Meetings

[RGSA]

Our next official meeting will be the annual meeting on Saturday, January 28, 2017.
HISTORY
For those coming to our annual RGSA club meeting in Las Cruces, this Saturday, we can meet to go out and fly Volcanic Peak by coming to Robin's house at 2305 Turrentine Drive at 11:00 am. Bill and Robin can guide you out to the site from there. The meeting will be at 6:30 pm that evening at the Golden Corral Buffet and Grill restaurant on Hickory Loop, right near the Avenida de Mesilla exit from Interstate 10. (Exit 140) This is Golden Corral's new location in southwest Las Cruces.

Give Robin a call at 575-541-5744 at home, or 575-386-8212 on his cell phone.
You can also give Bill C. a call at 575-541-0803

[RGSA]

SATURDAY, FEB. 6, 2016: HISTORY
Our annual RGSA meeting was a fine success this year, at International Delights restaurant in Las Cruces. About a dozen people attended, half of them new pilots. Wyatt, Steve, Ken & Heather, Nathan, Jason - nice new prospective pilots. Plus Lee, Had, Mike, Rod, Jan and myself. Erica had the Boone kids in tow, who got along very well with Jan's two children. All got to introduce themselves to the group. We were, with great effort (at least on my part) able to stay on the agenda, and complete the meeting. It began about 7:40 pm, after everyone had gotten acquainted. I went over the past year's flying events, which turned out pretty well. Hadley Robinson gave us a treasurer's report - we seem to be doing pretty well, with close to $800 in the bank (that's before dues were paid, which started right after Had's report). We voted for club officers, and for 2016 we'll have Mike Ellsworth as president, Robin Hastings (yes, that's me) as Vice President, Hadley Robinson as Secretary/Treasurer and Lee Boone as Safety Officer. However, the last two jobs just might get exchanged between those two individuals. Hadley spoke about how the training of PG pilots is going, and I talked about the mentoring we've been doing for prospective hang glider pilots. Additionally, we decided to have several flying events this year. First, there's the Guadalupes trip next weekend, which a number of pilots around the table plan to attend. We'll try for another camping trip to Gray Hill, west of Magdalena, in April. We'll hold the Dry Canyon Fly-In over Memorial Day weekend in Alamogordo, plus the Columbus Day gathering in October - same venue. A possible PG Fly-In at Agave Hill over Veteran's Day weekend, in November, is also being looked at. Mike Ellsworth also pointed out that the Villa Grove Fly-In, in August, is well worth attending, up in Colorado. It could be a busy year for flying events! We discussed insurance - it looks like the USHPA gathered enough funds to finance a Reduced Risk Group, or RRG, in place of what we have right now. How do we insure sites now? (And which ones do we need to insure?) In miscellaneous topics, Jan Zschenderlein pointed out that we need to start alerting each other when one of us plans to fly or otherwise do interesting things - perhaps a broadcast to everyone's email would do it. We finally decided we'd had all the democracy we could handle, and the meeting adjourned about 9:00 pm. Thanks for being there, everyone!
-Robin

[RGSA]

Monday, July 23, 2018:
Hi, everyone. I'm hoping that we can all get together for a summer meeting of the RGSA this Saturday, July 28th. The venue offered is the home of Bill and Terry Cummings, which is near the Avenida de Mesilla exit from Interstate 10 in Las Cruces. If Bill and Terry are still willing, we can enjoy a barbecue and some formal & informal discussions about flying and the issues surrounding it. I'll let our hosts set a time and provide directions. Please let me know if you plan to be there, so an appropriate quantity of comestibles and potable beverages may be assembled. Thanks, and I'll hope to see a crowd of pilots there this coming Saturday.
-Yours in Flight,
Robin Hastings
RGSA President
575-541-5744

[RGSA]

Here are the minutes from our July 28, 2018 meeting.
-Robin

2nd 2018 RGSA Quarterly Meeting Date: Saturday, July 28, 2018
Time: 7:00 PM BBQ w/ 8:00 PM

Meeting at following Location: Bill and Terry Cummings home @ 1501 Aspen Ave, Las Cruces, NM
Members Present (4): Robin Hastings (P), Steve Crye (VP), Terry Cummings (Stand-in Secretary), Bill Cummings. Non-members Present (1): Nancy Hastings
Absent: Hadley Robinson (Secretary), Lee Boone (Treasurer)

