The meeting was held at the new Boxford Community Center at 10 Elm Street in Boxford, as well as via Zoom. There were 45 participants (39 in-person and 6 on Zoom).

Guests and new members were asked to introduce themselves: Jeff & Carol from Stoneham, Dave & Elise, Gladys from Boxford, Dave from Danvers, Karen from North Andover, and Paul from Boxford.

Officer Reports:

President – Jim Holland:

Jim called for approval of the March Business Meeting Minutes, which were approved by acclamation.

Jim discussed upcoming speakers for our monthly meetings:

May: Colby Merrill from the Cornell University Space Imaging and Optical Systems Lab, who worked on the NASA DART mission
June: Andrew Szentgyorgyi, Harvard University astronomer working on the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT)
September: Ed Ting, amateur astronomer with 40+ years of experience in helping others enjoy the night sky

The next Board Meeting will be on Friday 4/26 at 8PM, virtually via Zoom.

Vice President – Justin Murray:

Justin reminded the club about the Google Forms poll, which aims to learn more about member's astronomy interests and request feedback on club activities. The hope is to use this data to help plan future club events and overall increase the value of your membership.

Treasurer – Ron Sampson:

No updates to report

Secretary – Tolga Yazicioglu:

Tolga provided a summary of the 3/25 Special Board Meeting. This was the first meeting with the newly elected officers, and was a good opportunity to discuss club operations.

Topics Discussed included:

Membership, Finances, Boxford Community Center, Club Insurance, Club Documents (Constitution and Bylaws),Club Telescope Inventory / How to Manage & Use, Digital Poll of Club Members Interests, NASA’s Night Sky Network, Discussion on Club Laptop

Membership Director – John Gall:

John provided a summary to the BOD via email:

We have 94 total club members, 63 active members who have renewed recently, and 31 who are in arrears and have been sent a reminder to renew their membership.

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.

3/4, closed due to clouds.

3/11, closed for spring recess and high winds.

3/12, hosted Girl Scout Troop 70348 from Marblehead, with 19 scouts in attendance.

3/18, opened to 39 guests.

3/22, planned to host Girl Scout Troop 76125 from Peabody, but due to clouds will reschedule to 4/17 or 4/19.

3/25, closed due to clouds.

Mendel Observatory at Merrimack College – Brewster LaMacchia:

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

Due to clouds, Mendel hasn’t been open since the first week of January.

Star Parties – Brewster LaMacchia:

Brewster provided an update on Star Parties. He also mentioned that the survey results so far had lots of responses looking for Club Star Parties, which we’ll work on scheduling soon (weather permitting!)

Sanborn Elementary Star Party (3/21) had 100+ people in attendance, even with the cold weather.
Hamilton Library Star Party (4/16) – in need of a couple more volunteers.

Scope Clinic – Bryan Stone & Ron Sampson:

Prior to the meeting, Ron repaired Bryan’s Telrad. Also worked on a 5” Newtonian on a German Equatorial Mount (GEM), who’s owner said he’s interested in taking up to Acadia. There were unexpected clear skies following the meeting, and Ron helped the owner further get it dialed in.

At Large Board Members – Bryan Stone & Cyndi Hopping:

Bryan reminded the club that the At Large Board Members are the liaison between the general membership and the board. If anyone has any comments or anything that they would like to convey to the board, feel free to reach out to one of the At Large Board Members.

Old Business:

No Old Business.

New Business:

Proposal for a new Club Laptop:

President Jim Holland presented a resolution to authorize the club to spend up to $600 on a new laptop if the current club laptop is assessed as not sufficient for the club’s needs.
The laptop will be primarily used to run the monthly meetings and will be available for other club needs as well.
The current club laptop is several years old, and hasn’t been used in a few years.
The resolution passed with an overwhelming voice vote.

Business Meeting was Adjourned by incoming President Jim Holland at 7:54 PM

Following the Business Meeting, club members Bruce Norskog, Justin Murray, and Brewster LaMacchia gave fantastic presentations about their personal experiences with the recent (4/8) Total Solar Eclipse.

Respectfully submitted,

Tolga Yazicioglu, Secretary

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