Medicine Hat Branch
Meeting Minutes

8:00 pm, April 10, 2002

Conference Room M-1, City Hall
Medicine Hat, AB

Present:
· Ken Torrance, P. Eng.
· John Penrose, P. Eng.
· Ralf Luthe, P. Eng.
· Sheldon Dattenberger, P. Eng.
· Dan Lorden, P. Eng.
· Vern Fedor, P. Eng.
· Robert Hawrelak, P. Eng.
· Mary Ann Byrd, P. Eng.
· Gerard Klotz, P. Eng.

1. Call to Order

1.1. The meeting was called to order at 8:05 p.m.

2. Adoption of Agenda

2.1. M.A. Byrd added Science Fair as item 6.1.5. R. Luthe moved that the agenda be adopted with amendments. Seconded by K. Torrance. Motion carried.

3. Approval of Minutes

3.1. K. Torrance moved to adopt the minutes of January 23rd as read. J. Penrose seconded. Motion carried.

4. Business Arising

4.1. None

5. New Business

5.1. Executive Contact List changes should be provided by each executive member to G. Klotz for editing.

6. Committee/Activity Reports

6.1. Student Outreach Activities

6.1.1. National Engineering Week 2002 Recap

6.1.1.1. M.A. Byrd reported that a full-page article and ad section appeared in the Medicine Hat News newspaper, Wednesday, March 06. Thanks to all businesses who supported the advertising. The overall response has been very positive. General consensus was that the same type of campaign should be run again next year.

6.1.1.2. S. Dattenberger reported that 12 members and guests attended the fabrication shop tour of Bromley Mechanical Services on Monday, March 04. A question and answer session followed the tour. Refreshments and discussion followed. Thanks to Sheldon for the time and effort he contributed to make this a successful event.

6.1.1.3. The Student Mixer featured a presentation on explosive engineering research activities carried out at the Defense Research Establishment - Suffield. Dr. Steve Murray, P. Eng., 13 Medicine Hat College Students (80 % of the class) and 9 Professional Members from the Medicine Hat Branch were in attendance. No members outside of the Branch Executive and College Communities participated even though the mixer was promoted to the general branch population. Refreshments were served. The atmosphere was somewhat subdued. Further discussion continued regarding next years format. R. Hawrelak suggested that for future presentations we consider having an E.I.T or a new inductee to make a presentation thereby bridging the gap between the student and the professional member.

6.1.1.4. Thank you notes were sent to all speakers from National Engineering Week. A summary report was submitted to APEGGA Head Office by M.A. Byrd. There were no winning classes from the Branch area in the Province Wide Challenges.

6.1.2. Teacher Awards

6.1.2.1. Nominations - Medicine Hat Christian School has forwarded a number of nominations. K. Torrance and K. Allison will review all nominations received and select the winner. A presentation to the successful candidates will be made near the end of the school year at a school assembly followed by a celebratory luncheon for the teachers. A nomination form in PDF format was attached to this meeting's agenda in the event that someone knows of a school that may want to nominate a teacher. The deadline for nominations is Friday, April 12, 2002.

6.1.3. Cub Scout Activity Recap

6.1.3.1. K. Torrance reported that the cubs, aged 9-12, built DC motors for $6 each. The response was positive.

6.1.3.2. M.A. Byrd will send photographs of the activity to Head Office for posting on the website.

6.1.4. Status of Professional Exam Kits

6.1.4.1. Three kits are now available at the Medicine Hat Public Library, Brooks Public Library and the Medicine Hat College Vera Bracken Library.

6.1.5. The 27th Annual Regional Kiwanis Science Fair.

6.1.5.1. Seven APEGGA members participated as judges. Best in Engineering Category Awards were presented for Grades 4, 5 & 6 and 7 & 8. The award recipients were Lisa Seitz & Lissette Gomez from St. Thomas Aquinas for Grades 4-6, and Alicia Long & Lori Baumback from AJHS for Grades 7-8. Kiwanis decided to purchase a second plaque ($50 per set) so that each winner of a group project received an award. The annual APEGGA Donation is $250. It was felt we revise the budget allotment to accommodate two plaques for each level while still maintaining a donation.

6.1.5.2. Ralf Luthe moved to buy a second plaque in the event of a group winning the awards next year. D. Lorden seconded. Motion carried.

