[FCARC] Meeting notes for October 2013

[Craig Szczublewski]

Hello everyone, here are some notes from the October 21st Club meeting:

The meeting was called to order at 7:30pm with 16 members in attendance. Minutes 
from the previous meeting and the treasurer's report were read and accepted.

Committee reports follow:

Members in Distress: KD8WSL reported that Grant (KC2RCU) continues to be in and 
out of the hospital, and we wish him a speedy recovery.

Education: KB8ELG stated that the next class attempt will be Spring of 2014.  He 
also urged all members to promote the class as much as possible to drive up 
attendance.  More information will be available over the next few months.

Repeater Committee:  KB8ELG is reporting that the new amplifier packs have been 
received, but he is still awaiting a few more discreet components that were 
damaged.  Once those are received, the repair work should be completed quickly. 
  WB8ZOI also took it upon himself to put a coat of paint on the building a few 
weeks ago, and repaired some trim work that was peeling away.  We thank Bob for 
his efforts in taking this project on.  We are also still planning on 
IRLP/Echolink but may be taking a different approach.  KB8ELG has reported that 
we MAY be able to get DSL service to the building for a very low monthly cost. 
We discussed the amount and it seems like something the club should be able to 
afford, which would give us direct Internet access, negating the need for a 
440MHz link to the K8LI repeater.  More info will be presented at the November 
meeting.

Memorial Committee/Silent Key: no report

Membership: we have 56 paid members.  Thank you to all who continue to support 
the club.

Hamfest Committee: We are still planning on a Winter Hamfest in 2014, but are 
now investigating moving it to December 13th of 2014.  The location is 
tentatively Memorial Hall in Delta.  More info will be made available as we have it.

Old Business:

1. We had a great turnout for the Lockport 5K on October 5th.  Thanks for 
everyone for the help at this event.  The Fulton County Health Center sent along 
a thank you letter for our continued support.

Special Events:

1. Kellen Kaiser Memorial Half Marathon:  This race is November 9th, starting at 
Fayette schools and circling back around Harrison Lake.  Plan on meeting at the 
Fayette schools by 8:00am for course assignments.

2. No word on whether or not we will be needed for the Archbold Festival of 
Lights parade, but do pencil in November 29th though.  We expect to have more 
information in the next few weeks.

3. The December club meeting will be replaced by our traditional Christmas 
dinner outing to the Barn Restaurant in Archbold. This will be December 16th and 
we are tentatively planning on 6:30 PM.  We put the reservation under the Fulton 
County Amateur Radio Club, you cover the cost of your dinner.

4. KB8ELG reports he has a couple of tables for the Ft Wayne Hamfest in 
November.  If any club members are interested in bringing equipment to sell, 
contact Bryan to let him know, and you will have table space available.

Good of Amateur Radio:

KB8ELG had a conversation with the Fulton County EMA directory, Heather Kost, 
regarding the ability for the local Amateur Radio operators to deploy in the 
event of assistance needed for emergency situations.  Case in point: there was 
recently a rather large diesel fuel spill along a 8 mile stretch of road in east 
Fulton County the the local and county law enforcement did not have enough crew 
to assist with.  They could have used additional assistance in monitoring 
intersections to warn motorists of extremely slick conditions until the cleaning 
crews came through.  Further conversations included the possibility of 
conducting CERT training as well.  Going forward, we will be inquiring to club 
members if they are interested in being included on a emergency call list for 
assisting the EMA.

Upcoming Hamfests:

11/16/2013 Ft. Wayne
12/08/2013 Harrison Township, MI (LCARC)

Next Meeting:  The next regular club meeting will be at 7:30pm on November 18th 
at the County Administration Building (same as the Drivers License Bureau), 152 
S. Fulton St, Wauseon.

Club Nets:

Weeknights at 10:30pm Bud's Midnight Madness Net -- 147.195+
Wed at 8pm Informal Two Meter & ARES Net -- 147.195+
Wed at 9pm 6M Net -- 50.400 AM on the first Wednesday of the month
Wed at 9pm 6M Net -- 52.525 FM Simplex

That's all for now...

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Craig Szczublewski - KD8KBU