August, 2023 BandBits

President’s Report

Heads up! Changes Coming Soon! Be at the next Club Meeting to discuss the changes that will be proposed for our Constitution. We will discuss these changes and then vote on them in September. Needing to be added to the Constitution is a section on sexual harassment. This is mandatory per a pro bono lawyer that we have been seeking advice from.

In order for us as a Club to become an IRS 501 (c) (3) not for profit, we will need to update our Constitution. Please plan to attend the in person meeting at the Red Cross Thursday, August 10th 2023 at 7PM. The majority rules the house! In order to have your voice heard, you must be paid up on voting member dues. Feel free to reach out to any Board member if you have and questions, comments or concerns. I want to hear your voice! This is your Club as well… not just mine. If you cannot attend the meeting in person, please Email or Call me and let me know what you want said on your behalf. N9WX.ARES@gmail.com or 309-830-1967

501 (c) (3): We missed out on a large ($5,000.00) grant through Caterpillar due to not being a 501 (c) (3) organization. Currently we are a 501 (7) (c). In order to make sure everything is completed correctly, Darren Weir KD9HZZ has spoken with several lawyers. The cost would be around $1,500.00 for them to file on our behalf. This cost may be reduced since we are adjusting our Constitution before we apply for 501 (c) (3).

Again, we will bring up changes to the Club’s Constitution at August’s Club meeting and then Vote in September! Please be there both nights!

Superfest is less than 2 months away! I’m extremely excited for this event. I hope that you will consider coming out and working a task or several. Position’s can be found on the Club’s website under the Superfest tab. This year it was voted that anyone who works at Superfest will receive 2 tickets, good for the whole weekend, as a thank you. Without your help and support, we won’t survive as a club.

I’ve been hearing that a lot of people are moving away or considering not re joining next year. This makes me very sad. I belive we are a great Club and I’m proud to be a part of it. I am trying my hardest to keep this Club alive and running smoothly. I do not want to see this amazing club die. We are over 100 years old! That’s an amazing achievement! If there are issues that need to be discussed, please bring them to my attention or to a Board Member’s attention.

Elections: Elections are coming up quickly as well. If you think you’d like to be a member of the Club’s Board Of Directors, please let myself or another Board member know which position you are interested in. We are in this together! As most know, at the end of this year, I will have been President for about 2.5 years. While I love the position, I want to know if there’s someone who wants to step up and lead the Club. Is that you?

Never hesitate to contact me via email or phone. I’ll respond to your messages just as soon as I can. Thank you to all of you, our members, for making this a great and fun Club!

73!
Justin Flick – N9WX
PAARC – President

__________________________________________________

A Message from Craig Worrick

I’m inviting comments from the ARRL members and appointee’s within the Illinois Section that DID NOT get notified of the dues survey in May. With only 15.9 % response from the members of the Central Division (Illinois,Indiana,Wisconsin) . Something is definitely wrong! 

It is my opinion this is not a fair representation of the Illinois Section. It is my goal to make your voice heard. I’m fully aware that many are very upset about the dues increase, I’ve already heard from several members in my area that they are not going to renew when it’s time. HQ has decided to freeze ” new applications for Life Membership and ARRL Life Membership 70+ are not being accepted as of 7/21/2023 while new rates are being established.” 

I believe mistakes have been made and WE need to correct them. 

I patiently await your responses, 

Thank you & 73′

Craig, K9CEW
IL ASM

__________________________________________________

Meeting Minutes:

Membership Meeting 7/13/23:

Justin Flick, N9WX, Club President called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.

Justin welcomed guests to the Meeting, and introduced Tanya Knapp, wife of Ben Knapp (KD9RYH). Today is Tanya’s birthday and further the day she got her Technician License. She is KD9YPM.

Rich Schmitz, K9RCS, made a motion to approve the Meeting Minutes as published in BandBits. Darren Weir, KD9HZZ, seconded the motion. A vote was taken, and the motion passed.

Treasurer Report

Justin Flick reported the balances in the individual accounts. We have already sold some Superfest Tickets, so the PayPal account is growing a bit.

A motion to approve the Treasurer’s Report was made by Darren Weir, KD9HZZ, and seconded by Mark Suhs, W9WGN. A vote was taken, and the motion passed.

SuperFest Report

Scott Tranchitella, K9XJT, made a motion to give 2 SuperFest tickets to club members who work to help with setup of the Midwest SuperFest. Ben Knapp, KD9RYH, seconded the motion. A vote was taken, and the motion passed.

Repeater Report

Matt Behnke, KD9ERS, reported that he hopes to get out to the Groveland site to resolve remote access issues with Echolink, and further get Echolink back in service on the 075 repeater. He also reported that the D-Star (UHF) server at the Bunker is now operating, he needs to get out there too, to resolve IP Address settings, so that the D-Star equipment can connect through the Internet.

Old Business

There was no Old Business.

New Business

A discussion was held regarding considering setting the club up as an Illinois 501(c)(3) non-profit. When complete, this would provide the club with tax exempt status and provide the opportunity to get grants and matching funds for certain donations. To do this we would need to make some changes to the club bylaws. It is believed based on preliminary discussions with an attorney that the paperwork to become a 501(c)(3) would cost $1500 or less. The idea of holding a meeting dedicated to discussing changes to the bylaws was made, which might be via Zoom or in-person.

Radio Activities

Justin Flick, N9WX, reported that he plans to hold a Fox Hunt and POTA this Saturday, July 15th at Jubilee State Park. Operators who want to participate should meet at the college historical site at 10 a.m.

