President’s Message – August 2016

Summer’s under way, and it’s a good thing we’ve all got plenty of things to do. The sunspot numbers and solar indices are doing us no favors, and band conditions have been bad at best, miserable-to-unusable at worst. That’s OK, it gives us a good reason to step away from the mic & key, get outside and enjoy fresh-grilled goodies and cold beverages with family and friends! What do you have planned for the summer?

As things have quieted down on the club activity front, let me take some space to thank all of our club members who contributed to making our two biggest events of the year, Hamfest & Field Day, incredible successes! Each of these had their own logistical chal-lenges, and you not only persevered but shone brightly in volunteering your time, efforts and expertise to help both events run smoothly, and ensure they were enjoyed by all attendees. A special thanks once again to Mike WJ3O (Hamfest) and Doc W3GAD (Field Day), with an assist from Mark AA3K, for the great jobs they did Chairing their respective events, and leaving big shoes to fill for next year!

Last month, I mentioned that we had landed a “big fish” for the November presentation. As has now been announced, Bob Allison WB1GCM, ARRL Product Review Engineer, will be giving a presentation on the What’s, Why’s and How’s of the product reviews and testing you see each month in QST. This is guaranteed to be an interesting presentation, and we urge you to stay and attend. Also, we have quite another catch this month, as Derrick Pitts, Chief Astronomer at the Franklin Institute, will be giving us a presen-tation on his recent trip to Chile and their ALMA radio telescope, as well as other fascinating stories. Both are “can’t miss” opportunities!
Don’t forget to get your nominations in for the WI3Y Outstanding Ham of the Year award. We’ve already received a few nomina-tions, and the Board will be deciding on the recipient soon.

de Tony, W3FLH
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