The meeting was held at the new Boxford Community Center at 10 Elm Street in Boxford, as well as via Zoom. There were 30 participants (26 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:

Ken from Newburyport; John from Middleton; John from Tewksbury; Damion from Andover; Jason from Methuen

Officer Reports:

President – Kathi Freeman:

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

Vice President – Justin Murray:

Justin reported no updates.

Treasurer – Ron Sampson:

Ron was unable to attend.

Secretary – Tolga Yazicioglu:

Tolga reported no updates.

Membership Director – John Gall:

John was unable to attend, but reported to Kathi that there are currently 133 Members, with 13 new members joining since the last meeting. Of the 133, 9 are Honorary Members.

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.

Dennis reported that the Collin’s Observatory will be reopening Monday Sept 8th weather and construction permitting. This will be Dennis’ 35th year operating at Salem State!!!

Mendel Observatory at Merrimack College – Brewster LaMacchia:

Merrimack College has asked us to temporarily pause public observing due to a recent injury from a visitor.

Star Parties – Brewster LaMacchia:

Brewster was unable to attend, but provided the following update to Justin:

August Activity:

Star Party at Essex Greenbelt's Donovan Estate was well attended and we got to see a rocket fuel dump at the end of the night.

North Andover Historical Society: Clouded out for observing but Brewster gave the talk in the very nice theater room for 25 people. TBD if we reschedule observing, but they emailed attendees our upcoming events.

Star Party at Crane Beach was also well attended.

Thank you for everyone who came out to those events!

Upcoming (just the primary date, all have cloud dates):

Sep 13 & 19 : Sails & Trails @ Battis Farm; Justin will coordinate the event on the 13th with Brewster out of town

Sep 30 : Parker River NWR on Plum Island

Oct 22 : Moon Over Merrimack – STEM night at Merrimack College

Oct 28 : Parker River NWR on Plum Island

To be scheduled: Another Crane Beach event in Oct or Nov.

Note that Sails and Trails is billed as our Big NSAAC Annual Star Party. We try and get as many members out there as possible. Some past Sails and Trails events have drawn over 200 people, and we usually pick up some new members from it.

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.

Bryan and Ron were unable to attend, but Justin provided an overview of the Scope Clinic. Justin was reminded that the Scope Clinic is the pride and joy of the club.

At Large Board Members – Cyndi Hopping:

Cyndi was unable to attend.

Old Business:

Telescope Sales Committee:

- Jason has one scope that is almost ready for sale. Ron helped with making a new battery pack.

- Justin is still working on one scope

Membership/Dues Discussion:

- Kathi provided a summary overview of the ongoing discussion

Club Banner Committee:

- Banner is done, and looked great in person at the meeting

- Shout out to Jason and the rest of the committee for the job well done!

New Business:

Next Board Meeting is Thursday 9/11 at 8PM. Reach out to Kathi if you’d like to attend.

Jason started a discussion for swapping to Astrospheric to the Club Website. Lots of benefits; Justin recommended discussing at the upcoming board meeting. Brewster’s technical expertise will be needed to make any website updates.

One club member asked whether we’ve contacted any students at Mendel or Salem State to present at a club meeting. Justin and Kathi noted this was a good idea and we can keep this in mind as we look for future speakers.

Business Meeting was Adjourned by President Kathi Freeman at 7:45 PM

Following the Business Meeting, we were joined by Dr. Susanna Finn - NASA Program Scientist in the Heliophysics Division.

Respectfully submitted,

Tolga Yazicioglu, Secretary

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