The meeting was called to order by president Mike Lockwood at approximately 7:00
PM.

The last skywatch was cloudy, we hope to have better conditions for the next
upcoming one.

Lawnmowers - Guy Hampel looked into pricing of mowers to replace the failing
ones we have now.  One mower is basically dead, but the other is still
functional but has no automatic drive.  Guy said for $400 - $500 max, we can get
a really good Toro mower with a 5 year warranty.  After discussion, a vote wass
taken and it was decided we will purchase one of these mowers since Spring is
here and mowing season will soon begin. Guy will purchase this weekend.

We have an Allerton Park viewing event in a week and a half.  The viewing site
will be in the Meadow near the greenhouse.  Bob Rubendunst will provide a
presentation, to be determined.  May be a group effort.

We have the opportunity to present a workshop(s) this year.  Presenters will
receive $30/hour.  Stipulation is that there must be enough people to cover
costs.  One suggested topic is a presentation on types of scopes.  John Stone
expressed possible interest.  Needs more discussion.

May 20th is the date for a Hessel Park observing session near Jarlings, just
North of Kirby Avenue in Champaign.  This is one of the in-town observing
sessions we talked about.

Taste of Champaign is once again not an event we will participate due to the
cost of setting up and the corresponding lack of response to new memberships.

We need a new Newsletter Editor, perhaps several people to divide up the tasks.
Dave has been editing the newsletter for years and needs a break.  He may
contribute some pieces, but we need someone to be the new driving force.
Contact one of the officers for more information or Dave specifically if you
have questions about how this is currently done.

The presentation for the evening was Ed Ting who gave a presentation about the
mini-Messier Marathon that the New Hampshire astronomical crowd has adopted.
The mini-marathon still requires an all night event, but allows more time
between objects.  He also provided some bonus clips about an interesting large
telescope assembled by a colleague that has an impressive number of electrical
components and also showed us an intersting telescope add for a telescope that
allows you to see 100 billion miles for only $30.  Ed was a great presenter and
demonstrated lots of humorous points.

Meeting adjourned at approximately 8:30.