Dear BICO Enthusiasts,

Thank you to all who attended the September 30, 2007 BICO General Meeting and Potluck Picnic. The main focus of this meeting was to enjoy a beautiful September day together. Besides good company, sparkling blue skies, delicious food, and a pleasant picnic site at Quiet Waters Park, the meeting minutes below reflect the topics covered during the meeting.

The next BICO General Meeting is planned for Monday, NOVEMBER 12, 2007 at 7:30 pm at Bob Burchard’s home. Please mark this date on your calendars.

Sincerely,

Bob Iacovazzi, Jr.

BICO Chair

General BICO News:
RECENT ACTIVITIES

Many thank yous to BICO Volunteers for their recent contributions to BICO.

BICO Volunteers completed five outings from July to September. These outings served 52 kids and logged about 318 volunteer service hours.

Bob Burchard, BICO Fundraising Coordinator, completed a site visit to the Knott Foundation. This is the third step in the grant process for the Knott Foundation.

Liz Devoss, BICO Certified Leader for the College Gardens Community Center team, has decided to step down from her duties as National ICO's Mid-Atlantic Representative. Thank you, Liz, for your service in National ICO management.

Jeannie Iacovazzi gave a treasury orientation to Lindsay Major Ringgold, our Interim Treasurer.

Bob and Jeannie Iacovazzi planned and carried out the Potluck Picnic Meeting at Quiet Waters Park.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Bob Burchard is coordinating the BICO Sierra Club calendar sale this year. An e-mail was sent around earlier about this, but in case you missed it:

Sierra Club calendars make great holiday gifts for family members and friends. Your colleagues at work and neighbors are other prospective buyers. A calendar of your own would help in organizing your busy life in 2008; the calendar photos will add beauty to your day; and the best part is that it is a fundraiser for BICO: BICO receives 60% of the sale price!

You can even e-mail your family members and friends across the US to see if they would want to buy calendars from BICO...all they have to pay extra is the minimal shipping and handling charge.

The calendars come in two varieties:

1. Wilderness wall calendars - $12.95

2. Engagement week-at-glance, spiral-bound calendars - $13.95

Please contact rpburchard@verizon.net as soon as possible if you would like to participate in the sale. In your response, please let him know how many calendars of each kind you’ll be likely to sell. Bob plans to place an order of calendars at the end of October and another one at the end of November. Unsold calendars will be returned at year's end.

Thanks for your participation and for helping BICO in yet another way.

All four teams have a full roster of outings planned. Please check our web site:

http://ico.sierraclub.org/baltimore for more information.

NEEDED!!!!

Writing Samples from BICO Outing Participants -

Besides helping kids to sharpen their communication skills, writing samples are essential to attract grant funding from donors towards the BICO program.

Financial Section:
TREASURY REPORT

Our Interim Treasurer, Lindsay Major Ringgold is paying current bills and reimbursing outing expenses in a timely fashion, balancing our books, creating budgets for grants, and submitting necessary reports to ICO National and to the State of Maryland. Thank you, Lindsay!

TAX DEDUCTIBLE DONATIONS

Any donations to BICO must be made payable to "The Sierra Club Foundation". If a contribution is made to Baltimore Inner City Outings or ICO, then the contribution is not tax-deductible since BICO is not a 501(c)3 organization.

NEXT BICO MEETING –

Monday, November 12, 2007 at 7:30 pm at Bob Burchard’s home ... details to be announced by e-mail.