General Membership Meeting Minutes December 12, 2016 The meeting was called to order at 7:02pm by Nick, KD8JBG. Secretary's Report (Todd, W8YHF): Minutes of the November 2016 meeting were accepted as published on the website. Treasurer's Report (Rich, WA8MTI): General Fund: $3,000.31 Membership: $126.76 Cash: $22 Total: $3,149.07 Treasurer's report was accepted as read. Upcoming events: HARC Programs: December: 12/12 Monthly Meeting: TBD 12/26 E.A.T.: Cancelled for Christmas. January: 1/9 Monthly Meeting: TBD 1/16 HARC Holiday Dinner: 6pm at Golden Corral. More details below. 1/23 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: There were 11 participants at the December Ham in a Day; all passed, including a 12-year-old. In total, there were 14 new technicians resulting from the VE testing session. These licenses were issued less than 48 hours after the start of testing! 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. 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 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. Library Youth STEM Presentation: Nick, KD8JBG: This presentation will take place in the Summer or Fall of 2017. The target audience will be teens and adults. This presentation should be about one hour in length. Club Finances: We are forming a committee to analyze HARC’s expenses and revenues. The committee members are: Nick KD8JBG, Dave WA8RSA, Rich KD8MTI, and Josh KE8DXB. After discussion by the committee and the club, there was a motion to raise dues by $5 (to $25 single / $35 family). The motion was seconded and tabled, as the annual HARC board meeting and announcement needs to precede a membership vote on this topic. Existing standing committees (Field Day, etc.) will document all expenses next year so that the Membership Committee can determine finances for 2018 and beyond. Club Directory: Nick, KD8JBG: We will maintain an electronic document from this point forward. Members that would like a printed copy can request one. Annual New Hams Dinner: Nick, KD8JBG: Motion to approve $30 for door prizes for new hams. Motion passed. New Business: Membership List: Tom, K8TB: We would like to begin advertising Ham in a Day as a study session instead of a class. People who take or pass HARC classes currently receive a 1-year membership. This results in an inflated number of “active” members which makes it difficult to obtain a quorum for any necessary bylaw changes. Spark in the Park: Tom, K8TB: This year’s cost per club goes *down* to $50. Motion to renew HARC’s membership in Spark in the Park. Motion passed. This year’s event will be held on August 19th from 9am-1pm. Post-Festivus Party (a.k.a. HARC Holiday Dinner): When: Monday January 16th at 6pm Where: Golden Corral (US31 & Felch St., Holland). Who: Everyone is invited to this event (e.g. family members, non-member hams). Cost: Approximately $12-15 per person. Yaesu System Fusion Demo: Jack, KE8CIO: Mike, N8XPQ has volunteered to do a Yaesu System Fusion demo for the club. Nick, KD8JBG will get in touch with Mike. Bylaw Changes: Nick has some suggestions that will be tabled until next month. Repeater Technical Issues: There was an observed volume issue on the Monday night net. Laryn, K8TVZ corrected. There have also been reports of the 06 signal bleeding over onto 147.16 and 146.96. Tom, K8TB and Laryn, K8TVZ will investigate. Elections: Josh, KE8DXB will take over as HARC secretary. The other club officers are staying on for 2017. The business meeting was adjourned at 7:49pm, followed by a presentation from Tom, K8TB on the demographics of the Ottawa County ham population. Submitted: Todd Boss, W8YHF Holland ARC Secretary secretary@hollandarc.org Please contact the Secretary with comments or corrections.