Meeting Minutes – February 14, 2026

Meeting Minutes – February 14, 2026

Members Present

Show members present
  • Roger Downs
  • Ed Cuevas
  • James Nokes
  • Karl Smith
  • Gary Sanderson
  • Deb Sanderson
  • Matt Engle
  • Liv Degenkolb
  • Peter Bergus
  • Bob Koscinski
  • Pat Foster
  • Janet Pritt
  • Duffy Egan
  • William Brown Sr.
  • William Brown Jr.
  • Harry Spetla
  • Gavin Simmons
  • J. Ligman
  • Jim Hutchison
  • Michael Martin
  • John Hoch
  • Corey Summers
  • David Decker

Call to Order

The meeting was called to order by President Corey Summers at 10:03 am.

Opening

Prayer was led by Roger Downs, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.

Membership

President Corey Summers stated there were no new members or applicants present.

Minutes

Secretary David Decker stated this was the first business meeting of 2026. The January meeting was a training session where J-Pole antennas were built under the instruction of John Hoch.

There were no previous minutes to review.

A motion to approve that there were no previous minutes to approve was made by William Brown Jr. and seconded by Duffy Egan. Motion carried unanimously.

Treasurer’s Report

  • Reminder: Club dues are due by February 28.
    • Accepted via cash, check, or PayPal.
  • Current account balance: $1,782.21
  • This total does not include dues collected in January or February.

Committee Appointments

A motion was made by President Summers to appoint Gavin Simmons to the Tech Committee.

  • Approved by David Decker
  • Seconded by Michael Martin

Motion carried with no objections.

Net Control & Shack Reports

Members were encouraged to volunteer to run net control and shack reports during Tuesday night nets. Interested members should contact President Summers for details.

Upcoming Training

The next quarterly training meeting will be held on April 11, 2026, covering the construction of a 40-meter dipole antenna.

ARRL Field Day

  • Scheduled for June 27–28, 2026 at DD’s.
  • Testing will be available at 2:00 PM on June 27 for those seeking to upgrade their license.
  • Additional discussion is needed regarding site layout to minimize interference.

Special Events

  • Donna Spetla was absent; no special events report.
  • Dalton Ham Festival (Dalton, GA) will be held on February 28.

VE Team Information

  • Duffy Egan will be transferring VE coordination duties to DD Frazier.
  • Beginning July 1, 2026, Technician exams will transition to electronic testing (iPad or computer).
  • General class exams will transition on July 1, 2027, and Amateur Extra on July 1, 2028.
  • This topic was tabled until the March meeting.
  • Members wishing to test should contact the club via email or sign up using the QR code.

Board Members

A motion was made to retain the current board members.

  • Motion by William Brown Jr.
  • Seconded by Duffy Egan

Motion carried unanimously.

Website Presentation

Gavin Simmons presented the club’s new website, outlining current content and gathering input on additional features.

Members voted to adopt bledsoearc.org as the official domain name.

  • Annual domain cost: $10.13

Motion carried with no objections.

A motion was also made to appoint Gavin Simmons as the club’s Webmaster.

  • Motion by Gary Sanderson
  • Seconded by Jim Ligman

Motion carried.

Adjournment

With no further business, a motion to adjourn was made by James Nokes and seconded by William Brown Jr. The motion carried.

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