Hello, a busy February was in store for me with meetings, visits and planning. This seems to be the preview of what the rest of the year is going to be like.
Hamfests are firing up. We just had the Marlboro Hamfest and that was fun. Nice to see a lot of familiar faces there. The turnout was really good also. The next one is March 4 in Chicopee for the Mt Tom club, and further down the road is Near-Fest at the end of April.
I have been visiting club meetings when I can, mostly on Zoom. I did go to the Quaboag Club as I was invited to do a presentation there. I applaud their efforts in the revitalization of that group. Keep at it! Also I presented at the Mt. Tom club live. I do have other’s lined up as well.
I attended the division Town Hall meeting with our director, Fred AB1OC. He touched base on the grant program and the VOTA event. Also he talked about highlights about the board meeting and some things they are working on at the league. Looks like they have a busy year as well. Good stuff coming down the road.
One of the things I have been involved with is the NTS 2.0 project. Over 30 people in 5 groups are now working on various tasks to revitalize this time honored function and get it back to modern methods and promote it to the newer generation of hams. Trainings and on-air activities are in the works.
On March 28 The Western Mass Train and Test Group will be launching the Extra Class License Course. Much work is going into this as we need to get the program put together. As you may know, last year was our first year and it was a pretty good success. We have worked in making it somewhat unique which helps in preventing the “glassy eyes” that happens sometimes. I am looking to add some more instructors to the group. Email me at ray.aa1se@gmail.com if you are interested.
That’s about it for now. Remember to be a mentor to the new hams and get them on the air and active in your clubs.
73,
Ray- AA1SE