Minutes of the Charter Meeting on 2/16 in Raleigh
NC IDA Charter Meeting Report
We had around 40 people from all over the state and someone from
as far away as Toronto, at the NCSU Craft Center on 2/16. About 1/2
were IDA members. There were a number of lighting professionals,
a couple of planning and zoning folks, and several amateur
astronomers.
The talks by Bob Gent from IDA and Bob Henderson (RLH Lighting
Consultants) were both very lively and interesting, and each
generated alot of audience participation. The high point of the
meeting for me was when Bob Gent was showing the audience an
example of an excellent decorative lighting fixture brought down
to the meeting by David Hatcher of GE Outdoor Lighting in
Hendersonville NC. Bob was very complimentary toward GE and the
fixture, and David Hatcher said that if Bob would like to take
the fixture on the road with him, he could have it. Bob said
"yes" and the audience clapped enthusiastically at this
point.
Bob Henderson's talk expanded some on design considerations in
outdoor lighting. He also had some interesting examples of
lighting projects (and problems) around Raleigh, and gave us an
update on his involvement in rewriting the Raleigh lighting
ordinance. Bob is planning a seminar, "Lighting Ordinances
for Cities and Towns", for Wednesday, March 29, from 11 AM
to 7 PM. Among handouts for the seminar will be Illuminating
Engineering Society of North America Recommended Practices RP-33 and the Outdoor Lighting Manual for Vermont Municipalities.
The seminar price will be between $139 and $149. Bob would like
to hear from those interested in this seminar at his email
address bobh@interpath.com or by phone at 919-781-5333.
There was alot of activity at the GE and IDA information tables
during the break and after the meeting. I hope we will gain some
new members from among the audience!
We owe a huge debt of gratitude to Bob Gent, Bob Henderson (and
to CP&L for loaning Bob some equipment for the presentation),
David Hatcher and GE for the lighting fixtures and pamphlets, IDA
Member John Chappell (who provided the Hubble Skycap which
received so much attention) and to Jim Pressley who provided the
meeting room at the NCSU Craft Center and took care of all the
logistics of the meeting location.
NC IDA Status
There weren't alot of volunteers for the positions of President,
Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer, so I unilaterally
decided to call the posts "interim", pending elections
within 1 year.
Daniel Caton, Professor of Astronomy and Physics and Director of
the Observatories at Appalachain State University ( http://www.phys.appstate.edu/dbc.html
) has agreed to be our interim President. Dan has been an active
member of the IDA. In addition to his research and teaching at
Appalachain, Dan has written an extensive series of articles on
science related topics for the readers of the Charlotte Observer.
I think he will make an excellent spokesperson for NC IDA.
I will serve as interim secretary until we can have elections (perhaps
at the Mid-Atlantic Star Party, or another suitable venue). We
need to have a VP who can share the speaking opportunities with
Dan so he isn't spread too thin. Since we have no money, the need
for a treasurer is somewhat less at the moment, but I expect we
may have some donations to deal with soon.
Before the meeting, Dan and I signed a letter requesting the IDA
Board of Directors to officially recognize the NC IDA Section at
the next board meeting (I think it is in April). This letter was
given to Bob Gent. I will keep you posted on the status of our
request. POSTSCRIPT: AS OF 02/22/00 WE HAVE BEEN APPROVED BY THE
IDA BOARD.
What's Next
Dan and I had a little time to discuss immediate goals. Here are
some of the things I have discussed with Dan and/or other members
at various times in the last 2 months.
David Lakey
Last Updated:
08/01/2000: Fixed RP-33 link.
02/23/2000: Updated IDA Approval, Bob Henderson's Seminar
Information, and IDA Annual Meeting
02/20/2000:Created.