Greetings Brothers and Sisters,

Well, we have made it past the first half of the year. To be honest, it has been a super busy six months. We have made it through the triannual election cycle, the constitution election and convention. The rest of the year should slow down a little.

We have a couple more district elections to complete, and come September, the Joint Council will set up a date for sign-ups for standing committees and those elections will be held at the October Joint Council Meeting.

As a reminder, you must be a Joint Council member to run for a standing committee member position. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me at the Union Hall and we will get our questions answered.

I received a call from International auditing and they have scheduled an audit for our Local some time in August. It has been a while since we have received one, so we are well past due. This audit will consist of them going through all of our financial records and procedures since the last audit.

I am very confident that this will go without a hitch. With the help of our trustees, that you have elected, and Natasha, I know that our records and bookkeeping will be up to par. Every audit I have been through has went great. To be honest, I like when they find small things in our procedures and by-laws. I know we can always improve and, with the help of outside eyes, we can always see where we can get better.

Although I was not at the recent Constitutional Convention, I did get a rundown from President Anthony Davis upon his return.

The big financial news was, during the month of April 2026, the strike fund did reach the threshold of $850 million to revert the dues back to two hours. Before you get all excited, they moved the goalpost to $1.3 billion to go back to two hours.

The question to be answered is what are they going to do with the two months. It should have been just two hours. I have asked, but have not received a clear answer. As soon as I get more info, I will forward it back to the membership.

Towards the end of the year, there will be some changes coming. I believe these changes will be for the better for our membership. The officers are looking at getting an app for the Local. This app will be geared to an all-in-one information center for the local. It will not be an app like our neighbors. This app will be for all members with information that is happening at the Local. It will be info at your fingertips with just a click.

Right now, we are looking at alerts of meetings, events, and other things of Local 659 interest. The Searchlight will be available to read on it, which will save a huge yearly cost. As we progress, unit info will be able to be put out to specific members in those units. We are really excited to roll this out towards the end of the year.

The reason I did not go to the Con-Con this year was that I went to Alaska for a weeks vacation. First cruise, and first time in Alaska. The cruise I could take or leave, but Alaska was amazing. The wilderness and scenery were breath taking. You know I got some fishing in, and did some touring of the land.

If you ever decide to go, binoculars are a must. I wish I had a regular camera instead of just a phone, because there are so many pictures to take.

If I was 30 years younger, I’d move there. My goal is to make it a full family trip one day to let the grandkids get a taste of the true outdoors. If you get a chance, get a kid outdoors. If you can swing it, get them to Alaska.