Welcome to SMARA - Schenectady Museum Amateur Radio Association

News Join Meetings Events Photos Forums Links Constitution Map Contact Home

SMARA Executive Board Meeting, May, 2010

Present were President JJ MacMurray (N2UZQ), Secretary David Stark (NF2G), Treasurer April Chinski (KC2VWW), Station Trustee Tony Pazzola (W2BEJ).

***Correction to April minutes: Guest name should have read Savannah Chinski (no call yet).***
Meeting called to order at 19:30 by President.

Treasurer's report read by April Chinski.

Dues in the amount of $10.00 were received.

Checking $775.20

Petty Cash $139.93

Total Cash On Hand 915.13

Repeater Fund $222.00

Refreshment $23.00

The Club will receive a new bank card on Monday, May 10. This is needed so we can continue to use PayPal, which enables us to receive payment for items sold on eBay and to pay for our website hosting.

OLD BUSINESS

Community Service Committee
Joe O'Neil (KB2TJE) is Chair. Joe's cell is 944-8405, email WA2OHU@yahoo.com. Secretary to email area clubs with that information.

Field Day
Denis (W1WV) and Mike (KB2VQS) have it under control. They have held committee meetings and plan to present at the May 20 general meeting.

Website
A motion was made and TABLED at the April general meeting to discontinue the current website and move our web presence to Facebook. SMARA has been established as a Facebook Group in the meantime. Web hosting is costing SMARA $5.95 per month. Use of Facebook is free. The site is out of date and the HTML code is overly complex (probably due to being generated by editing software). SMARA is using two other web-based email services to communicate with members - Yahoogroups and Gmail. The Secretary (who is responsible for official club communications) has website maintenance capabilities already and could repair and maintain the SMARA site. Content for a revised SMARA website TBD by the Board, then presented to members before the original motion is taken up again.

Non-electronic Communications
Some members still require postal mail. The Board needs to know which members do not have access to email/web, and their current mailing addresses (the Secretary notes a poor response to prior requests for email verification). Treasurer will create a new form and mass mail it to the members whose addresses are on file before the May 20 general meeting.

Constitution
Proposed amendments were distributed and discussed at the April general meeting. A vote is likely at the May 20 meeting.

Letterhead/Logo
Wanda has volunteered to look into this and will report at the May meeting. Secretary notes that letterhead needs to include our address and other contact info.

Program
Field Day Committee and possible vote on amendments to SMARA Constitution.

NEW BUSINESS

Taxes
Tax regulations changed 3 years ago for not-for-profit organization reporting. We used to be exempt because of the small amount of money we handle. Under the new regulations, we lost that exemption. If we fail to report this year, it will be the third failure to report under the new regulations and we will lose our not-for-profit status. The Board will consult with a professional advisor regarding this and will file necessary paperwork on time.

Meeting adjourned at 20:40 by unanimous consent.

Respectfully submitted by David Stark, NF2G, SMARA Secretary

Checking	$775.20
Petty Cash	$139.93
Total Cash On Hand	915.13
Repeater Fund	$222.00
Refreshment	$23.00