Convention

Cloudy convention, warm inside

James Guilford , , ,

by William Murmann, CAA President

In spite of 100 percent cloud cover, thunder, and intermittent downpours, everyone seemed to have a good time Saturday (July 26) at our Annual Convention at Letha House.

About 39 guests attended the event, which included members, several spouses, and about 10 guests from the Black River, Chagrin Valley, and Mahoning Valley astronomy clubs.

We had a lot of good food.  Thanks to VP Tim Campbell, who brought the usual supply of discount-priced brats, wieners, and sausages — thanks to Five-Star Meats for their generous support.  Many thanks to Rich Whisler, who did all the grilling while being protected from the rain by Paul Leopold, Tim Campbell, and Marianne, who held umbrellas.

Many thanks to all those who brought yummy side dishes and desserts for the potluck supper.  We had a great selection of food, ranging from brats and potato salad to pizza, fried chicken, watermelon, and cupcakes and pies, etc.

A special thank you to Gail Korylak who set up the food line and who with her husband Steve did most of the clean-up when it was time to leave.  Gail and Steve have been a big help with our conventions for years.

Thanks also to Mike Williams and Jay Reynolds.  Mike gave an interesting presentation about star charts.  Jay discussed our observatory and gave lessons on the proper way to open and close its roof.

Special thanks to our Secretary Steve Gallant for all the work he did for months soliciting and collecting door prizes for our annual raffle. Thanks to Steve and our generous donors, we had a nice selection of prizes this year.

And speaking of door prizes, a big thank you to CAA member Joe Golias, owner of Astrozap, who donated $200 in gift certificates for this year’s event.

Finally, thanks to our Treasurer Suzie Dills, who did a ton of work signing people  in, selling raffle tickets, making change, and keeping track of all the financial stuff.  Suzie tells me that after paying for expenses the club made money on this year’s convention and raffle.

Thanks to all!  Apologies if I missed anyone.  Next year’s convention will be on Saturday, August 15,  2015.  Hopefully, we’ll have better weather!

Convention thank-yous!

James Guilford , , , , , ,

by William Murmann, CAA President

We would like to acknowledge and thank the organizations and businesses that helped support our 2012 Annual CAA Convention by donating door prizes for our event. These organizations and companies offer many quality products and services for amateur and professional astronomers. Many thanks to our Secretary Steve Spears who solicited the donations and to the following for their support:

Orion Telescopes
www.telescope.com/orion

Oceanside Photo & Telescope
www.optcorp.com

Astozap- Joe Golias
www.astrozap.com

JMI Telescopes
Jim’s Mobile, Inc.
www.jimsmobile.com

Astronomy Magazine
www.astronomy.com

NOAO
Kitt Peak National Observatory
www.noao.edu/kpno

Bob’s Knobs
www.bobsknobs.com

Vixen Optics
www.vixenoptiics.com

Software Bisque
www.bisque.com

Sky & Telescope Magazine
www.skyandtelescope.com

Convention wrap-up

Admin CuyAstro , ,

A big thank you to everyone who came to our annual convention yesterday (July 21) at Letha House! We had a good cook-out and potluck dinner, lots of nice prizes for the raffle, and plenty of opportunity for socializing for the 50 or so members, spouses, and guests who attended.

We had sunny weather, but as we moved toward dusk we got partly cloudy skies that became mostly cloudy by about 11 PM or so. In spite of the increasing cloudiness, 17 optimistic members set up their scopes. By about midnight, however, everyone had packed up and left due to the clouds. We’ll have to hope for better luck next year!

Thanks to our Secretary Steve Spears, we had a great selection of door prizes, including a 70mm Vixen refractor that was won by Susan Petsche. Steve sent out a lot of letters and did a lot of work to line up the prizes. A good job as usual.

And a special thank you to our VP Mike Williams, who donated a two-inch eyepiece and a pair of Coronado solar binoculars to the collection of door prizes to help benefit our club. Mike also did the grilling for our supper.

Thanks to Tim Campbell and Marianne Wadsworth who brought all those great sausages and hot dogs–and to everyone who brought a potluck dish or dessert. I don’t think anyone went home hungry! Gail Korylak and Marianne Wadsworth helped set up the serving area and helped with the clean-up.

I was planning to give a slide presentation about Mars and the new NASA rover and science lab, named Curiosity, that is due to land on August 5. After the raffle, however, we decided to forgo the presentation.

I really appreciate the efforts of Tim Campbell, Jim Cofer, Jay Reynolds, and Praveena Lagudu who lined up a projector and laptop for my presentation. Too bad we didn’t see the presentation–I was all set to reveal the secret hiding place for flying saucers on Mars! My lips are sealed now, however!

Again, thanks to all. If I can get the reservation, next year’s convention will be on Saturday, August 3.
— William Murmann, CAA President