6.2. Technical/Social Meeting

6.2.1. President's Visit - February 25, 2002 Recap

6.2.1.1. Thirty-seven people attended the President's Visit. Thirty paid members and guests, three inductees and four APEGGA staff. Five people who had originally said they were coming didn't attend. The meal and appetizers were excellent.

6.2.1.2. Eight APEGGA Branch members met with the APEGGA Head Office personnel at breakfast.

6.2.2. Innovators Network Seminar & Luncheon Recap

6.2.2.1. Nineteen APEGGA members and guests attended the Innovators Network Seminar. A panel presentation on contracting to the Defense Research Establishment Suffield was the topic of discussion. Plans are in place to feature similar seminars in the future with various different industries.

6.2.3. Astronomy Club Field Trip and BBQ

6.2.3.1. Revised Date: Friday, May 03, 2002.

6.2.3.2. Cost: The Branch will make a $25 to $50 donation to the Astronomy Club. The gate charge to be paid to the club will be $5 per person or $10 per family for hot dogs and hamburgers, including drinks. The astronomy club charges $1/Drink as a fund-raiser. This fee will be covered by the per person charge. Free coffee and hot chocolate will be available.

6.2.3.3. Schedule: 7:00-7:30 p.m.- Solar telescope. 7:30-8:00 p.m. Rocket launching. 8:00-8:45 p.m. BBQ, 8:45-9:30 p.m. Discussion on rocketry and night sky observation. 9:30 Constellation and stargazing. Two telescopes will be set up indoors as well as three outdoors. Contingency for bad weather is inside the clubhouse. Chili to be served as opposed to the BBQ if the event is held indoors.

6.2.3.4. Notice of Event to be sent out April 17, 2002 by D. Lorden and R. Luthe.

6.2.4. Annual Golf Tournament

6.2.4.1. Date: August 17, 2002 Cottonwood Coulee Golf Course.

6.2.4.2. ASET Contact - ASET contact, Chris Bezinski, has spoken with M.A. Byrd.

6.2.4.3. Prizes: D. Lorden to collect prizes. Executive members to solicit prizes and forward them to Dan.

6.2.4.4. Fee: $150 deposit payable to Cottonwood Coulee. Green fees and food prices are not expected to change from last year.

6.2.4.5. Program: 18 holes again this year. Dinner to follow. D. Lorden to provide feedback to Cottonwood Coulee with respect to the food quality. Last year's was poor.

6.2.4.6. Sponsor acknowledgement: The large sign of sponsors provided annually by R.G. Hawrelak Design Engineering Ltd will again be on display at the course.

6.2.4.7. Notice of Event -Notice of the date will go out in May. The actual notice will go out July 22, 3 weeks prior to the event. The sponsor thank you ad in the Medicine Hat News newspaper and thank you notes to individual sponsors will be handled by K. Torrance of the Golf Committee.

6.2.5. June Luncheon Meeting: The guest speaker will be Keith Crush, City of Medicine Hat Economic Development. D. Lorden to finalize the date with Keith.

6.3. Financial Report

6.3.1. Banking

6.3.1.1. Bank Balance. John Penrose reported that the current bank balance is $1997.00 as of April 10, 2002.

6.3.1.2. Outstanding Invoices.

6.3.1.2.1. APEGGA ad $400.

6.3.1.2.2. Officers Mess at DRES $855.90.

6.3.1.2.3. Golf Tournament deposit $150.

6.3.2. A new Branch Expense Form, (based on the APEGGA Head Office format) for local use only was presented by M.A. Byrd. The purpose of the form is to identify cost centers for local accounting. G. Klotz will change the form from MS Word format to MS Excel format. R. Luthe moved to accept the form. D. Lorden seconded. Motion carried.

6.3.3. Funding - Advance to be requested for June.

7. Other Business

7.1. PDH credits listed on Notice of Events will be deleted and a note stating that the event can contribute to PDH credit instead.

8. Next Meeting

8.1. Scheduled for June 17 at 6:30 p.m. venue to be announced. Dinner meeting.

9. Adjournment

9.1. K. Torrance moved to adjourn at 9:20 p.m. Seconded by J. Penrose. Motion carried.

Minutes recorded by Gerard Klotz.