For this year's banquet, invitations were extended to all the charter members, and of those who could be located, nine were able to attend. The dinner at Bernardi's was well received, and afterwards, several of the charter members rose to talk briefly about the early years of the chapter. Following that, the female vocal trio 9 to 5 offered tunes from decades past.
Thanks to Al and Jan Phipps who provided the anniversary cake and aviation themed table decorations.
Annual Banquet
Board of Directors, etc.
The joint meeting of the new and old boards was held 12/14. Our thanks to departing members Don Wolcott (president), Everett Brandt (vice president), and Dan Gilbert (director) for their work on the board.
Sam Sisk has stepped down from the Tech Counselor position, and fellow TC Al Lurie's health will not permit him to continue either. Ron Wright will continue as our Flight Advisor. Please contact Greg if you are able to act as either TC or FA for the chapter. More information on and application forms for these positions can be found on the EAA web site. So far, Ron Wright, Terry Moushon, and Bill Larson have applied to be Tech Counselors for our chapter.
Meetings
The new board has agreed to try different times and formats for both the membership and board meetings. For now, membership meetings will be held after the first breakfast (first Saturday) of the month. Except for business requiring a vote of the membership, all business will be conducted at the board meetings, which will typically be held after the second breakfast (third Saturday) of the month. Watch the home page of the chapter web site for the current schedule. Now and then an invited guest will not be able to give the presentation on a Saturday morning, and that month's meeting will be some evening that month.
As little business as possible will be presented at the membership meetings. Instead they will focus on flying and building and will often center on the Chapter Video which national distributes each month. It is hoped members will volunteer to give brief updates on the progress of their projects at these meetings.
Moving business to the board meetings is a change recommended by national. Please remember that all chapter members are welcome at the board meetings. The board will always ask for opinions from the members present. While only board members can vote at these meetings, if there is strong discord on an issue, it will likely be brought to the next membership meeting for a vote. (Chapter members can also direct chapter business through the process of section VI.C of the Bylaws.)
Youth Programs
Ron Dorn prepared a flyer to advertise our aviation Explorers Post, and this was sent to most of the area high schools. We had to pay $75 to distribute to Peoria District 150 (their slogan: "Where remarkable happens every day"). We were able to get 5 kids to join (one is the son of a chapter member), and we have renewed the EP charter.
Acquisitions
At the 12/21/16 special board meeting, it was voted unaminously to purchase a new laptop computer and video equipment. The computer will be used by the treasurer to keep budget records; a copy of the Excel spreadsheet was also purchased for this. The computer will also be used to present videos and slide shows at chapter meetings. A large screen TV was purchased on holiday sale to replace both the video projector and audio system we currently use. To assist with presenting videos, a WiFi repeater was also purchased to carry the 3MY public WiFi channel into the hangar.
Donations
The buyer of the excess books and magazines we had for sale has removed them from the hangar. There was much good reading in that pile.
Hangar
Greg LePine has installed and tested the recently purchased WiFi repeater. You'll find the information needed to connect to the internet posted on the bulletin board in the hangar. He reports it works perfectly; thanks to Terry Moushon for the recommendation on which unit to purchase.
Two more airplanes will temporarily occupy the hangar in January and February for their annuals.
Publications
Morrie Caudill has passed along electronic copies of the newsletters he prepared from 2002 until 2014. As with those from Guy Snyder, a select number will be added to the chapter web site's "Archives" section of the Newsletter page. The original format was .pdf which is too large for the limited space available with the free site hosting offered from national, so abridged versions will be prepared.
Copies of the Bylaws and Standing Rules have been placed on the Documents page of the web site. The meeting minutes are also stored there. At the request of the board, the Documents page is password protected. The password is the same as last year and is posted on the bulletin board in the hangar.
Members
Jerry Peacock has passed away, at age 89. He was a memeber of this chapter for many years, and his aviator's log book spanned 70 years. A copy of his obituary can be found here.
Dues
A membership renewal form has been mailed to all current and recent members. Dues remain $30 for an individual and $35 for a family.
It is possible to create on the chapter web site a form for secure on-line payments for dues. If you would prefer this, please let us know. If there is enough interest, it will be set up later this year.
Airport
3MY
The Airport Authority is planning to seal-coat the black top this spring. Further drainage repair work at the north end of the field will leave the runway closed for one week this spring, at a time to be announced. This repair should also fix the heaving at the junction of the change in runway materials in that area.
