Opening
The monthly meeting of the Organ Transplant Recipients of SWFL Inc. was called to order at 11:45 a.m. on April 4, 2019 in the meeting rooms at The Downtown Fort Myers Library by President, Shamie
Announcements
• Anniversaries: Derrick Thompson – Liver 4/6/1997, Joseph Myers – Heart 4/9/1997
• Visitors/New Members: New member, Vickie Milano from Port Charlotte – Large intestine, small intestine, stomach, liver, pancreas recipient 5/25/16 at Jackson Memorial in Miami. Visitor, Andy Lutkoff, – waiting for a kidney, musician originally from NY. Currently has someone testing to be a living donor for him.
• Member Updates: Melissa Tuff’s potential donor was not a match due to Melissa’s high antibodies. However, she is committed to take part in a paired exchange and once she is physically cleared for surgery, they will find a match for Melissa. Manny is finally on the liver transplant list in Tampa! Phil Schomer’s sister, Wendy, passed away from Polycystic Liver Disease.
Reports
Secretary’s report was approved, and minutes are available for view on the website. Treasurers report reflects a previous balance of $10,879.24 with $40 in deposits, $20 of which came from membership dues and the other $20 was from the 50/50 drawing. There were no expenses last month as our lunch was donated by WaWa and Melissa Tuff leaving us with a balance of $10,919.24 We also received a check for 50% of the proceeds from the recent Drag Queen Bingo event for $546.50 and there is no Fletcher Fund report available as Donna Williamson is not at today’s meeting.
Old Business
Lee Health removed all advertisements for the Kidney Walk which has all but solidified the fact they are no longer supporting kidney related events due to the closure of their transplant center. They have also chosen to not contribute to Night for Life as they have in the past and we may even be losing out meeting space at the Lee Sanctuary. More to come on that as information is gathered by Shamie Kelly. Marketing materials will be decided on by next meeting as we are in the middle of rebranding our image and possibly changing meeting locations. We are adding to the agenda next month a change of venue and date and including zoom or online conference as an option for meeting members.
New Business
Night for Life is our focus, see below. Paul Lewis is proposing a day at Hammond Stadium in August where our group would man their “community corner” table alongside other local non-profit groups. He will have a couple of dates at our next meeting available for us to vote on.
LifeLink
Next LifeLink meeting is April 25th at the Downtown Lee Library
Upcoming Events
• Night for Life – Broadway Palm on April 22nd doors open at 5
• Pitch for Life – Hammond Stadium on April 26th doors open at 5, tickets are $8 and available online
50/50
$23 to winner and $23 to group
Night for Life XII
Dr. Burtch will be buying a table for the “original” transplant team for Night for Life even though they will not be a sponsor this year. Sponsors are coming in, and donations are coming in as well, but we are focusing this year on education and our availability as a resource. LifeLink will be a part of the event as a sponsor and will have a table. Please continue to solicit donations for the event as well as sell tickets. April 15th is when we would like to have ALL donations in to the Auction Chairperson, Melissa Tuff. 41 South (band) has been confirmed, Mackenzie Morgan will be speaking about her experience as a recipient, we will have a donor family and their recipient speaking as well. Please send any information on items you receive to Melissa so that she may update the spreadsheet to reflect. If anyone has any easels that we can use to display the art that Carleen was able to procure, please let us know. Melissa is going to Coconut Point and downtown Fort Myers today to obtain items and Madelyn Chrone will be getting items from other Fort Myers restaurants and businesses.
Adjournment
Meeting was adjourned at 1:30 p.m. by President, Shamie Kelly. The next general meeting will be on May 2, 2019, at the Lee Outpatient Sanctuary 8960 Colonial Center Drive Fort Myers, FL 33905
Minutes submitted by Melissa Tuff, Secretary