SM: Susan Swiderski, AF4FO; ASM/South GA:
Marshall Thigpen, W4IS; ASM/Legal: Jim Altman, W4UCK; ASM/Webmaster:
Bob Smith, K4PHE; ASM/Youth Activities: Brittney Hancock, KI4WNY;
ASM/Youth Advisor: Andrea Hartlage, KG4IUM; ASM/ Scouting: David
Pearce,ABØNG; SEC: Scott Royle, KK4Z;
STM: Charles Pennington, K4GK; OOC: Mike Swiderski, K4HBI; TC: Jim
Worsham, W4KXY;
PIC: Norm Schklar,WA4ZXV; SGL: Bill Cherepy, WB4WTN; ACC: Robin
Cutshaw, AA4RC
Greetings, All.
Well, Georgia, our second Hamfest of the year was
held this past weekend. Yup, it was the Kennehoochee ARC Hamfest, at
Jim Miller Park in Marietta. The good news is that it wasn't
anywhere near as cold and windy as it was last year. In fact, it was
quite pleasant, temperature-wise. The bad news was that a tornado
hit downtown Atlanta the evening before, and more severe weather was
forecast for many parts of the state on Saturday, and I'm afraid
that kept the crowd down a bit at this year's fest. Understandable.
It took a bit of a leap of faith to venture out from Norcross that
morning, where it was thunder-booming and raining, to head to
Marietta. But everyone who took that leap and attended the fest, as
always, had a great time. Lots of wheeling and dealing, and lots of
good visiting. It was good to have our favorite Director of Vice,
SANDY DONAHUE, W4RU, holding down the fort with me
at the ARRL table again, chatting with everyone and sharing his
unique sense of humor. (i.e.
What do you call a priest who dresses in nun's
clothing? Answer: a "transister". Hey! Don't blame me... it was HIS
joke!) Many thanks to our hosts, the fine members of the KARC, who
made sure that the "show went on", and to everyone who was able to
attend.
The Hamfest ended earlier than usual for most of
us. When the tornado sirens started wailing, most of us took that as
a signal that it was time to head for home. I hope you all fared
okay with GA's latest round of severe weather.
I remember how delighted I always was to watch
those cute little pea-sized hailstones bouncing oh-so-daintily off
the ground when I was a kid. There sure wasn't anything dainty or
delightful about the over-sized chunks of ice that pummeled the
state on Saturday evening.
Kudos to the operators at Peachtree City NWS, who
did an excellent job taking reports during the storms, and to each
of you who ran and participated in the Skywarn nets. Mother Nature
messed with us pretty good, but as always, Georgia hams did a
fantastic job.
So what are YOU doing for spring break this
year? A trip to the sunny beaches of Florida, maybe? Disneyland? How
about a trip to MARS?! That's where our own ANDREA HARTLAGE,
KG4IUM, is going. Or at least, to a reasonable facsimile.
From March 16-29, she'll be in Utah, as part of the GA Tech team
that will be participating in the ongoing Mars Desert Research
Station (MDRS) project. Andrea, a freshman, says that ham radio will
be their primary source of communication. Although all of the other
team members recently earned their licenses, as the only "veteran"
licensee, Andrea will be in charge of communications. If you'd like
to follow the events of Andrea's Most Excellent Adventure, (AMEA)
check out the website at
http://www.marssociety.org/mdrs/ to see the daily
logs. Andrea is part of team number 69. (Maybe when she comes "back
to earth", she'll even share a report with us on her
experiences.)
Elections were held recently at the Jasper ARS,
and congratulations go out to President- FRANK DEAN, K4SJR;
VP- PAT HAYNES, K4BEH; and Secretary/Treasurer-
JIM LONG, WN4S. Best wishes to all of them for a
successful year.
Congratulations, also, to our newest EC,
BUZZ TATHAM, KU4ES, who will be heading up the ARES efforts
in Stephens county. Many thanks to him for his willingness to serve.
The North Fulton Amateur Radio League (NFARL) is
stirring things up again.
Last Monday marked their first "tech" net.
(That's "tech" as "technical", not "technician".) It offers a unique
opportunity for hams, old and new, to discuss technical questions
and problems via a simultaneous on-air net and online chat room.
Last week's net was quite interesting. Check it out on the 145.47
machine at 8:30 PM.
I'm very sad to report a Silent Key,
TERESA LOWE, KG4CRD. She was a delightful and courageous
lady, who faced a long battle with cancer with grace and good humor.
She will be greatly missed. Sincere condolences to her family and
friends.
Well, folks, that's about it for now. Don't
forget to send me your news for the April newsletter. Until then,
this is AF4FO, signing clear. Take care of
yourselves. And each other. 73, Susan
QTC February: K8GA-261;
K4GK-104; WA4UJC-57; K4BG-51;
WB4BIK-48; K4BEH-26; K4BAI-6
No trees were killed in the sending of this
message. However, a large number of electrons were terribly
inconvenienced.
ARRL Georgia Section
Section Manager: Susan K. Swiderski, AF4FO
af4fo@arrl.org
