Greetings, welcome to "Dale's Tales" for July, 2021.
For the most part we seem to be getting past the serious Covid-19 issues and some state close to normal is returning to the Great Lakes Division.
The personal losses have been severe and our thoughts go out to all who suffered so dearly over these past 18 months. As I briefly mentioned last month, our hamfest/swap scene has returned and now I can add: "with a vengeance." Swap attendance at a few recent events appeared to be noticeably higher than pre-Covid levels. We know some of our major vendors have been impacted by the recent shut-downs, and we all hope that we'll see them back on the hamfest circuit vary soon.
Field Day offered the opportunity to again team up either at a single site, or collaborate scores from different locations. In either case, on-the-air activity seemed enthusiastic and close to normal from what this operator could hear. And we are all can be thankful for that. In a few weeks we'll see how our FD scores compared with previous years, but regardless of scores, it seemed like attitudes were great and everyone was genuinely up-beat and having a great time. Some locations were faced with significant rainfall, some with winds and others endured the heat. My local club faced a windstorm which destroyed a tent (but not the CW operator), but returned to the air shortly, loosing little time in getting back into the fray. We did get reports of significant rainfall at other FD sites, further adding to the adventures of being prepared for operating in the field.
Our ARRL Board of Directors meets in Mid-July with a rather full agenda.
Under consideration is the addition of a new Standing Committee, specifically to assist and grow our Field Organization and the strong interest in the Amateur Radio Emergency Service, The National Traffic System, Government Liaisons, Public Relations, Technical Advisors, and working with ARRL Affiliated Radio Clubs. This will allow specific focus on these areas, with needed support. It will lessen the load on the Programs and Services Committee, allowing them to concentrate on several specific areas which include the DXCC program, LoTW and contesting.
SCOTT'S STUFF: Comments from your ARRL Vice Director Scott, N8SY.
Happy 4th of July and Happy Birthday to America!
I don’t know about you, but I’m still recovering from last weekend’s Field Day. I took to the road and visited with as many Field Day sites as I could get to. This year I headed south and got to 9 sites. I do apologize if I missed your Field Day operations, maybe next year I can get there. According to the ARRL Field Day Locator we had 88 sites operational within the Division this year, and I’m sure that there were many more but just didn’t list themselves.
Things continue to be really busy here with attending club meetings and work on the committees that I’m on. Our Field Service Working Group is meeting regularly with the new Field Services Manager and the CEO to implement improvements within the field organization. We have already started to see changes happening. One of those changes was the CEO holding a townhall forum with all of the Section Managers. We have a lot of work ahead, with more changes and improvements yet to come on the horizon.
The PR Committee has chosen what we feel is a really great nominee for the Philip J. McGan Memorial Silver Antenna Award and sent our recommendation on to the Programs and Services Committee for their approval. Once approved by them, then it’s off to the full Board of Directors for final approval at the July meeting. Our PR Committee also put together a lot of information to help all of you promote this year’s Field Day. I hope your PIO’s took advantage of that material.
Work on the Great Lakes Division Convention has really taken off. We’ve already had several Zoom planning meetings and are now working to get a really great lineup of forum speakers. We already have several locked in and I know that you definitely won’t want to miss hearing from them! The great folks of Bowling Green Kentucky are going to host the 10th Annual Vette City Hamfest / ARRL Great Lakes Division Convention on October 2nd! As that it is only 3 months away, you’ll want to make sure that this event gets on your calendars now. We want everyone in the Great Lakes Division to come out and have a blast with us.
Yes, the Joseph Phillips, K8QOE, Newsletter Award is still on. For those of you in Kentucky and Michigan please get your newsletters turned in to your Section Manager and Public Information Coordinator quickly.
The best newsletter from each of the 3 Sections (Michigan, Kentucky and Ohio) will be chosen by their respective Section Leaderships to compete for this very prestigious award.
We want every club in the Great Lakes Division to be able to participate for this award. So, if you are producing a newsletter, be sure to send a copy of it to your Section Manager. He’ll take it from there.
