MARCI Board of Directors Meeting Minutes
May 15 , 2009
The meeting was call to order at 7:04 p.m. by the president Geoff Haines, N1GY. The purpose of the meeting was to pass current status and conditions to the oncoming officers.
Those present included the outgoing officers and the newly elected officers except Jonelle Nabergail, KI4WSN who could not be with us at the time.
Those present are listed as outgoing and newly elected officers:
Geoff Haines. N1GY, Past President Ed Skalecki, NI4MX, President
(absent) Past Director and newly elected Jonelle Nabergail, KI4WSN, Vice President
Past Vice President and newly elected Frank Morton, AC4MK, Treasurer
Past Secretary newly elected Director Jerry Johnson AE4XW, Director
Roger Byron, KR4WS, Secretary
Past Director Bob Somerville, KD4EFT Bruce Theroux, KJ4IFH, Director
Jim Woodson, KE4INM, Director
A quorum being present the meeting proceeded. The agenda was made available to those present. Minutes of the previous meeting were posted on the MARCI Web page and were approved as posted.
There was some discussion regarding the club's CD which matures in February 2010 and the possibility of moving the funds into a saving account. The discussion favored status quo. Attention turned to Frank Morton's motion that a new bank signature card be completed. It carried.
The Treasurers Report was presented by interim and newly elected Treasurer, Frank Morton, and it was approved and filed for audit.
Membership chairman presented renewal and new members for approval. Chuck Stealey, K4AMI, Jerry Purvis, KI4SMJ, and newly licensed Ernest Meyer, KJ4LMI, was approval for membership. Motion to approve the updated membership list as of May 15, 2009.
Geoff volunteered to represent the club as PIO, Public Information Officer, with the understanding his responsibility as information provider does not constitute a position on the board of directors but organizationally contributes to the club function as a committee.
Geoff mentioned the numerous files he retains in file cabinets and will pass these items to Ed at a later meeting. Of mention is the insurance policy, currently in Geoff's name and requires transfer to the new president. The banner and meeting flag are among these items.
The membership chairman, who is also the MARCI net control, requested someone take on the responsibility. Geoff motioned, which carried, that Jerry Johnson take on the responsibility of membership chairman with thanks to Bob Somerville for his past contribution in that regard.
A discussion on the club net ensued, since Bob was hoping to find someone other than him to conduct the weekly net as net control. There was discussion of possibly rotating the net control amongst the board members. It was noted that recently Bob sent an email to remind folks of the net which seemed to improve the number of participants. This reminder email also worked for the regular meeting attendance.
There was some discussion about summer meetings, the next VE exam session 20 June, ARRL field day, and potential programs for the club meetings. There will be a June meeting. It was suggested there be a July meeting to cover after action report for field day. (Again this is an ARES function) Frank passed an email to Ed regarding an email from Ray Tower who works for the Manatee County Sherriff's Office who was looking for a club in the area and a group who might be doing flied day. June 20 is the next scheduled VE Exam session. After the session Frank volunteered to take anyone in his RV to the NI4CE picnic in Ruskin that afternoon.
There was a list of ideas collected during a MARCI net and discussed:
train new hams on net procedures - teaching and hands on demonstration newly licensed folks on net procedures,
create groups for activities - like the FL QSO part y we recently participated in and the up-coming (June 15th) the national VHF QSO party Ed indicated for the future we need some sort of committee to identify different projects to get folks on the air.
involvement with on the air events by taking advantage of different contests such the VHF contest in June, (get the new licensees on the air - just now they'll sit and listen for a while and get bored - we need to get them on the air, active)
more effort in message handling,
combine the nets - this is deemed not wise - we need to keep the two separate and hold question and answer net for newbies, they ask a question and we provide good answers. (This need not be a Thursday night.)
An Elmer Net on some other night was suggested.
Events where we give the new folks the opportunity to get on the air. The idea is get them started and over the fear of talking on the air. Once they break that ice we can then guide them to better operating practices.
Question and answer periods during the club meetings was suggested and should include each individual with questions, bring the radio with manual. We'll help you get the answer and understanding.
Live demo of Digital Master and other digital programs could be demonstrated to show the tie of the computer to ham activities.
Field Day was mentioned in that our membership should know the club is going to participate as a party to the ARES function. We do not intend to participate as a club entry (and the K4GG call should not be used.)
More practice with message handling was referred to as an ARES function and we should be mindful of separation of the club and ARES.
Geoff will present net procedures for the September meeting and what his new role as PIO is going to be and how it affects the club.
Roger will present a homebrew antenna event for the October meeting. The intent is to provide lengths of 300 ohm TV lead wire and demonstrate how to transfer it into a functioning J-Pole antenna good for 2 meter and 70 centimeter operation. Hands on attempts with coaching would follow and a session of fine tuning would conclude the event.
HF Operations presentation was discussed. Since it applies only to new General Class operators it is best for other times like Field Day.
More basic subjects are more appropriate. Hand held radio operations and setup would be better suited. Have members bring their HT and solve questions they may have individually. Tried once before the everybody bringing their radio was a disaster in that so many had questions there were not enough Elmer types to answer all the questions. Many were left out and were not too happy as a result.
ARRL membership among the members of the club has been dwindling. (42% of the members belong to ARRL - most who do not belong are those gaining membership by their attaining a new license) We need to encourage joining and it could benefit the club through the keep a portion of the renewal fee for the club's benefit. It was pointed out that someone must be on top of such an effort as mistakes with renewal are costly to the individual trusting us to get the paper work done on time. To help increase ARRL membership up we might consider passing the difference to the individual. A comment about renewal pointed out each renewal occurs at a different month which makes it more difficult to keep track of. It had been attempted before and got to be a mess with some folks. Then followed some suggested procedure to use. A motion was made and carried to offer it to our members at the next meeting. (The service of initial and renewal of membership in the ARRL and the individual retain the difference was inferred but not stated.) (Editorial note: ARRL fee is now $39.00 - the club could retain $15 for new and $2 for renewal members.)
NIMS classes was brought up but referred to be a subject of the ARES organization. There was discussion on background check and course requirements. This is more appropriate for the ARES organization.
Final turnover comments and items were discussed to complete the changing of the guard. All new officers have access to the Policy Book, July 18, 2008, and By-Laws, May 5, 2007, through the Web page http://www.manatee-arc.org/ The board was asked by the new president to look at the By-Laws and Policy Book in preparation for the next board meeting on June 16, 2009. He is looking for comments, ideas, things that might need changing to be brought up at that meeting.
Items on the agenda that were not discussed include:
Field Day: The current site will be near the Red Cross building on 589th St. Suggestions may be made for a new or different location. This is a topic for an ARES meeting.
Still need suggestions for Guest speakers.
The past president still has several awards to present - these were not passed on to the new board. These will be a subject of the next meeting to close the loop.
A motion to adjourn made and carried occurred at 8:35 p.m.
Respectfully submitted by
Roger W. Byron, KR4WS