This meeting was moved from our normal date of  March 8 in order to have a presentation by Sandy Preston, Director of Public Information, McDonald Observatory.  Sandy was visiting in our area from Austin, so we changed the date of our meeting to take advantage of her visit.
        New Astronomy Education Center, McDonald Observatory.  President Bernie Zelazny introduced our speaker, Sandy Preston, at 7:30 PM in 204 ACR Building on the Sul Ross State University Campus.  Sandy gave an excellent computerized slide show on the new Astronomy Education Center under construction at McDonald.  The new facilities will represent an 11,000 sq ft addition to the existing 2,000 sq ft center, and will cost about 5 million dollars.
        There will be 30 individual exhibits in the new center on topics such as spectroscopy and other areas of astronomy.  Telescopes will be available by arrangement for the use of qualified amateurs.  An amateur astronomers' office is being designed.
        The new facilities will be the world's largest astronomy education center.  Parking areas will be expanded, and better rest rooms will be provided. We will all be looking forward to the completion of the new center in the fall of 2001 or winter 2002.

        In the business meeting after the program, the minutes of the previous meeting were accepted as printed in the February 2000 Newsletter.  There were no corrections or additions.

        Betty Lou Grimm presented the treasurer's report below:

        Here endeth the writing of the minutes.  Respectfully submitted, Jim Walker, Secretary

If we have not yet received your dues, then please use the convenient envelope addressed to our treasurer that is included with this copy of your Newsletter.

Betty Lou Grimm, Treasurer
Big Bend Astronomical Society, Inc.
1001 N 2nd Street, Apt F-22
Alpine, TX 79830