MOTION: to accept the August 2006 minutes by Jim (N8DMW), seconded by Tom (W8TRC), accepted.

TREASURES REPORT: Suzanne reported that our balance stands at $471.95. Mark (N8EGJ) pointed out that our accounting method of reporting a standing balance is not in line with the Red Cross’ accounting practices. All monies are accumulated in a common account then ear marked for disbursement to the departments based on needs. Moving forward, we will adopt a practice of keeping track of incoming monies only. Considering that our expenditures for this year’s field day were in excess of our balance, from this point we are resetting our balance at $0.

DISASTER REPORT: There were no local disasters discussed at the meeting.

NET REPORT: Edgar (KC8VLV) reported that net attendance has averaged with 7 to 8 check-ins per week. This marks a slight improvement in net participation. Please make note to participate Tuesday evenings at 8pm, on 146.800MHz.

SPECIAL EVENTS: Mike (N8MIC) mentioned that September 16^th is National Amateur Radio Day, and happens to fall during the National Emergency & Safety Awareness Week.

JOTA is still on our agenda and operations are expected to begin at 10am on October 21-22, 2006. Participants are encouraged to arrive between 7 and 8am for set up. Additional information about JOTA is available at http://www.scout.org/wse/jota.shtml or the ARRL website.

CLUB STATION: The 2 meter radio is not in working condition and should be replaced.

NEWSLETTER: QSL.NET had a problem last month and the ARCARS website was not available during that time. Judy (K8APM) noted that the archived minutes were not viewable when she visited the site. Mark (N8EGJ) added a RSS feed to the qsl web site. Our newsletter and web pages remain available. www.qsl.net & www.arcars.us are posted to the Internet. We have a wealth of information available on the websites.

CLUB PROJECT:

OLD BUSINESS: There were concerns regarding the safety of personal information with regards to the www.preemploy.com web service that has been selected by the Red Cross to conduct background checks on all volunteers. The threat of identity theft was discussed in some length. Andrew (KC8SPD) imparted that the "secure site" indicator is not visible until you reach the on line form page. Some questions about participation amongst members that are reluctant to provide the information in this format were brought up. The deadline for the background check is November 1^st.

MOTION: To postpone election of officers until the November meeting by Shannon (W8CNN), seconded by Paul (KG8OU), approved.

NEW BUSINESS: Hometown Security Week will be observed at the Birchwood Mall with various services setting up information booths for the public. The Red Cross anticipates to participation in that event.

DX SPOTS/ SPECIAL EVENTS: Tom (W8TRC) reported that he worked a European Contest and made about 14 contacts including one in Estonia.

MOTION TO ADJOURN: by Edgar, and Suzanne

HF: The Great Lakes Emergency and Traffic Net is held nightly at 8pm on 3.932 kHz

The AC8W DX Cluster on 144.790 MHz is available. Check it for HF activity.

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