Schaumburg Amateur Radio Club Board of Directors Meeting January 2, 2019

Frank Giampa N9QPD Chairman opened the meeting at 7:00 PM.

Attendees

Leo Ribordy	N9NBH	Kent Ochs	W9KAO	Cliff Sowka	K9QD
Frank Giampa	N9QPD	John Zietlow	K9WIC

Treasurer’s Report

Chris Brewer AC9GN not present.

President’s Report

Matt AC9IG not present but provided action items for New Business (below).

Publicity

Dennis Calvey KD9HIK not present.

SARC Repeaters

Machines are up and working properly.

Membership

Bob Benwitz N9JAX Reports the following were contacted via phone and/or email during the month of December:

12/31 Dennis White KC9NZP confirmation of SARC membership renewal

73 and Happy New Year to all !!! Looking forward to the Christmas party at Buona Beef

Secretary’s Report

Cliff Sowka K9QD: Board appointed Cliff as Acting Secretary for the duration of Ken’s KD9HIJ absence. Approval of December’s Meeting Minutes as published on our website.

EMCOMM

John Zietlow K9WIC EMCOMM Chairman reports items in New Business.

Construction Project (CP)

Robert W9RKK not present. We had unusually light attendance for the second week of December. The impromptu auction items are now in new homes but payment for the equipment remains absent.

The current Park District Free-Rental Agreement for the basement facility needs to be renewed. Vince Kennedy has retired and the ladies at the front desk of the Tennis Club told us Richard Ward was the new Superintendent. We will need to renew our insurance rider as well.

Social

Robert Kocourek W9RKK previously reported that he met with Buona Beef to confirm January’s Holiday Party. SARC Holiday Party is set for the third week of January.

Education

Leo N9NBH will be planning a Technician Class with the Library District for Q1.

VE Testing

Dirk Smith W0RI not present.

RHG

Matt AC9IG reminded a new editor for 2019 needs to be appointed.

Public Service

Rob N9MVO not present but previously reported the MS Walk has changed the venue for the event in 2019. More details will become known as the spring approaches.

Programs

Cliff Sowka K9QD reminded a new SARC Program Chair will need to be selected for 2019. Nothing will be needed for January due to the Holiday Party preempting the need for a presentation that night.

Possible for February: Anthony Willard AB9YC was previously able to potentially acquire guest speaker Valerie Hotzfeld to provide an overview of Ham Radio’s role during the recent Puerto Rico disaster response but the Board had to postpone her visit due to the scheduled Election Night back in November. This delayed presentation may be considered for the February meeting if Anthony’s guest can still be available at that time.

Social

John Douglas KD9KSH will assume Social Chairman role for 2019.

Ebay Sales

No eBay sales to report. Impromptu Auction items have now been claimed and the storage cabinet cleared but some lingering payment obligations are still in process:

$10 for Icom IC-27h                                                                            N9EHA                   Sold & Paid
$190 for SB-500, SB-101, SB-600                                                      K9KQX                   Sold & Paid
$1 on Motorola TEK7A meter                                                           AC9GN                   Sold & Paid
$25 for the ARC 5 T-22 7MHz Xmitter                                             AB9CV   Delivered     Open
$22 for the Hallicrafters HT-18 VFO                                                 AB9CV   Delivered     Open
$5 for the Motorola TEK 21 Pulse Generator                                 AB9CV   Delivered     Open
$5 for the Motorola TEK 31 Tone Generator                                 AB9CV   Delivered     Open
$15 for the Fluke 8000A DMM                                                         AB9CV   Delivered     Open
$7 HP 1744 Scope                                                                               AB9CV   Delivered     Open
$30 for the HP 200AB Audio Generator                                          AB9CV   Delivered    Open
$120 for the Philips PM6671 Frequency Counter                         AB9CV   Delivered     Open
$12 for the Eico 377 sine/square generator                                  AB9CV   Delivered     Open
$241 Open with all items delivered including the previously delivered HP 200AB.

Old Business

A new Committee has been formed to consider a Bylaw mechanism that allows the club to remove an undesirable member(s) and will meet Saturday January 5^th 11AM at the CRC following VE Testing.

John K9WIC did some research regarding local STEM teaching opportunities. Because there is currently no centralized STEM organization per se, he wishes if SARC members become aware of opportunities they make the SARC Board aware so that we may prepare any required supporting certification and become eligible to offer potential participation.

New Business

Board elected Leo N9NBH as 2019 Chairman.

Officers are appointed as voting members of the Board for 2019.

Cliff K9QD Acting Secretary until Ken KD9HIJ returns.

John K9WIC reminded May 19^th is the Chicagoland Marathon. John will check AHJ (Authority Having Jurisdiction) regarding 2019 invitation from the Village. This could now present a new, formal process for us to follow within governmental procedure before SARC could be selected again this year.

SARC EMCOMM and/or SARC PUBLIC SERVICE support may have to follow new requirements before assuming our annual support of this event will follow previous invitation procedures.

A discussion was held where SARC may consider offering students who attend our VE Testing venue and who pass their exam would be able to enjoy free membership for the first year. No Action taken.

SARC records: need to obtain a copy of our current Memorandum of Understanding with the Village. Leo N9NBH will send historical emails in his possession to the Board for record retention. We need to publish role definitions for Public Service and EMCOMM to help us support the local organizations.

