There were no notes from the Bear Cave for Oct. Hey, we have all been REALLY busy.

There were no notes from the Bear Cave for Sept. Hey, we have all been busy.

Whether you are having the kind of summer that is winding down or winding up, the Willy Street Fair, Taste of Madison, and Standrock Bruinfest as well as other regional events mark time as the trees hummm with cicadas and locusts.
Recently, a few bears informally met in Chicago at Northhalsted (I know I saw that written as one word somewhere) Street Days on August 11 and 12. We shared shady grins and conversation in the back patio and sat out front of Bucks and watched the mostly shirtless crowd walk by. Late in the afternoon, a den of us headed north on Halsted to Broadway to "Bears are Us" which is a fine shop of such variety that, to steal a line from G. Keillor, if they don't have it, you don't need it. Michael and Donovan shared their business cards and invited Stuart and the rest to c'mon up to the Rainbow Valley Resort in September. I'm going to take this opportunity to invite you all to consider attending as well. Either attend for Saturday or the whole four days of the weekend as Four Lakes Bears, Bear Club 4 Men, and the Brew City Bears invite you to do it up bear style. Go to our events page and click on the Standrock link.
Ben.

We want to bring your attention to several changes that we have been considering since our officer elections in April. It is the conscensise currently that we will dispense with annual dues for at least one year. We have decidied that we want to try a donation model instead. Making money is not what this group is about. Yes, there are monthly expenses that must be paid but other than that, we don't desire to collet fees. Some members, as well as potential memmbers have expressed concerns about paying dues and we listened. For the next year, we will no long require or expect dues. However, you will notice, at many of our events there will be a collection bucket. No one will be required to deposit money in these but if you are willing and able, a dollor or five will be gladly accepted. Each event will be recorded by our treasurer and we will have a listing of the funds availabel. Understand, as a non-profit group, these funds will only be used for the monthly and yearly expenses that we cannot avoid. The web presences costs, mailings cost as welll as papperwork required by our government costs. Various and sundry one could say.

At the end of April 2007, elections were held and current board members are passing on their paperwork and their wisdom to the new folks as this newsletter is being passed on to you. So, while you are looking around the space and noticing a few little change that’s why. Thank you to the former board (who are mostly the present board, but in different positions). I especially wold like to thank Michael and Donovan for the work they did and the work they are doing for this club. Some new issues and ideas that the Four Lake Bears are going to be focusing on over the next few months are the membership part of the club. Posing questions like “Is official membership needed?”, exploration of a true e-newsletter, and continuing to flesh out our social opportunities within the club and with other clubs. For instance, planning is already underway for the annual Stand Rock Bruinfest in September. Please drop by for the Thursday night coffee, join us for dinner, and/or visit the website and drop us an email and let us know what you think.

Here is my final President’s message and frankly, I am at a loss of words. You would think after four years as President, I would have something to say as a final farewell, but I don’t. So I will just have to say good luck to the new president of the club, whoever he will be (I am writing this before our annual meeting an election of new officers.) and I am sure he will do a great job with the club. Even though I am stepping down as President, I will still be active in the club and helping out the Stand Rock Bruinfest this fall. Have a wonderful spring and I am looking forward to seeing everyone out and about. Big Bear Hugs to you all, Michael.

Hi guys. My period in office as president is slowly winding down. I am looking forward to the new officers with their ideas to keep the club active and fresh for its old members and exciting and new for the members to be. I am looking forward to the fun events that are being planned for our fifth anniversary this year. More details to come soon. I hope that everyone survived the winter and that they are thawing out with the nice weather that we have had recently. Please don’t forget to come to the annual meeting on April 30, 2007 and vote for your new officers of the club. We are still looking for people to help fill some vacancies.

Hello fellow Four Lakes Bears Members. In April we will be holding elections for new officers. In last month's newsletter, I put out a general request for members to step up to volunteer to fill the soon to be vacant board positions. No one stepped forward and one board member has decided to step down as well. We now need a President, Vice President, and two Members at Large. We still have a Treasurer and a Secretary. We will be contacting members this month to see if anyone is willing to run for the board of this group.

If no one steps up to help out then we will have no choice but to dissolve the group. Donovan and I had to take over this group four years ago when we had some new board members resigned the day they took office. We felt then that this group was worth saving. Over the years other people stepped in and took over the officer positions needed to keep the group going. However, Donovan and I no longer have the time, effort or money to prop up the group again. We feel that this is a good group today, but we can't keep it going alone. We need your help.

It would be a shame for this group to fold as it has continued to grow and to add new members. The Four Lakes Bears is celebrating it's fifth year this April. Lets not make it our last year. When a current board member contacts you, please say that you will help out and become a board member. There are some new and exciting events planned for this year in celebration of our fifth anniversary. - Michael Seele, President, Four Lakes Bears

We need new officers! NOW!

I want to thank everyone who helped our fellow member, Rusty, with the items he needed for his apartment. It is greatly appreciated how generous everyone was. Rusty asked that if anyone knows of any job openings please contact him. He is looking for a job as well.

In April we will be having elections for new officers for the Four Lakes Bears. Michael is stepping down as president, Donovan is leaving the treasurer’s position and Tony wont be the Member at large anymore. Joey, Bill, and Charlie have agreed to be on board. We are looking for members to fill vacant positions on the board. Contact Michael if you are interested in joining the FLB board for our fifth year in existence.

I would like to thank Steve for taking over the duties as the newsletter editor. It is greatly appreciated. You can send your newsletter submissions to him at XXX. Please support the group by sending him your recipes, stories, artwork, etc.

Since it is the beginning of the new year, we would like your input on what activities you would like to do and where to go for dinner. You can send those ideas to Michael at strekbear@aol.com. Please let us know what you want out of this group so that we can all have a good time together.