Co-chairperson Ann Murphy hosted the online meeting using the Zoom platform

50 participants

Indoor Meeting:  “Objects in the Heavens” by author Peter Birren.

Business

Treasury Report.  The reported by Treasurer Steve Izzo.

Members should renew their memberships by March 31. After that, membership roles will be purged of overdue memberships.

Membership – 365 total (245+2*60)

  • 245 single memberships
  • 60 family memberships

Balances

  • $772.15 in business checking
  • $19,060.77 in savings
  • $0.52 in special purpose checking 

Meeting Format. By Co-chairperson Mike Keefe.

So far, 62 members have responded to the poll on future meetings. There is a strong preference for virtual + in-person meetings.

Virtual only meetings allow speakers from afar. Hosting an in-person meeting with online broadcast (hybrid meeting) may require a new venue and will require some committed volunteers to control the equipment and online presence.

If you haven’t responded to the poll please do so. The poll is on groups.io so you will need to be logged into that account to vote.

RACOBS.

RACOBS is much more likely now that outdoor gathering limits have increased to 100, but we still need to register for an event so that contact tracing is possible. Please watch the Club’s groups.io emails for RACOBS information.

Virtual RACOBS has been possible and may continue.

Loaner Telescope Program. Reported by Co-Chairperson Mike Keefe.

We need some volunteers to man the Loaner Telescope program. We have had 7 telescopes donated to the program. Some need update or minor repairs. The new Telescope Loaner committee will be meeting soon about proceeding with the program. Please stay tuned.

Upcoming Activities.

Apr 9: RACOBS – in-person or virtual. Please watch [email protected]

Apr 16-17: NC Statewide Star Party. Please see https://ncsciencefestival.org/starparty for a list of events and locations.

Apr 23: Virtual indoor meeting. Topic TBA.