The May 17, 2003 meeting was held at Red Coach Restaurant in Newton. The meeting was called to order at 9:10am by Vice-President Kent Stutzman. Present were Ko Bartel, Lon Buller, Dustin Burson, David Duerksen, David Godshall, Bob Harder, Mike Harvey, Rick and Derrick Herbel, Dan Inskeep, Roger Jost, Robin McDaniel, Bob Ogden, John Ryding, Kent Stutzman, Roger Wilson.

Guests: John Ryding introduced guests Rick and Derrick Herbel; Derrick is a Boy Scout working on his radio merit badge. John said he was moving to Nebraska in a couple weeks and thought the club could be a good contact for Derrick.

April Minutes were read no corrections.

Treasurer's Report: No change to the total of checking account balance of $823.23, plus $90 petty cash, for a total of $913.23.

Roger Wilson: The Newton City Commission has granted permission to stay overnight. The fee will be $50 to use the park. The secretary will give Roger a check at the end of the meeting to forward to the city.

Kansas Sampler Festival: Roger Wilson talked about the 2 day, 2 years in a row event that moves from city to city. Newton gets it 2004 and 2005, probably the first weekend in May each year. It is a showcase of what Kansas has to offer. Roger offered the idea that this could be a good opportunity to provide communications for the officials. Another future event to keep in mind to possibly help with is the Newton Festival of Lights that the club helped with last year.

Reimbursement: David Godshall moved that the club reimburse Kent Stutzman $145.87 for the RigBlaster hardware, plus $19.95 for the EchoStation software, for a total of $165.82. Roger Wilson seconded, and the motion passed unanimously. The secretary will write the check after the meeting. There was a request that the RigBlaster announcements not start as early or run as late as currently scheduled; Kent will change the schedule to start at 8am and finish at 10pm. Abbreviated Newslines now running 2pm Saturday, 10am Monday in addition to the full Newsline at 7pm Sunday.

Field Day: June 28©29, 1pm (Central Time) Saturday to 1pm Sunday at Military Park. Bob Harder reported that Hesston College's Amateur Radio Club's Field Day will again be at Stutzman Retreat Center, West of Hesston, and people are free to go to either or both as desired. Lon Buller is not sure if setting up a station at the EOC for the EOC bonus is a possibility; he will have a better idea at the next club meeting (one week before Field Day). Roger wanted to remind the unlicensed guests that Field Day is a great opportunity for non-amateurs to communicate on the radios in the presence of a licensed control operator.

Repeater: Robin would like to replace the backup battery currently on the repeater with a deep-cycle battery, especially since the old battery might have been damaged. A new battery would run about $65 or so, and Robin will need to check physical dimensions. A new $25 trickle charger would also be good. Another issue is needing to install some additional fans to keep the cabinet cool during the summer months and during high activity.

Severe Weather: There was some discussion about severe weather. This year has already seen a record number of tornados nationwide.

Meeting adjourned 10:20am.