THE SENIOR MEN'S CLUB OF NEW CANAAN
Minutes of the Regular Meeting of November 8, 2002
President Bob Witt opened the meeting with 186 members present. Membership is 516 with 9 invitees and 21 on the waiting list. Ken DeGroot introduced new members Bill Deaner, Jack Frantz, Tony Cruger, Jim Goulard, Bill Taggart, Dave Hunt, and Carl Johnson.
Announcements: Joe Sweet announced that Frank Perron is back at Waveny. He also announced the deaths of Hugh Toumey and former member Brad Hoyt. Ned Walworth told us about a discussion sponsored by the New Canaan United Nations Day Committee about the Iraq situation at the New Caanan Country School on Sunday Nov 9 from 5PM-7PM. On Monday, Veteran's Day, there will be a service honoring past veterans at God's Acre.
Activities: Racquetball is still busy Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Bowling is in a state of suspended animation. Trailblazers is also suspended but check the SMC web site for surprise walks in case of good weather. 4Fs next luncheon will be Nov. 22 at Nino's. Paddle had 18 the other day and bridge almost matched it with 15. Too bad they couldn't borrow one of the paddle players.
Couth: 12/5 Newport is sold out. 1/30 New York Philharmonic trip, a second bus has been added. February, no date set for the Museum of Modern Art. 3/12 is Mama Mia.
Resident Humorist: After a few short quips, John Berg told us about a "Sons of Norway" meeting where Lars, winner of a prize toilet brush, tried to put it to a quite inappropriate use.
Speaker: Vice President Jack Murray introduced Mike Holland, Chairman of Holland and Company, a Wall Street investment firm, and who is president and founder of the Holland Fund. Mr. Holland gave a very short presentation and then fielded many questions from a very "hungry" audience. In discussing the market, he thinks this latest slump is the worst he has seen since the 70s. He does feel, however, that it has bottomed out and better days are ahead. One reason for this is Iraq, which has had a depressing effect on Wall Street, and once that situation becomes clearer, things should improve. He also thinks that the Republican victory in the elections will have a positive effect, especially in the current tax rules that are a great burden to the investor. One of Mike's biggest points in investing is that risk should be compensated by reward. For that reason he is high on equities and feels that they should represent 60% of a modern portfolio. He is also high on good municipal bonds that are well insured. He feels that inflation is under control and isn't too affected by the current undercurrent of deflation. On the question of the Louis Rukeyser fiasco at PBS, he thinks it was one of the greatest network bloopers in history. Louis is very alive and well and can now be seen six times a week. Although Mike wouldn't recommend any individual stocks, he did think that technology will still be a very influential part of the market recovery over the next 12 to 36 months and still likes some of the old granddads of that sector such as Intel, Microsoft, and IBM. Mike, from your lips to God's ears.
Eric Musa, Secretary