Board of Directors Meeting Sep 4, 2024
Robert Kocourek W9RKK Chairman called the meeting to order at 7:00PM
Attendees
|
Secretary’s Report
Cliff Sowka K9QD: August BOD Meeting Minutes as published in the RHG: Bill Reiss KW9WR moved to approve and seconded by Paul Burkett KD9FMN. Motion Adopted.
Treasurer’s Report
Chris Brewer AC9GN reported:
Month: August 2024 Report generated on 9/3/2024
| Checkbook Balance | 07/31/24 | $7,648.32 | |
| INCOME
2 Zelle deposits |
08/xx/24 |
MEMO
$55.00 Dues (summarized) |
$105.00 |
| 2 Teller deposits | 08/xx/24 | $50.00 Dues (summarized) | |
| DISBURSEMENTS
ACH |
08/08/24 |
MEMO
$62.82 AT&T DSL |
$62.82 |
| Account Balance | $7,690.50 | ||
| 08/31/24 | Bank Statement | $7,690.50 | |
| PETTY CASH | 08/31/24 | $19.00 MEMO | $19.00 |
| PENDING CHECKS
Check #1373 |
08/07/24 |
MEMO
$125.00 Club tent replacement |
-$125.00 |
| Funds Available |
$7,584.50 |
88 members on roster
Danny Kafka KD9HIL moved to approve and seconded by John Schofield AC9JS. Motion adopted.
Public Service
Rob Glowacki N9MVO not present but provided the following report:
Schaumburg Park District held annual Triathlon with the support of our SARC radio operators. 5:30AM Set-up, event management, and orderly closure was well conducted with no troublesome occurrences (other than some wet weather) observed. Special thanks to toe volunteers for the Schaumburg Triathlon. The following members were involved in the event:
Charlene K9CMZ
Danny KD9HIL
Bill W9WEM
Bruce N9EHA
Matt KD9EBV
Sarah W9SEW
Cliff K9QD
Kent W9KAO
Kirk K9MSG
Paul KD9FMN
John KD9KSH
In all, including preparation time, there was approximately 51 man – hours of service for this event.
Special thanks to Charlene for providing support at the transition area at Meineke pool.
Thank you all for your support of the Triathlon.
73 de N9MVO,
Rob
EMCOMM
Dennis C. Calvey KD9HIK is our acting Chairman until someone may step-up to assume the role.
Schaumburg Septemberfest parade support on Labor Day
Our mission was to provide additional situational awareness (eyes and ears) for the event. Wearing high visibility safety vests added some deterrence value. We also wore small badges with “Schaumburg Amateur Radio Club” and a QR code that directs to the club website (N9RJV.org).
We provided 13 volunteers to assist the Village of Schaumburg at the Septemberfest Parade and contributed over 93 hours of volunteer time, including pre-event preparation and event operator hours. Additional operators participated from their home stations.
Howard Mitchell [KD9WSV, “Shadow”] has submitted an ICS 214 Form for the Command Center. Don Dewar [KD9NJR, “Net Control”] maintained a manual log which will be kept with other event records.
One of the pre-event tasks was checking radio communication between designated operator sites, Net Control Don Dewar, KD9NJR, at Summit & Weathersfield), and Shadow Howard Mitchell, KD9WSV at the Event Command Center. Testing by Don, Howard, Rob Glowacki N9MVO and myself KD9HIK determined that the best profile was operating Simplex, so we used SARC 4 as primary with SARC 5 as back up. Communication worked as expected during the event, but occasionally noise from parade participants led to having to make repeated calls from Net Control to operator locations.
One of the original criteria for operator locations was trying to keep them within visual range of each other. Crowds on the sidewalk, parkway, and in the street made that all but impossible.
The Village Hall will be demolished sometime before next year’s Septemberfest. The construction area will force significant changes to the Festival Area, parking and street closures and possibly the Parade route.
There may be an opportunity for additional participation during the entire event next year and possibly an opportunity to have a SARC booth in the festival area.
Please Note: SARC Club membership is required to volunteer as part of SARC at Public Service Events. Volunteer registration with the Village of Schaumburg is required to volunteer at Village events.
(A number of SARC members have started the volunteer registration process, including being fingerprinted. More volunteers are needed. Please contact me by email if you are interested.)
After event interviews with operators provided suggestions for improvement:
- This year we entered the planning process late. Next year we hope to be involved earlier.
- Access to parking near assigned stations was difficult because of street closures. Suggested changes include getting to the assigned areas earlier and seeing if golf cart transportation might be available.
- Parking in the Vendor / Craft area or volunteer area may or may not be available. If available this only helps those assigned to the north end of the parade route or in the festival grounds.
- More detailed maps of access routes are needed.
- Some operator locations should be staffed with more than one operator. Limiting factor: Number of volunteer operators.
- Tom O’Boyle (N9GUN) shared his experiences doing similar events with other amateur radio clubs:
- Possible issues to report
- Health issues — A person falls, becomes ill, collapses
- Safety issues — Crowd disturbance, fighting, people blocking the street, climbing on equipment
- Parade issues — Vehicle breakdown, significant delays
How to report the issues
- Call into net control, identify the issue and location, follow net control’s lead
- Communicate with law enforcement personnel in the area
- Dial 911 on your cell if needed
Part of the reason we do these events is to assist the Village and give back to our community and provide value for the use of the spectrum. The other reason is a marketing/branding exercise to show who we are, what we do, and create awareness for ham radio and our club.
