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.


For weeks prior Rich was preparing for the BBAM including help from Steve, Paul, Mike and James on Friday.  For some the party began on Wednesday at a small race around Indy.  There was a 5K and a one-mile race.  Jon ran both and got 2nd place in both. Steve and Rich ran just the one mile race and fared alright considering neither had run a race in over 20 years.  The pre-party continued on Thursday night as Paul, Mike, James, Steve, Tony, Tex, and Jon all attended a Reds game at GABP.  A good time was had by all and it may be a tradition we continue if the Reds management will cooperate in their scheduling.  After the game Steve and Tony stopped by the Nine Mile Tavern for a few more beers and interesting eastside conversation with the locals.  Moving onto Friday……Rich took his boat out for a cruise on the Mighty Ohio.  Steve assisted in the launch and Mike and Paul joined a couple beers later and we all had several more as we all enjoyed the water.  After we got back to the house we played some euchre and did some last minute preparations and built a skeleton can wall as in the past with orange camouflage Busch cans and the construction was quite interesting.  Mike was instrumental in getting us motivated to get the job done although he lacked some of the can wall building techniques known by the more experience architects such as Paul and Steve.  There was no caulk gun to be found but Mike did not let that get in his way.  It is the first time we have ever used a broken and dull razor blade scraper to open up a half used tube of liquid nails and apply it to the masonite shelves with a putty knife which does not lay as nice as a bead from a caulk gun, but as Paul said "we are not building rockets here, only can walls".  It was not the prettiest job, but we got'er done.  

Saturday morning at 8:30 there was an amazing accomplishment off the drinking track.  Jon W., James, Steve and Paul dominated the West Union Summerfest 5K with a complete sweep for the Busch Brothers as each came home with a trophy and or medal from the race.  Jon was the overall winner in a time of 17:31 followed by James, Steve and Paul.  It is hopeful that next year we get a couple more Brothers out there to field a complete Busch Brothers team to win the team category as well.
Later Saturday morning/day other Brothers arrived:  
11:30=Bob, 11:40=Chris, 12:18=Tex, 2:49=Hoss, 8:00ish=Ted, Jon, 9:10= Tony

The 21st BBAM began at 12:00 - noon June 9th, 2012 in beautiful Manchester, OH at the Rich Lask palatial estate.  There were 13 Brothers in attendance (same as last year).
It was great to see Jon Stevens again after a 3 year absence and Tex after a 1 year absence from the BBAM.  We are all hopeful all can continue to make an appearance next year and many years into the future.  
The first beers and opening ceremonies begun at noon with Rich, Steve, Paul, Mike, Jon, James, Bob, and Chris present.
With about 80 degrees early in the day and it crept up to about a high of 85 degrees.  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. 


Shortly after the meeting officially started everyone received official 21th BBAM souvenirs which included nicely designed 2012 BBAM can label stickers, 2012 BBAM Frisbee stickers, Busch Beer keychain, Busch Bavarian matches, Complete Busch Brothers picture DVD, and can caps..  It was suggested to each member to take the items to their vehicles right away to preserve them for the future.  
(A thank you goes out to Jon's wife Laurie for designing the 2012 can wraps & banner)
As souvenirs were being handed out 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 a custom index card designed by Tim and Paul 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.  Steve earns the AB prize for the long weekend with the equivalent of at least a 12 pack of AB products drank over each of the 4 day party.  
(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 1:00 PM we began our full members meeting.  As President, Mike 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 Paul as our VP of the treasury gave a fine financial report of the Busch Fund and The Human Fund for combined paper assets of $405.  
Jon as our Webmaster and VP of BB History reviewed some awesome additions to both our websites:  buschmountains.com and buschbrothers.com.  He encouraged everyone to go there to check out the pictures, videos, and audio additions.  If anyone has any suggestions please let it be known and Jon will make it happen. 
(A thank you goes out to Paul for getting the trophies with custom designs.)
(A thank you goes out to Chris for designing another great Case Club Plaque Insert)
(A thank you goes out to Mike for donating the nice chairs and to Paul for getting them)  
For the first time ever there was a Busch Brother festivus and airing of grievances segment added whereas each member was given a minimum of 1 minute and a maximum of 5 minutes to speak to the rest of the brothers about whatever was on their minds.  This was a great addition to the agenda even though it went a little long.
Bob spoke a little about the history of the Busch brothers and gave an update on his family.
Mike mentioned his ideas of the quarterly meetings and that he is honored to be President.
Tex spoke a little about the old days at the mountain and gave an update on his family.
Rich thanked everyone for coming to his place to party so he would not have to travel.
Jon talked about the website and his need for more pictures especially from the 2000 BBAM and any other content.
Chris said he and Kristen are doing well and invited any BB to Baltimore anytime.
Paul gave a tractor update and safety discussion as well as trophy descriptions which include:
Euchre Tourney Winner
The rabbit award = 1st to 12
1st to puke
!st to a case
Most cans consumed
James thanked everyone for voting him into our group last year and described the dinner menu.
Hoss got in at the last minute for the discussion & talked about his family & the homecoming game.
Steve mentioned that everyone needs to reply quickly to emails & all are invited to Hoosierland anytime.

Next, Steve led the discussion and election of officers.
Mike was re-elected to his 2nd term as President.  Most other offices were voted and passed to continue along with a few small title additions such as:
Tex as, BonFire Gas Administrator and Chief of Fire Operations.
Paul as, Tractor Procurement Operations and Chief Busch Statistician as well as any titles below.

