Annual Membership Meeting Minutes

           MARCO Annual Membership Meeting

                                      May 17, 2012, Dayton OH

Attendees:

WB6OJB, WA3ZZU, KM2L, W4DAN, N5RTF, WA1HGE, KD4GUA, AE4BX, KE5BQK, KD5QHV, K6JW, N3IM, AA4FL, N8CL, W1BEW, 4X4LL, KT8E, W8CRK

The meeting was called to order by Linda, KE5BQK at 8:04 EDT. She thanked those members who have assisted her during her presidency.

Minutes of the 2011 meeting were read and approved. 

Secretary’s Report (W4DAN). Membership is 206, including 55 who are not currently paid-up. Some members have not received their copies of Aether. This appears to be due to damage by the post office.

Treasurer’s report (WA1HGE). Our balance is holding steady. We have $12697.73 and $6441 in a CD.

Webmaster report (KM2L). The email  list has approximately 90 members. The web site has remained secure over the past year with no incidents of hacking. Skype continues on Sunday mornings during grand rounds with W1BEW, N4TSC and sometimes N6DMV checking in.

Newsletter report (KD4GUA). Contributions are always welcome. There have been no complaints about about the jokes! There is sentiment to archive back copies of the newsletter on the website. These could be scanned and posted as .pdf files.  

Internet Audio report (N5RTF). Chip continues to try to stream audio for those who have no radio or are traveling. The quality is limited by his antenna situation and local noise. He would like to stream Warren’s audio directly. Chip can process, stream and record the audio and archive it to the website.

Medishare report (WB6OJB). We have $6524.11 in funds, but no project currently. Arnold has take on a project personally. W4DAN was contacted by a prisoner in Louisiana who requested a licensing Q&A book. Arnold obtained one for him, and he and Danny have sent him copies of QST and CQ. Arnold requested information on when and with whom our Zambian project took place. AE4BX has a contact who is a nurse in Zambia, and wil look into what her needs are.

New Business:

Discussion of Medishare projects. There is nothing that restricts us to projects in the third world. Sometimes members have outdated or surplus equipment, but it is not clear what to do with it. In the past, these were funneled to DRI or International Aid. Suggested that surplus equipment be listed in the Aether. Anyone with ideas for projects can email them to the President or Medishare Chair.

Change in dues schedule (W4DAN). Currently everyone has different dues renewal dates. It would be simpler to make payments due for everyone at the same time. W8CRK moved that this be adopted. Second by K6JW. WA1HGE spoke in support as the treasury runs on a calendar year. Motion carried - payments will be due on January 1 each year. 

Google Adwords proposal (NT8E). Dave had suggested an online advertising campaign to boost membership. He gave a powerpoint presentation explaining the Google ad words campaign. This is a Google pay-per-click advertising program (the top and right side of a Google search page). This is targeted advertising and thus generates a high percentage of interested viewers. You pay for each user who clicks on the ad.  That drives the user to our web site - then we need to capture their information and interest.  There are 450,000 monthly searches on “amateur radio.” There is low competition. This means our add would appear on page 1. You can set a daily budget or the price you pay per click. It is a competitive situation, so if you are too cheap your ad drops down the page. The price drops as your campaign’s quality score increases - this is based on longevity and activity of the add and the relevance of content on your landing page. It is a good idea to include a relevant keyword in your url. The Adsense campaign is a separate program that places Google ads on your page. If a visitor clicks on the ad, we receive revenue.

Suggestions for the website: We need to give people a reason to join - access to newsletters, (audio stream archives), and a members-only area with exclusive content. 

W8CRK moved that we authorize N8TE to establish a campaign, to include designing a landing page, authenticated membership area and online dues payment for the web site. The changes will be reviewed and approved by the Internet Committee prior to publication. Second by K6JW. Motion carried.

WA3ZZU moved that the budget for this project for the next year by not more than $1000. Second by K6JW.  Motion carried.

Discussion of Dayton meeting schedule (WA3ZZU). Chuck would prefer to have the meeting on Saturday and the go to the ham fest on Friday. Motion seconded by W8CRK. Motion carried.

Orlando Hamcation (KD4GUA). Warren and W4DAN visited last year and had a wonderful time. It is held in mid-February, and would be fun for other members to attend and hold a mini-meeting.

WA1HGE moved that we adjourn. The meeting was adjourned at 10:12 EDT. 

Election of officers was tabled until the evening of May 19, prior to the banquet. At that time, with no nominations from the floor, the following slate was elected:


President-Elect: Jeff  Wolf, K6JW
Secretary: Danny Centers, W4DAN
Treasurer: Lou Wiederhold, WA1HGE.


After some discussion, the following changes were made to the Board of Directors:
Per the Bylaws, immediate Past-President Linda Krasowski, KE5BQK, became a Director-At-Large. She replaces Bud Clark, KE2DT.
The new 4th Area Director is John Bennet, WD8NMV.
The New 5th Area Director is Tom Reilly, W3GAT.
The New 6th Area Director is Paul Lukas, N6DMV.