Florida Estos

The Estonian Society of Central Florida (Kesk Florida Eesti Selts) kicked off its activities for the 2016-17 membership year on Sunday, November 13, 2016, in the beautiful community room in the Seminole Isles condominium complex that serves as the residence for KFES Treasurer Anneliis Kuusik and her mother Linia Elmend. Twenty-four members and two children (who enjoyed the swimming pool!) were gathered for the annual business meeting and fellowship over home-made goods that created quite a spread for the smorgasbord table.

During the annual business meeting, the members achieved these results:

1. Remembered in prayer two beloved members who passed away during our 2015-16 year of activities.
2. Approved the Minutes of the meeting of November 1, 2015.
3. Affirmed the full year of engaging programs celebrated in 2015-16.
4. Approved the 2015-16 Treasurer’s Report.
5. Approved an increase in membership dues from $15 to $20 per person per year, effective this year (2016-17).
6. Approved the 2016-17 Treasurer’s Report, which includes approval of the activities outlined for 2016-17. To view our events, please visit this link: Calendar of Events.
7. Accepted the Auditors’ Report confirming their audit of the 2015-16 Treasurer’s report and bank records.
8. Elected the 2016-17 Board:
President: Kersti Linask
Vice President: Lisa A. Mets
Secretary: Triin Karr
Treasurer: Anneliis Kuusik
Membership Coordinator: Marju Cabrera
Member-at-Large: Maare Kuuskvere
Auditors: Jaan Kuuskvere, Erkki Taada and Tõnu Toomepuu
9. New Business: KFES President Linask gave a report of her recent trip to the annual meeting of the Estonian American National Council (Eesti Rahvuskomitee Ühendrikkides) in San Francisco. She asked members to support the campaign to raise funds to help Estonian-American children choirs planning on participating in the 2017 international choir festival in Tallinn, Estonia. She also asked members to donate generously to the Estonian American National Council, which works on our behalf.

To help KFES meet its financial obligations throughout the year–especially those events requiring advance deposits–the Treasurer encourages all adult members to pay their dues of $20 per person now and, if possible, to include in their checks payment for reservations for the Christmas celebration/Jõuluvana+verivorst ($30 per person, $10 per child under 12), Suppi ja Võileiva Päev ($10 per person), Estonian Independence Day/Eesti Vabariigi Aastapäev ($40 per person, $23 per child over the age of 3), Music night/Muusikaõhtu ($10 per person), and the April picnic ($5 per person). Taken together, KFES is offering monthly programming from December through April at the modest price of $115 per adult. What a great bargain!

Please note: Reservations for our events must be paid in advance. There is no reservation without prepayment. We will post reservation deadlines for each event. We regret we may need to turn you away at the door if you have not prepaid your reservation because catering and space will be limited. We also regret we will need to set deadlines for refunds because catering commitments will have been made and need to be honored. We strive to provide the most reasonably priced programming possible. We appreciate our members’ support of the KFES budget and budget constraints.

The members are excited about the events planned for the upcoming year. We hope you will plan to join us if you are in the area!

For information about the Kesk Florida Eesti Selts, please contact:
Ms. Kersti Linask by email at kklinask@gmail.com
or
Ms. Triin Karr by email at triin.karr@gmail.com

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