Member Meeting Minutes for September 6th, 2023

Called to Order

• The meeting was called to order by Becky Zajdel at 7:3X PM

Attendees

• Becky Zajdel, President
• Kirk Hendricks, Vice President
• Lucian Chapar, Acting Secretary
• Wilkes Vaughn, Treasurer
• Morgan Wable, Board Member at Large
• Brian "Beebo" Esch
• Maggie Miller
• Kiefer Mansfield AND Odin Mansfield
• Chris McCann
• Geno Soroka
• Laurel Roundtree
• Dean Roth
• Alex Reasinger
• Candace Achenbach
• Richard Simpson
• Zee (Zed) Stager
• Alllison Leamer (new!)
• Valerie Walch (new!)

New Members or Guests

• Allison Leamer and Valerie Walch are new members!
  • They are interested in woodworking, metal working, and 3D printing
• Laurel Roundtree joined a bit ago, but this is her first Members' Meeting!
  • She likes to do laser cutting projects and 3D printing

Upcoming Events

https://hackpgh.org/calendar

• Thank you to any and all who attended the shop clean last Sunday. We REALLY need people to either attend shop cleans more regularly or organize, clean, or ask for a task to complete. A gentle reminder - volunteering is part of your membership!
• Due to lack of participation, HackPGH will not be attending Akron's "Rubber Run" event this weekend.
  • However, as we know people's schedules traditionally free up a bit more in the fall and/or winter, we want to attend more Power Wheels events. A possibility is Orlando's Maker Faire and Power Wheels event, November 4-5th, 2023. Please talk to the Board and Geno Soroka if you are interested!
• A HackPGH online game of Diplomacy is being organized. Exactly seven participants are needed! Contact Kirk if you're interested.
• We have two Intro to Woodworking Classes scheduled!
  • The first is this Sunday, September 10th. Kyle will be teaching and unfortunately it is full (with a wait list) but if you're a member and want to see what the class entails - please come check it out!
  • The next class will be taught by Spencer and will be held on Sunday, October 15th. Instead of scheduled office hours on Tuesdays, Spencer will be allowing his students to schedule them as needed. It's a great class, so sign up!
• Keep Calm and Carry Yarn is next Wednesday, September 13th at 6PM. Contact Neil if you're interested in joining or just show up!
• Game Night is next Friday, September 15th starting at 6:30PM
• NEW EVENTS!
  • The Board (and perhaps some section leads) will be offering training & troubleshooting sessions on various parts of the shop.
    • Lucian Chapar will be holding training sessions on the NEW 3D printing area. For now, they are scheduled on Wednesdays at 8PM.
    • Kirk will be holding a training & troubleshooting session on the laser cutter this Sunday, September 10th beginning at noon and ending when... it ends!
    • We will soon be scheduling similar training sessions on the metal shop. Stay tuned after Kirk and others return from Albany!
• A new welding class is coming soon this October 2023...

Organization Updates

• Sadly, Matt Dubé will be leaving Hack's board of directors.
  • He will still be a member and we thank him for his month of help! You will still see him around, welding and/or helping with garbage collection and weed wacking!
  • For now, we will not be holding an election but will keep all the members posted. For the record, the required number of board members is five - but we can have UP to seven.
• We will be hosting our fourth annual vaccination clinic on Sunday, October 22nd from 1-3PM! It is FREE to the public and the pharmacists can use or look up any insurance or state aid.
  • We always need help making the shop as tidy as possible, so please attend the special shop clean on Saturday, October 21st.
  • This event (and its shareable flyer and social media graphic) will be posted this week. PLEASE attend and get up to date on your vaccines!
  • We have been informed both by our pharmacy partner as well as our local CDC friends that RSV is back with a vengeance and filling ERs already. We will be trying to get the RSV vaccine added into the mix of available vaccinations!
• The annual "Hack-o-Ween" costume party will be held on Saturday, October 28th at 7PM.
  • We have tons of Halloween decorations to re-use and we'd like to make money on this party, not spend it. Please consider bringing or donating:
    • A hot or cold appetizer - or even an entrée!
    • A beverage for a crowd (non-alcoholic or alcoholic, your pick!)
    • An item to donate for our silent auction. On deck so far: A pet care gift basket, Dr. Squatch Avengers Collectible Soap Box, Comic Book Gift Bag, and more!
    • Please contact Becky so we can coordinate efforts!

