The meeting was held at the new Boxford Community Center at 10 Elm Street in Boxford, as well as via Zoom. There were 23 participants (19 in-person and 4 on Zoom). A quorum of members was present, and the Business Meeting was official.

Guests and new club members were asked to introduce themselves:

Cory, who joined us for the second time
Matt, who was a member since last summer

Officer Reports:

President – Kathi Freeman:

Kathi called for approval of the March Business Meeting Minutes, which were approved by acclamation.

Vice President – Justin Murray:

Justin noted that the folks who expressed interest in YAP met recently to start up the logistics and planning. Nothing yet to report, but the goal is to work through it this spring and summer, and start the program in earnest in the Fall.

Treasurer – Ron Sampson:

Ron was unable to attend.

Secretary – Tolga Yazicioglu:

Tolga reported no updates.

Membership Director – John Gall:

John reported that we are still in the renewal phase of memberships. We currently have 99 members, 7 of whom are honorary. There are 50 members who have not yet renewed. John will be coordinating with Ron to make sure renewals by checks or cash have been accounted for.

At Large Board Members – Rob Braczyk & Rob Vincent:

No updates.

Collins Observatory at Salem State – Dennis Gudzevich:

Dennis provided an update on the Collins Observatory, which has a Meade LX200 12” ACF. The observatory is typically open on clear Mondays 7pm-10pm when school is in session.

Back on 12/1 the main gear on the winch for the observatory broke (again!). Dennis reported that the Observatory is still closed, and will remain closed until the repairs can be made. Trying to work through a solution; the school has no budget for repairs. Dennis has permission to pull the winch off and take home for further assessment; hoping to get back up and running for the fall.

Star Parties – Brewster LaMacchia:

Brewster noted that spring calendar for Star Parties has been posted on the website! Please sign up to volunteer if you can.

Sanborn Elementary cancelled for next week, but planning a Boxford Common member and public observing session instead.

Scope Clinic – Bryan Stone & Ron Sampson:

If you have anything on your telescope that you need help with, or if you need help with your telescope, Bryan & Ron can assess your scope, making recommendations, and performing some minor repairs.

Justin gave a brief overview of the Scope Clinic, emphatically noting that it is “the pride and joy of the club”.

Old Business:

Lifetime Honorary Memberships

In February, a Motion was made, seconded, and Approved to provide honorary memberships for anyone who has been an NSAAC member for 30+ years (not required to be continuous). Let Kathi know if you qualify and would like to take advantage of the offer.

Active Committees

Let Kathi, any BoD member, or Member at Large know if you’d like to join any of the current Club Committees:

Telescope Sales Committee
Last month the 4” Edmond Scientific reflector was sold
Young Astronomer’s Program
Justin provided an update (see above)
Marketing & Social Media Committee
Started some dialogue to assemble what is available for existing branding items. Looking at trying to bring back the monthly newsletter, and currently looking at adding some pizazz to the brochure.

New Business:

April Board of Directors Meeting

Next Board Meeting is Wednesday 29 April at 8PM via Zoom. Reach out to Kathi if you’d like to attend.

Last month a proposal was made by a Club Member to expand the number of Members at Large to three (3) for this year only. Justin led the vote to add a third member at large; the motion passed by a large majority. Matt Bowler will join Rob and Rob as the third At Large Board Member.

Business Meeting was Adjourned by President Kathi Freeman at 7:46PM

Following the Business Meeting, we were joined by Zane Landers for a presentation on Deep Sky Observing. Zane is an amateur astronomer and telescope maker from Tucson, AZ. Zane is currently the lead writer/editor for TelescopeWatch.com, one of the top websites for astronomy beginners looking to get started in the hobby, and is on the board of directors of DarkSky Southern Arizona.

Respectfully Submitted,

Tolga Yazicioglu, Secretary

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