AARG Meeting

January 8, 2004

The meeting was called to order by David Urban, President at approximately 7:00 pm.

The first order of business was the election of AARG officers for 2004. The following slate was unanimously approved:

• Jeff Short - President
• Rudy Albachten - Vice President
• Lou Catozzi - Treasurer
• Deborah Randolph - Secretary
• Rick Van Voorhis - Prefect
• The Senior Advisor for 2004 is David Urban
• The Junior Advisor for 2004 is Shawn McCoy

Luis Salinas will continue as Contest Director, and while there is no official title known as "National Event Director," it was agreed by all that James Duffy would serve in that capacity.

James Duffy, speaking to the activities of the Contest Committee, remarked that activity in that regard was dormant at the present time. James, Luis, Marc, Carl and Alex will continue to serve on the Contest Committee.

The Outreach Committe will continue to consist of Steve Rogers, James Duffy, Rick Van Voorhis and Jim Parker. Stever Rogers will continue producing the acclaimed and renown AARG Newsletter.

It was remarked that we will continue to launch from our Hutto location until March.

With the spring growing season approaching, discussion was had with regard to the possibility of mowing the field, at least at the range head. It was proposed that if the owner has the equipment that perhaps AARG members could put up the manpower to accomplish this task. No motion was made nor any action taken in this regard.

Discussion was had with regard to when to hold the Huevos Launcheros launch. It was the consensus to look to March as a reasonable time, however no motion was made nor any action taken.

It was proposed that the first Saturday in April we would begin practice with the new launch control system in an effort to shake out the bugs. Dan Miner reported that he now has a working prototype and is working on the final design presently and will likely have the final design by the February launch. $500 has been authorized thus far for the controller, and it is expected that an additional $500 will be authorized for its completion in the near future.

Discussion re: NSL Memorial Day Weekend:

- This NSL launch will be known as the Jim Turner Memorial Launch.

- While we have complete confidence in the new launch controller system, it was recommended that we request DARS to bring along their trailer as a backup.

- A concern was raised with regard to the need for additional pads for this launch. It will be necessary to have 16 pads and an away cell.

- Discussion was had with regard to the amount that should be charged as a registration fee. The amount of $25/family was bandied about. Discussion was also had as to whether we should have a lower fee for "pre-registration" and a higher fee for on-site registration. Utilizing PayPal for pre-registration was also discussed. It was the consensus of all that AARG's "kids fly free" rule remain in effect for this launch. It was noted that our primary expenses for this launch are the cost of porta-potties, an honorarium for the fire department, and any new pads which might have to be acquired.

- Entries for raffles at this launch will be the flight cards; i.e., the more you fly, the more entries you have.

- There will be two camping areas available; one with generator power and one without.

- Discussion was had with regard to ideas for "special events" during this launch. One proposal was to have a grapefruit launching contest. It was requested that anyone with ideas in this regard should post them for discussion.

Treasurer's Report:

Launch fees have risen dramatically in 2003 to $933.45 Merchandise sales for 2003 were 288.75 It is expected that dues for 2004 will be lower due to the fact that many members pre-paid dues for year(s) in advance in order to allow for the acquisition of the trailer. The AARG balance at 12/31/03 is $1,349.01. A copy of the AARG Financial Report of 2003 is available from Lou Catozzi.

Further discussion points:

- An attempt should be made to be more technically accurate when discussing model rocketry; i.e., it is not technically accurate to refer to "low power" rockets as opposed to high power. To be technically accurate, the use of "model rocket," and "large model rocket" and "high power rocket" is preferred.

- It was suggested by Jeff Short that in order to keep the trailer organized and to allow more members to participate in set-up and tear-down, labels should be made and affixed in the trailer. Discussion was also had with regard to either painting or somehow mounting our logo on the AARG trailer.

- Discussion was also had with regard to generating greater member participation in set-up, tear-down, and running the launches. It was suggested that perhaps through board participation pre-launch we might come up with a way to sign folks up to participate with regard to set-up, tear-down, LCO, RCO, pad management, and registration.

There being no more discussion, the meeting was adjourned.

Deborah Randolph
Secretary