Minutes TASMA General Meeting
Saturday, 14 December 2002
THESE MINUTES WERE APPROVED ON AUGUST 9, 2003.
AT&T Digital Media Center
12312 W. Olympic Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90064
Chairman: | Bob Dengler, NO6B |
Vice-Chairman: | Pat Finke, KC6ACL |
Treasurer: | Jim Fortney, K6IYK |
Board Member-at-Large: | Ted Fukushima, N6ZZK |
Mr. Bob Dengler, TASMA Chairman, called the meeting to order at approx. 10:35 a.m.
Introductions:
The Board members and everybody present introduced themselves.
Approval of previous minutes:
The reading of the minutes for the General Meeting that occurred on Saturday, August 10, 2002 was suspended since it was published on page 7 of the November TASMA newsletter. A motion to approve the minutes was made by Mr. Fred Montgomery (K6FZY) and seconded by Mr. John Montgomery (K6FZZ). The motion was past unanimously.
Treasurer's report:
Mr. Jim Fortney reported that the third quarter Treasurer’s Report was published in the November TASMA newsletter and that the fourth quarter has not ended. Mr. Fortney gave an update status of the Treasurer’s Report, as of December 13, 2002.
Net worth: | $6,098.82 |
Outstanding Advances to Officers of the Association: | $750.00 |
Total Income: | $2,810.00 |
Total Expenses: | $1,753.00 |
Mr. Fortney anticipates that the $750.00 outstanding advances will be booked as expenses in the fourth quarter with the receipts he received today from officers. Mr. Fortney still expects a net advantage for the fourth quarter.
A budget worksheet was passed around for review. The budget worksheet was based on a proposed budget made by Mr. Fortney at the beginning of the year and was used as a guideline, since a formal budget was not adopted by the Board for 2002.
Mr. Fortney reported the following numbers on the budget worksheet:
Year-To-Date Cash on hand: | $6,053.68 |
4th Quarter anticipated income: | $500.00 |
4th Quarter actual income: | $900.00 |
Almost all of the income came from membership dues, which was not anticipated at the beginning of 2002.
4th Quarter anticipated expenses: | $342.00 |
4th Quarter actual expenses: | $512.00 |
Higher than anticipated expenses was due to people not accounting for their expenditures until recently, despite Mr. Fortney’s reminders, and the fourth quarter posting of the Technical Committee’s expenditures for the entire year. The November newsletter’s expenses have not been reflected in the above figure.
Year-To-Date variance $1,708.21
Mr. Fortney expects a positive variance at the end of the year of about $900.00 after all the expenses are booked.
Mr. Fortney then asked for questions. None was asked.
A motion to approve the Treasurer’s Report, as read, was made by Mr. Fred Montgomery (K6FZY) and seconded by Mr. John Montgomery (K6FZZ). The motion was past unanimously.
Correspondence Summary:
Mr. Howard Brown (KG6GI), acting as unofficial secretary, gave the following highlights:
Last Year | This Year | |
Incoming Correspondence | 201 | 336 |
New Membership Applications | 15 | 131 |
Technical Committee | 61 | 59 |
Business Operations | 25 | 19 |
The numbers for the Technical Committee, business operations and other misc. items are similar to the number of correspondences received last year except for the large number of new applications received this year.
At the end of the report, Mr. Brown asked for any questions. No questions were asked.
Report on Updated Internet Services:
Mr. Fortney did not have a formal report to present. The Internet services, which were established last year [2001], consist of a web site, FTP filing area, an e-mail reflector and the ability to distribute to all the members electronically.
The Technical Committee uses the FTP filing area. Mr. Brown has scanned all of the coordination records that has been processed in the last two plus years and all of the activities the committee undertakes are documented by paper documents and also placed in a common database on-line.
About a year and half ago, there was a idea to place the coordination records on-line and manage there. That idea has not gone forward due to people who were going to give a hand not being available and others with busy schedules.
A question was raised about TASMA business being only distributed on the reflector of TASMA business. The person asking was removed from the reflector and wanted to know how he would continue to receive information that should be brought to his attention like items in the Technical Committee’s reports. Mr. Fortney reminded the membership that it was agreed at the time the reflector was created, that the reflector was not to replace anything else. Anything distributed on the reflector (other than people’s comments) is also available someplace else; i.e., technical committee reports are usually posted on the TASMA web site within 24 hours after being distributed on the reflector. A key point of the reflector is that it is an enhancement to the services of the association and not a detraction. The members who do not have electronic mail should not be orphaned or left out. Mr. Fortney also made comment that if the member does not have e-mail, they probably don’t have access to the web site. But, at the time the reflector was made, the association thought that it was more cost effective than distributing the information on paper in a real-time basis and that most of the information is also contained in the newsletter.
