Dale's Tales - October 2021
Greetings, welcome to "Dale's Tales" for October, 2021.
GREAT LAKES CONVENTION UPDATE. A disappointing decision, but as you are now aware the Great Lakes Division ARRL Convention was canceled. Certainly, the Kentucky Colonels Amateur Radio Club faced a very difficult decision. Attendees, vendors, guests, advertisers, convention
sponsors, forum speakers, luncheon staff, convention center venue, tickets sellers, ticket refunds and more had to be notified and take action. To the club's credit, everything went smoothly and from the
decision on Wednesday evening, things were pretty well spun down by the weekend.
What happens next? Only time will tell. The Covid pandemic has forced this cancellation and may well cause other course corrections over the next few months. At best, we will plan and execute as conditions permit. From the whole Vette City Hamfest team and the convention team, our sincere thanks to everyone for their cooperation and understanding. Be safe and stay safe.
SIMULATED EMERGENCY TEST (SET). October brings the SET to the forefront. Nationally, it is held the first weekend of October, but local communities may select other dates to accommodate participation. In any event, check in and offer your local ARES group a hand. Interest in Emergency Communications has grown considerably in recent years, and SET offers us all an opportunity for a little practice and a shot at improving our skill set. (Pun intended). Even a few minutes will be
valuable for all involved.
"CLUB LEADERS NOTE:" That was the way I began a commentary about how well the responses were from my last month's emailing to club leaders and contacts in the Great Lakes Division. I reported how nice it was to see only about 10% defective e-mail addresses. That comment was perhaps
a little premature as 24 hours later the stats changed considerably for the worse. The final number reached more than 25%. I feel confident this is due to personnel changes in clubs and e-mail addresses that have just gone obsolete. It does call for those who lead our radio clubs to annually do a review of the club's status with ARRL and insure that we do have the correct contact information on file. Without that, we cannot do the simple task of referring new hams to local clubs and sometimes we may question whether certain clubs are still in service. Please make an effort to file your club's Annual Report - do it today. If you can't do it, phone me! This really needs to happen.
SCOTT'S STUFF: Comments from your ARRL Vice Director Scott, N8SY.
Are you ready for fall? Wow, the weather has really changed here in the metropolis of Lexington. Even the trees are starting to show some of their rich, beautiful colors. Is winter far behind? Shame on me for saying that, but I will remind you that Christmas is less than 3 months away!!
I'm sure by now you have heard the bad news about the VetteCity /Great Lakes Division Convention being canceled. It's unfortunate, but I have to say that it was the right decision. Hopefully, if this COVID stuff ever calms down a bit, we can try it again next year!
Work on the new standing committee, Emergency Communications Field Services Committee (ECFSC) has already begun. We've had several good meetings and there is a lot on the plate to do. I'll keep you updated as much as I can on the progress of the committee. One of the very first items on the list was to get the old Form 4 updated and on-line. Form 4 is the monthly Section Emergency Coordinator's Report form that goes to Headquarters. The updates have been completed and a new Form 4a has been rolled out. All the Section Emergency Coordinators around the country have been notified of the changes made and work is being done on getting them onto the new reporting system. There's a lot more in the works that I'll be reporting on as time goes on. So, stay tuned!
As I reported last month, the Joseph Phillips, K8QOE, Newsletter Award selection had concluded. Since our plans got changed due to the cancellation of the convention, Dale and I have decided to announce the winner here. So, here goes:
The winner of the 2021 Joseph Phillips, K8QOE Newsletter award is none other than.... Wait
a minute...I think I'd better announce just which newsletters were in the running first.
For Michigan, 'The Scope" from the Central Michigan Amateur Radio Club and Lansing Civil Defense Repeater Association. Editor: Chris Ranes, NS8Q.
For Ohio, "RADIOGRAM" from Portage County Amateur Radio Service. Editor: Thomas (Parky) Parkinson, KB8UUZ.
For Kentucky, "QUA/HAM news" from Bluegrass Amateur Radio Society. Editor: Bart Breeding, KB4FEE.
The judges felt that the 3 newsletters submitted were really very good and showed a lot of professionalism in their reporting of stories and such. They were super impressed with grammar and punctuation being exceptionally good for non-professional writers. They also felt that the graphics and general layout of the newsletters were exceptional as well. They all commented that the newsletters were easy for laypersons to read and understand and not so technical that it went over their heads on what the authors were writing about.
And now (Drum roll please..) The winner is... "RADIOGRAM" from Portage County Amateur Radio Service. Editor: Thomas (Parky) Parkinson, KB8UUZ.
Dale and I want to thank everyone that writes a newsletter. You are all to be congratulated as that you are the ones to tell the story, not only about your club but about amateur radio as well. Newsletters are the vehicle that gets our message out to those who aren't amateurs already. Your stories are what get the folks interested and wanting more information and eventually becoming a "HAM" themselves. So, even though there will only be one newsletter award winner, every newsletter is a winner to us!
That is going to do it from here this month. So, G.O.T.A. and have FUN!!!
--73, Scott Yonally N8SY, Vice Director, Great Lakes Division
HAMFESTING:
Here is the current listing of Great Lakes Division ARRL Sanctioned hamfests for the remainder of 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. Please feel free to reproduce and publish in your local Club Newsletter, with credit to the source.
10/09/2021 - Midland Pop-up Trunk Sale, Midland, MI
10/09/2021 - CANCELLED - Northwest Ohio ARC Hamfest, Westminster, OH
10/16/2021 - Muskegon Color Tour Swap, Muskegon, MI
10/17/2021 - Kalamazoo Hamfest, Kalamazoo, MI
10/31/2021 - Massillon Hamfest, 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, Troy, MI
For the latest detail on regional hamfests, check the ARRL web page at:
73, Be safe, Stay safe.
