December 2005

In spite of the weather, we had a near-normal turnout.

1. Election: There was no change in the slate of candidates from November, with a single candidate for each office. With a quorum present, we elected the entire slate unanimously:
   • President: Craig, KØCF
   • Vice President: Bob, KBØCTS (re-elected)
   • Treasurer: Willy, KCØJFQ (re-elected)
   • Secretary: George, WØPPF (re-elected)
   • Program Committee:
     • Jonathan, WØCK
     • Eugene, WØICY
     • Jim, NOØB
   • (At the November meeting, we ratified John, KØGH, to be station license trustee and repeater coordinator, to succeed retiring director Rich, WWØQ.)
   
   
2. HamRad: Prior to the meeting, retiring HamRad director Rich, WWØQ, had nominated Jim, NOØB, to succeed him, and Pres Dick, KØKK, approved the nomination. Dick asked for ratification by membership, which was given unanimously at the meeting. (By our bylaws, the HamRad director is not elected directly like the other club officers.) Jim had been serving as the communications director for HamRad. Regis, KBØVDO, will continue as assistant director.
   
   
3. Repeater updates: John, KØGH, briefed us on the repeater status. He noted he has access to a spare transceiver that could serve as a backup, but that we have no backup for the aging controller. Regis, KBØVDO, volunteered to research controller options through an expected visit to a big city repeater store. John also noted Repeater Council encouragement of tone access, and that there was speculation that tone access might someday be required. However, he was not suggesting it now and there was no sentiment at the meeting for moving to tone access.
   
   
4. Future programs: Anticipating the election results, Jonathan, WØCK, distributed a questionnaire to members present to solicit ideas.
   
   
5. Membership drive: John, WØCK, presented for discussion only (at this point) ideas for increasing membership and encouraging participation.

Ideas included mailing brochures, telephoning prospective members, and printing cards members could carry to stick under windshield wipers (like parking tickets) of hams in the community. Discussion will continue at the January meeting.

6. Field Day: The group clarified our goals as
   1. having fun,
   2. giving everyone a chance to operate,
   3. not worrying about our contest score,
   4. demonstrating ham radio to the public, and
   5. keeping the set-up relatively simple.

Dennis, WBØMCX, noted that some locations require booking early in the year and advised exploring locations now. Dennis will look into parks in Iowa City, and John, KCØUYC, will look into the Iowa City fairgrounds. If either finds an immediate booking is required, the executive committee may take action before the next meeting. Regis, KBØVDO, suggested alternative approaches for stimulating interest in ham radio, including working with local Boy Scout groups and setting up a demonstration station in a public place separate from field day.

7. Program: As scheduled, Craig, KØCF led an enjoyable roundtable discussion of members' specialty interest in ham radio.

Last updated April 20, 2017 by KØCF