President Ralph Grant:
Meeting and Zoom called to order at 7:05pm.
Attendance:
16 members attended the meeting in person and 5 more logged in via ZOOM. Two new members introduced themselves.
Secretary’s report:
Ralph Doyle, Secretary
Motion made, seconded and voted to accept the December meeting minutes as posted on the web site. The AMA Leader Club Award application was submitted to AMA. A grant application was also submitted in an effort to get partial reimbursement for tree trimming and parking lot repair. Also, the insurance renewal was submitted. An item of interest was sent to our district V.P. for inclusion in the March AMA magazine.
Treasurer’s Report:
Steve Cross, Treasurer
The treasurer’s report for both November and December was passed out and there were no corrections and they were moved, seconded and approved. Motion made and approved to reimburse Dave Brown $171.94 for expenses to repair some of the cracks in the runway and millings (rock) to fill in depressions in the driveway/parking lot.
Field Committee Report:
Dave Brown, Field Committee Chairman
Dave Harrington will investigate the cost of purchasing pampas grass to plant near the entrance to act as a deterrent to people driving around the entrance gates. There will be a work party organized this spring to spruce up the field prior to the start of the flying season. Dave Brown also pointed out that some members leave their trash at the field for someone else to pick up. There are trash bags available in the pavilion to help members cart away their trash. Dave also reported that he mowed around the runway and cut the grass as short as possible. He also rolled the area to knock down some of the mole hole dirt piles.
Safety Committee Report: There were no reports of injuries.
Membership Chairman’s Report
Ralph Doyle, membership Chairman
If a person asks if he can fly and is not a member, be sure to ask to see his AMA card. The PayPal system is available for you to renew your membership. We finished the calendar year with a membership of 110 members. The current membership now stands at 84. By the middle of January last year we had 73 members. As a reminder, if you have not paid your dues by the end of the March meeting, you are “in arrears” and the membership is raised by an additional $25.00. This is an incentive to pay your dues early.
Discussion was held to find out if a dual membership be made available to members of other clubs at a lower cost. If a prospective member shows a current membership card in another club, the membership dues for our club would be reduced to $100 from the current $150.
Old Business:
The frozen Fingers fly-in was held, rain or shine. It turned out rain and no shine as hundreds of members failed to show up for the event.
New Business:
Ralph Grant proposed an event schedule as listed on the web site. The link is posted here for your convenience to copy and paste to your browser: https://spiritsofstl.com/calendar/.
If you would like to see additional events or changes to the proposed ones, come to a meeting and discuss your ideas.
Presentation: Ralph Grant presented an A-10 warthog. He plans to enter it in a Motion R/C contest. John Campbell showed off his P-51, in particular the sequential landing gear system. The landing light, as seen in the photo is extremely bright. Dave Brown brought two planes: a yellow Air Tractor, and an unfinished Up Roar. Dave Harrington also brought an Up Roar that had the finish decals applied.
