Meeting held at the Bedford Safety Complex.

Officers in attendance:
Dennis Markell (N1IMW): President
Stan Popielarz (N1THL): Vice President
Lou Wiederhold (WA1HGE): Treasurer
Mary Whittemore (NE1F): Membership
Martin Koechel (K9AMG): Secretary

Dennis called the meeting to order at 7:15 PM.

Door prize was won by Barry (WB1EDI) – 2010 ARRL Handbook.

Officer’s Reports

Treasurer: Lou (WA1HGE) reported GSARA has $896.36 in the bank as of December 1^st. We also received $42 from the December 5^th VE session. Motion to accept was made by Andy (K1VO), seconded by Charlie (K1CRF) and passed.

Secretary: Martin (K9AMG) read the minutes of the November meeting. Minutes corrected to reflect the meeting was held at the Bedford Safety Complex versus Rotary Log Cabin. Motion to approve was made by Lou (WA1HGE), seconded by Bill (WB1ADF) and passed.

Membership: Mary (NE1F) reported that we have 40 paid-up members. 2010 dues need to be sent to Mary; she will follow-up with email to members that have not paid. One new member tonight – Pete Dusaitis (KB1THU). Motion to accept into membership was made by Barry (WB1EDI), seconded by Charlie (K1CRF) and passed.

Committee Reports

Contests: Barry (WB1EDI) reported that the 10m contest is this weekend.

Repeater: Dennis reported hitting the repeater from Worcester! No problems with the repeater since last month’s repair.

VE Session: Bob (K1MLR) reported we had 12 people take exams at the December 5^th session. All passed their exams for the level of license they came for. Charlie (K1CRF) will work with Bob and Dennis (N1IMW) to develop an article with picture for our web-site and ARRL regarding a 10-year old young lady that passed the Technician exam.

Next VE session is Saturday, January 30^th at 9:00 AM in the Bedford Safety Complex.

Old Business

None

New Business

Lou (WA1HGE) would like to see a cost proposal for emergency power for the GSARA repeater. Charlie (K1CRF) made a motion for the GSARA Board to explore the possibility of a battery back-up system for the continuous operation of the GSARA repeater. Seconded by Bob (K1MLR) and passed. Bill (WB1ADF) has a M1A1 tank battery which he is willing to donate. The Board will investigate further and report back at a later meeting.

Andy (K1VO) asked the club to make a donation to a charity of the Bedford Police Department’s choosing for the Christmas holidays. After discussion, Andy made an amended motion to donate $75.00 in appreciation to a charity of the Bedford Police Department’s choosing, seconded by Mary (NE1F) and passed. Stan (N1THL) and Martin (K9AMG) will follow-up with Lou (WA1HGE) on logistics of payee and write an official note from the club.

Follow-up after the Yankee Swap – Andy donated his $15 cash gift to bring the donation total to $90.00.

The business portion of the meeting was adjourned at 7:53 PM.

Remainder of evening was spent enjoying the annual Yankee Swap!

Martin Koechel (K9AMG)
Secretary