That is going to do it from here this month. So, “GOTA” and have FUN!!!
--73, Scott Yonally N8SY, Vice Director, Great Lakes Division
HAMFESTING: You will note that hamfests have begun to "scrunch" together and several are sharing the same date. These date conflicts are inevitable for many reasons. The most obvious is that there are 52 weekends a year and we have over 80 swaps annually in the Great Lakes Division. Take time out for holidays and the limitations become obvious. This year, of course has several hamfests that have been shifted to dates later in the year.
As each ARRL Affiliated radio club is independent, they each have the right to choose their hamfest date. I am sure they all do their part to insure date conflicts are minimized. Each club likewise deserves to have its hamfest sanctioned by ARRL to insure mutual support for these important activities. Your ARRL staff and I do our best to discuss these conflicts with the sponsors in an effort to avoid them, but activities often fall on dates that can't be altered because of long term commitments. The best we can do is encourage careful scheduling on the part of sponsors to insure dates are clear, thus offering the best opportunities for successful hamfests.
Here is the current listing of Great Lakes Division ARRL Sanctioned hamfests for 2021. Please note that all are subject to change, so please stay current by checking the sponsoring club's web page before making your travel arrangements. Be sure to invite your ARRL Officials as soon as your date is set. If you club plans to request ARRL Hamfest Sanctioning, they should do so well in advance of the planned Hamfest date, as this allows adequate time for QST Listings. QST announcements require a 3 month lead time. If a swap is cancelled or the date is going to change, please notify ARRL HQ.
2021 Great Lakes Div. ARRL Sanctioned Hamfest calendar:
07/10/2021 - Mansfield Mid Summer Trunkfest, Mansfield, OH
07/10/2021 - Cave City Hamfest - Cave City, KY
07/17/2021 - GMARC Trunkfest, Shelby Twp, MI
07/17/2021 - NOARS Fest, Elyria, OH
07/18/2021 - Van Wert Hamfest, Van Wert, OH
07/25/2021 - St. Joseph Co ARC Swap, Centreville, MI
08/07/2021 - Columbus Hamfest, Columbus, OH
08/07/2021 - MOVARC Hamfest, Bidwell, OH
08/21/2021 - GMARC Trunkfest, Shelby Twp, MI
08/28/2021 - Cincinnati Hamfest/Ohio Conference, Cincinnati, OH
08/29/2021 - Seaway Trunk Swap, Port Huron, MI
09/11/2021 - Greater Louisville, Shepherdsville, KY
09/11/2021 - GRAHamfest, Grand Rapids, MI
09/12/2021 - Findlay Hamfest, Findlay, OH
09/18/2021 - Cadillac Hamfest, Cadillac, MI
09/18/2021 - Richmond Hamfest, Richmond, KY
09/18/2021 - GMARC Trunkfest, Shelby Twp, MI
09/18/2021 - CMARC Hamfest, Okemos, MI
09/18/2021 - Mound ARA Swapmeet, Miamisburg, OH
09/18/2021 - Miami Co Swap Meet, Troy, OH
09/19/2021 - Adrian Hamfest, Adrian, MI
09/26/2021 - Cleveland Hamfest, Berea, OH
10/02/2021 - VetteCity/Great Lakes Convention, Bowling Green, KY
10/16/2021 - Muskegon Color Tour Swap, Muskegon, MI
10/24/2021 - USECA Hamfest, Madison Hgts, MI
10/31/2021 - Massillon Swap, Massillon, OH
11/06/2021 - Grant ARC Hamfest, Georgetown, OH
12/04/2021 - Fulton Co Winterfest, Delta, OH
12/05/2021 - L'anse Creuse Swap, Madison Hgts, MI
For the latest detail on regional hamfests, check the ARRL web page at:
http://www.arrl.org/hamfests-and-conventions-calendar.
73, Stay safe, go buy new ham radio stuff.
Light up those bands!
Dale Williams WA8EFK
Director - Great Lakes Division
wa8efk@arrl.org
