Torch Club Friends, please find information below on our upcoming meeting as well as a few words from our President.
The presentation at the September meeting will be by Nicholas Luccketti who will discuss “The Search for Sir Walter Raleigh’s Lost Colony.” We look forward to a wonderful evening with you and your guests.
Meeting Agenda
5:30 p.m. – Mingling; registration; cash bar
6:00 p.m. – Announcements and reports
6:15 p.m. – Dinner
7:00 p.m. – Program/Questions
8:00 p.m. – Adjourn
A Word from President Peter Mellette…
Welcome back from summer pursuits. Perhaps one of those pursuits was going to Manteo NC, the home of the Lost Colony. Manteo could have predated Jamestown as the first permanent English settlement in the New World but, despite preceding Jamestown’s settlement by over two decades, Fort Raleigh did not survive to tell its story. This first colony’s history was lost until recently. Nick Luccketti, an archaeologist, helped uncover the story and will share it with us at our September meeting.
Thanks to everyone for your continued interest in Torch! It has been truly heartwarming to see the growth of our Club over the last 18 months and to get to know so many interesting professionals in the Williamsburg area. The Torch Club of Williamsburg is for you – it is dedicated to lifelong learning and to building new connections to information and interesting people in our community.
Your Board has been busy this summer – we approved a contract with Colonial Heritage for the upcoming year with an enhanced offering of food and service based on the recommendations of Denise Harrington’s venue committee. The Program Committee of Kathi Mestayer and Lois Manes developed a program for the upcoming year. See Past and Upcoming Talks – Williamsburg Torch Club .
The Audit Committee of Walt Bayer and Steven Berke met several times over the summer with Bill Evers and found the Club finances to be in order. The Board also approved a budget and looked at recommendations for tax reporting and insurance requirements. And the Membership Committee of Camilla Buchanan and others has continued to reach out to prospective members and look at marketing opportunities.
The International Association of Torch Clubs holds an annual meeting each year. This year’s centennial meeting was in Richmond VA. Lynn Bernard, Bill Evers, and I attended some very interesting programs on Richmond history and represented the Williamsburg club at the IATC business meeting.
Membership growth continues to be a focus. With our 35 members, we exceed the average club size association wide. But there is room for growth, and please be sure to invite guests to the upcoming meetings.
The Program Committee continues to plan informative and engaging topics for each meeting. The talks ahead range from local history (the Bray School story), to national politics and government oversight, to space exploration, to spiritual women in the Spring and to what love is on Valentine’s Day week. We welcome your recommendations and invite your participation as we finalize meetings for the remainder of the year and beyond
We look forward to building on our successful first year! See you on September 17th and please be sure to let Denise know by September 12 if you and your guests plan to attend.
Williamsburg Torch Club 