industry for the past 3 1/2 years with Pool Water Products, 6 months in the field with Spa Master and Safari Pools and the last year with South Central Pools working the sales counter.  He's a hard worker and well liked by his customers and fellow employees.

The future looks good for Ernesto.  He's currently in full remission and he will only need monthly follow-up treatments and monitoring for another year.  His strength is returning and the doctors say he should be able to return to work at SCP late this September.

I understand that the IPSSA Emergency Fund was created and intended for the sole purpose of helping people like Ernesto and his young family get through the toughest of times.  I have spoken to Ernesto and his wife and they would be forever grateful for any financial assistance you can provide.  (Enclosed [below] is a brief letter from Tammy describing their financial situation.)  I asked her to draft it to help you better understand their needs.

Thank you for setting up the Emergency Fund and rallying top the aid of those in need.  It's what makes the Pool Industry feel like family.  Your generosity will not go unnoticed and will always be appreciated.  If you have any questions please feel free to contact me at work 800-585-6722, cell 909-641-4394, home 909-303-0604.

Sincerely,
Pete McLaughlin
SCP, Zone Manager

On Tuesday, January 18, 2000, Ernesto was diagnosed with A.L.L. (Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia).  The doctor said with 6 months of intensive chemotherapy the chances were good that he would go into remission.  He was admitted to the hospital that Thursday and chemotherapy started on Friday.  He has been unable to work for the past 6 months, and still unable to work.  Because of his weakened immune system, Ernesto is unable to be around people.  A simple cold can be life threatening to him.

Ernesto has worked in the pool industry for 3 1/2 years now.  He started out working for PWP (Pool Water Products) for 2 years.  He then worked 6 months for Spa Master and Safari Pools doing maintenance and repairs.  He has been at SCP for a year.

We have and 8 year old daughter.  We haven't really been able to do much with her as the Leukemia has pretty much taken over our lives.  She is in Kung-Fu and is doing very well, but that is pretty much all she does.  During all of this, she has also had her own health problems.  She's been having chronic kidney infections.

I started a new job in January so our finances have been pretty unstable.  On top of that,  I had surgery on July 6, 2000 and went on disability for six weeks.  Needless to say, life has been pretty tough for all of us.

Expenses:

• Rent $800
• Bankruptcy $450
• Loan to fix car $300
• Truck loan $200
• Credit Card $200
• Gas $150
• Phone $75
• Storage $157
• Car Insurance $87
• Schiller $82
• Dogs $50
• Troll Books $13
• Prescriptions $150
• Food $200
• Utilities $80
• Kung-Fu $85