Meeting Minutes of October 1, 2019
President Mike Metroka WB8BZK called the October 2019 meeting to order at 7:00 PM in the Crystal Lake Bank meeting room. The Pledge of Allegiance followed led by Dave Holmgren K9AT.
Board members present were John Dewey KA9CAR, Gary Dembski KD9FML, Dean Hettel WD9FOO, Ralph Iden WB9ICF, Dan Larson KD9M, Mike Metroka WB8BZK, and Mike Salak KC9Q.
A total of 38 people were in attendance including one guest, Bill Graf K9RR from Hoffman Estates. After the attendees introduced themselves, Mike WB8BZK asked if there were any recent license upgrades or awards. Steve Butski stated he was just issued the new vanity callsign WO0DEN (Whisky-Oscar-Zero-Delta-Echo-November) to replace his old call, KD9NMF.
Approval of Minutes
The meeting minutes from the September 2019 meeting were previously posted to the MCWA website for review. Doug Mather KD9PK motioned to approve the minutes with Fred Soop AC9RQ seconding the motion. The motion was approved by voice vote.
Membership and Financial Reports
Joe Robin N9OK presented the membership and financial reports as of September 30, 2019. MCWA has a membership of 115 full members and 9 family members for a total of 124.
| Opening Balance | 5,406.94 | |
| Deposits | 1,092.00 | Auction proceeds |
| 1,296.00 | Banquet reservations | |
| 20.00 | Dues (via Check) | |
| 10.00 | Dues (via PayPal) | |
| Expenditures | 0.00 | |
| Interest | 0.28 | |
| Final Balance | 7,825.22 |
A motion to approve the financial report was made by Ed Finnegan K9ECF with a second by Joe Jaax W9JCS. The motion was approved by voice vote.
2019-2020 Officers and Board of Directors
The officers elected at the September 3rd, 2019 meeting were installed and the club thanked the Nominating Committee (Chairperson Kent Dulaney K9KMD and Directors-at-Large Gary Dembski KD9FML and Roger Scott KF9D) for their work selecting the nominees.
A round of thanks was given to the 2018-2019 Officers and Board of Directors:
Mike Metroka WB8BZK – President
Mike Ricketts ND9G – Vice President
Joe Robin N9OK – Treasurer
Dan Larson KD9M – Secretary
Roger Scott KF9D – Director
Gary Dembski KD9FML – Director
John Dewey KA9CAR – Director/Past President
The 2019-2020 Officers and Board of Directors were installed and welcomed:
Mike Metroka WB8BZK – President
Dan Larson KD9M – Vice President
Dean Hettel WD9FOO – Treasurer
Ralph Iden WB9ICF – Secretary
Mike Salak KC9Q – Director (two-year term)
Gary Dembski KD9FML – Director
John Dewey KA9CAR – Director/Past President
Announcements
There will be a meeting of the MCWA Board of Directors on October 22, 2019 at the Crystal Lake Bank meeting room from 6:30 PM to 9:00 PM. The agenda will include discussion of the Board of Director Roles and Responsibilities and planning for 2020. The meeting is open to all members.
The MCWA Donated Equipment Auction was a success with $1,092 being raised.
MCWA VE Testing is held quarterly on the third Tuesday of the months of February, May, August, and November. Testing sessions are by appointment on those days between 7 PM and 8 PM at the Free Methodist Church, 934 N. Seminary, Woodstock, IL 60098. Contact Steve Maresso KB9OLD at 847-477-3518 to make an appointment. See the MCWA website for additional details.
The MCWA Dinner/Social will take the place of the November meeting and will be held at the Village Squire in Crystal Lake. There are a handful of seats left and members who are interested in attending should see Joe Robin N9OK as soon as possible.
The McHenry Monthly Ham Breakfast normally held on the first Saturday of the month at Kim & Patty’s Cafe, 731 Ridgeview Dr, McHenry has been rescheduled for October 12th for this month only due to the Scout Camporee that will be held on October 5th.
The fall Algonquin Ham Breakfast will be held on Saturday, October 26, 2019 at the Golden Corral located at 1591 S Randall Rd, Algonquin, Illinois. The event is open to all amateurs, their families, and anyone with an interest in radio. The breakfast starts at 8 AM.
Hamfest/Conference Reports
W9DXCC Convention was great, as usual. The new venue was good with a great speaker and many prizes. Attendance was estimated to be around 200.
CFMC’s Radio Expo in Belvidere was hampered by rain. Those who had indoor tables did well.
The HRO Superfest was “okay” with many of the same vendors.
Upcoming MCWA Presentations
Our members have a wealth of knowledge and experience that other members are eager to receive. Everyone has something to share that will benefit others. Would you consider sharing your knowledge and present a talk at an upcoming meeting?
November 5th, 2019 – MCWA Dinner/Social, program TBD
December 3rd, 2019 – Ham Radio in the mid-1950’s by Tom Pusateri W9NBG
January 7th, 2020 – Jack Hudson W9MU
February 4th, 2020 – TBD
March 3rd, 2020 – ARRL Update by Kermit Carlson W9XA
Old Business
Plans are in place for the Scout Camporee (Jurassic Luau) on Saturday, October 5th. SSB and FM stations as well as a CW sending activity area will be set up in the Crystal Lake Park District Nature Center. It is estimated that between 250-400 scouts between the ages of 6 to 18 years old, boys and girls will be at the Camporee. Nine MCWA members will be on-site and another eight to ten will be operating mobile or at home for the scouts to contact. Members are encouraged to check in and listen for scouts calling CQ. The frequencies in use will be 50.180 MHz USB and 146.415 MHz FM.
New Business
There was no new business.
Wrap up
An invitation to interested parties to gather later at The Cottage to enjoy eyeball QSOs and 1/2 price pizza was offered.
The attendees were reminded that there will not be a November meeting because of the MCWA dinner social. The next regular meeting will be Tuesday, December 3rd, 2019 in the Crystal Lake Bank meeting room. Doors open at 6:30 PM, with the meeting starting at 7:00 PM.
Ralph Iden WB9ICF will be presenting “Arduino and ESP-8266 in the Ham Shack” following meeting adjournment.
A motion to adjourn was made by John Cankar N9GUU and seconded by Dennis Ryan, KA9PUC. The motion was carried by voice vote and the meeting was adjourned at 7:40 PM.
Prepared by Ralph Iden WB9ICF, MCWA Secretary