Committee Definitions Posted on our Website:

Public Service

Secures a coordinator for each public service event. This coordinator should be the liaison between the event sponsor, and SARC, and must also appoint one of the Volunteers for the event to be the net control station for the event’s communications.
Oversee, and support the coordinator’s efforts to obtain adequate Volunteer help for the upcoming event.
Survey and analyze SARC’s effectiveness after an event. Develop new plans and methods to address any problems encountered.
Create and maintain a SARC public service manual that documents and describes how to handle different public service events. Lessons learned, and plans made should be available in this manual, to avoid repeating past mistakes.
Insure that SARC maintains a positive and professional public image to the event sponsors we are serving, and the general public.
Coordinates the interface between SARC and any other agency or organization requesting our assistance for public service, or emergency communications.
Work toward including emergency services communication functions into the club, including possible affiliation with RACES or ARES. The existing pool of public service volunteers may serve in both capacities, or this may be a separate group as desired by the membership or as required by the other organizations.
Submits advance notice of planned public service events to the RHG, giving as much notice as possible of an upcoming event.
Provides the club with a status report from the committee each month at the regular meeting, and sees that this status is published in the following month’s RHG.
Keeps a written record of the Committee’s activities.
Obtains approval from the board of directors for any expense to be incurred by this committee.
Appoints other members to the committee as is deemed necessary.
Assumes any other related duties as directed by the board of directors or the president.

EMCOMM

Currently no specific EMCOMM Role Definition on our website. Refer to Item 7 of the Public Service Role Definitions relating to ARES/RACES.

Matt asked if (2) DXCC Scholarships of $55 each awards should be renewed this year. Kent W9KAO motioned, Leo N9NBH seconded: So moved. SARC will fund $110 for this September’s 2019 DXCC now to be held in a new St. Charles venue.

Matt AC9IG requesting 2019 Funding of $100 for the Net Check-in drawing: $50 each, twice per year. Control Operators and Participants would be eligible to win these awards. Kent W9KAO moved, Leo N9NBH seconded. So moved.

2019 Website Hosting costs of $87.60 are approved. Chris AC9GN will provide funds for Matt AC9IG to renew the site.

Matt AC9IG will continue to be WebMaster for 2019.

A new Radio Hill Gazette Chair is needed for 2019.

BOD approved reimbursement for propane refills needed during Winter Field Day. BOD provided headroom of about $200 for Cliff K9QD to purchase several small parts drawers to be used within the Construction Project cabinets.

John K9WIC reminded upcoming EMCOMM Event: June 17^th through the 21^st. Village of Schaumburg and Hoffman Estates are planning to participate in a Federally Sponsored exercise that will include the North Central communities of Schaumburg, Elk Grove, DesPlaines, and Palatine. More details are expected in the next few months.

Adjourn 8:30PM

Submitted: January 4, 2019 by Cliff Sowka K9QD during the prearranged absence of Ken Krzywicki KD9HIJ, Secretary.

Two Club Members Honored

At the January 17 Holiday Party, outgoing club president Matt Walsh, AC9IG honored two members with the club’s annual Bill Smead Memorial Construction Project Award and the Member of the Year award as voted on by the club’s membership.

Long time club member Ron Remus, WB9PTA received the Bill Smead Memorial Construction Project Award. The inscription reads “In recognition of technical knowledge, continued attendance and promoting the amateur radio hobby at the Schaumburg Amateur Radio Club’s Construction Project meetings.” Ron’s name and call sign will also be engraved on a plaque displayed at the Construction Project Meeting site.

Another veteran member Cliff Swoka, K9QD received the Member of the Year award. It was presented “In recognition of exemplary service to the club, continuing service as a club officer and participation in club activities and the amateur radio community.”

Holiday Party, Prizes and Awards

Plenty of members and their families attended the Holiday Party on January 17 at Buona Beef. Two members were honored with awards and raffle prizes were awarded for checking into our weekly Thrursday night net. In addition to the off-center fed dipole, ARRL small spaces antenna book and a $25 ARRL gift card raffle prizes, members exchanged gifts as part of a grab bag and took home various ham radio or electronics related gifts.

Photos from N9NBH and AC9EM

Winter Field Day – Cancelled

Due to forecast temperatures in the single digits SARC has cancelled this event. The original text of this post is preserved below:

Winter Field Day takes place from 1pm Saturday January 26 until 1pm the following day. Everyone is invited to join the club from at the Schaumburg Community Recreation Center and get on the air for this fun event.

Setup will begin at 12 noon on Saturday and we’ll operate until approximately 4pm. You’ll find us outside the facility near the bocce courts and picnic shelters. This is the same location as our monthly club meetings.

If you can’t make it you can also operate from home! You can find additional rules at the Winter Field Day Association.

From the President January 2019

So, this is my first president report as the New Schaumburg Amateur Radio Club President. Not much to report yet. We had a wonderful Christmas/Holiday party on the 17th. Raffled prizes were won by new members and old members alike. I have already missed my first board meeting as was pointed out to me by more than a few people. No worries, I will be in attendance for the February meeting on the 6th to make sure there are no radio hijinks going on.

So, as we approach the deepest solar minimum in modern history lets keep in mind that working DX might literally require work for those rare contacts, but rest assured, given enough time and patience the contact can be made. For our VHF/UHF aficionados, this will not be of much concern. It really does not matter what mode or band you operate, there is so much to experiment with that if you have any interest at all you can be kept busy for a long time. The key is to enjoy what you do.

See you at the next meeting

Geoff Stevens

KA9QGH