Called to Order: 8:30 PM by VP Steve Crye
A. OLD BUSINESS: >Minutes: April 28, 2018 Quarterly Meeting minutes, as read by Terry Cummings, approved (motioned by Steve, 2nd by Robin); >RSGA paid membership: Reviewed from April 28th minutes to include: Lee Boone, Rod Burton, Bill Cobb, Robin Hastings (dual), Frank Colver, Wyatt Lines, Bill Cummings, Terry Cummings, Bob Kuczewski (plus generous donation), Mike Ellsworth, Margery DeJong, Hadley Robinson (dual), Steve Crye (dual), John Gallagher, George Woodcock; Some Dual status memberships, as well as general paid memberships, need to be updated at next RSGA Quarterly Meeting set for OCTOBER 27, 2018 (time, place to be determined by the President); ****>Attending members request that Lee please post the Treasurer’s Report before Quarterly meetings if he can’t be in attendance***; >Discussion: RGSA Bylaw Article III, Section B: Regular Meetings, currently stipulates that Regular meetings are to be held on the last Saturday of each month. However, there’s some discussion -- remembered by some members but nowhere included in the RGSA’s January 20, 2018 Annual Meeting minutes -- as to a majority-membership discussion/vote identifying an RGSA Bylaw change of Regular Meetings from Monthly to Quarterly; January minutes, taken by Hadley and Steve, need to be researched as to veracity of that meeting’s discussion/vote re: a Bylaw change to the identified monthly meetings requirement; If not found, discussion at future meetings should revisit and determine a Bylaws change to Article III, Section B. requirements; >RSGA Purchase of a Jacket for a Member: Resolution to April 28th discussion: Due diligence research was done by Hadley Robinson concerning the April 28th meeting’s discussion as to the non-profit (501c7) “legality” of using RGSA dues, though voted on and approved by members at the January 20, 2018 mtg, to buy a jacket and t-shirt for Steve. Hadley consulted with his CPA regarding RGSA’s 501c7 status, and the law’s requirements regarding such purchases. He learned, and emailed RGSA members, that there was no 501c7 infraction concerning the purchase. Nonetheless, Steve informed this meeting’s attendees that he had reimbursed $90.00 to the RGSA treasury as a donation; >RGSA Memorial Day Fly-In: The May 25-28, 2018 Fly-In was successful w/ a good turnout of about 20 HG and PG pilots and everyone was able to fly, as reported by Robin; Some discussion centered around the possibility of the Dry LZ being fenced in, now; Reiteration by Robin that Alamogordo City Hall maintains its 3-day-call-ahead notification by pilots of any possible flying; >”Resign and Expel” Discussion from April 28th mtg: Current meeting’s discussion resolved that RGSA’s in-place Bylaws already identify expulsion of any members; Bill Cummings suggested that there may be reason for inclusion of different Warning Steps employable before expulsion is necessary; Bill will identify and present Warning Step intervention/modification ideas to be discussed by membership at the October 27th Quarterly meeting (Motion by Steve w/ 2nd by Robin);

B. NEW BUSINESS: >New Procedure at the Franklins: Steve informed that: 1) A new form needs to be completed per year; 2) Text Caesar before launching and after landing; >2018 Columbus Day Fly-In Scheduled for October 5-8, 2018: ***This Fly-In will be in honor of, and a memorial to, Colorado pilot Ann Dunlap who passed away on June 13, 2018, after her valiant battle against cancer*** (This distinction suggested by Nancy Hastings); 2018 Columbus Day Fly-in will be conducted similar to the Memorial Day Fly-In; Robin will 1) Reserve the field and provide receipt of reservation to any inquiries; 2) Arrange delivery/placement of the Porta-Potty; 3) Provide City w/ proof of LZ insurance; Steve will research perimeters of LZ and Launch insurance requirements; >Discussion of Possible OutReach Events to generate public’s interest in HG and PG suggested by Steve; Robin identified occasions in past years when he would set up his HG with the Simulator at NMSU, at Alamogordo’s Earth Day events, at Gym Magic, and though attendance was good, there would be no-takers for his exhibit; Steve suggested UTEP; Nancy suggested the Las Cruces Space Festival;

