St Augustine Tea Party holds its annual meeting

Historic City News was informed that the Saint Augustine Tea Party held its fourth Annual Meeting at the Village Inn on July 14, 2015.

According to the bylaws of the organization, this is the only meeting that is required throughout the year. However, the SATP is a very active grassroots organization. It meets three times a month on Tuesday evenings at 6:30 p.m.

The first Tuesday of the month is a closed business meeting.

The second and fourth Tuesday of each month are speaker meetings, which are open to the public.

The remaining Tuesdays of the month are attended by Tea Party committee members.

The Village Inn management has played host to the Tea Party since August, 2010. Chairman, Lance Thate, on behalf of the SATP members expressed gratitude for the Village Inn’s service to the Tea Party.

Election of Officers

The main order of business was the election of officers for the coming year. The following officers were elected by a unanimous vote.

• Board member and Chairman, Lance Thate
• Board member and Treasurer, David Heimbold
• Board member and Secretary, Kelly Lorbeer

Yvonne Heikkinen served as SATP’s Secretary for over two years. Mrs. Heikkinen had announced, prior to the meeting, that she would not be a candidate for the coming year. The former secretary nominated her own replacement, Kelly Lorbeer, who won with a unanimous vote.

Members present expressed their gratitude for her service. Heikkinen is known for her detailed minutes and she served with distinction. Mrs. Heikkinen stated, “I’m not going anywhere and will be participating in the Tea Party’s future activities”.

The SATP’s bylaws only provide for one Secretary. Yvonne fulfilled the Recording Secretary’s role. Helping her in the background was her friend, Joyce Ferrigno, who has evolved into an unelected Corresponding Secretary. Special recognition, by the Chairman, was given to Mrs. Ferrigno for her professional service to the Tea Party, acting as Corresponding Secretary and to Yvonne Heikkinen for her dedicated service as Recording Secretary.