The meeting was called to order President Bill Buchholz, K8SYH, at 8:35 am at the Leesburg Holy Trinity Lutheran Church at 605 West Market Street, Leesburg, VA.

Pledge of Allegiance was recited.

There were no new members or guests in attendance.

An amendment to the March minutes was offered by Tom Dawson, WB3AKD. An announcement recorded under the balloon committee should have been placed under public service. The minutes were approved as revised.

The treasurer's report was presented by Jeff Slusher, KE5APC. A motion to accept the report as read was moved, seconded and carried unanimously.

Committees

Public Service – Tom Dawson, WB3AKD - No news to report.

Balloon Committee – Tom Dawson, WB3AKD

Current plans are for a launch sometime in July when the winds calm down a little. There will a balloon meeting coming up and members are advised to watch the reflector for an announcement.

Interference, Education committees – no report.

Field Day – Gary Quinn, NC4S

Field Day announcements were postponed until later in the meeting.

Training – Steve, KW4H

Dates have been established for classes as follows:

Basic Electronics: 7/12-13, General Class: 7/26-27, Technician Class: 9/20-21

Will have another instructor meeting in the upcoming weeks

Contest – John, W4AU

John reported that this weekend there are several state QSO parties including Ontario and Michigan. He mentioned the times and frequencies to look for them. Next weekend will be the Florida QSO party which is a very big one. He encouraged everyone to work the QSO parties to learn about propagation and station capabilities.

John also mentioned some information on ARRL sweepstakes.

Website – Norm, AI2C - Nothing new to report.

Public Relations – No report.

Other Announcements

Jeff – KE5APC: Field Day T-shirts and GOTA pins are in and available for pick up.

Nancy – KE4RTP and Carol – KF4TJJ: YLRL is selling tickets for their scholarship fund. Drawing for awards is in August.

New Business

FD Insurance - Tom – WB4AKD reported that the ARRL now has group liability insurance plans for clubs. They offer $2M liability protection for clubs from lawsuits from outside the club. The average fee is around $320/yr depending on several things. A motion to apply for quote was made and seconded, and passed on unanimous vote.

John – W4AU made a motion to authorize to officers to go ahead and get coverage if the annual premium is less than $500. In the discussion, Gary – NC4S cautioned the club about incurring an annual expense. John clarified that his motion would be for one year only. The motion was passed.

Chris – thanked John and Jeff for helping with his antenna installation. He also announced that he had information on using a Radio Shack cable to interface Icom radios with a computer.

Field Day – Gary, NC4S presented an extensive report on the status of Field Day 2008. Highlights of his presentation included:

• Committee chairs and station captains were introduced.

• He suggested Field Day goals for the club this year. They were to 1) have fun; 2) learn; and 3) be safe. He thinks we should try to get 3300 QSO's this year, averaging 25 QSO's per hour. We should shoot for 12,000 points total and break the top 25 nationally, and beat W9LO. We should double the number of phone QSO's, and the GOTA station should shoot for 400 points.

• Gary also assigned mentors to the GOTA operators

• All assignments will be listed on the web site.

• He outlined the plans for each station, including several antenna upgrades.

• There has been lots of work in finalizing the site for Field Day. Currently under consideration are Moorefield Station and Banshee Reeks. Several other possibilities exist. Currently, Banshee Reeks is the most likely location right now. We need to work out authorization. Gary and Jeff will continue to work this issue.

• There were several suggestions during the discussion on how to improve and help get more operators involved.

• Gary asked that all station captains send him a list of assets that are needed at their stations before the next meeting.

A motion was made and seconded that the Field Day committee be authorized to spend up to $700 for new antennas. The motion was passed.

A motion was made and seconded to authorize the Field Day committee to spend up to $500 on fees for the use of a Field Day site. The motion was passed.

Other New Business

John – W4AU reminded everyone that the Dayton Hamvention was coming up. Historically, this has been a great place to shop for door prizes for the Holiday Party. A motion was made and seconded to authorize him to spend up to $500 for door prizes for Holiday Party. The motion passed.

Jay – KI4TXP reported that we are still investigating the process and advisability of obtaining 501C status for the club, but that no results were yet ready.

A motion was made and seconded to close the meeting. The motion carried and the meeting was adjourned at 10:32 am.

Respectfully Submitted, Rick Miller – AI1V

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A reminder to all about Holy Trinity's inclement weather policy: if Loudoun County Schools are closed (or would be if it were a school day), all activities at the church are cancelled – this includes outside groups. This policy allows for parking lot clearing so snow is not packed down; and it is also a safety issue.