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FOCM Networking Meeting Minutes

Meeting Minutes from FOCM Networking Meeting of October 15, 2013

Tuesday night, October 15, the RTP, NC Chapter of FOCM met at Serena’s in Durham. The weather was nice so we sat outside.

Not that a member gets points for being first to arrive or last to leave but its kinda fun to note that, so as to have accurate meeting minutes, of course.  While it is unlikely that the events recorded herein will ever appear in the Library of Congress, we can pretend that we are important.

At this meeting, the first to arrive was Gayle Grandinetti. The last to leave were myself (as required by the organization’s SOP’s), Nick Macaulay and Vince Hoefling.  The attendees were:

Gayle Grandinetti

Mike Burrows

Lisa Campbell

Mike Markowitz

Sherran Brewer

Katherine Cloninger

Joseph Barna

Tom McPhatter

Wendy Revenaugh

Carrie Gallagher

Vince Hoefling

Mark Mickunas

Nick Macaulay

The companies these people work for include: GSK, Aptiv, Lenovo, Catalent, PPD, Aerotek, TKL Research, Frontage Labs, UCB and Patheon.

It was great to have Lisa Campbell attend.  Tomorrow, 10/21, she will have her labor induced and sometime that day we will welcome  a new FOCM member.  Best wishes to Lisa and her soon-to-be-born daughter.

The following people were first time attendees and received their FOCM membership cards in the traditional and formal presentation of the membership card:  Sherran Brewer, Tom McPhatter, Carrie Gallagher and Joseph Barna.

For those who have not witnessed the formal presentation of the membership card, it goes something like this:  the card presenter holds the card in his left hand, the card recipient receives the card in his/her left hand and the two grip each other’s right hands in a handshake while the card presenter says, “Welcome to the organization.”  As you can well imagine, there is rarely a dry eye among the participants and witnesses.

 

Ventriloquist and a Blonde

Submitted by FOCM Member Andrew Smith

A young ventriloquist, with his dummy on his knee, starts going through his usual dumb blonde jokes.

Suddenly, a blonde woman stands on her chair and starts shouting, “I’ve heard enough of your stupid blonde jokes.  What makes you think you can stereotype blonde women that way? What does the color of a woman’s hair have to do with her worth as a human being?  It’s men like you who keep women like me from being respected at work and in the community and from reaching our full potential as people.  It’s people like you that make others think that all blondes are dumb!  You and your kind continue to perpetuate discrimination against not only blondes, but women in general, pathetically all in the name of humor!”

The embarrassed ventriloquist begins to apologize when the blonde yells: “You stay out of this!  I’m talking to that little shit on your lap!”

Doctor Groups Give Opinions on Obamacare

submitted by FOCM Member Mark Mickunas

Whether you are for or against Obama Care…
The American Medical Association has now weighed in on Obama’s new health care package:

The Allergists were in favor of scratching it, but the Dermatologists advised not to make any rash moves.
The Gastroenterologists had sort of a gut feeling about it, but the Neurologists thought the Administration had a lot of nerve.
Meanwhile, Obstetricians felt certain everyone was laboring under a misconception, while the Ophthalmologists considered the idea shortsighted.
Pathologists yelled, “Over my dead body!” while the Pediatricians said, “Oh, grow up!”
The Psychiatrists thought the whole idea was madness, while the Radiologists could see right through it.
Surgeons decided to wash their hands of the whole thing, and the Internists claimed it would indeed be a bitter pill to swallow.
The Plastic Surgeons opined that this proposal would “put a whole new face on the matter.”
The Podiatrists thought it was a step forward, but the Urologists were pissed off at the whole idea.
Anesthesiologists thought the whole idea was a gas, and those lofty Cardiologists didn’t have the heart to say no.
In the end, the Proctologists won out, leaving the entire decision up to the assholes in Washington.