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 (28 in-person and 2 on Zoom). A quorum of members was present, and the Business Meeting was official.

Guests and new club members were asked to introduce themselves:

Robert who joined in May, Tiffany who joined in August, and several guests.

Officer Reports:

President – Kathi Freeman:

Kathi called for approval of the September Business Meeting Minutes, which were approved by acclamation. One member noted it was a “riveting read” and also commended their speedy posting.

Vice President – Justin Murray:

Justin reported he was able to add the PayPal donation page to the website. Justin also reminded the club that we now have access to Astropheric as a club. If you don’t have access already, reach out to Justin (or refer to his previous emails) to get access to the advanced features.

Treasurer – Ron Sampson:

Ron was unable to attend.

Secretary – Tolga Yazicioglu:

Tolga reported no updates.

Membership Director – John Gall:

John reported that there are currently 137 Members, with 3 new members joining since the last meeting. Of the 137, 9 are Honorary Members and 128 are Regular 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 was planned to reopen for the season on Sept 8, but had pesky clouds that didn’t let us open. Sept 15 opened to high thin clouds, and fair conditions with 17 guests. Sept 22 opened with the sky going from poor to good conditions, with 19 guests. Sept 29 mostly cloudy, and unable to open.

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:

September:

Trails & Sails : First planned night clouded out but the 19th was great. We think about 120 people came to look through the scopes of the 18 volunteers. Pretty sure that sets a record for most scopes at a NSAAC event. With so many scopes lines were short and people got to see a lot of things. We did learn two things:

1) With that many visitors, managing parking was critical. Bruce McBrien from LGIA handled that for us.

2) With that many scopes, lining up in a single long row made it difficult to chat with others, and some attendees may not have realized there were more scopes further down the line. Thinking next time we get more than 10 scopes we'll make two rows.

Parker River: Another great night despite a few clouds. 8+ volunteers and 100+ attendees. Shout out to club member Ben Babich who was working at the Thirsty Whale that night (That's our post observing meeting spot).

October events: Moon over Merrimack (10/22 530-730PM) and another Parker River event at the end of the month presuming the government shutdown is resolved.

For November a star party as the St George school just up the road in Boxford (open to all, we did this for the 1st time last year).

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 provided an overview of the Scope Clinic, which was described as the “pride and joy of the club” and has existed for pretty much as long as the club has existed, although some have said its existed longer…

At Large Board Members – Cyndi Hopping:

Cyndi was unable to attend.

Old Business:

Telescope Sales Committee:

- Two telescopes remain, including an Edmond Scientific Newtonian

Membership/Dues Discussion:

- Kathi provided a summary overview of the ongoing discussion

- Bryan emphasized the importance of restarting the Young Astronomer Program (YAP), highlighting the essays previously written by the students who submitted applications

New Business:

Next Board Meeting is Wednesday 10/08 at 8PM via Zoom. Reach out to Kathi if you’d like to attend.

Business Meeting was Adjourned by President Kathi Freeman at 7:44 PM

Following the Business Meeting, we were joined by John Adler from The Valley Vista Getaway and Dark Sky New Mexico.

Following John Adler’s discussion, the club met for observing at Boxford Common.

Respectfully submitted,

Tolga Yazicioglu, Secretary

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