This is a wrap for our 2d and final Chapter meeting in 2022. Ron Bruce was the host for this meeting and again chose the
Best Western Plus hotel in Knoxville, TN. The management and staff must have taken “Treat your customers right” classes.
From the moment we walked into the hotel on Friday and walked out on Sunday, the employees couldn’t do enough for us.
Everyone who was going to attend this gathering showed up on Friday. The beer flowed freely; some even partook of the
non-alcoholic type drinks. Some even drank water.
Once again, the old, ancient war stories floated around. The Friday crowds generation is Korea and Viet Nam. Korea is still a hot
spot, but the cease-fire went into effect in July 1953, and Viet Nam closed out in the early to mid-’70s, so you can guess our
average age. We didn’t have any members at the meeting from the Afghanistan-Iraq wars.
Saturday, the ladies did their thing, a day to visit the local boutiques in search of that elusive item for which they had been searching
for months.
Lunch was served at 12 PM. There was enough food on the table to feed an army. Our members did put a terrific dent in the
trays of cold cuts, cheeses, loaves of bread, and an assortment of condiments. Dan Orange brought fresh tomatoes from his
garden, which didn’t last long, and Rose brought apples and jars of relishes from the apple farm in Blue Ridge, GA.
These didn’t last long either.
Robert Smith, our President, gaveled the business meeting open at 1:00 PM. The usual preliminaries were taken care of, and
each Chapter Officer assessed what occurred during the previous four months.
Nominations for Chapter Officers were opened again. And once again, the room was as quiet as a church mouse on Sunday.
The last activity on Saturday night was the Chapter Auction. Our Vice President, Ridge Marriott, was elected as
Auctioneer de Jour. The auction filled the Chapter’s coffers, and offered a pleasant end to the day.
Robert Smith, who doesn’t partake in the hard stuff, ended up with 5-6 bottles of liquor. What’s he going to do with all
that hard stuff? Hmmm?
The end result of the auction was $680. Once again, the chapter Treasurer thanks the many who participated in donating money to
the Chapter Bank Account. Not quite enough for a new truck, but maybe a 10-20-year-old vehicle. Differently, not enough for a
Tesla.
And then there was Sunday and the end of the gathering. We gathered in the dining room for breakfast and coffee and bid each
other a safe journey home.
Our next meeting will be in Ellijay, Georgia, the 2d or 3d week of February 2023. Rose Daves has volunteered to host this meeting.
The Chapter website: http://www.chapterxxxiii.sfsarge.com/ will have the information on the forum as it becomes known.
As always, Chapter XXXIII welcomes any member of the SFA family to join us at our meetings. We ask the guest search out
Robert Smith, our President and introduce himself.
A few photos were taken and are placed on this page for your viewing pleasure.
Remember! Our meetings are BYOB (Bring Your Own Booze). Chapter XXXIII no longer furnishes the
hard stuff. All alcoholic beverages are the responsibility of each member. The Chapter will provide ice, soft drinks and water.
