On Oct. 12, 20 members and prospective members of the Texas & Oklahoma Chapter enjoyed a luncheon meeting at Cafe Blue Restaurant in Bee Cave (Austin), Texas. We were delighted to welcome Kay Sandridge who was the first Oklahoma member to attend a chapter meeting.
Paul Clites presented the story of his atomic-powered icebreaker trip from Murmansk, Russia to the geographic North Pole, with a landing on Franz Josef Land on the return leg. Members were amazed at the size and power of the Russian icebreaker as they watched videos Paul had taken from a helicopter over-flight and from aboard the ship as it crashed through ice. The story also triggered an impromptu discussion of Paul’s previous trip to the geographic South Pole. Paul can now claim to be bipolar.
As per chapter tradition, we also held a two-minutes-per-person around the room travel story-tell. These included a member who meet her future husband in Tibet; circumnavigating the world in 16 days; toxic toads in Belize; bribing police in Mexico to avoid jail; dog sledding; and several more interesting stories.
Two new chapter members were recognized. And four members who have achieved TCC milestones were also recognized, three of whom were at the meeting — both Kay Sandridge and Dr. Ann Marie Ellis advanced from provisional to full membership, and Al Steger reached Silver (150) status.
The next quarterly Texas & Oklahoma Chapter luncheon meeting will be held on Jan. 11 in the Dallas area, with details announced in due course.
