1) Call to Order
Melanie Fernandez (KJ4VCT) called to order the Gold Coast Amateur Radio Association’s regular meeting at 19:30 EDT (23:30 UTC) over ZOOM on May 24, 2022. A quorum was present with 20 members (see Appendix A).
2) Pledge of Allegiance
3) Secretary’s Report – Charlie Artner (KN4VDW)
Charlie Artner (KN4VDW) moved to approve the minutes from the last general meeting as posted on the website. Erik Olmer seconded the motion (W4EJO) / the motion carried unanimously.
4) Treasurer’s Report – Erik Olmer (W4EJO)
The current checking account balance is $8,979.04. PayPal balance is ZERO. We have a new merchant account service with STRIPE, which is also at ZERO.
Membership: Currently, we have 76 members, of which 20 members are Lifetime Members. Twenty-two members are in a grace period.
5) VE Status Report – Jeff Stahl (K4BH)
We are up and running with the test sessions every second Saturday of the month. Due to Jeff Stahl’s (K4BH) unavailability, there will be no session in June. The next test session will be on the second Saturday in July again. Jeff Stahl’s (K4BH) contact information is on the ARRL test session page.
6) Repeater Report – Ricky Eaton (KD4HGR)
All repeaters are currently working fine. We are looking for a new site for the Boca repeater. Anywhere in the general area of the Boca Hospital is fine.
Charlie Artner (KN4VDW) is working on the Pi-Star installation to add AllStar to our 70cm repeater, a JKV.
The antenna for the remote HF station has been delivered, and Ricky will try to install it this coming Friday.
The WX station will be moved from the Boca repeater to the .610 repeater at JKV. It was decided to move the WX station because it does not work in Boca with the repeater we have there right now.
Joe McGee (NX4T) was asking if there are other sources of funding
7) Website Report – Charlie Artner (KN4VDW)
Charlie Artner (KN4VDW) reported that we had replaced PayPal with Stripe, a new merchant account provider. The forms for the SFD and the club dinner are already transferred to the new merchant service. He also replaced the old SmartForm plugin with a much better and more robust plugin called from GravityForms.
Attacks on the site are under control, and currently, 14 countries are blocked from accessing our website.
8) Announcements
a) Service Award for Joe McGee (NX4T)
The Board of Directors approved a service award for Joe McGee (NX4T) for his longtime support of the Amateur Radio Community and his service on the GCARA Board of Directors.
b) Summer Field Day 2022
We need volunteers to help with the 2022 SFD. We need help with setup and breakdown. Setup is on Saturday morning, and coffee and donuts will be served. The breakdown will start after 14:00hrs on Sunday, and the club will serve sandwiches for those who are helping.
Additional comment by Jeff Stahl (K4BH): It is essential that we have volunteers to help with the breakdown; otherwise, the few people present may brake down into the sunset. We also do need people for the setup. We do have enough radios and antennas, but if you have spare coax cables, please bring them with you if you are coming.
c) Next Club Dinner
Due to Father’s Day and 2022 SFD the next club dinner has been moved up by two weeks and will be on June 12, 2022.
d) Fall Picnic
The board is planning a Fall Picnic for September 17, 2022, at Vista View Park. Melanie Fernandez (KJ4VCT) has already confirmed the date with the park administration.
e) Carol Sjursen (KJ4AWB)
We are still looking for shelter operators. Tomorrow night Robert Molleda is going to give a presentation on the upcoming Hurricane season. Anybody who missed the presentation last month at the GCARA meeting, you are welcome to join tomorrow night on ZOOM at 18:30.
9) Speaker of the month: Erik Olmer (W4EJO)
The Speaker of the month was Erik Olmer (W4EJO), Treasurer of the GCARA, Net Manager of the Broward County Emergency Preparedness Net, and Net Control Station for the Southeast Florida Traffic Net. He will talk about what it takes and how to become a Shelter Volunteer.
10) Adjournment
Melanie Fernandez (KJ4VCT) called adjourned the meeting at 20:37 EDT (00:37 UTC)