The meeting was called to order at 12:40 by President, Jimmy Pate. Twenty members were in attendance. Mr. Pate announced that there were not enough present to constitute a quorum.

As Mr. Pate passed out the agenda, a motion was made by Venetia Scott to continue the business meeting using a simple majority vote to approve any motions presented. Carol Williams seconded the motion. It was approved by a unanimous vote.

Secretary, Beverly Herrin, read the minutes from the past year’s meeting as copies were distributed to those attending. LaVerne Dillashaw made a motion to accept the minutes as read. Venetia Scott seconded the motion and it was approved unanimously. A clarification was made regarding the price of lots available at the cemetery. For those without family buried at the cemetery, a $300.00 is the fee for a burial plot. This will clear up any misunderstanding on the subject.

Treasurer, Cyndi Pate, presented her report. The balance of $1101.40 in the checking account as of June 1, 2017. CD #19756 has a balance of 3,302.02 as of April 11, 2017, and CD #19755 has a balance of $43,073.04 as of Feb. 14, 2017. Several donations from members unable to attend were received and were greatly appreciated. A suggestion to send a letter to the membership asking for donations was voiced by Cyndi Pate. The feeling of all present was that such a letter was needed to avoid having to use any of the money set aside in the CD’s. A motion to see that such a letter is sent to the members in the coming year was made by Venetia Scott and seconded by LaVerne Dillashaw. It was approved unanimously. A motion to accept the treasurer’s report as read was made by Bob Williams and seconded by LaVelle Parsons. The motion passed unanimously.

A cemetery report was given by Mr. Jimmy Pate. He related that several broken tombstones had been repaired, weeds along the curbing had been sprayed, and an attempt to control the grass burrs was on going. He reported that the mowing expense has increased. $1,700.00 to $2,000.00 dollars will be needed to be raised every year to cover the mowing expenses if they stay about the same as the past years. They could, of course, increase in a rainy year. Several members that had attended a service in the past few weeks spoke up and reported that the cemetery’s condition and appearance was better than it had been in serveral years.

Old Business discussion began by revisiting the issue of not having a quorum at the yearly meetings due to failing attendance. In last year’s meeting a discussion had been made to revise the bylaws with the purpose of changing and updating them to fit the circumstances of the present day. A committee of Wayne Parsons, LaVelle Parsons, and Karen Wilkerson was appointed to examine the Bylaws and present changes at the next meeting for inspection and vote. It was a unanimous feeling that a simple majority should replace the quorum stipulation in the present Bylaws. The motion was made by Gala Samuels and seconded by Faylene Brown. Approved unanimously.

New business discussion began with Gala Samuels asking if there were any restrictions on what could be planted at the cemetery. A discussion ensued and the unanimous opinion was that there should be no restrictions within reason. It was reported that a well on the site was a clean source of water to be used for the vegetation. Gala York Samuels reported that she has a report from the State of Texas that reported the quality of the well water. She offered to make the report and the web address available to anyone that wanted it.

Mr. Pate reported that a request had been received from the Indian Creek Cemetery Corp. of Erath County to continue using their name as they attempt to revive their association. In order to do so, the State of Texas directed them to obtain permission from our Association to do so. After discussion, a unanimous vote approved their request. The motion was made by Faylene Brown and seconded by Venetia Scott.

Mr. Pate and Cyndi Pate resigned their posts as of June 2017. A motion was made by Venetia Scott to elect the following officers giving them the authority to conduct all business for the association as their office demands: President – Wayne Parsons; Vice President – Gala Samuels; Treasurer – Faylene Brown; Secretary – Beverly Herrin. It was seconded by Cyndi Pate. The motion passed by unanimous vote.

Gala Samuels encouraged members to submit stories and pictures to her as she is working on a newletter/history of the association. She can be reached at PO Box 8, Comanche, Texas 76442.

A motion to adjourn was made by Bob Williams and seconded by Carol Williams. Approved unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 1:36 p.m.

Submitted Respectfully, Beverly Herrin