The February 16, 2008 meeting was held in the Newton Public Library.  The meeting was called to order at 9:18am by President Dan Inskeep.  Present were Nick Aeschliman, Lon Buller, David Duerksen, David Godshall, Dan Inskeep, Bob Ogden.

Minutes: The January Minutes were read and approved.

Treasurer's Report: $452.13 in checking, $20 in petty cash, total $462.13.

Storm Fury on the Plains: The annual weather spotter's meeting will be Thursday, March 27, at 6:30pm at the Chisholm Middle School in Newton.

Repeater: Been working really well recently, though still not getting the use it deserves.

EOC: Lon reported that Don went up on the roof and fastened down some loose cables and ladder line.  The vertical antenna that was leaning is currently not upright due to recent winds and it will need to be fixed and put back up.

Ham Radio and Club Advocacy: Dan raised the question about what would it take to get interest raised in Amateur Radio.  Barriers include the perception that it's not needed due to cell phone proliferation, everyone being busier and involved in a lot of different activities.  Dan mentioned other radio clubs he's been involved with normally meet weekdays rather than Saturdays and wondered if having the club meetings on a weekday evening might help raise meeting attendance.  The Secretary will send out a survey by E-Mail (and/or regular mail for members without e-mail) asking the club membership their opinions on preferred club meeting days.  There was talk about having activities and training sessions in conjunction with the meetings, such as a soldering seminar following a club meeting, etc.  Also floated was the idea of finding and connecting with other area amateurs that we don't know about, to let them know we as a club are here and willing to help if they have any ham radio needs.

Field Day: Dan mentioned the use of filter stubs to reduce interference from other nearby stations and suggested we think about trying that next Field Day.  Bob Ogden mentioned the GOTA station rules have change to where only very new amateur radio operators (licensed less than a year) and unlicensed persons will be allowed to use the station, so we will need to rethink how many transmitters we'll need and our classification.

Repeaters: Access to the mill where the repeater used to be located and the 440 repeaters is supposed to be located is very difficult due to new access policies.  Dan suggested we may need to find a different place to locate the 440 repeater.

Meeting adjourned at 10:10pm.

-- David Godshall, Secretary/Treasurer