I had an interesting realization at the New England Convention that ham’s like to talk about certain things, their radio’s, their antenna’s, the weather, and their joint’s, operations and ailments. The sad part is I BECAME ONE OF THEM! YIKES! The glaring reality is we are not getting any younger and as elder keepers of the hobby we need to pass on our talent’s, experiences, to the younger generations. Yep, we heard it time and time again by myself and others. At my sparsely attended WMA meeting at Marlboro, I made the comment, “We need more DOER’S to keep radio going” Even with aches and pains there are things you can do to promote the hobby. I was not there but Rick Roderick our ARRL president delivered a moving message. I wish it was recorded, but it also emphasized the same thing. If you did not go, you missed out. It gets better each year. The forums were the talk of the town. It was great to see many friends and others there.
The next big event is the Big E. As usual, the planning staff have been working hard to get this put together to provide another successful showing. The one really big task is getting people to sign up to man the booth for a shift or two (or three?) It is getting to the point that if we cannot get the booth manned for the entire time it’s open, we may have to cancel and possibly lose a DONATED booth space that is not cheap. I ask clubs as well as individuals to consider signing up. Doing so gets you free admission and parking. For more contact me or Larry at w1ast@arrl.net, or to sign up go to: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1YdW57tREYSlDdPp8YSKBYUqNkl6OVrAbpcVCclvT4Hw
As September rolls around clubs are firing up their seasons of meetings. I hope there are some good stuff going on to boost your club. Outreach can be beneficial especially if they are new. Have an agenda and try to avoid it being a “Geritol gathering” Many sources of online presentations are available and if there is no internet, simply download it on a flash drive. Live is always best, but distance, time, etc. can prevent getting someone. I am going to try to make visits as I can. Lately I have been busy with the NTS 2.0 project and will be starting up a General License Class soon. Zoom still can be your friend if you use it right.
One thing that came up at my meeting was some ideas that they used to promote their clubs. Don’t keep them a secret, share them! Email to another club, email them to me. And don’t make excuses, be a DOER! If it did not work, try something else and stick with it. There are some clubs struggling out there. They could use whatever help they can get. We are getting creaky, don’t let that cause your club or our great hobby to go to that path.
That’s all for now. Remember the Big E and be a doer!
Thanks, and 73,
Ray AA1SE