Shipmates,

Through the final quarter of 2018 the Branch Board of Directors have been negotiating the sale of the Branch Home.  It was sold to Modern Plumbing, next door.  One of our founding members, who presented the building to the FRA was one of the founding partners of Modern Plumbing, so they were given the first opportunity to purchase the property.

Members of the Board of Directors have spent the last 3 months going through the items and memorabilia located at the Branch Home and trying to find the correct disposition for it.  Archives of Branch activities, minutes, and membership logs were properly destroyed by shredding.  The trailer and Destroyer were transferred to another FRA Branch.  Some items were donated to other local veterans related groups.  Some items such as the flags and other meeting related property will be placed in a storage locker for future use.  The ship and organization plaques will be offered through veteran's group pages on the internet for a donation plus shipping costs.

The Board of Directors will be meeting in January 2019 to determine the future location, dates, and times for meetings going forward.  We will send out notifications to all of our current members once decisions have been made.

​FRA Branch 159 met on Sunday July 8th with 5 members in attendance: Branch President, Branch Secretary, and Three Board Members
 
Responses regarding the future of FRA Branch 159 from branch members were discussed as well as discussions about any other alternatives.  Having no other viable solutions, a motion was made, seconded, and passed, to sell the FRA Branch 159 building as soon as possible.  One potential buyer already exists and Shipmate President will make contact to determine if there will be an acceptable offer.  Otherwise he will contact a local realtor for assistance with the sale.
 
Memorabilia located in the branch home will be returned to the owners if they can be found.  Meeting furniture, tables, chairs, etc will be offered to local veteran’s organizations, museums, etc.  All other movable property not transferred to another military related organization may be distributed for a donation to the branch treasury.  Other property within the building such as plumbing, electrical fixtures, appliances, etc will remain with the building to be turned over to the buyer.  Disposition of any items require the approval of the Branch President prior to removal from the building.
 
FRA Branch 159 will continue as an active organization in the Greater Houston/Galveston area.  Future meeting dates and locations will be determined later and communicated to members.  

Shipmates & Ladies,

Our September meeting was cancelled because of the Hurricane, but there was no damage to the Branch Home.  However, since we had already invited some potential new members, Shipmates Talbot, Vance, and Chance spent a couple of hours at the Branch Home to greet anyone that may come by.  There were no visitors at that time.  Shipmate Chance did make a big pot of homemade beef vegetable soup that was delicious.  

The October Branch meeting was held today with Shipmate President Bruce Talbot, Secretary/Treasurer Nicole Talbot, and Shipmates, Leo Vance, Mitch Landry, Don Gray, and Michael Chance in attendance.  Shipmate Leo Vance whipped up a dinner of spaghetti and meatballs, bread sticks, pasta salad, and lettuce salad. 

At the Branch Meeting, Shipmate President went over highlights of the National Convention that was recently held.  The 2018 FRA National Convention will be held in San Antonio, TX.  The 2017-2018 FRA Americanism/Patriotism Essay Contest theme "What Patriotism Means To Me" was announced.

Shipmates Michael Chance, Bruce Talbot, and Leo Vance attended that annual Military Appreciation Day event at Ellington Field on Saturday October 7th.  We had the pleasure of meeting many prospective members and their spouses.   

On Saturday, November 4th we will be having an open house at the Branch Home with Hot Dogs and all the fixins, and possibly ice cream.  Shipmates are asked to announce this to any sea service veterans who may want to see if they want to become members.

On Sunday, November 12th we will have our regular Branch meeting.  We have invited a representative from Dignity Memorial to come and talk about burial benefits for veterans.  Shipmate Leo Vance is also planning on making a turkey dinner for this meeting.

On Sunday, December 10th we will have a regular Branch meeting and Shipmate Leo will be cooking up a holiday theme dinner.

All current shipmates are cordially invited to our monthly meetings.  Please let any sea service enlisted members (Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard Enlisted, Active, Reserve, Retired, or Veteran) know that they are welcome to come by and meet us and see if they would be interested in becoming a member.

In Loyalty, Protection & Service
Michael D. Chance, FRA Branch 159

Shipmates,

Due to the effects on some of our members by Hurricane Harvey, the September Branch 159 meeting will be cancelled.  The Branch Home did not sustain any flooding or other damage and is in good shape.  Our next regular meeting will be on Sunday October 8th at the regular time.  Please see the previous post for the schedule for the remainder of the year.