Board_200504
CFAS Monthly Board Meeting Minutes
April 21, 2005
Attendees:
Tom Chitty
Ray Jones
Walt Hamler
Larry Lurie
Tony Urzi
Paul Kronenwetter
Alan Hoffberg
Frank Sperl
Guests: Francisco Gonzales
Meeting was called to order at 19:02
Secretary's Report
Request was made for comments and changes to the March board meeting minutes. No additional changes were suggested. Alan moved to accept the minutes, Tom seconded. The minutes were approved unanimously.
Treasurer's Report
Alan briefly reviewed the summary report. Ray proposed to accept the treasurer's report. Larry moved to accept the motion, Dave seconded. The motion passed unanimously.
Agenda Items
In accordance with the CFAS By Laws, the president nominated Paul Kronenwetter to fill the open secretary position and Francisco Gonzales to fill Paul Kronenwetter's Board Member at Large position for the remainder of the term. Larry moved to accept the proposed nominations, Alan seconded. The motion passed unanimously.
Membership
New Members for March:
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Debra Wood
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Paul Raiche
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Michael Williams
The vote to approve Debra Wood, Paul Raiche, and Michael Williams passed with 0 No votes and 11 Yes votes: (Ray, Laurence, Francisco, David, Frank, Tony, Tom, Laurent, Walt, Paul and Alan).
Two memberships were recently awarded but we haven't yet heard from the individuals who received them.
Ray suggested that a mass mailing be sent out reminding past members to renew their membership. Alan will send the list of past members to Ray to create the letter and send it out.
Programs
Dr. Howard Cohen for the May program on Trip to AZ regarding craters. Paul Gardner was approached about making a presentation on imaging. The June program is still open.
Tom will do the next constellation of the month – Cygnus.
Tony will do July's constellation of the month.
Orlando Science Center
Ray expressed appreciation to Larry and OSC for the effort expended in preparation for Astronomy day. The attendance was not very strong and approximately 10 people heard presentations during the day. In the evening approximately 200 youth and chaperones participating in an overnight stay attended presentations given by Ray and Paul.
Website
Ray recommended to the webmaster that the calendars need to be kept up-to-date. Paul responded that there are calendars on the new website. Walt expressed that the new website replace the old one just because of the calendars. Paul will transition to the new site within the next few days.
Outreach
Walt relayed an experience with an outreach event which resulted in a possible donation. The board will pursue the possibility of asking for donations for private events. Tony will create a flyer for presentation to the board regarding this.
The Princeton school event was modestly supported by CFAS but the event went well. The Harmony Dark Sky event was well attended and the pictures were appreciated by the attendees. The Geneva Wilderness area requested a short presentation on April 29th with a possible viewing later that night.
UCF/Robinson Observatory
Robinson Telescope status: The telescope controller was blowing fuses due to an errant nut in the hand control. This has been remedied and the telescope is operational again.
The shutter power transfer sliders caused the fuse to blow. A repair was attempted but was unsuccessful. The parts to repair the system have been ordered.
Ray is considering drafting a letter to the UCF Physics department expressing our discontent at the lack of progress regarding the observatory.
Harmony
The eyepiece donated to Harmony for their Dark-sky event drawing arrived late and was subsequently sent to CFAS as a donation. Alan will send a thank-you letter to the Harmony Institute.
Astrolog
June 10th will be the due date for articles for the third-quarter Astrolog.
New Business
No new business was brought before the board.
Larry motioned to adjourn the meeting, Walt seconded. The meeting was adjourned at 20:12.