AAA President Message – February

Dear Members,

I hope you were able to attend the Annual Holiday Party. A great time spent mingling with new members and catching up with old friends, munching on delicious appetizers, taking in some of the spirits from behind the bar.

I met several new AAA members. Shortly after arriving, I got to chat with Robert Smith, then with Kelly Elivo, both fairly new members to AAA about their interests and why they joined AAA. Later, I budged my way into Rebecca Feldman’s conversation to toast in the New Year. Seated at the bar, Julian Foster and Ann were socializing with others, but took time to talk about new membership benefits. I met Sean for the first time, a member with a little more than a year, he spoke of his interests after having done astronomy in New Jersey.

A shout to the Holiday Party coordinators. Much gratitude goes to Susan Andreoli, the lead event coordinator arranging the space and food. Sam Hahn came up with the brilliant idea of the trivia contest to help break the ice among members. He worked the the floor while Irene Pease emceed by shouting the questions to the teams. Members of the winning team received prizes.

Stan Honda helped with the Audi/video aspects of the event. Preston Stahly, with support from Bhaswan Kurra and Gowri Lakshminarayanan, created a video, set to music, featuring stunning photos and time lapses from AAA astrophotographers captured throughout the year.

Concerning Eyepiece, the goal remains for the webbased edition to be available in March 2018, though contingency has a slip date to April 2018. Be assured that the club will continue to inform everyone and continue with the printed PDF version until the WordPress edition is fully launched.

Membership renewal season is still active. If you haven’t already renewed, I ask that you to take action to renew thriough the website or by mail.

“Thank you” to all who have donated in addition to the membership dues. Your support is much appreciated, it allows the club to carry on with its mission.

Be sure to visit the AAA calendar, www.aaa.org/calendar, if you’re looking for AAA events, activities, or classes.

Clear Skies!

Peter Tagatac

AAA | President