Brothers,
Another Busch Brothers Annual Meeting has come and gone.  It was a blast!
As vice president and secretary of our group I offer the following minutes for your approval/correction/addition.

The 20th BBAM was held June 11th, 2011 in beautiful Manchester, OH at the Rich Lask estate.  There were 13 Brothers in attendance that arrived in the following order;
Friday = Rich, Steve, Paul
Saturday 
11:05=Chris, 11:50=Joe, 11:51=Bob & Jon, 1:04=Mike,Tony &James, 3:30=Hoss, 4:10=Ted & Dustin 
It was great to see Joe again after a 10 year absence from the BBAM.  We are all hopeful he can continue to make an appearance next year and many years into the future.  In an amazing accomplishment off the drinking track, Jon and Bob each walked in with a trophy.  Initially it was thought that they were brought in to be blown up in some sort of pyrotechnics display, but Jon won the Daniel Boone's 5K Run for Statehood in Falmouth, KY, thus winning a trophy and Bob got the other trophy for winning his age group.  Congrats to both for keeping part of our BB CC heritage alive.  

The first beers were opened at noon with Rich, Steve, Paul, Chris, Joe, Bob, Jon present.  At the request of Tony the meeting officially started at 1:06 shortly after his arrival with Mike and James.
With about 80 degrees early in the day it was a little warm, but not too bad so some of us stayed inside during the day and others enjoyed the outdoors.  I would say the weather was near perfect and could not have been much better. 

For weeks prior Rich was preparing for the BBAM including help from Steve and Paul on Friday.
There was a skeleton can wall constructed much like the ones at our old meeting place in Clifton.  
Again this year camouflage cans were used to construct the skeleton wall.  Shortly after the meeting officially started everyone had an opportunity to buy official 20thBBAM souvenirs which included a nicely designed 2011 BBAM wall clock, 20th BBAM rally towel, and Busch Bavarian can koozie.  It was suggested to each member to take the items to their vehicles right away to preserve them for the future.  As souvenirs were being sold there was an offering taken for all you can drink and other house expenses for Rich.  Once paid, everyone was given a Pick Your Pony card to fill out and given an index card to mark their row on the wall according to the seeding.  
Please thank the folks at Heidelberg and continue to drink as many AB products as possible in your homes and whenever you are out.  
(A thank you goes out to Paul for providing setup work/materials, the tractor, some of the food and most of the fireworks)
(A thank you goes out to Rich for providing the venue and all the preparation)
    
At 1:50 PM we began our full members meeting.  As President, Chris called the meeting to order and immediately initiated a social drink and then turned things over to the VP and Secretary, Steve. We reviewed the notes from the previous year and then Jon presented some constitutional changes and corrections which were "mostly procedural and grammatical changes to the constitution to make our group work better as the Busch Brothers continue grow in size and mature in age." All issues passed with 100% approval.  
Then the first order of new business was lead by Tony at 2:10 with discussion about James as full member.  After a brief discussion James was asked to address the full members and speak on his behalf.  James was well prepared and even had a copy of the Busch Brothers constitution complete with a Busch Blue ribbon to reference, if needed, which he did.  He stated his desire to join the group and how he valued the brotherhood that has survived for many years including 20 annual meetings.  At 3:05 a motion to vote James as full member was raised by Steve and 2nd by Mike and 3rd by Paul. The motion passed with the 100% approval.  James was brought back in to accept his wisdom from all the brothers.  At 3:25 Jon announced the beginning of a new tradition of Trophies for BBAM top performers.  This year=one for Euchre Tourney winner and one for BBAM Beer Consumption Champion.  
(A thank you goes out to Jon for getting the trophies.)
(A thank you goes out to Chris for designing another great Case Club Plaque)
(A thank you goes out to Mike for donating the nice chairs and to Paul for getting them)  
At 3:40 Chris made a motion to elect Mike as President.  Mike accepted the nomination and motion passed with 100% vote.  At 3:50 Steve made it known that if he shall perish before other Busch Brothers they are to let it be known that it is his wish for Busch Beer to be consumed at his funeral and all brothers are to chuck empties into casket and leave at least one full one in case he wakes up.  All agreed and several hoped for the same.  At 3:53 Mike made a motion to close the meeting and it was 2nd by Rich and 3rd by Bob.

