SOUTH FLORIDA FM ASSOCIATION JULY 11, 2005 MINUTES OF MEETING

PRESIDENT:               RONNIE HAIK KG4DBI

VICE PRESIDENT:  ANDY PICHS N3PI

SECRETARY:              JOANNE CARBANA KG4GKU

TREASURER:              JAMES CARLIN KF40UI (Not Present)

DIRECTORS:

ANDY PICHS N3PI    01-07

SAM HARTE KQ4LMR 00-06  (Not Present)

JEFF GARNETT KG4CNM 05-08

WEB SITE: http:/www.sffma.net

MAIL YOUR DUES TO:

FM ASSOCIATION

POB 430028

MIAMI, FL 33243

Meeting was called to order at 19:48 with 30 present. 

Ronnie welcomed all to the SFFMA meeting.  The meeting was being broadcast live on the air tonight from the EOC.  There is no one here for testing tonight.  

The microphone was then passed around the room and everyone stated their name and call sign.  

Ronnie welcomed everyone again.  

Repeater update: 

Ray spoke about the 146.760.  It is up and running.  We can use it during a hurricane.  It will be on emergency power from a big generator at UM. 

Robert spoke about the 224.200.  He still needs to get the with gatekeeper to get it fixed.

Carl spoke about the 444.200.  Up and running. 

John was not here tonight.  Those present advised that the 147.000 is working again.  Robert brought up that it needs a new cabinet and that we need to do it right this time. 

No other repeater trustees were present. 

Ronnie announced that we are having a free pizza night tonight after the meeting.

 Old Business:

 Last month’s minutes were posted on the web.  A motion to accept the minutes was made by Robert and seconded by Arturo. 

Ronnie reminded everyone that dues are officially due Jan 1, 2005.  Give your dues to Ronnie or Joanne tonight or send them to the PO Box.  Dues are $30.00 per year and $5.00 for each family member.  

Ronnie reminded everyone that hurricane season is here and there are other storms out there. 

Regarding Field Day, Ronnie announced that Jeff will be showing pictures during the meeting on the monitors.  We had a joint Field Day with the American Radio Club, SFFMA and Dade Radio Club.  Ronnie thanked everyone who attended and helped out.  David spoke how the trailer worked out very well.  A small group worked on it every night until Field Day.  After using it the entire weekend, some more things will be added.  Everything worked well.  The food was very good.  We have a great asset with the trailer for whatever we need it for.  A lot of donations were received for the trailer.  Robert also spoke about the American Radio Club being very hospitable and they have a lot of clout.  Channels 23 and 51 were there.  In the future, we need to invite others to our functions as well.  ARC provided the food for Saturday.  We provided lunches for Sunday.  A round of applause was given to those that helped. 

Joanne advised nothing to talk about CERT. 

Ronnie advised that there are no Skywarn classes due to the storms. 

Ronnie tried to get someone here from the Hurricane Center as a guest speaker tonight, but because of the storms, no one was available. 

New Business: 

Robert, the chairman for next year’s Hamboree advised that we are going to be the first Hamboree to have robotics at our event.   Everything else is moving along.  He will be calling for volunteers. 

Ray advised that the Value Jet site has been vandalized.   Saturday a group is going to go out there and clean it up.  It was on Channel 6 that someone spray painted the bricks at the site.  Pressure washers are needed.  A fire truck should be there, but we need to supply the manpower.  The families saw it on the website and are very upset.  Please volunteer and help out a good cause. 

Robert spoke about an email that he received from a radio control plane club that needed help.  Robert, Lysette, David and George went out there to help them out.  They have opened an invitation to our club to come out and fly some of their trainer planes.  Robert wanted to pass this invitation on to the CAP kids that help us out all the time so they can fly these model planes.  All agreed that it was a great idea.  Robert will let them know.

Eddie thanked everyone that helped with the Red Cross this past Friday and Saturday due to Hurricane Dennis. 

Jeff spoke about the ICE program.  ICE stands for “In Case of Emergency”.  You program the word ICE into your cell phone with the name and number of the person you want to have contacted in case of an emergency.

Ronnie said it was a great idea if someone looks at your phone.  Steve said that we should carry emergency contact cards in our wallets. 

Ray spoke about power failures on the FPL power lines from the storm and what happens.  Too many feeder lines went down and we didn’t even have a direct hit from a major hurricane.  He explained how the feeder lines are connected to the sub stations and what happens when one line goes down and what FPL does to get the power back on. 

Ronnie opened the floor for any questions or concerns.  There were none. 

With no other business, Ronnie announced that pizza and refreshments were served.  He thanked everyone for coming.   

The meeting was adjourned at 20:20.

 Joanne Carbana

KG4GKU