September 4  - Open Discussion - Less Formal - Opportunity to exchange business ideas
September 11 - Guest Matthew Creek, Clear Mind Consulting
September 18 - Russ Perry
September 25 - Mark Menasci
October 2 - Herb Stokes
October 9 - Jake Ulrich

Board Meeting
There was a board meeting last week.  The minutes are online and available for viewing.  One of the items discussed was have a guest event on October 9th.  It will be a good day to invite someone that might be interested in joining or just to show someone what you do on Friday morning.  Dave Lathrop would encourage everyone to bring a guest. 

Board Nominations
We invite people that really want to participate on the board to consider running.  If you have something to contribute to the current momentum, please nominate yourself.  We will do nominations this week and next week.  If you won't be here next week, send in your nominations via email.

Chris Curran is coming off.  A spot was vacated by Ralph Cunningham's resignation.  Dave Lathrop is technically becoming past president.  This leaves three spots available.

• Bob Becker nominated Carole Weishaar (She will think about it)

• Erin La Grassa nominated Jake Ulrich

• Dave Crissman nominated Chuck Hultstrand

• Dave Lathrop nominated Don Ellis

MABE Website Opportunities

• Please take just a couple of minutes to write up a testimonial for the website. 

• You can also add to the MABE in Community site.  Send us a write up about your involvements in the community that you would like to share. 

• There is also a little know section called Consumer Specials.  Take advantage of it.

What are you up to?

• Chuck Hultstrand - Bought another car from Dave.  He highly recommends Dave's service.

• Dave Crissman - Up to coming to meetings!

• Joe Zingale - Busy week.  Had vehicle stolen.  He stole it back.  Stacy helped them stay out of jail on zoning violations.

• Jake Ulrich - Dealing with tough loans, figuring out budgets and such for people...and planning his vacation.

• Fred Vandervort -  Time on Twitter and Facebook trying to figure out how to work them.

• Steve Chilton - Its my birthday!  This one hit me hard.  Signed up for triathlon.  Spending more time on myself.

• Denver Johnson - Break in new tablet notebook with Vista program.  Vista has its own personality and wakes up in a different mood every day.

• Nick Mawrenko - Working on time management and organizing.  Trying to make life easier for myself.

• Lin Schmelzer - While she was gone, Qwest messed internet.  Had to have her house rewired.  What is really disturbing, they changed everything including her email address.  Six months to convert and it is freaking her out.

• Carole Weishaar - Working two jobs including two of the biggest referrals.  A little vacation, visited grandkids.

• Phyllis Prater -  Signing up child for clubs, etc.  New online weight loss business.  Diamond sells been quit but had three this week (usual).  Sister coming next week.

• Jana Greene - Changed gym appointment to after MABE so get used to seeing her in sweats.

• Althea Bussert - Thanked everyone for their support over this past month.

• Guy Sawyer - This last month he decided to spend more time focusing!!!  (Racing fuel is expensive!)

• Stacy Hyder - Just got appointed to another 1st degree murder trial and she is trying to get a Facebook page up.

• Joe Hesch - Playing football with 6 other dads.

• Janice Jaicks - Moving her home office into a warehouse office.

• Chris Curran - Certainly glad to be here.  Very busy balancing between work and being available to the kids.

• Mark Menasci - Battling Vista and Qwest for a while.  Beta testing Windows 7.  Battling a lot of spam, junk mail and viruses.  There has been a ton over the last two weeks.

• Erin La Grassa - Working on getting warehouse done and planning wedding.

• Sandro Menasci - Cleaning up old stuff from the house (...wife's clothes!).

• Stuart Schindler - Its amazing what years of rain and erosion can do to one's back yard and a home's foundation. 

• Don Ellis - Working on some trips and getting a hold of some college buddies for a reunion.

• Bob Busch - Brought in a new doctor.  Its like starting a business all over again.  Trying to build a patient referral business for him.

• Bill LaLonde - Last couple of weeks from bad to good.  Relative house burned so helped clean up.  Two grandnephews that he will meet for the first time.  Grandson plays football for Chandler Hamilton.  They demolished St. Mary's!

• Bob Becker - Last 30 days remodeled a strip center.  Also been out of town.

• Dave Lathrop - Its my mother-in-law's birthday and she is visiting...up to not getting in trouble with the wife.

Today's Words of Wisdom
"It isn't what you bill, it is what you collect.", Chris Curran

No funny wig or Woodstock t-shirt.  It will be more serious this week.  Who knows who Virginia Graham Baker is?  We'll come back to that....

We reinvented ourselves 23 years ago.  Grew up in Michigan.  Our sons lived here in Arizona so we decided to come out too.  We moved here and bought a small pool service business.  We merged it with our son's business.  Soon we were in business together with both sons.  A few years ago we decided to move away from service and into construction.  One service we offer is remodeling existing pools.  We still do some service.  We can handle all facets of the business.

Virginia Graham Baker was the granddaughter of James Baker, former Secretary of State.  At 7 years of age she was taken to a graduation party.  It was a pool party. She was a good swimmer.  She was found at the bottom of the hot tub and wasn't coming up.   Her mother couldn't pull her up.   The suction was so much that two men had to break her loose from the main drain.  She died.  The mother went on a crusade and in 2007 a law was passed.  It says that any commercial, public pools, as of December 2008, are supposed to have in place a system where no one can get trapped in main drain of pool.  Residential pools are usually safe.  But commercial pools are built differently than residential pools.  If all water is directed to the main drain, the force is unbelievable.  Consequently, if someone get near one they can be pulled down to it and you cannot get loose.  Today we are retrofitting a lot of pools to create a safer situation.  By 2014 in all commercial pools in Maricopa County must have dual drains.  But even on a single main drain system they have systems now that make them safe.  They now have new technology that monitors changes and will automatically shut off drains.  Bill believes the dual main drains - a set distance apart - are still the best. 

For Bill, the most important safety feature is your eyes.  Do you have a designated pool watcher when your kids are in the pool?  Most people don't.  They think that someone else is watching the kids.  And nobody is.  Bill saw it happen at his son's house.  It could have easily been a tragedy.  When he or his wife attend parties they will sit and watch the pool. 

There are number of things you can do beside that to keep the pool area safe...

• You should have a fence with a self-closing, self-latching gate.  And it should not be propped open. 

• Keep toys on the outside so there is no temptation to go in. 

• Automatic cover (when they work).   

• There are manual covers that are still relatively easy. 

• Door alarms. 

• Self closers for patio doors.

• Pool fence door alarms.

• Child alarms - bracelets that go off when they go in the water.

• Pool alarms.  They go off if they water is disturbed.

• Simple things like using rope with floats.

• Always have outside telephone.

• Pool rules posted.

• CPR instructions.

• Teach kids to swim and how to save themselves.

• But the main thing is to watch the kids!

Too many kids drown every year in pools.  Even if they don't die, they can suffer extensive brain damage.  Families are ruined.  You have to be vigilant.  Get rid of the floaties.  They are not lifesaving devices and create false security.

On a lighter note, you can now refer to Bill as Mr. Lucky.  He won a new Corvette...but he opted for the money!