We started our 4th ever official Euchre Tournament around 4:15.  Busch Mountain rules where in place which involved one round with each player with four deals each.  The top 4 players advanced to the final four.  We had a 12 man rotation with Jon in charge.  Jon reports that Chris scored the most points with 28 to win the Euchre Tourney for the year and the Trophy, beating out Paul with 24 points.  Congrats Chris!  

After the Euchre tournament almost everyone headed outside to do whatever needed to be done including many rounds of social drinks, grabbing some food, ride or drive the Tractor, ride the quad, or ride the motorcycle.  James stepped up this year and brought out some great food for the grill and served as grillmaster most of the evening.  It was reported by many that the food of the grill was great and they look forward to him serving in that capacity in the future.
(A thank you goes out to James for providing the food and the grilling duties.)  
   
It was decided for most to hold their current offices with a couple changes/additions which include:
Mike = President
Chris = Presidential Advisor and Case Club Plaque administrator
Steve =VP and Secretary
Jon = Historian 
Paul = VP of Consumption Statistics(and see additional titles below)
Rich = BM administrator and BBAM festivities director
Dustin = Security 
Tony = VP of publicity and recruitment
James = grill master 

The gassing of the annual bon fire was prepared by Rich and ignited by roman candles (I think started by Ted) and the fireworks commenced for about 15 minutes.  I think everyone made it out of the fire safely and it is great to see the gas fumes migrate around the perimeter of the fire.

Again this year the tractor rides throughout the night were definitely a highlight and lasted well into the evening.  Driving a late 70's blazer over the fields and thru the woods over the trees is something that should be on everyone's bucket list.  At one point we thought it was dead when smoke started to appear from under the hood, but quick thinking by Paul to grab the battery before it exploded and reposition it into what is left of the battery bracket.  Rich nearly initiated a new sport called Tractor skiing which involved standing and or laying on the top of the tractor as it races around the fields.  Once again, smart thinking by Paul to get encourage Rich to get down before a major fall had a chance to occur.  Next year we are going to have handles installed on the top of the cab for true Tractor Skiing.  It now shows more signs cancer eating thru the floor boards and sinking in the back down below the bumper.  Also, at some point in the evening the entire exhaust was ripped off.  It is amazing the Tractor lasted all thru the meeting, but it did.  

The motorcycle and quad were once again ridden much more this year which was awesome and no major injuries reported.  It was great to see James and Hoss riding the motorcycle more this year and getting better as the evening progressed.  Steve reports that he really enjoyed playing cat and mouse on the motorcycle and Rich on his quad.  It is great how they got faster as the day went on and even as the sun went down.  BTW- if anyone has Steve's sunglasses please email his asap.  Someone gave him a pair of clear safety glasses and he handed them his sunglasses as the sun went down.  It allowed him to see a little better in the dark as he raced Rich, but the sunglasses were no were to be found in the morning.     

There were no major injuries (2nd year in a row Hoss indicates small injury, but the cut to his hand was small and is fine), no major damage, and no police presence (except Dustin).
I believe a good time was had by all.  A few others mentioned that the bbam this year went very fast and I agree.    


The following is a report from Brother Paul……………




Brothers,

Let me start my report out on the 20th BBAM with a Social, Nuh!

Attached are the stats following the 20th BBAM.  As always, an event that will live in infamy.  While the overall consumption was down from years past, we managed to get 199 cans on the wall.  This does leave a little to be desired at only 15 cans per man.  Top consumption this year was Brother Chris with 27.  Mike and Paul rounded out the top 3 with 26 each.  First to hit the case was Paul.  Other top performers include: Rich at 20 & Steve, Tony, Jon W, James all at 17 each.

I added a stat to the file that shows the total case club appearances.  I am in 1st with an even 10 while Chris and Mike round out the top 3 and are on my heals at 9 and 8 times respectively.

Pick your Pony was won by Steve with 38 cans off.

Since we have tracked the consumption at the BBAM, the greatest sporting event known to mankind, we have consumed over 3,800 Ice Cold Busch Beers.  Next year will be 4K!

In closing, screw Heineken, Give me a Busch.

Brother Paul
Chief statistician - Buschmountains.com and Treasurer - Busch Fund in association with the human fund.

……………………………….

A couple ideas brought up already include:
Hosting a Rich Lask 5K and 1 mile fun run.
Starting the full member meeting at 1:00 regardless of who is there.
Starting the euchre tournament early with only 8 players with no smokers.
Make the meeting a 3 or 4 day event for those that wish to make it a total vacation including renting a house on the river!