• CLASSES
  • What would you all like to see in a 3D modeling and/or animation class?
  • Wilkes and Lucian will be instructors. We are trying to gauge interest and topics!
  • Once again, we would like to put a call out for those who would like to teach a class!
    • Contact Becky to help develop a class description, social media post, class fee, and more.

Treasurer's Report

• We have $11,044.41! Let's keep it up and surpass $20k by the holidays!
  • This is FANTASTIC and we WILL be launching a fall fundraiser next WEEK.
  • August and September is when we get hit with everything from quarterly insurance premiums to annual software fees. But we have TRIPLED our budget in less than six months.
  • We cannot rest on our laurels and spend like crazy. We HAVE to keep raising money in order to grow and prosper!

Shop Updates

• We have several new items in the shop!
  • 3D printing area - it's CLEAN, it's UPDATED, and we have TWO new kick-ass 3D printers!
    • The Voron Trident is complete! Thanks to Wilkes and Lucian for all their work getting it set up! We have named it "Perseverance."
    • Although it is functioning, it is not finished! We will continue to upgrade and improve this 3D printer.
    • We also have a brand new Bambu Labs P1P and accessories! Becky has named it "Rusty Venture."
      • Lucian and Opulo have donated $500 in filament - so we can ALL
      • Please attend one of Lucian's 3D printing training sessions if you'd like to learn how to operate either of these machines!
• The welding area has a brand new TIG welder!
  • It's a Miller Diversion 180 AC/DC welder with foot pedal!
    • We also have a new cart, tank, and helmet coming soon.
    • Our VERY FIRST TIG welding class will be held on Saturday, October 21st.
    • Becky is working with Kiefer on fleshing out the details but there will be four students per class and it will cost members $180 (non-members $200).
    • We are now going to ensure that welding jackets and caps are WASHED regularly. Please contact the Board if they are not.
• GARBAGE - no, for once it's not a reminder to throw out your crap and recycle. Although yes always do that!
  • WE FINALLY GOT A DUMPSTER!
  • We have hired the services of Waste Management. We have procured a four-yard dumpster for garbage and a two-yard dumpster for recycling, BOTH emptied weekly. They will be placed in the gravel parking lot off Watson Street. No changes as to what can be put in there, but the lids have to close and no bags will be collected on top or the side of the units. They will be delivered on Friday, September 22nd and our weekly pickup day is Tuesday morning. Dale and the folks upstairs will be also using them and he'll be paying half our total each month.
• COMPUTER LAB/REMOVAL OF SOME LOCKERS: We will be clearing out some of the lockers and other materials in the storage room to make room for our NEW computer lab!
  • We already have a brand new gaming PC donated as well as a used gaming laptop. We need more! Please donate if you can.
    • Rich may have a computer to donate and/or link to help us out and we will look into this!
  • NOTHING will be thrown out without notice and/or permission, but we want to start clearing things including lockers within a month or two!
  • Hack has always lacked and needed a computer lab. This will open the door to classes, games, and so much more!
• Other new items obtained for the shop or coming soon: 211 piece socket set, desoldering gun and cleaner, four mag-safe apple chargers (ranging in voltage), and three replacement blades for the band saw.
• Kirk will be heading up to Albany on Saturday September 16th with a few other members to check out the mill and other cool items for our metal shop!
  • Metal mill, lathe(s), surface grinder, and A FORKLIFT!
• Allison has a Class-A license. They have offered to drive but we still need a Class-A truck to drive/haul the items.

Recognition for AWESOMENESS

• HackPGH is awesome!
  • EVERYONE IS AWESOME. There's even a song about it.

Open Floor

• Beebo has a quote from Albert Einstein: "Education is not the learning of facts, but the training of minds to think."
• The CNC router motor is broken!
  • Kirk has tried to repair it, but has also been in touch with John Martincic from Forest Scientific. The options to fix it with replacement parts "starts at $900."
    • Kirk can machine the parts, but how much money do we want to spend?
    • UPDATE: the problem with the CNC was broken brushes due to long unattended jobs and users not vacuuming and cleaning the CNC when they are done. If you use the CNC, you MUST clean up and vacuum when you complete a job! Please don't let your negligence shut down a $30k machine for everyone else.

Move to Adjourn

The meeting was adjourned at 8:32 PM

Minutes by Becky "The Icebox" Zajdel