C. POSSIBLE OCTOBER 27, 2018 QUARTERLY MEETING ITEMS: >Initiate Discussion: Digital Recording of Future Meetings (Introduced by Steve)- Result of casual polling of attending members = Terry-OK, Steve-OK, Bill-OK, Robin-Neutral; Discussion continuation open for future meetings; >Initiate Discussion: Members should submit written list of ideas/ suggestions for Club discussion of topics (Steve’s suggestion); Proposed topic discussion re RGSA Bylaw changes: 1) Change to RGSA Bylaw Article III. Meetings of the Members, Section C.: Quorum: “Members holding one-fifth (1/5) of the votes entitled to be cast on the matter to be voted upon, represented in-person,”….. (suggested amendment to include: ,plus at least one (1) Officer,)… “shall constitute a Quorum.” (Motion by Steve, 2nd by Robin) Steve will research “Quorum”; 2) Change to RGSA Bylaw Article IV. Board of Directors, Section D.: Vice President: “The Vice President”…. (suggested amendment to include: ,or in the absence of the Vice President, any other Officer, present,)… “shall be in charge of parliamentary procedure at all regular Corporation meetings.” 3) Change to RGSA Bylaw Article III. Meetings of the Members, Section B.: Regular Meetings (See Page 1 Minutes: Discussion RGSA Bylaw Article III, Section B…..) NEXT RGSA QUARTERLY MEETING SCHEDULED FOR SATURDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2018, TIME AND LOCATION TO BE DETERMINED BY RGSA PRESIDENT ROBIN HASTINGS. July 28, 2018 RGSA Meeting Minutes submitted by Terry Cummings and emailed for RGSA Website posting to Vice President Steve Crye on August 4, 2018.

[RGSA]

Fellow RGSA pilots! I'm calling our quarterly meeting of the RGSA for Saturday, October 27 (about two weeks from now). Terry and Bill Cummings offered their home (and culinary expertise) to us all, so if there is no objection by anyone I would like to have it there, a little off of Interstate 10 in Las Cruces. Let's have it at 7:00 pm, which should be a good post-flight time to get together if it's soarable at Magdalena Rim that day. Please let me know if you have alternate suggestions for a venue or time. And, of course, let me and other club officers know of your concerns and ideas so that we can put them onto the agenda. I sure hope to see you all then and there!
-Robin Hastings
RGSA Club President
575-541-5744 home
575-386-8212 cell
rnhastings@zianet.com

[RGSA]

Sunday, Dec. 30, 2018:
Hello, fellow RGSA pilots! Our annual meeting is coming up soon - Saturday, January 26, 2019. Time and location to be finalized - probably 7:00 pm, and probably at an eating establishment on the west side of El Paso. I will post the final notice here within the next week. We need to elect club officers for 2019, collect club dues, determine a schedule of events, and decide what our major goals for the year should be. Everyone is welcome - whether you're in the RGSA, or just want to observe the organization in action. Contact me with any questions, and I will hope to see you all there!
-Robin Hastings
RGSA President
RNHastings@zianet.com
575-541-5744

[RGSA]

Update to my previous meeting notice:

For our Annual RGSA Meeting, on January 26th, let's go for the Red Lobster Restaurant at 800 Sunland Park Drive in El Paso. I think that 7:00 pm is a good time for a meeting. Any objections to that? Please let me know, if so. Let's hope for flyable conditions in the El Paso area during that day, about three weeks from now. See you then and there, I hope!
-Robin Hastings
RGSA President
575-541-5744

[RGSA]

MEETING MINUTES OF THE RIO GRANDE SOARING ASSOCIATION JANUARY 25, 2020 8:00 pm MST
LOCATION: 1501 ASPEN AVENUE, LAS CRUCES, NEW MEXICO
IN ATTENDANCE:
Lee & Erica Boone
Rod Burton
Steve Crye
Bill & Terry Cummings
Mike Ellsworth
Robin & Nancy Hastings
Matt Hayes
Doak Hoover
Wyatt Lines
Hadley & Marilyn Robinson
Byron Stevens

1. Meeting opened, after a 7:00 pm potluck supper, with Secretary (Had Robinson) and Treasurer (Steve Crye) reports. Hadley reported that all current paperwork relating to the RGSA as a USHPA chapter and as a 501(c)3 corporation are in order, “in full compliance with state and national laws”. Steve reported that the current assets of the RGSA are $3481.96 with $2894.46 in First National Bank in Alamogordo and $587.50 in our PayPal account. These values will increase, since dues were collected during the evening.

