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The November meeting was held at Taste Restaurant in Rockbrook Village in Omaha. A near-record turnout: over 50 people were in attendance to hear Bill Randby’s KETV Meteorology talk. Barb Mayes, President, called the business meeting to order at 11:29am. Veterans: She started by thanking veterans and offering a round of applause. Name Tags: Again offered up need for name tags. Chapter surveys: please complete them via the web link, or by getting digital-based form from Cathy Z. Barb has paper copies for anyone who needs them. Upcoming Meetings: - December meeting: Monday 7 December, Old Spaghetti Works. SOO from Davenport Iowa will talk about societal impacts on meteorology. - January meeting: Greg Carbin, date not quite set, will be an evening meeting, for annual “Top 10 Weather Events for 2009” talk. The chapter be working with Kansas City AMS Chapter to split the cost of his talk - February meeting: Planned for the 3rd Week of Feburary. $400 to the student winner for the student competition. Mahoney State Park Kiewit Lodge so it’s near UNL membership Evan Kuchera: Chapter designated on National AMS “Honor Roll” for 2008-2009 year. Will be recognized at AMS Meeting in Atlanta in January. Barb solicited for a member who might be attending the AMS Meeting in Atlanta to be the representative for the Chapter Breakfast. Becky Selin’s Treasurer’s Report: October Income $759, October expenses - $723 to Grisanti’s, Bank balance: $2258.29, Total balance including petty cash: $2433.75 Patricia Vollmer: Mentioned new location on website for minutes, made motion to approve October minutes. Motion carried. Cathy Zapotocny: Presented plaques to Evan Kuchera, Scott Rentschler and Steve Augustyn. for their past service as officers to the AMS Chapter Chapter Business and Announcements: Fritz VanWijngaarden: NPOESS Program Office will be at AFWA next week to give open forum briefing on performance enhancements :17 November 1430-1600 at AFWA Auditorium. Flyers were passed out, and contact information was provided for chapter members who require help to get onto Offutt AFB. Matt Sittel: Science Fairs are coming up in December, will need judges. Stay tuned for more details on times/dates/locations. Member testified that being a judge is a rewarding experience and we should all consider the outreach opportunities to middle/high school students Barb Mayes: Proposed need for a netbook for the chapter, with cords, surge protector, case. Made motion for allocating $500 for all of this. Discussion was made (Bob Allen) about considering a Apple Macbook solution, Steve Rugg attested that $500 would be more than enough, another question about approaching vendors for donations/academic rates, etc. Question about whether netbooks could handle Proposed a vote for allocating the $500 In favor: All but 3 Opposed: 3 Abstentions: None Motion carried Barb: Motion to allocate $200 for Greg Carbin, no discussion, unanimous vote. Motion carried. Barb: Motion to allocate $400 for student competition prize, Becky: “What if the winner turns down the money”. Barb suggested that 2nd, 3rd be considered to take the money. There was discussion about whether the use of the money needs to be made clear up front. Dr. Zapotocny recommended we have a more definitive judging process for the student competition when so much money is on the line, with clear criteria so the process is more objective. Motion made to vote: unanimous approval Barb requested that members think about judging criteria and asked for help for coordinating the judging. Barb requested to the members from academia that students interested in competing e-mail her at
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with an intent NLT 31 December, with abstracts due NLT 15 January. Recommendation made to move the “intent” e-mail to 20 December to catch students before their winter breaks. Barb announced that the Chapter is now present on Facebook, plans to use them for meeting coordination and discussion boards. Members on Facebook are free to join the group and can use the event planner to RSVP for meetings. Brian Smith (NWS Omaha): announcement made to honor Offutt AFB as a “Storm Ready” community with a ceremony on 24 November at the Bellevue Vistor’s Center. Motion made to close the business portion of the meeting. Meeting adjourned at 11:58am. Submitted by Patricia Vollmer Chapter Recording Secretary November 13, 2009 |
Founded in 1919, the American Meteorological Society has a membership of more than 11,000 professionals, professors, students, and weather enthusiasts.The Omaha-Offutt AMS local chapter is one of many local chapters around the nation. 