SECRETARY REPORT:

     Marty gave the secretary's report for Jason. The club currently has 68 members. The recent POTA activation at Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve was a very successful event, and the club is looking forward to ARRL Field Day 2025.

TREASURER REPORT: 

     Marty KEØPEZ reported the bank balance and the amounts in the repeater reserve fund and the general fund. He provided details on club expenses, money collected, and the recurring expenses that will be coming due in the near future. 

 AGENDA ITEMS:

ARRL FIELD DAY PLANNING COMMITTEE: [LARRY-KDØRIU, JIM-KØNK ]

     Jim KØNK and Larry KDØRIU will coordinate the SFTARC ARRL Field Day event. The club will operate 3A, including SSB, digital, CW, a GOTA station, a 6M station, and a solar powered station. Jason KFØISL will operate an FT8 station in the trailer; Jeff KSØJD will provide an additional radio. Many antennas are available, an R5 vertical has replaced the R7 vertical, which has been retired. Tom WA2IVD will provide the 6M beam. This club emphasizes camaraderie rather than competition. The club's early setup will begin on Friday morning at 7:30 AM and finish up on Saturday morning. Tom and Larry have improved the trailer tower. Jeff will supply hot dogs for Saturday noon. The evening meal will be a pot luck with several rotisserie chickens. Sunday breakfast will be provided by Jim, and there will be pizza for Sunday lunch.

     Larry has uploaded a preliminary equipment list to the club Google Drive. Greg KIØKK will coordinate logging and provide checklists of proper logging procedure. Trig will help with the information exchange with ARRL. Any member that sends a Winlink message, copies the ARRL FD CW message, or engages in any other activity that will earn points for this contest, please contact Jim.

     There was a motion to donate $75 to support the N3FPJ logging software. The motion was seconded. After a short discussion, the motion passed unanimously.

ENSOR COOKOUT TO CELEBRATE and REMEMBER JOE KROUT

     There will be a cookout at the Ensor Park and Museum on June 14th to remember and honor Joe Krout (KRØUT), who passed away on December 7, 2024. He donated his large collection of ham gear to the Olathe Ensor Foundation, and many of these items will be on display at the museum all day on the 14th. Area hams have been asked to take home with them any of the items that they might find useful and to make a small donation to help support the museum.

REPEATER UPDATE [JIM - KØNK]

     Jim reported several of the issues that affect the ongoing quest of the club to get our repeaters back on the air. Danny KAØFMZ put the 442 MHz repeater back on the air, but it had a hum and is now in for repair. The 147.24 MHz repeater is on the air in DeSoto. 

TECH NIGHT PROGRAM TO BE HELD ON JUNE 26

     Review of set-up, activities, and procedures pertaining to ARRL Field Day.

ENSORFEST25 HIGHLIGHTS

     Marty and Howard summarized the music, displays, tours, and activities of Ensorfest '25

TALLGRASS PRAIRIE NATIONAL PRESERVE POTA EVENT ON MAY 17 [JIM KØNK]

     A total of 14 club members joined together to set up and operate 3 stations. Propagation was not good, but 58 SSB/CW contacts were made on 20M and 30M. The group was delayed in Beto Junction because the restaurant was inadequately prepared for a large group. Jim spent a lot of time combining logs; he recommends; a different process next year.

THANK YOU TO CLUB MEMBERS AND OTHER AREA HAMS FOR PROVIDING PUBLIC SERVICE 

     Area hams and SFTARC club members provide much public service through ECS County Storm Spotters, ARES, SATERN, and various public service events and activities. From SFTARC, we recognize Woody Jeffrey, Howard Cripe, Steve Rainey, Ray Erlichman, Jim Andera, George McCarville, Tom Apalenek, Tim Weigman, and Greg Sippel. Other area hams that we recognize are Mike Ralls, Herb Fiddick, and Diana Fiddick.

MEMBERS WHO WOULD ENJOY VISITORS AND/OR CARDS

     Mike Lane is at Good Samaritan Society, Olathe. The address is 20705 W 151st St, Olathe.

OTHER BUSINESS:

      Volunteers are needed to help staff the Ensor Park and Museum for the rest of June. Please see Howard to sign up. Volunteers will get one raffle ticket for each day they volunteer. The raffle prize is $100.

     There are two website needs. The ARRL Field Day schedule needs to be uploaded. Greg will be assessing some web hosting options and deciding which one is best before the 3-year contract renews in 2026. Marty will prepare an application to secure 501(c)(3) tax status for the club so that we will be eligible for low cost web services through Microsoft.

     Danny Lane, KAØFMZ, one of the SFTARC repeater trustees, sent a greeting and said he hoped to be able to attend a breakfast meeting soon.      

ADJOURN:

     There was a motion to adjourn. It passed unanimously. President George adjourned the meeting shortly after 9 AM.