2. Officers for 2020 were elected. Results:
President: Terry Cummings
Vice President: Wyatt Lines
Secretary: Robin Hastings
Treasurer: Steve Crye

3. Old business: Fun Fly events (Memorial Day weekend, Columbus Day weekend) were reported on by Robin and Wyatt and Steve. Status of roads (rough!) at Dry Canyon and Little Florida sites were reported on. The Dry Canyon road was almost impassable, as of its last known use in October. It requires maintenance with heavy equipment. Bill, Robin and Tony Conger did some work on the road up the Little Floridas, which is still usable.

4. Visiting pilots were reported on. We had 4 from Colorado in January, and others throughout the year, such as Tony Conger and Ben Stembridge, and Jim MacNutt. Robin noted that James Gibson is expected in March 2020. Hadley reported on Minnie Burke, who could not attend the RGSA meeting but is a very enthusiastic P2 pilot. Steve Crye reported on Chris Mendoza, P2 pilot in Las Cruces, who would like to fly with us.

5. Terry reported that Erica Klein, at USHPA, reached out to ask if there was anything the USHPA can do for our club. Terry will call Erica about actual regulations for Wilderness Area travel.

6. A logo for possible T-shirt and other apparel for the RGSA was displayed by Terry. Some modifications were requested and approved of. T-shirts should be available soon, and possibly hats.

7. A motion to move our next RGSA Quarterly meeting from the end of April to Saturday, May 2nd was approved. Time to be determined, and location to be in the City of Alamogordo.

8. Club events for 2020: a) The annual Presidents Day Gathering at the Guadalupes, Feb. 14-17.
b) A Memorial Day Weekend Fun Fly at Dry Canyon.
c) A Columbus/Indigenous Peoples Day Fun Fly at Dry Canyon (October).
d) A parachute deploy & repack clinic on April 18, 2020. Location TBD.

9. Wyatt brought up the issue of voting on RGSA items remotely. This can be readily arranged electronically, stated Steve Crye. It was proposed that only members living in the RGSA area (i.e., West Texas and New Mexico) should have a vote in RGSA matters.

10. Wyatt Lines volunteered to be Meet Head for the Memorial Day Fun Fly, May 23-25, 2020.

11, Byron Stevens told us that, training in HG out in the east, he had never encountered a flying community like the RGSA. He said he'd have been more serious about his training and flying he had had this sort of support, and it is changing his whole view of the sport.

12. Meeting adjourned about 10:00 pm. Leftovers were generously distributed among all members who would take some, and our hosts Bill and Terry Cummings were repeatedly thanked.

[RGSA]

RGSA MEETING MAY 2, 2020 7:00 pm (Held via Zoom, online, due to COVID-19 restrictions)