A question was asked that since some information is posted on the web site and other information is posted to the reflector, which is not contiguous, if there was some way to disseminate the information with a description header to those without e-mail. Mr. Fortney stated that with two plus years of experience, there have been discussions about the pros and cons of the system. Mr. Fortney also stated, for information only, that a suggestion was made to make an announcement only reflector open to all the members. The Board and committee chairman would manage the reflector and only announcements would be sent. Also, should the interactive reflector still be available? Does the membership think it was a value or not a value?
Mr. Fortney said that there was a large amount of work in maintaining the Internet resources and the Board, in the last two years, has not recognized it has an official function of the association. The idea of establishing a coordinator or committee was discussed, but Mr. Fortney has continued to perform that function as an individual because there has been no official Board action about it. Mr. Fortney also suggested further discussion on the topic during the new business portion of the meeting or by the 2003 Board.
Mr. Fortney also reminded the membership that TASMA is a volunteer organization and that the webmaster of the TASMA web site, Jane, has moved to the Midwest and she’s still able to give timely service on maintaining the website.
A question was asked on the policy of moderating the reflector and if it was in the Bylaws or made by the Board. Mr. Fortney stated that the policy was developed in 2000 and is basically represented in the welcome message sent to every member at the time and to all new members added to the reflector. But, there has been no official actions made by the association, except to pay the bill for the services, since that time.
A question was asked about how they can get official action from the Board to reinstate a person removed from the reflector. Mr. Fortney stated that individuals who were removed from the reflector may appeal to the Board if they wish to be reinstated.
Mr. Fortney made a closing comment that he serve at the will of the Board, but he has suggested that with the many different functions, that others could help deal with them. With a complete security scheme applied to the electronic environment, maintence of user id’s and passwords, and other stuff that Mr. Fortney has taken the responsibility for by himself, he is ready to share the responsibility, if the Board wishes to handle it that way.
Committee Reports:
Over the last two years, the Technical Committee removed eight paper repeaters from the Coordination Database. Mr. Dengler stated that the process is slow, but there is progress. He didn’t know how many more paper repeaters would be found. But noted that in 2001, more repeaters sprang back to life after sending the letters than coordinations terminated.
A question was asked if there was any members of the Technical Committee was present and why, since Mr. Dengler is only an ad-hoc member of the committee, nobody else from the committee made the report. Mr. Dengler stated that the committee chairman was unable to attend due to work. Mr. Dengler also noted that he feels the current chairman will not be able to continue as chairman due to time constraints. With the elections, there will be a major change to the committee, especially with the Technical Committee Secretary. With the huge workload of the Secretary and the committee that help is needed in both areas. Mr. Dengler pointed out that three members of the Technical Committee and the Technical Committee Secretary was present.
Mr. Dengler then asked for any other questions. No additional questions were asked.
Spectrum Management Committee (Band Plan Committee)
Mr. Dengler forgo on presenting a formal report and opted for an informal discussion at a later time in order to get to the elections quicker due to time constraints.
TASMA Database
Mr. Brown presented a number of charts. When Mr. Brown inherited the electronic database, Mr. Brown said that he was not sure of the current state of the database. Mr. Brown was not sure if the database was updated recently or if it was some considerable time since the last update. Mr. Brown picked up three years of minutes from the Technical Committee and researched it with the database and found that the database has not been updated in a couple of years. Mr. Brown also compared it with the web site directory and the ARRL repeater directory and found that they did not match exactly either. So, Mr. Brown compared all the sources of data and figures that if two sources matched, that the third source was incorrect. Any data that could not be verified was taken to the Board in February 2002, for a decision to include or to remove the data from the 2002 ARRL repeater submittal. Mr. Brown then tried to keep the database updated with data that only came from official Technical Committee minutes. No matter what pieces of paper was submitted or how trivial, Mr. Brown insisted that any updates to the database must be an agenda item with the Technical Committee and must be in the minutes. Mr. Brown noted that the November and December Technical Committee actions are not reflected in his slides.
Mr. Brown has released the database five times during the year and it is the database that the Technical Committee bases its actions on. Mr. Brown added some field in anticipation on an automatic update submittal system. Mr. Brown commented that he has been studying MySQL for many hours. Trying to keep up with call sign and trustee changes, it is hard to maintain with the comment fields filling up and hopes that another dimension will be added to the database. Which would allow more complex queries or ask some questions from the database more easily.
At the August 2002, General Meeting, the membership asked to revalidate the database. There were approx. 500 entries with 250 historical records of coordinations, which may have changed over time. Mr. Brown updated that figure to about 300 entries. Mr. Brown hopes to generate a form from the database that would be sent to the repeater trustee with the data from the TASMA database. The trustee would confirm or update the information and return it back. The 281 entries would need to be review by someone and any changes must be placed as an agenda item and acted on by the Technical Committee for placement in the minutes, since the changes may affect another coordination.
