South Dakota Chapter 119 Qwest Pioneers held a conference call on May 20, 2009.  Officers present were:  Sandy Kreber, Gordon Paulson, Bob Denny, and Verla Fritz. 

Minutes:  Nothing

Treasurer’s Report:  Verla had not yet received the April 2009 reports from PAC.

Region Conference Call:  Sandy stated she would be sending out an e-mail regarding Cindy’s Region conference call.  There are a lot of partnerships that give dividends for referrals.  The dividends come from the Huntington account and South Dakota received $1,889.00 as their portion of the dividends.  The Pioneer Press will be issuing 3 letters per year.  The PALS database is checked with the post office 4 times a year for address changes.  We periodically buy from Office Max and they do have our tax exempt certificate on file.  There is also a Qwest discount we should be able to receive.  Cindy will get out certificates for the discount.  The Region recommends each Chapter have 4 delegates for voting.  It was recommended the Chapter President, Pioneer Administrator, Secretary/Treasurer and Life Member Representative be the voting delegates.  Bob made a motion that Sandy Kreber, Bob Denny, Gordon Paulson and Verla Fritz be named the delegates for voting.  Verla seconded motion.  Sandy will give these names to Cindy.   

Old Business:   Gordon stated only 4 rooms have been reserved for the Chapter project.  Anyone planning to attend the project should get their reservations in as soon as possible.  The phone number for the Thrifty Motor Inn is 605-342-0551. The motel is getting calls and is having to turn some reservations down because they are holding the rooms for us.  The motel has new owners and Gordon will check with them to see if we can still bill direct or whether we will need to ask for an advance to pay for the rooms.  Gordon was also wondering if it would be possible to invite Harold Neff’s family to the picnic at the Chapter project.  He thought it would be nice to have a dedication for the plaque for the handicap caboose that was built with memorial money received from Harold Neff’s family.  Sandy will check with Max as he is paying for the picnic.  Any money over his budget would be made up with Chapter money.  Gordon stated Storybook Island closes at 7 PM and after the picnic, everyone could walk over there on he footpath for the dedication.  KFC will be catering the picnic and will cost $5.00 per plate ($250.00 for 50 people).  The meal consists of chicken, a side of cole slaw, a side of potato salad and buns. 

New Business:  The Reader for Life project book distribution to the Children’s Home Society in Rockerville will be 5/27/09 at 10:30 AM.  Books are put on tables and the children come through and pick out a book which they get to keep.  All extra books are placed in the library of the Children’s Home Society.  There will be more information coming from the Region for an Awards Committee meeting.  A boy scout troop in Nebraska would like to build a batmobile that was built many years ago by the Pioneers and was used in hospitals for kids with cancer when they needed x-rays.  Jack Ermish used to make them.  Vince Maag and Dean Reif also helped with building them.  We will try to find some plans that we can share with the scout troop.  The garage in Deadwood is being closed.  We will be receiving a couple of items for the museum from there.  A book about the history of Mountain Bell was received for the museum.

The next conference call will be June 17, 2009.  Remember to visit the TPA web site at www.telecompioneers.org.

Respectfully Submitted,
Verla Fritz
Secretary Treasurer