The meeting was held at the new Boxford Community Center at 10 Elm Street in Boxford, as well as via Zoom. There were 24 participants (22 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:

Guest(s): None

New Member(s): Kelly & son Kieran

Officer Reports:

President – Kathi Freeman:

Kathi called for approval of the June Business Meeting Minutes, which were approved by acclamation. One member noted “it was a riveting read”.

Vice President – Justin Murray:

Justin was unable to attend.

Treasurer – Ron Sampson:

Ron reported no updates.

Secretary – Tolga Yazicioglu:

Tolga reported no updates.

Membership Director – John Gall:

John reported there are currently 123 Members, with three new members joining since the last meeting. Of the 123, 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 is still closed for the summer. Opening hopefully week after Labor Day.

Mendel Observatory at Merrimack College – Brewster LaMacchia:

Brewster provided an update on the Mendel Observatory, which has an Optical Guidance Systems (OGS) 20-inch Ritchey-Cretien reflector. The observatory is typically open on clear Wednesdays.

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 Kathi:

July events: 2x at Philips Academy, despite some clouds we actually got to observe! Thanks to everyone that helped.

Thanks to Jim Holland for organizing the Friday night at Boxford.

Lot's of upcoming events, see the NSAAC calendar and the volunteer signup pages for details.

In August: Donovan Res., N. Andover Historical Society, Crane Beach

In Sept: Battis/Sails & Trails (2 nights). Parker River

In Oct: Parker River

In discussion: Peabody Historical Society, Manchester Essex Conservation Trust

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 update on the Scope Clinic, which included activities prior to tonight’s meeting. Ron evaluated the electronics on a Meade Schmidt Cassegrain, which is owned by one of our club members. Found a problematic encoder, which will require further investigation. Repair may be difficult, due to Meade going out of business recently. Bryan noted that the scope clinic “remains the North Shore Amateur Astronomy Club’s Pride and Joy”.

At Large Board Members – Cyndi Hopping:

Cyndi was unable to attend.

Old Business:

Membership/Dues Discussion:

- Kathi provided a summary overview of the ongoing discussion

Club Banner Committee:

- Banner is done, and looked great at the event at Parker River. Checkout the pictures on the website.

New Business:

Next Board Meeting is Thursday 8/7 at 8PM. Reach out to Kathi if you’d like to attend.

Business Meeting was Adjourned by President Kathi Freeman at 7:42 PM

Following the Business Meeting, we were joined by Lindsay Kaldon, Fission Surface Power Project Manager at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio.

Respectfully submitted,

Tolga Yazicioglu, Secretary

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