MINUTES OF THE 75th ANNUAL REUNION
Saturday, July 13, 2024

Part 1 - Program —
President Jerry Chenault called the meeting to order at 12:00 p.m. CDT and welcomed everyone to the reunion being conducted via Zoom. He explained that as indicated on the agenda, which had been shared via email to everyone, the reunion call would be divided into two parts, the program in part 1 and the annual buriness meeting in part 2 with a brief intermission between.

Chaplain Charlie Mellick then read the Chenault Prayer as it was displayed on the screen.

Secretary Sue Chenault led the Pledge of Allegiance to the US flag as it was displayed on the screen. This was followed by a video featuring a choral presentation of the National Anthem.

Several minutes were then devoted to allowing each attendee to introduce themself and give a brief bit of information about themself.

Program Committee Chairperson Libby Chenault presented a bio introduction of the speaker for the day, Landon Chenault. (Note: His bio and a link to a video of his presentation is attached.) The subject of his presentation to attendees on the call was “The Importance of Exercising the Right to Vote in America.” His presentation was celebrated by all those attending.

Chaplain Charlie Mellick then presented the Memorial Honor Roll for 2024 including a number of scriptures focusing on remembering our departed cousins.

Historian Sue Chenault presented a tribute the one of our memorable cousins as part of a new feature that will be added to future reunion programs. For 2024, the featured cousin, Ogden Nash, the humorist/poet, was the second of our cousins to be featured by the US Post Office on a memorial stamp, the first being Gen. Claire Chennault. Various facts about his life and readings from his vast body of work were shared with attendees.

Libby Chenault then introduced another new feature that will be added to future reunions, “Growing the Family Tree.” The feature will provide recognition to our newest cousins as a result of births, adoptions, marriages, etc. An example of the feature was shown on the screen. No personal information such as location or dates will be shown if this feature is added to the website.

Gus Mellick, Treasurer, explained that it has been the custom at reunions to “Pass the Hat” for donations to the Association to cover operational and other expenses not covered by reunion registrations and silent auction proceeds. Since those two sources of income will be unavailable in 2024, cousins are encouraged to consider, where possible, sending donations to continue to fund the administration of the Association, i.e., website hosting and domain registration, mailouts, etc.

Before adjourning Part 1, President Chenault called on Sue Chenault who had one announcement. She indicated that Gus and Donna Mellick, who handle distribution of the Redbooks, recently offered a pricing change on the books. When someone buys one book at the regular price of $95, they will be allowed to purchase additional books at the reduced price of $60 each. This will be made retroactive to all who have purchased books in the past. This announcement will be added to the website. President Chenault then encouraged everyone to stay signed in for Part 2 Business Meeting and adjourned the Program Session. A 15 minute break was then observed.

Part 2 - Business Session—
President Jerry Chenault called the annual business meeting to order.

Secretary Sue Chenault indicated that everyone should have received a copy of the minutes from the 2024 reunion in their email, as well as their being posted on the website for review. She asked if anyione had and corrections or additions as they were written. No one requested any additions or changes, so Larkin Chenault made the motion to accept them as written, and Libby Chenault seconded the motion. The vote was to accept.

Treasurer Gus Mellick presented the financial report. Gus reminded attendees that the reporting period now covers a fiscal year from April1-March 31 of each reporting year. A brief discussion ensued regarding the newly established grants program and how donations to that fund are being handled. The report provided for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2024, was displayed on the screen and explained by Gus. After Gus responded to a few questions, attendees voted to accept the report as presented following a motion to accept was made and seconded.

Committee reports were deferred since the activities of the various committees were routine. President Chenault presented a slate of officers for 2024-2025: for President, Mickey G. Chenault; for Vice-President, Libby Chenault; for secretary, Sue Chenault; and for Treasurer, Gus Mellick. Nominations from the floor were requested by President Chenault. None were received. A motion to accept the slate as presented was made by Larkin Chenault and seconded by Wayne Shinault. The slate was accepted.

Nominees were requested to serve on the Nominating Committee for 2025-2026. Those named were Susan Thurman, Libby Chenault, and Margaret Stockton. Following a motion to accept and seconded, attendees voted to confirm the three named to serve as the committee.

President Chenault then asked Sue Chenault to provide results from the questionnaire sent out in the fall of 2023 regarding member preferences for the future of reunions. In assessing the results, she indicated that responses to the questionnaire were disappointingly low and primarily from Virginia and North Carolina. The results are so few in number that it does not seem to be representative of the membership. The Executive Committee met and discussed the results in an effort to discern the next step to pursue in the effort to boost reunion attendance and encourage participation not only in attending reunions but participation in planning them and serving in positions in the association. Multiple ideas are being discussed, but at this time, no course of action is apparent. Libby Chenault expressed her willingness to serve as a mentor for anyone willing to serve in any position. Along with Sue and Gus, she strongly supports the need to prepare some younger cousins to step up and be willing to prepare for the passage of responsibility for the business of the Association in key positions. After some further discussion, the site, format, frequency, date, etc., for future reunions was temporarily tabled pending a meeting of the Executive Committee and outreach to the membership for more representative input.

No other business was offered for discussion, so President Chenault asked Donna Mellick to handle the oath of office to the elected officers installing them for the new term.

Closing remarks by newly installed President Mickey G. Chenault was followed by his asking for any closing announcements. Requests were received for a recorded version of Landon Chenault’s presentation. Sue Chenault indicated that this will be pursued and members will be advised when it is available. (See note above referencing the link for the now available recording.)

The reunion was adjourned by President Mickey Chenault.

Respectfully,
Carolyn Sue Chenault, secretary/historian

/Attachment




INTRODUCTION BIO FOR LANDON CHENAULT
by Libby Chenault

It is my pleasure to introduce today’s speaker, Landon Chenault, who embodies our hopes for his generation. We originally met Landon when he gave the dinner address at our first in person reunion after COVID. His talk today is entitled "Your Ballot, Your Voice: The Essence of Democratic Participation."

Landon grew up in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex and was homeschooled until age sixteen when he began taking dual credit courses through Dallas College. By his high school graduation, he had completed an Associate of Arts. He then attended Howard Payne University in Brownwood, Texas for three years, receiving in May 2024 degrees in Social Sciences Jurisprudence and Civic Leadership & Public Policy for three years with a Minor Area of Focus in International Affairs.

Over the last 11 years Landon Chenault has engaged in competitive forensics, i.e., debate. Through nearly a hundred competitions, he won titles on the state and national levels and traveled to England and France to debate on the international circuit.

Landon’s academic achievements include becoming a Sumners Scholar with the Hatton W. Sumners Foundation, receiving Howard Payne's Most Outstanding Student in Government, and Student with the Most Outstanding Production of Scholarship within the Guy D. Newman Honors Academy of Freedom. Landon has recently coauthored his first journal article in May critiquing labor and migration policy in Qatar. He is pursuing a career in research and publication.

I now invite you to hear Landon present some insights on "Your Ballot, Your Voice: The Essence of Democratic Participation." Prepare to be dazzled!




Link for Presentation Video:



https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ExDRDk4HaFDCRZTHq86WvG-OyZLGcmb6/view?usp=drive_web