Upcoming Special Events & Call for 2026 HAL Board Members

[Victor Sanchez]

Hello HAL Members,

 I wanted to let you all know about a couple of special events and also send a reminder that in January we will be holding our annual board member elections.  Please consider getting more involved with HAL (and mark your calendars for November 11th and December 5th - see below).

 First off...  at 7:30 pm on November 11th, HAL will be featured on Maryland Public Television!  The Outdoors Maryland program will air an 8- or 9-minute segment on dark skies and amateur astronomy in Maryland.  I haven't seen the piece, but I hear that it will feature footage taken at our July Public Star Party.  They also did some filming out on the Eastern Shore at the Blackwater Wildlife refuge and out under dark skies in Western Maryland on a camping trip with me and my telescope.  I think it will be great exposure for the club and for our hobby /obsession🙂, in general.  (see program listing and how-to-stream details at the bottom of this message).

 Secondly... our December HAL Holiday meeting will be held on Friday December 5th, and will feature catered food from Mission Barbeque (in addition to any pot-luck items anyone wants to bring in).  This meeting will be a social event with no formal speaker and as usual will offer an opportunity for bringing in any astro-gear you'd like to sell or trade.  On this particular night, the Robinson Nature Center's planetarium will be holding two shows (one at 6:30 pm geared for younger people and another at 8, I believe) so you can take a break from socializing for that, if you like.

 And finally... I would like to encourage anyone who's enjoying being part of HAL to get more involved by joining our board of directors for 2026.  Positions with main duties (loosely) summarized below:

President - Organize meetings and provide general communication to the club membership

1^st Vice President- Assist the President and/or fill-in for them on occasion

2^nd Vice President- same as above (easy job... rarely gets called to duty 🙂)

Treasurer - keep track of club funds

Secretary - Put a human touch on the planning meeting minutes and agendas generated by the Zoom AI once each month

Event Coordinator - Plan the Regular (recurring) HAL public outreach events and communicate this information to the membership

OutReach Event Coordinator - Plan/Organize Additional HAL public outreach events and communicate information to the membership

Publicity Chair - inform outside entities of HAL events, on occasion

Social Media Chair - keep the HAL Facebook and Instagram accounts current

Observatory Director - keep the HALO facility operating smoothly at Alpha Ridge Park (seasoned club members available for consult most all the time)

Librarian - maintain the HAL library kept in the HALO facility

ALCor- Act as liaison to the Astronomical League 

Webmaster - maintain/upgrade the howardastro.org website as necessary

You can also get involved by becoming a Certified Telescope Operator - meaning you'll be trained-up on how to operate the Illig Telescope within the HALO observatory or by becoming a HAL keyholder - meaning you'll be able to open Alpha Ridge Park to hold impromptu star parties whenever you like.

 Wayne Baggett will be our election committee chair again this year.  You should soon be getting an email from him outlining what to do if getting involved with any of the above sounds interesting to you.

 Thanks, and clear skies,

Victor

HAL President

If you're in the mid-Atlantic region, you can live stream the show here...     https://www.mpt.org/anywhere/live-stream-mpt/