A motion to adjourn was made by Rich Holtman, KD9ANU, and seconded by Ben Knapp, KD9RYH. A vote was taken, and the motion passed. The club meeting was adjourned at 7:40 p.m.

Program

Scott Tranchitella, K9XJT, spoke about doing POTA, as-well-as the OMISS International Sideband Society. He had some useful and interesting handouts. A number of door prizes were also handed out based on drawing call signs of those present from a hat.

Meeting ended at 8:10 p.m.

Submitted by Richard Holtman, KD9ANU

__________________________________________________

KD9DBQ, KD9ANU and N9WX at the Emergency Expo

Peoria County ARES

Amateur radio operators use their training, skills, and equipment to provide communications during emergencies When All Else Fails®.

August 2, ARES Net @ 7:00 PM CDT on the W9UVI (147.075) repeater
August 9, ARES Net @ 7:00 PM CDT on the W9UVI (147.075) repeater
August 16, ARES On-line Conference @ 7:00 PM CST (Watch your email for Zoom conference info)

Call or email Rich using the contact info below if you are not on the ARES Roster and desire to join the Zoom Conference.

Meeting Agenda includes: Infrastructure Activities, Training Documentation, Repeater & Simplex Testing, NVIS Exercise, Winlink News, Volunteer Opportunities, and more.

Please submit your Training Documentation form.

ARES website: http://www.peoriacountyares.org/

Rich Holtman, KD9ANU, Emergency Coordinator for Peoria County ARES
email: kd9anu@arrl.net
Winlink: kd9anu@winlink.org
Cell: 309-256-4272

____________________________________________________

Purchase tickets, Flea Market spots and indoor vendor spaces onine!

It is almost here, the time flies so fast. I can’t stress enough how much your help is needed and appreciated.

I want to say thanks to those of you who have reached out already volunteering for different positions at Superfest, anyone else who would like to request certain positions, feel free to contact Deb Suhs WD9EB@arrl.net.

____________________________________________________

July Net Logs

7/2
KD9ANU N9WX W9WTF W8NWG W9WGN KD9MPI WD9EB KC9IH K9HJZ KD9HZZ W9JDP K9TNT N9NDF KD9PXZ KD9RJH KD9JXR KD9IVV NM0O KB9ATO N9WFT KD9AER KD9ERS K9RCS/AE W9DAY KD9RYH K9XJT WW9DLM KD9STL KB9OGS KD9NYE K9UQF KD9WSP/AG KD9TEG Submitted by KD9DBQ 73

7/9
KD9QQU KD9ANU K9XJT KD9HZZ W9JDP K9TNT N9NDF KD9IVV NM0O KD9PXZ KD9JXR W9WGN WD9EB NP2WJ KD9AER N9WFT KD9IBC WF9E KD9WHE W9WTF K9RCS KB9ATO WW9DLM KC9YTT KD9YPM W9DAY KD9STL KD9RYH KD9ERS KD9NYN KD9NYE KD9WSP Submitted by KD9DBQ 73

7/16
KD9ANU K9KJT W9JDP N9NDF K9TNT NM0O KD9IBC KD9PXZ KD9AERT KD9JXR W9TTX N9WFT KD9WSP K9RS K9IVV W9WGN KB9ATO KD9DBQ KD9ERS KD9QQU KD9TEG KD9STL K9CEW KD9HZZ Submitted by N9WX 73

7/23
KD9ANU N9WX K9HJZ KC9IH KD9IBC K9TNT N9NDF KD9JXR K9WFT WW9DLM W8NWG W9TTX NM0O KD9PXZ W9JDP KD9AER KD9TEG NP2WJ N9WFT KC9YTT KB9ATO KD9WHE N9SL KD9IVV KD9RYH KD9STL K9CEW KD9RJH KD9YPM KD9WRX WF9E K9XJT Submitted by KD9DBQ 73

7/30
K9XJT N9WX WD9EB KD9ANU W9WGN K9HJZ KD9MPI KD9YCJ KC9IH W9JDP W9TTX NM0O K9TNT KD9PXZ KD9JXR W8NWG KD9IVV N9WFT KD9AER KC9YTT NP2WJ K9RCS KD9RYH KD9YPM W9DAY KD9WHE WF9E KD9STL KD9IBC KD9SPI Submitted by KD9DBQ 73

____________________________________________________

August Club Events

August 2 – 7:00 p.m. – ARES Net: W9UVI Repeater 147.075

August 3 – 7:00 p.m. – Board Meeting via Zoom

August 9 – 7:00 p.m. – ARES Net: W9UVI Repeater 147.075

August 10 – 7:00 p.m. – Club Meeting: Discussion and vote on Bylaw changes – American Red Cross, 311 W John H Gwynn Jr Ave, Peoria

August 16 – 7:00 p.m. – ARES Meeting: TBA

August 19 – 12:00 noon – FCC License Testing: Morton Knights of Columbus, 616 W. David Street, Morton, IL. FRN Required. Bring two forms of identification and a copy of your license (if upgrading). Testing Fee: $15.

August 23 – 7:00 p.m. – ARES Net: W9UVI Repeater 147.075

August 24 – 7:00 p.m. – Superfest Meeting

July 16, 2023 – Special Edition BandBits

Board Announcement

As was announced on the W9UVI Sunday night net tonight, John Zandowski has tendered his resignation as PAARC treasurer. The PAARC Board of Directors sincerely appreciates John’s service to the club, and we are looking forward to working with him again in the future. In the meantime, John plans to stay as active as possible with the club so he won’t be a stranger.

The PAARC BOD is deeply grateful to Tanya Knapp (KD9YMP) for agreeing to be the new treasurer.

This change is effective as of 07/15/2023.