BRARA General Membership Meeting minutes for August 5 2025
The BRARA monthly association meeting was held in person and using Zoom conference. There were 14 attending via Zoom and 22 in the library. The meeting was called to order by BRARA President Ralph Mele W1DAR at 6:30 pm local, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. Our speaker this month is BRARA Member Andrew Auster KO4TZK. His topic is “Youth Adventures in Ham Radio”.
Board members and officers present: Mike K8BQ, Jay S N2ELG, Henry WA2ROA, Bonnie KC2JVS, Ralph W1DAR
President: Ralph W1DAR
Ralph thanked all who disassembled and removed the repeater from our old site.
Secretary: Mike K8BQ
Mike has posted the July General Meeting minutes to the BRARA Blog. Jay S N2ELG made a motion to accept the minutes seconded by Ralph W1DAR. Motion was carried. Mike gave an update on the repeater situation.
Treasurer: Bonnie KC2JVS
Treasurer’s Report July 31, 2025
December 31, 2024 Available Balance $11,970.67
June 30,2025 Available Balance $13,124.06
July 31,2025 Available Balance $12,991.93
Income: $567.62
Income includes $67.62 in memberships and $500 in donations
Expenses:
Expenses include: $26 for one of month Constant Contact, $150 for quarterly web hosting, $288.90 for quarterly electric bill, $108.15 for repeater site insurance, $48.60 for UPS batteries, and $78.10 for new antenna for shack wi-fi
Not included: approximately $150 for tools
Above amounts include reserve funds of $5,000
Balance available for operating capital after deposits and expenses clear: $7,841.93
DUES INCREASE: The BRARA board voted to increase dues for our 2026 year based on increasing costs and a drop in membership. The last increase was January 2018. We start collecting dues for 2026 in October.
The new dues structure is:
- Full Member $45
- Family Member $10
- Associate Member $15
- Life Member (20x Full) $900
Fran KD2CRH, and John Q KE4JQ, offered to contact members who did not renew for 2025.
Director at Large: Jay S N2ELG
We have 17 or 18 items good for the auction. Other small items for tables at the Radiator Grille.
Vice President: Henry WA2ROA
August Lunch at Bella Trattoria on August 16th at 1pm. Contact Henry with ideas for guest speakers or other lunch locations. Lunch locations need to be willing to provide separate checks.
General Discussion:
George WA2VNV – We need to consider intermod and desense when co-locating on sites.
Kevin W1OM – Kevin asked if a storage unit he was building might be usable. It appears to be too far south. He also asked if providing a cash match for memberships would help.
John H KE4IDW– John will talk to Boca Regional and Bethesda Hospitals about potential site locations.
Adjournment:
Motion to adjourn by Jay S N2ELG, seconded by Ed W2SI. Meeting adjourned at 7:20 PM followed by Andrew Auster’s presentation.
Respectfully submitted,
Mike Greenfeld K8BQ, Secretary