Hello, everyone! We had eight in attendance at our June 29th meeting (including two guests!), and had some upcoming events to plan. Here’s a quick rundown of what we discussed.
Regarding eclipse advocacy for July 7th First Fridays:
- We will set up on Court Street, rain or shine. Booth setup time is 4:15 pm. All cars must be removed from Court Street before 5 p.m.
- Night Sky Network has provided 500 pair of eclipse shades. In addition to some other NASA printed material and club business cards, we’ve got some excellent handouts for the booth. Mel will receive nearly 2,000 additional pair of shades, which he will first hand out to schools after summer vacation. If he has any left over, he will hand them out at the next First Friday eclipse advocacy August 4th.
- If it’s clear, Mike Worthy, Rocky Stone and I will set up visible light-filtered telescopes for solar viewing.
- I will bring two folding tables. Mike Worthy and Mel Blake will bring pavilions. I have two large display maps; one showing the eclipse path across the U.S., and the other showing totality duration in Tennessee.
- Matthew Sherrill and Mike Worthy will bring signs for display near the pavilion.
- Mel has volunteered to work the booth so far. We will hand out eclipse shades to parents, and only if they are present. We are not handing out shades to people that are not present.
- Bring a chair! It is very exciting to be listed as a “special vendor” with First Fridays.
Regarding our July 15th club potluck picnic dinner at LaGrange College Park:
- Arrival time is 6 p.m. We’ll show off the observatory, set up telescopes, and eat a little later. As evening falls, we’ll stick around and do some observing. Bring bug spray.
- L. C. & Louise Lenz will bring plates, flatware, napkins and cups.
- Eric will bring ice, and a fancy French dish called “toubie-d’etermined”.
- Mike Worthy will also bring “toubie-d’etermined”. It’s really very tasty!
- Rocky Stone will bring barbecue baked beans.
- Matthew Sherrill will bring the meat, buns and slaw.
- Mel Blake mentioned chips. I think. Please forgive me, Mel, I didn’t write fast enough :-)
If you RSVP through the google group, please tell us what dish you will bring. And so everyone can prepare the right amount of food, please RSVP no later than July 12th.
We also briefly discussed the LaGrange observatory refurbishment project, and Mike announced that he may make an ad-hoc trip to complete some tasks with the concrete. L. C. mentioned laying some gravel for a walkway as well. I asked that Mike submit the day he chooses to the Google Group, and maybe one or two of us could join him to expedite the task. He believes it may be before the picnic.
These are very exciting times! We’ll see you at First Friday, and on the mountain a week later!
Clear skies,
Eric