NOTICE:
If you are using the free software SKYPE
voice over ip (www.skype.com).
And would like to participate in the next NERAL meeting in cyberspace,
please contact the NERAL Chair.
The number of participants is limited. 
A microphone plugged into your sound card is required.
(Webcam optional, depending on bandwidth considerations)

***
REPORT:

2009 ANNUAL REPORT for the NORTH EAST REGION
OF THE ASTRONOMICAL LEAGUE

This year NERAL’s Walter Scott Houston Award will be presented to Meteorolgoist Joe Rao on Saturday, August 15^th 2009 at Stellafane in Springfield Vermont. We are sending out a press release to all the ALCORS in the NE Region, as well as several astronomy listserves. We will have our annual business meeting at ALCON 2009 on Saturday August 8, 2009, and customarily send out the e-mail meeting notice along with the Walter Scott Houston Award press release. 

NERAL has maintained its web presence at www.neral.org, and has posted member news throughout the year. We hope to expand this member news section as we increase our contact with our regional clubs during the year.

This year all 5 of our NERAL officers have kept in regular contact by means of e-mail, phone and particularly now our new Skype connections. (www.skype.com)  Our most recent deliberations on the Walter Scott Houston Award were facilitated by a Skype conference call. This free software has proven to be very easy to use, and we find that we don’t use the webcams much, since a good audio connection suffices.  Up to 24 callers can be conferenced in.  Since gasoline prices have been increasing, there have been fewer opportunities to travel and meet each during the year. 

We are delighted that ALCon 2009 will be in the North East Region, and we are expecting that there will be good support from our member societies.  On Saturday, August 8, 2009 at 2:00pm. NERAL will be hosting the NERAL LIGHT POLLUTION POW-WOW at ALCON 2009. We are bringing together various Light Pollution warriors across the region and beyond to learn better strategies for fighting Light Pollution on the local, state and national level.  We will be making a videotape record of this Pow Wow for subsequent study. Since NERAL is the most light polluted region in the Astronomical League, our survival is highly dependent on Anti Light Pollution Advocacy, and we hope that the League will consider this advocacy effort as a part of its long range Strategic Plan.  We hope to discuss this in the Council Meeting to find ways to help all of our AL Member Societies with their Light Pollution battles.

Respectfully submitted,

Maryann Arrien

Chair: NERAL

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