Nov 2002
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South Florida FM Association November 11, 2002 Minutes of Meeting

President Ronnie Haik KG4DBI
Vice President Robert Cruz KE4MCL
Secretary Wendy Dibean KG4OXT
Treasurer Jason Swift KE4KYY
Past President Margaret Mesones Mori KF4NZG

Directors
Kevin Scanlon K4PCS 01-03
Sam Harte KQ4MR 00-02
Ernesto Diaz KG4LXH 02-04
Web Site http://www.sffma.net

SFFMA (MAIL ADDRESS)
POB 430028
MIAMI, FL 33243-0028

Meeting called to order at 19:40 by Ronnie with 31 present

Moment of silence was observed in honor of those who have used radio to keep peace in the world.

224.200 works. No one talks to Robert

146.760 is doing very well. Frills are not on the air but the equipment is back in place. Doing some clean-up after the elevator reconstruction and should get them back on the air. Auto-patch is working.

147.000 cabinet is in desperate need of replacement. Carl is working on taking care of this. The cabinet from John Vecchio (KF4ACN) was not available. We are looking for donations in order to change out the cabinet. Everyone uses this repeater and enjoys it. It will be about $2000 for cabinet and $1500 for the crew to change it out. Idea of getting the call sign etched into the side of the cabinet for a large donator.

Checks clearing: We did not have a treasurer for a long time and there were difficulties getting the checks to the
bank in a timely manner. After about 6 months, the checks can no longer be cashed, so some of the checks could not be cashed. Ideas were brought up about getting a Paypal account. Ray will be setting an account up for Dade Radio Club, so if we are interested in him doing it for SFFMA, he is willing. There is a small charge for the credit card processing. Elections are coming up so hopefully we can get the collection of money in order with a new treasurer.

Change in by-laws proposed with regard to the time when the dues will be due for each meeting. It is proposed to change Section 3 Dues and Assessments subsections b and c to read:

b) The annual dues shall be payable in advance on or before January 30 of the New Year. Assessments shall be payable in advance on or before three months from the date of approval.

c) The fiscal year shall be from January 1 thru December 31.

This is changed from dues due on September 30 and having the fiscal year run from October 1 through September 30. 

There will be a vote at the next meeting.

Holiday dinner will be held December 14 at 6 p.m. You must RSVP by December 7. It will be $6 for adults, $3 for children 12 and under. Everyone should bring dessert. If you RSVP and do not attend you will still need to pay because the event is being catered.

What's happening with CERT? It is not technically funded by any department in Miami-Dade County, because homeland security was dissolved in MDC. CERT advisory board has the ability to tell the county whether or not they will be under an agency of the county, but not which agency they would be under. We would like the Fire Department to take it back over. The Advisory Board meeting is on November 14 at 7 p.m. in the auditorium of the EOC.
If you are interested in being on the board, please attend. Let us find out what's going on first. We may need you to write letters to your political leaders in the future, but please stay tuned for more information first. CERT will need to get funding for training somehow.

Jamboree for the Boy Scout - had over 400 boys at Camp Seminole Thanks to Chris (KG4SYV), Harry (KG4KCB), Jeff (KG4CNM), Armando (KG4LYD) 

December 7 for the Boy Scout Merit Badge College - running a class and will have a station set up as a demo.  Over 1400 boys have registered to be there that weekend. Contact Robert if you would like to help out. Armando has volunteered to help teach the class. Hope to get the Cavalier out there for the demo. ATV set-up has a very high cool factor. APRS is also very intriguing for the boys and their parents. We will have the same spot as last year.

Guest speaker, Derek Deville, a rocket scientist
- Environmental
Aeroscience Corporation
Get more information about the rocketry hobby at
http://www.tripoli-sofla.org/ and
http://www.hybrids.com/. Next
launch is January 26.

Miami Field Day was held November 8. We had a great turn-out as far as amateurs (30+ amateurs). We had lots of equipment and everything was working. We didn't have too many visitors. We aren't sure why we didn't get many visitors. Julio has offered to make signs for future events. Might want to think about getting a special events call-sign, we can have a certificate to be sent out to those we make contacts with. There is a SFFMA banner that we might want to use. Red Cross provided some food and water. If you have pictures of the event, let Robert know, so they can be put up. http://www.yahoophotos.com/soflapics/ 

Bike Tour, already have 58 riders signed up, whereas last year we had 5 at this time. This year is the Tour of Champions in Miami. It is going to be huge this year. Thank you for volunteering last year. You have your positions reserved for this year. It will be April 26-27, 2003. We are going to use the website to get your packet again this year. We hope to include more information this year. We are guaranteed the same spot at Pennicamp. We have been approached to do the MS walk in Coral Gables, March 29.

March of Dimes walk is April 5.

Nominating Committee for elections (nominate those who would do a good job in the role of President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary, and Director): Ernesto, Carl, Sam (chair), Joe, and Eddy. At the next meeting, you will nominate the candidates for the offices.

SFFMA website is up with a new look. Ray has full control again. If you have any photos for any of the events, send them to Ray. Check it out. There is a lot of information. http://www.sffma.net/.

Meeting adjourned at 21:24.

Respectfully
Wendy Dibean KG4OXT
Secretary
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The clubs mailing address appears on the upper portion , under list of officers. I ask all members who were skeptical about mailing in their checks, to PLEASE do so now. We have a large expense coming up in replacing the repeater box on the tower. Don't forget the dues of last year(2001 and 2002) that were never received. All checks that were not cashed after six months of date, will not be cashed by the bank. PLEASE, be very careful
whom you elect. JOE AC4TV 

We are going to have a vote on amending the by-laws. We are being asked to change the fiscal year. PLEASE read the proposal printed in this newsletter.

Don't forget Merit Badge Weekend December 7 and 8. Robert is asking for help in setting up a station at
Barbara Goleman High School. This is very important in showing a few thousand Scouts what Ham Radio is all about. It starts real early in the morning Dec 7. On the 8 of Dec. I have a four hour session with the scouts who are going for their Merit Badge in radio. I asked for six hours, but was denied that. It will run from 2 Pm till 6 Pm
(Sunday Dec 6)Joe AC4TV

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JOE CHWICK AC4TV
If you don't wish to receive this mail notify ac4tv@yahoo.com

 
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