1. Attending online: Rod Burton, Steve Crye, Bill Cummings, Terry Cummings, Robin Hastings, Nancy Hastings, Doak Hoover, Wyatt Lines
2. Meeting convened about 7:15 pm MDT, when everyone had Zoom more-or-less working.
3. Treasurer’s Report (Steve Crye): RGSA has $699.23 in a Pay Pal account, more than $2800 in bank account at First National Bank in Alamogordo. (Exact amount to be determined.)
4. Robin Hastings was nominated and voted in as RGSA Safety Officer.
5. RGSA merchandise is available – photographs of it were shown.
6. Steve Crye assured us that we will have site insurance through USHPA by Memorial Day weekend.
7. Steve Crye proposed that the RGSA hold its Memorial Day Weekend Fun Fly, May 22-25, 2020. Seconded and approved by voice vote. Wyatt will be the Meet Head, Robin will be Launch Director. Robin will reserve the field for day use and a portapotty. No barbecue or overnight camping is envisioned for this year, due to COVID-19 restrictions currently in place. Participants should have masks and try to maintain social distance protocols.
8. In order to make the Dry Canyon road passable, a work day was proposed for next weekend, May 9, 2020. Participants will meet in the Cox Field Landing Zone in Alamogordo at 09:00 am. Tools required: Shovels, pickaxe, sledge hammer. The proposal was approved. Robin, Wyatt, et. al., volunteered to be there.
9. How to transfer RGSA funds from the bank in Alamogordo (currently deficient of RGSA members) to one in Las Cruces was discussed. We need to determine our exact balance, and write a check for it, to be deposited in a designated bank. Steve volunteered to reach out to previous RGSA Secretary Hadley Robinson (who has moved to Oklahoma) to find out the balance.
10. We had flying reports. Robin took visitors Jim Gibson (H4) and Marzena Gibson of Frankfort, Michigan to the Dry Canyon and Little Florida sites. Marzena drove, and Jim and Robin had great flights. Las Saturday, April 25, we had a gathering of PG pilots and Robin at the Magdalena Rim site. Everyone had fine flights there, including new mountain pilot Minnie Burke.
11. Robin reported on an expedition this week to assess the old Tanuco site near Hatch, NM. It is inaccessible, and no longer has a landing zone available. Steve Crye reported on Mitch’s Ridge, a new site east of El Paso, Texas. Inaccessible by vehicle, but good for PG hike & fly.
12. Next RGSA meeting was voted on: Saturday, July 25, 2020, 09:00 am at La Fonda restaurant in Deming. Hopefully, flying afterwards in the Little Florida Mountains.
13. Problems of launching PG’s at the Little Floridas were discussed, and “ramp suck” explained by Bill Cummings.
14. Adjournment proposed, seconded and approved at 8:15 pm.

[RGSA]

MEETING MINUTES FOR RIO GRANDES SOARING ASSOCIATION JULY 25, 2020 (MEETING VIA ZOOM)

1. Meeting came to order approximately 8:00 pm MDT. Attending: President Terry Cummings; Vice President Wyatt Lines; Treasurer Steve Crye; Secretary Robin Hastings; members Bill Cummings, Doak Hoover; guest Rick Warner.
2. Terry Cummings ran the meeting.
3. Treasurer’s Report, by Steve Crye: About $900 in Pay Pal account. Actual bank account, in First National Bank in Alamogordo, is not accessible by Steve, so he cannot give a complete report. The site insurance has been paid, though.
4. Robin and Terry can look into transferring the RGSA bank account from First National Bank in Alamogordo to a bank in Las Cruces. We can get the balance from Hadley Robinson. Then Steve can write a check for the balance, which can be mailed to Terry and deposited to start a new account.
5. RGSA Pay Pal account is currently tied to Steve Crye, and his social security number. We need to change that circumstance so that electronic payments can be made to the club, not Steve. He has researched the problem and found a business that seems better for us, iATS in British Columbia.
6. Terry gave a report about the Memorial Day Weekend Fun Fly in Alamogordo. It was quite successful, with a fine turnout of pilots and some site records for cross country flying. She said that $185 in RGSA merchandise was sold. (To see what is available, visit the website, rgsa.info.)
7. Columbus Day Fly In, Oct. 9-12, will be held before our next scheduled RGSA Quarterly meeting. It was proposed that we have our next Zoom meeting for that on Saturday, September 26th. And perhaps, if pandemic meeting restrictions are eased, to have an actual face-to-face gathering at the end of October.
8. In other reports, our “registered agent” for the RGSA has been changed from Hadley Robinson to Terry Cummings. It took a lot of persistence on Terry’s part, dealing with the New Mexico Secretary of State office over the phone for a day.
9. Both visitor Jim Gibson, of Michigan, and Robin, have articles in the current issue of “USHPA Pilot” magazine.
10. What is the state of needed road maintenance? Rick Warner, who has been up to Dry Canyon most recently, reported on a good out-and-back flight that he and Greg Kendall made recently, and also noted that the road to launch could use “a bit of work”. Steve asked if we could hire a bulldozer. Robin said that the Lincoln National Forest has taken over responsibility for that road, and grades it periodically, but that it is never known just when that will be.
11. A final issue was the use of Quickbooks for keeping RGSA financial records. Steve told us that it has not been updated for the RGSA since 2016, according to Hadley, and that we have so few transactions that we might as well drop it. The rest of the meeting attendees agreed.
12. Meeting adjourned approximately 9:15 pm.