May 2004
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SOUTH FLORIDA FM ASSOCIATION MAY 10, 2004 MINUTES OF MEETING

PRESIDENT: RONNIE HAIK KG4DBI
VICE PRESIDENT: ERNESTO DIAZ KG4LXH
SECRETARY: JOANNE CARBANA KG4GKU
TREASURER: JAMES CARLIN KF40UI

DIRECTORS:
ANDY PICHS N3PI 01-06
SAM HARTE KQ4LMR 00-05
JOHN VECCIO KF4ACN 02-04
WEB SITE: http:/www.sffma.net

MAIL YOUR DUES TO:
FM ASSOCIATION
POB 430028
MIAMI, FL 33243

Meeting was called to order at 19:52 with 33 present.

Ronnie welcomed all to the SFFMA meeting. The meeting was not being broadcast live on the air tonight from the EOC. He announced that testing was being done for anyone who was interested in the back of the room.

The microphone was passed around the room and everyone stated their name and call sign. Ronnie announced that we have a guest speaker tonight: Freddie Zelaya from the American Red Cross about Hurricane and Disaster Preparation.

John announced that he has ARPSC Flags for $8.00 each.

Repeater update:

John spoke about the 147.000. It is up and running.

John spoke about the 146.865. It has a howling noise.

Robert spoke about the 224.220. It is working fine.

Ray spoke about the 146.760. Input noise is there and it is affecting the 146.865. It is not coming from the UM campus. There was a discussion that we need to find the source. Arturo said he heard the noise louder west of Red Road and south of Blue Lagoon. John advised it comes through the PL. The 142 repeater per ICOM is beyond repair. Looking for an external oscillator was discussed. For 6 meters it was suggested a work party at the home site to put up an antenna.

Due to some technical difficulties, the minutes from last month's meeting were not posted. They will be voted on at next month's meeting.

Old Business:

Ernesto spoke about the great success of the MS Break Away Bike-A-Thon. The total hours for the month of April were 953 hours. The number of hams used for both days were 93. The total bill for our services came to $45,930.00. He thanked everyone who participated. We are now the largest sponsor and our logo for ARPSC is in the rider book. Ronnie thanked Ernesto, Andy and John for putting it all together.

Ronnie passed around a copy of the master roster of the club to members only. If there are any changes or corrections, add your Skywarn number, see James.

Ronnie made an announcement that any new members that need to get ID's to see Jeff so he can take your picture for the ID's. If you need a new ID because you changed your call sign, see Ronnie. If you have an ID and have not paid your dues, Ronnie is going to have them collected personally or he is going to send out envelopes to those who are no longer members to have them returned.

Ronnie thanked everyone who participated in the large CERT exercise in Homestead on May 1. Ronnie and Robert handed out a couple of hundred flyers. The flyer is online at SFFMA@yahoo.com. Feel free to download and hand them out to increase our membership. Robert also went to the City of Miami exercise and handed out more flyers. Jeff and Dennis took pictures and they will be posted on the web. Dennis Picke spoke that he attended the exercise for the first time and it was an enriching experience. Ray advised that the pictures that Dennis took are posted on the web at pics.sffma.com. Jeff's pictures will be posted shortly.

Ronnie again announced that we are conducting testing at every meeting. If you are interested in upgrading a license or someone that needs a new license, please let us know.

Ronnie announced that the banners that he showed the group at the last meeting were used at the CERT exercise and that we were well noticed with them.

Eddie spoke about the Red Cross and the classes that are coming up. Please see Freddy or Ronnie if you are interested. Last month a few members of our group took the CPR and First Aide classes.

Joanne thanked the American Red Cross for their assistance at the CERT exercise. They handed out water, Gatorade and snacks to the participants.

Ronnie announced that we have a new member to the club tonight and welcomed Glenn Davis.

Ronnie advised that business cards for the club are being printed. They are double sided and have a line to fill in your name when you hand them out. He will advise us as to the status at the next meeting.

Ronnie announced that the club usually provides the members with food and snacks at the meetings. Tonight the Dade Radio Club is helping us pay for tonight's food and snacks. He thanked them.

Ray spoke about the Value Jet Memorial Clean-up. This was the 8th Anniversary of the crash this past weekend. The Boy Scouts and the Fire Department did it last Saturday. Someone had cleaned up the weeds to their surprise, so the group did pressure cleaning. He wants to get a schedule worked out. The Boy Scouts and Fire Department do it 1 week before the anniversary and at another time during the year and our group is supposed to do it 2 times of the year. He explained that the family members keep in touch with what is going on by the website since most of them do not live here. They appreciate the clean up. Steve announced that the Boy Scouts and Fire Department got media coverage for their clean up this past weekend.

James and Steve explained the proposed By-Law changes that were passed out at the last meeting. There was discussion as to some of the changes. Randy suggested that we modify under Application and Approval E - make it "appropriate to their class of membership". Caesar suggested that student members have voting rights once they are 18 years old. Robert said students should be able to vote. Steve advised that he put that in there to encourage younger members to join. Ray said they cannot be legal board members until they attain legal age. James wanted the cheaper dues for students. Ronnie asked the membership to show their opinion on voting under 18. He stated that we should keep that part as it stands. Ray brought up that before someone becomes a member, we should vote with them out of the room. There was some discussion about this. It was also suggested that membership should be free to new HAMS until the end of the year. The changes are going to be voted on at the next meeting.

James advised that the club has insurance for our activities that we participate in. Also the ARPSC has coverage and we are covered by them too.

John suggested an "Associate Membership" for someone who lives in West Palm Beach and uses the repeater for $15.00 a year or send in a donation. Ray wanted to put a guilt message on the 147.000.

Section D was discussed to remove or block a member; we need to set up a grievance and discipline committee.
Ronnie announced that the proposed By-Laws would be e-mailed to everyone by the next meeting and it will be voted on at the next meeting.

New Business:

Not this weekend by the next weekend Broward County is having a SET at Marcum Park on May 22 and 23rd. Carl spoke that we are going to be having an SET coming up also. He wants everyone to register and answer the questionnaire on the website to be part of ARES and RACES in case of a disaster. You will need an ID card to fall under the Federal and State Government insurance.

Jason spoke about the SET we had last year and the lack of traffic to handle mass traffic situations. This year he suggested that we will have (1) a tabletop exercise here in the cafeteria without radios and (2) a field exercise to set up our field stations. John Veccio is coordinating the SEC and Jason and Ernesto are going to help. He is looking at sometime in the beginning of July. Robert suggested that everyone be given an envelope with messages to see if they went to the right people.

Ronnie also announced and welcomed another new member tonight: Natt Jinn.

Ronnie said that our club acknowledges individuals who do good things for the club. He announced Chris Jensen has done a good job for the club and gave him a $25.00 gift certificate.

Ray brought up that Robert mentioned that he is tired of seeing overweight HAMS. Ray has lost 20 lbs at McDonalds. They now have an adult Happy Meal for $5.99. You get a salad with chicken, balsamic dressing, a bottle of water and a gadget that counts your footsteps per day. He wanted to see if anyone is interested in a peer based diet plan and for everyone to think about it.

We took a 5-minute break.

Ronnie introduced our guest speaker, Freddy Zelaya. He gave an excellent and informative presentation on Hurricane Preparedness and other disasters. He also answered questions from the membership.

With no other business, Ronnie announced that refreshments were in the back of the room. He thanked everyone for coming.

The meeting was adjourned at 21:32.

Joanne Carbana
KG4GKU

05/09/2005

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