General Membership Meeting Minutes
October 10, 2016

The meeting was called to order at 7:04pm by Nick, KD8JBG.

Secretary's Report (Todd, W8YHF):

	Minutes of the September 2016 meeting were accepted as published on the website.

Treasurer's Report (Rich, WA8MTI):

	General Fund:	 	$3,298.99
	Membership:   		$126.76

	Total:        		$3,425.75

	Treasurer's report was accepted as read.
	
Upcoming events:

HARC Programs:

	October:
		10/10 Monthly Meeting: TBD
		10/24 E.A.T.: Instructional electronics videos, and a presentation on more advanced topics by Jeff, KD8THX.

	November:
		11/14 Monthly Meeting: TBD
		11/28 E.A.T.: Instructional electronics videos, and a presentation on more advanced topics by Jeff, KD8THX.

	VE Testing:

		VE Testing is conducted at the VictoryPoint Ministries youth building on the second Saturdays of March, July, November, and December at 6pm.
		 
		“Ham in a Day” events will be held at 1pm on October 8th in Lowell, and on December 10th in Holland. VE Testing follows each event at 6pm.

		For more information, or to register for the Ham in a Day class, please visit: http://tinyurl.com/holohiad 

National Parks on the Air (NPOTA):

		From the ARRL Website (http://www.arrl.org/NPOTA):

			“Throughout 2016, Amateur Radio will be helping the National Park Service celebrate their 100th anniversary.
			Hams from across the country will activate NPS units, promote the National Park Service and showcase Amateur Radio to the public.”

			You can follow NPOTA activity on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/groups/NPOTA or on Twitter: @ARRL_NPOTA

Michigan State Parks on the Air (MSPOTA):

	From the MSPOTA Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/MSPOTA2017/):

	“The NORTHERN MICHIGAN AMATEUR RADIO SERVICE TEAM (NM8RT) is working directly with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Parks & Recreation Division to operate a three year HAM Radio event "Michigan State Parks on the Air". MSPOTA is slated to kick-off in June of 2017.”
	
Old Business:

	VE Testing

		VE testing was held in Lowell last weekend.  7 new technicians passed the test, and there was one license upgrade.

	Amazon Smile:

		HARC has set up an account on Amazon to receive a percentage of our members’ Amazon purchases if they choose to designate HARC as their selected charity.  More information about the Amazon Smile program is available at http://smile.amazon.com/gp/aw/ch/about.

		Nick, KD8JBG and Rich, WA8MTI are working through the approval process for the account.  Our account is set up in Amazon, but we’re having trouble getting set up to receive the donations.

	Outing for Scouting:

		Bob, K8RJB is looking for volunteers set up and help during the day at the Boy Scouts “Outing for Scouting” on October 15th: https://scoutingevent.com/?outingforscouting 

		The event will be held at Berlin Raceway.  This event runs concurrently with Jamboree on the Air.

	Kiwanis Shoe Drive:

		Hank, K8HLD mentioned that the Kiwanis Club of Holland is having a shoe drive.  They are looking for old shoes in good condition; they will be sent to developing nations.  You can bring your shoes to a club meeting and give them to Hank.

		More information on Kiwanis Holland can be found at their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/kiwnishollandmi/?fref=ts


	Red Cross Building:

		Beginning tonight, we are meeting at the VictoryPoint Ministries youth building, behind the main church building at 11530 Ransom St, Holland, MI 49424 [map].

	Park2Park:

		Todd, W8YHF: This year’s event was a success.  We had eleven operators stationed throughout the course.  The HARC “06” repeater performed well.

	New Member “Welcome Wagon”:

		Jack, KE8CIO would like to help in welcoming new hams to the club.  Tom will get him the list of Ham in a Day graduates.  Jack suggested compiling a list of club members’ technical strengths to aid in elmering the new hams.  He will post an invitation to share this information on the reflector.

New Business:

	Library Youth Presentation:

		Nick was contacted by the Herrick Public Library (North Branch) youth librarian about HARC putting together a presentation for school age children.  Nick will be communicating with her to find out more details.

	VictoryPoint Youth Building:

		Dave, WA8RSA:  We are not required to pay VictoryPoint for use of the building.  We would like to donate $25 per usage.  Motion passed.

		The club thanks Art and Dave for handling the building move process and for cooking brats prior to the meeting tonight.

The business meeting was adjourned at 7:24pm, followed by a presentation from Phil, K8PVH on OCARA.

Submitted:
Todd Boss, W8YHF
Holland ARC Secretary
secretary@hollandarc.org 

Please contact the Secretary with comments or corrections.