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 and Websites Administrator 
Paul = VP of Consumption Statistics, and VP of Tractor Procurement Operations
Rich = BM administrator and BBAM festivities director
Tony = VP of Publicity and Recruitment
Dustin = Security
James = Grillmaster 
Tex = BonFire Gas Administrator and Chief of Fire Operations.

There was a quick discussion about implementing a slight change to the Case Club rules and it quickly passed.  It is the new "over 40 nap rule" which went into effect immediately.  If a brother is over 40 he shall be allowed to take a nap at any time during the meeting and his can count continues when he awakes. 
In the Final part of business for the meeting was held by Jon W. as he got all present members to sign the reprinted constitution in the order of the arrival at the meeting.
The full member meeting was adjourned about 3:00.

We started our 5th ever official Euchre Tournament shortly after 3:00.  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 8 man rotation with Jon in charge.  Rich crushed it with the most points with 34 to win the Euchre Tourney for the year and the Trophy, beating out Bob and Steve with 29 points.  Paul finished in the last final four slot with 27. Congrats Rich!  With the weather being so nice and getting a late start, it was determined by Jon and consulted by others that the final round be eliminated and the money be distributed to those final four players without the playoff.  See report from Paul below for complete results.


After the Euchre tournament almost everyone headed outside to do whatever needed to be done including many rounds of social drinks, grabbing some food, riding or driving the Tractor, riding the quad, or riding the motorcycle.  James stepped up this year again and brought out some great food for the grill and served very well as the Grillmaster.  It was reported by many that the food off the grill was awesome and they look forward to him serving in that capacity in the future.
(A big thank you goes out to James for providing the food and the grilling duties.)  

The gassing of the annual bonfire was cut short this year by an inadvertent early lighting and the tradition shall pick up next year.

Again this year the tractor rides throughout the night were definitely a highlight and lasted well into the evening.  Thanks to Paul we now have two tractors: a 1992 explorer and a 1988 Chevy blazer.
Driving an old blazer over the fields and thru the woods over the trees is something that should be on every one's bucket list.  The new tractor was probably even more fun this year and an annual meeting is not complete without a little engine fire which happened to something around the right front tire of the new tractor.  Smoke started to appear from under the hood, but quick thinking by Ted to fill a trash can with water and drench it before it exploded.
(A thank you goes out to Ted for keeping the new tractor alive which nearly died twice and to Ted and Mike for their quick thinking to extinguish the flames)  
The old tractor continues to show more signs cancer eating thru the floor boards and sinking in the back down below the bumper even more this year.  It is amazing the OLD Tractor lasted all thru the meeting, but it did….barely.  

The motorcycle and quad were once again ridden much more this year which was awesome and no major injuries reported.  Just a little road rash and couple wipe outs with minor damage.  It was initially believed that the motorcycle had a broken foot peg but after it was beat down with a bigger hammer it was fine.  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 after dark on the motorcycle and Tony on the quad.  It is great how everyone got faster as the day went on and even as the sun went down.  
     
There were no major injuries, no major damage, and no police presence.
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,

With much fanfare, I am pleased to attach the updated statistics for the 21st Busch Brothers Annual Meeting which was held on Saturday, June 9th at the new Busch Mountains at the Rich Lask Estate in Manchester, OH.  It was another great BBAM.  Please read below for key statistics and commentary.

BBAM items to note

Total consumption came in at 230 cans, up 31 from last year's 199 cans
Output measured in cans per man increased 16% to 18 vs 15 in 2011
1st to 12 (Rabbit Award) winner = Chris
1st to Case Award winner = Paul, a close toss up with Hoss
Overall Consumption Award winner = Mike with 28
4 Brothers Achieved the elusive Case Club (in order of achievement) - Paul (11 times), Hoss (6 times), Mike (9 times) and Chris (10 times)
Steve wins Pick Your Pony for the 2nd year in a row.  Remember to turn in your sheets to Steve.  We were missing some this year.
There was no reporting of any puking, so the 1st to Puke Award was not handed out.

1st annual 5K Run held at West Union Summer Fest

Performance was strong in this event despite the Brothers drinking many ice-cold Busch beers late into the night before the race.

Jon Williams won overall 1st place
James H. came in 2nd
Steve came in 3rd
Paul came in 2nd in the walk 


Our picture was in the West Union newspaper and is up on the website.

Euchre Tournament
Rich won 1st place with 34 points
Bob S and Steve tied for 2nd with 29 points
Paul rounded out the field with 27 points.

Busch Fund, in association with the Human Fund Update
Total fund balance as of the 21st BBAM was $405.
Unfortunately, no donations were made during the meeting.


Faithfully submitted this 11th of June, 2012,

Brother Paul
VP of Consumption and Treasurer 

……………………………….

If anyone has anything else to add, please reply so I can communicate it to the rest of the group.
Also, please reply if you have any ideas for the BBAM2013= 22 years.

A couple ideas brought up already include:
Hosting, or turning the West Union Summerfest 5K into the Busch Brothers 5K and or walk.
Starting the full member meeting at 12:30 regardless of who is there.
Starting the euchre tournament at 10:30.
Getting more members to join us for a 3 or 4 day event for those that wish to make it a total vacation including renting a house on the river!

Get all your bbam2012 pictures send to Jon asap to post on the protected website.

Please reply to approve/correct/add to the minutes mentioned above.
Have a great day!   
Brother Steve