Mr. Brown is concerned about the amount of labor required in reading all the papers when they return. Mr. Brown estimated reviewing about 60 records within a year with 3 or 4 persons assisting with about 8 to 10 additional actions for the Technical Committee to work on, in addition to its normal workload. Mr. Brown then stated that it would be up to the 2003 Board to find the staffing, since he feels that the staffing is not available in the Technical Committee. There will be a cost involved, with letters to be mailed out and follow-up letters. A process will need to be setup, since the process will take six (6) years and to process should not be reinvented over the years and a way for recording and reporting to the Board and the Technical Committee its status and findings.
Mr. Brown then asked for questions. No questions were asked.
Election of Officers:
2003 TASMA Vice-Chairman:
Mr. Dengler opened the floor for additional TASMA 2003 Vice-Chairman nominations.
No additional nominations were made.
A motion to close nominations for 2003 TASMA Vice-Chairman was made by Mr. Scott Press (N6SAP). Mr. Gary Belda (K6SNE) seconded the motion. The motion was past unanimously.
Since there was only one candidate, a motion to approve Ms. Pat Finke as 2003 TASMA Vice-Chairman was made by Mr. Scott Press (N6SAP). Mr. Gary Belda (K6SNE) seconded the motion. The motion was past unanimously.
2003 TASMA Secretary:
Mr. Dengler opened the floor for TASMA 2003 Secretary nominations.
A motion to nominate Mr. Ted Fukushima as candidate for 2003 TASMA Secretary was made by Mr. Gary Franks (W6NVY). Mr. Fukushima accepted.
Mr. Dengler closed additional nominations for 2003 TASMA Secretary.
Since there was only one candidate, a motion to approve Mr. Ted Fukushima as 2003 TASMA Secretary was made by Mr. Gary Belda (K6SNE). Mr. Andy Ormande (KB6OPR) seconded the motion. The motion was past unanimously.
2003 TASMA Treasurer:
Mr. Dengler opened the floor for TASMA 2003 Treasurer nominations.
A motion to nominate Mr. Steve Mankowski (AD6XK) as candidate for 2003 TASMA Treasurer was made by Mr. Scott Press (N6SAP). Mr. Mankowski declined.
A motion to nominate Mr. Jeff Richardson (W6JJR) as candidate for 2003 TASMA Treasurer was made by Mr. Joe Macera (KG6ECQ). Mr. Richardson declined.
A motion to close nominations for the 2003 TASMA Treasurer was made by Mr. Howard Brown (KG6GI). Mr. Matt Lichliter (W6KGB) seconded the motion. The motion was past unanimously.
Since there was only one candidate, a motion to approve Mr. Mike Marin as 2003 TASMA Treasurer was made by Mr. Matt Lichliter (W6KGB). Mr. Eli Aguirre seconded the motion. The motion was past unanimously.
2003 TASMA Board Member-At-Large:
Mr. Dengler then opened the floor for additional TASMA 2003 Board Member-At-Large nominations.
No additional nominations were made.
Mr. Dengler closed nominations for TASMA 2003 Board Member-At-Large.
Since there was only one candidate, a motion to approve Mr. Howard Brown as 2003 TASMA Board Member-At-Large was made by Mr. Gary Franks (W6NVY) and Mr. Matt Lichliter (W6KGB) seconded the motion. The motion was past unanimously.
Ms. Pat Finke then moderated a question and answer with the candidates for Chairman.
[The questions and answers sessions are not in the minutes due to audio recording difficulties.]
The meeting recessed for voting of the 2003 TASMA Chairman at approx. 11:45 a.m.
The meeting reconvened at approx. 12:15 p.m.
Mr. Dengler made a presentation to individuals who contributed to the association and kept it afloat over the last two years.
Mr. Dengler presented a certificate to Mr. Mike Marin for serving as 2002 TASMA Technical Committee Secretary.
Mr. Dengler presented a certificate to Mr. Jim Fortney for serving as TASMA Treasurer.
Mr. Dengler presented a certificate to Mr. Howard Brown for serving as 2001 TASMA Secretary, 2001 & 2002 Newsletter Editor and 2002 Technical Committee member.
Mr. Fortney announced the following election result:
A total of 9 absentee ballots were submitted and declared invalid (mostly duplicate absentee ballots sent via mail, FAX and/or e-mail) and were not counted nor would they have changed the overall election results.
The 2003 TASMA Board:
New Business:
Mr. Dan Lichliter addressed the membership. Mr. Lichliter wanted to make an important statement about the future of amateur radio. He mentioned that Mr. Dengler got his son involved with the Technical Committee and that it is important that all amateur radio operators should get more young people involved in the hobby or else the all aspect of amateur radio will disappear.
Mr. Gary Belda thanked Mr. Dengler for serving as Chairman.
Mr. Matt Lichliter thanked Mr. Howard Brown for serving as unofficial Secretary for 2002.
A motion was made to adjourn by Mr. Joe Macera (KG6ECQ). Mr. Andy Ormande, Jr. seconded the motion. The motion was past unanimously.
The meeting adjourned at approx. 1:00 p.m.
Summary of Motions: