Hi Paul,
After much digging online, I came across your club. I fully intended to go to
the meeting (Feb.) but chickened out at the last moment. I also wasn't sure of
parking down there. The meetings up north will be closer to home for me (Elk).
Anyways, how would I go about becoming a member? This is all very new to me and
I'm stepping out of my comfort zone, so any information would be greatly
appreciated.
Thank you so much for your time.
Sincerely,
Jenny Ford
Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone
Get Outlook for Android<https://aka.ms/AAb9ysg>
________________________________
From: sas-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <sas-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> on behalf of Paul
<dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Monday, February 19, 2024 4:05:55 PM
To: sas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <sas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [SAS] News
Your new president is Matt Wallin. I will be switching roles with him--he was
formerly our vice president.
When I first joined the Spokane Astronomical Society back around 2000, the club
dues were $25 a year. I do not know how many years before that there was an
increase. At our last board meeting we learned that the Astronomical League
has increased our membership dues. While we like keeping the dues low, we
decided to pass this increase on to our members, so we can cover that expense
as well as continue to provide all the things we currently do without cutting
too deeply into our meager finances. So the dues will now be $30 per year.
This is for both an individual or a family membership.
If you have already paid your dues for this year you're covered--you remain a
member in good standing with us.
What do the dues cover? We reimburse guest speakers travel expenses (provided
they are not club members). We pay a liability insurance premium. There is
also a post office box fee which is now close to $200 a year. While the
hospital and libraries allow us to meet for free, we pay a nominal room rental
for other venues. There are also occasional equipment updates or repairs. We
purchased all the telescopes for the libraries. While those purchases were via
generous donations from club members or fans, there were incidental expenses in
preparing the telescopes for public use. And your club also buys burgers and
fixings for star parties and general meetings during the summer months. While
there is a separate food fund to cover those expenses, that fund has been drawn
down in the past year. We need to do a better job of collecting donations for
the food fund. I'm sure I'm overlooking a few things--should have run this
past our treasurer.
Speaking of the treasurer, Phil and Ed (our secretary) will continue their
roles for the upcoming year as well.
Next month's meeting will again be at the Sacred Heart Hospital Auditorium at
7:30 pm Friday, March 8th. For the last two months the lobby has been under
construction and so we enter via the west (left) side of the main entrance.
The door is locked promptly a few minutes before 7:30, so please arrive at
least 10 minutes early.
The topic for the March meeting will be multiverses, presented by a former
astronomy professor from Spokane Falls Community College.
We anticipate meeting back at the party palace in April. Our first meeting
there will entail a swap meet. The club plans on retiring a bunch of older
equipment, and according to our bylaws club members must be given first
opportunity for any such items.
Respectfully,
Paul Yost, VP
Spokane Astronomical Society
Elen sila lumenn' omentielvo
