Minutes of the December 2010 meeting of the Fort Smith Area Amateur Radio Club
Old Business
John Samuels reported that when the county delivered the two truckloads of 15 tons of gravel to the repeater site, it was 17 degrees. The material was frozen and was difficult to spread. It is not muddy and did make a difference. We will need fine gravel at a later date when the weather is not as cold. We paid them $279 and the club voted to spend up to $400 in the November meeting. Clearchannel Broadcasting agreed to pay up to $500 and John will bill them. The repeaters that John purchased for the club are working well after a little tweaking. They will provide plenty of back up for the repeaters.
The banquet is 6:30 p.m. on January 17 at Golden Corral. Pay at the door. Everyone was reminded to pay dues. There is a form on the web site for secure online payments.
New Business
Treasurer Jeff Ricketts reported that Keith Newman’s wife, Betty, passed away. They requested donations be sent to the Kessler Center instead of sending flowers. Chuck Foley made a motion that the club send a $25 donation to the center in memory of Betty Newman. It was seconded and passed. Dennis Burden’s father passed away and Jeff sent flowers on behalf of the club. A donation basket was sent around to help with reimbursement. If anyone would like to contribute extra money for either case, Jeff will make sure that it is properly distributed.
Channel 5 has given us the opportunity to purchase an on-site van. Pictures were sent around for all to see. It is a fully operational 95 model with 45,000 regional miles, 52ft. extendable boom, fire extinguisher, overhead air and a generator. Having the vehicle would provide more opportunities for live remotes, assistance with emergency communications and field day. The asking price is $1000. Local management has made a request to headquarters about giving the van to the club. Keeping it parked at the county facility is a possibility. Mark Plat made a motion that if it is donated then it will be graciously accepted, and if is not donated, that we purchase the van for $1000. It was seconded and passed. There was brief discussion regarding particulars such as insurance, designated drivers and maintenance. Jay W5JAY made a motion to either create a committee or let the board take care of the logistics and particulars with the van. It was voted on and passed.
President Rick Deaton noted that officers from the previous year are the only voting members of the board. This year, he has not been able to hold board meetings because there was not enough voting members active and present, to make a quorum at a board meeting. So it was decided to create a committee to oversee logistics for the van. Volunteers for the committee are Wayne Johnson, Chuck Foley, Jim Ruffley and John Samuels. President Rick Deaton presented the volunteers as the committee. It was voted on and passed.
A solicitation from the Union Rescue Mission has been received. It was determined not to give a contribution from the club; individuals are welcome to give a personal donation.
Art announced that RACES and area hospitals in Arkansas held an exercise last Thursday in preparation for an emergency preparedness exercise in May. The upcoming event will include all the area hospitals from Russellville and Fort Smith down to Mena. They are requesting amateur radio operators to assist with communications at all hospitals. Details are forthcoming. It was suggested that RACES Oklahoma volunteers that are geographically close to the Arkansas border be notified of such events and activities.
Royce Rainwater, President for 2011, stated that he would like feedback on what kind of programs that members would like for next year.
The board is comprised of past officers who can vote and current officers who cannot vote. There are currently only two active board members who can vote. In January, that number will go up to three. Mark made a motion to replace the active members with individuals that would be appointed by the current president and board. He clarified the motion to mean that non-active board members would be removed.
After reviewing club by-laws, it was determined that there needs to 30 days notice before removing board members. President Rick Deaton announced that removal of non-active board members will be voted upon at the meeting in January. After the club meeting, the board will meet and appoint new members. It was suggested that perhaps all past presidents that are active club members should be a part of the board.
Wayne Johnson made a motion that Bill Farris be given an honorary membership and a plaque at the meeting in January. Bill recently donated a variety of equipment to the club that has been sold to the highest bidder. The motion was seconded and passed. President Rick Deaton will take care of the plaque. For the past few weeks there has been a list of auction items that are available for bid. For items that do not have a bid, then they will be put them on ebay. There were a number of bids taken during the meeting.
Jim Weaver made a motion that the board creates protocol and guidelines for auctioning items that have been donated . It was noted that someone has not donated this much equipment before and so there has not been a plan for bids. The motion was voted on and passed.
Wayne, Jim and Chuck have spent a lot of time on the auction process. It has been their goal to receive half of new value on items. We will need to determine a work day for Bill’s 60 ft. tower.
Mike Bell made a motion that the meeting be adjourned. It was seconded, passed, and meeting was adjourned.