It is my opinion that we need to be sure we are approachable, friendly, and open to answer any questions we can. Because I had a yellow vest and was standing there, I was asked by quite a few folks about locations of portable toilets, can they stand/setup in certain areas, and when is the parade starting and ending. I directed some of the questions about setting up to the police office at the corner. I answered the other questions and made sure they knew I was a volunteer with the Schaumburg Amateur Radio Club helping out the Village of Schaumburg.
- Several operators also commented about talking with public safety (Police, Fire) personnel. As Tom suggested above, a great opportunity to engage, show who we are and the value we provide to the community.
- My most frequently asked question: “Where are the portable toilets?” (A: Only at the festival grounds)
- My second most frequently asked question: “Can you move that truck so I can drive across Summit?” (A: The Village will move the truck after the parade)
- Others reported “Can I cross the street? Can I park here?” (A: I’m a volunteer radio operator. Let’s ask this parade official / police officer)
After the event I received a very nice email from Schaumburg’s Emergency Management and Accreditation thanking us for our efforts. The email has been shared with Club membership through a SARC-ALL email.
Final Comment: A lot of work from a lot of people. Thanks to all that participated. Next year will be better….73
Dennis C. Calvey
Repeaters
Rob Glowacki N9MVO, Terry Jarnholm AE9TJ not present.
The intermittent static on the 2 Meter machine continues to appear during wet weather. The Board discussed ideas to investigate and mitigate the poor performance during these times; especially while the summer/fall season allows tower access.
- Bill Reiss KW9WR moved to budget initial $2K expense to hire professional antenna analysis talent with Don Dewar KD9NJR seconding. Motion Adopted.
- Any subsequent StationMaster upgrade expense will be considered and budgeted accordingly.
- Professional team of KC9BKP and KH6KI will be contacted by the Repeater Team for schedule.
Robert Kocourek W9RKK continues work to establish an operation manual for our machines with assistance from the Repeater Team and Kent Ochs W9KAO.
Construction Project (CP)
Cliff Sowka K9QD reports CP will resume September 28th. The elevator has been placed back in service.
We have offered some construction project ideas for the season with some membership feedback they would be interested in antenna builds. The one idea enjoying sufficient support is constructing an
Octopus Antenna for HF Bands
Commercial HamStick elements would be procured with SARC CP Team building the hub, mast, and coax assembly. We’ll survey for sufficient interest when we meet for our first time later this month.
Additionally Pierre Berube K9EYE supplied sources for possible HF QRP projects.
VE Testing:
John Schofield AC9JS reports there are 2 candidates scheduled for Saturday’s session at the moment. He currently has 5 reliable and available VEs on staff with additional VE volunteers in reserve.
Nets
Attendance remains enthusiastic. Don Dewar KD9NJR reports it would be appreciated if additional members would come forward to handle Net Control at times.
Radio Hill Gazette RHG
Need Editor. No Report.
Membership
Scott DeSantis KB9VRW Membership Committee Chairman not present.
Publicity
Dennis C. Calvey KD9HIK Publicity Chairman reports preparation underway for November 13th Village of Schaumburg event where SARC is invited to participate.
Social
Need Chairperson.
Education
Leo N9NBH not present. We found a proper Library contact and determined that we will be able to schedule for class in January. The publication requires 90-day class schedule submission so we’ll need to prepare our class announcement this month.
Programs
Don Dewar KD9NJR: DX Engineering is scheduled for Antenna Presentation.
Old Business
SARC Picnic Bartlett Log Cabin August 18th was successful with more than 30 attendees. Two Fox Hunts were held: one indoor and one outdoor with members successfully finding the fox in both cases.
Rob Glowacki N9MVO held a fun event during our picnic: A communication test.
You get a small assembly of Lego blocks of various colors and shapes. Others get a set of blocks of the same colors and shapes. Your mission: describe your assembly over the radio such that the listener(s) can assemble another set of blocks the same as yours. Some assemblies were more accurate than others!
New Business
Don Dewar KD9NJR is crafting Committee Booklets to help Committee Chairs in understanding roles, responsibilities, and authority. SARC Officer’s obligations are defined in our organizational documents but there is only minimal material describing Committee roles so Don has created new guides for our use.
Nominating Committee met to discuss potential candidates for November’s Election. Additional recruitment continues to be underway. Nominating Committee’s publication requirement is to be 30-days prior to Election Night so we’re hopeful of additional members stepping forward in the next several weeks.
Here are the members submitting their willingness and candidacy to serve at the moment:
President Don Dewar KD9NJR
Vice President Danny Kafka KD9HIL
Treasurer Chris Brewer AC9GN
Secretary Howard Mitchell KD9WSV
Director One Position
Bill McGovern W9WEM
Kevin Willard KB9QVX
John Douglas KD9KSH
Adjourn 8:22 PM
Submitted Sep 5, 2024
Cliff Sowka K9QD Secretary