Minutes of the monthly meeting of Sangamon Astronomical Society held July 17, 2003, at 7:15 PM at Don Jardine's home

Attendance:
Rick Branson
Thomas Garber
Larry Hardy
Darren Hulskotter
Don Jardine
Luis Perez
Fred Pilcher
Mike Robertson
Henry Rohs
Jim Rosenthal
Larry Trutter
Donald Walker
Ray Watt
Matt Will
Clarke Woodruff
Kerry Wright


President Larry Hardy called the meeting to order and presided over the same. This was a quorum meeting. Larry Hardy encouraged the club members to bring friends to the meeting.

A motion was made and seconded to pass the minutes of the June 2003 meeting. The motion was passed.

Club treasurer, Clarke Woodruff, presented the treasury report to the club. Treasurer also mentioned the need to reimburse Larry Hardy for the filters, Mike Roberson for the lights, and the registration fee for changing the article of corporation.

The new wording of the article have to be approved by the board of director before the membership vote. Article 4 currently reads:
Our objective is to further the enjoyment of astromomy through cooperation,
education and good fellowship-scientific, research , education.

Article 4 amended. and adopted.

The purpose for which the corporation is organized are to promote the science
of astronomy to a research level , including education of junior and senior
high school and college level strudents as well as the general public.

To these purposes , the goal of the corporation is to construct a public
observatory on public ground and to recieve tax exempt status so that the
corporate funding may be obtained.
Members' efforts to obtain thise goals shall be strictly volunteered.

This amendment to the articles of incorporation was voted on by the SAS Board
of Directors at a meeting on July 17th 2003, and subsequntly presented to the
the general membership , voted on and accepted by the members. The State of
Illinois subsequently amended the articles of incorporation on July 25, 2003.

A motion to pay the bills was made by Prof. Fred Pilcher and seconded by Rick Branson. The motion was approved. A motion to accept the treasury reportwas made by Ray Watt and was seconded by Hank Rohs to accept the treasury report. The motion was passed.

Star Party Report
Donations for door prizes for the Star Party is way down from last year due to the economy. In order to provide more door prizes to the attendees, an idea is to set aside $200 to purchase the giveaway prizes for the Star Party. A motion was made by Luis Perez and seconded by Mike Robertson to set aside $200 to obtain door prizes. A list of Speakers is being organized and there will be an attempt to obtain local media coverage. Judge for astrophotography was selected. The order for the shirts will be placed at least 3 weeks prior to the event. This is to avoid ordering more shirts than needed.

July Star Party
Naperville club is hosting an outing on July 25th and 26th at Jim Edgar Panther Creek group site. Bring $5 if you plan to participate. People from the Peoria club might come.

Star Party to be held at August 21st Meeting
The club will hold a Star Party in August at Centennial park. Rain date is Friday, August 22nd. The public is invited.This will allow the public to participate in observing, to know more about astronomy, a chance to join our club, and be aware of the Illinois Dark Skies Star Party.

Special Request
Please send your questions on astronomy topics to Prof. Fred Pilcher. He plans to give a presentation at the September meeting.

Presentation by Kerry Wright
Kerry Wright provided a presentation on calculating the focal length, aperture, focial ratio. He discussed what is the most used magnification and eyepiece. The field of view and exit pupil calculation were discussed. Kerry Wright gave handouts to the attendees to take them home and try to answer questions for fun without looking the information up.


Observing time!
The meeting was adjourned at 9:00pm. After the meeting, members observed with their telescopes set up in Don's backyard.