Hello Western Mass.  I’m sure by now we are starting to come out of hibernation and thinking warm thoughts which is what I hope to be a warm, sunny season coming up.

First of all, join me in welcoming Peter Mattice, KD2JKV to a new position as Assistant Section Manager.  Peter is currently one of the WMA Assistant Section Traffic Managers and will continue with that role as well.  Peter will be concentrating on the northwest corner and Berkshire county which I find to be a real challenge to get out there.  He also does a radio show and podcast dedicated to ham radio called Ham On! which is broadcasted on WTBR in Pittsfield every Wednesday at 9:00 AM.  I was a recent guest on his show and had fun with it!  Welcome Peter!

Hamfest’s are warming up! I was at the Marlboro hamfest and as usual was a great time. My next one is at Mt. Tom hamfest for Saturday, March 7th. With that will also be representatives for ARES and RACES for our section so stop by and say howdy!

On a personal note, a number of members are aware of my career change to a commercial truck driver. As of Jan 15, I did receive my Class A drivers license and have been looking for a position. The vast majority of local companies failed to respond to my applications except one. I will be driving over the road which will keep me out of state quite a bit. This will limit my appearances somewhat for a while and my intent is to keep an open line of communication. With any luck, I can still attend field day and Boxboro. (Oh, wait, HamExposition!) I need to see how things are with time. There is some great momentum going on and want to see it blossom.

For those who are not aware, Grant, KC1KCE has set up a Facebook account for our section. All are welcome to post club and public service events and other information as well. This is also linked to this website so when items like my report goes on this site, it populates to Facebook. This is to expand our information pipeline to get news and events out more. Thanks, Grant, for the stellar effort!

As you know, our Section has initiated a Mentoring program which ran into a little snag in the brochure we introduced. It has now been revised and approved and you will see it on the website for all to download and modify as needed for your club or event. I would love to get some feedback as to what you did and if this has a positive impact on the new ham.

Our resident Near-Fest creator, Mr. Mike W1RC came up with an idea where he created an email and with some of our members help, emailed 99.9% of the states police departments to educate them on ham radio exemption to give them clarity and to ensure with the distracted driving law which is now in effect. A number of departments replied with appreciation that they received the information. Keep in mind, if you are pulled over and you get a ticket, just take it and bring it up to the court. I do not anticipate a problem, but just in case. Thanks to all who assisted in the effort in getting the word out.

Boy, I had a mouthful to report this month! Please keep spreading the word according to Amateur Radio! Thank you all for a wonderful month.

73,
Ray, KB1LRL

Hello Western Ma. As I write this, reports are that Puxatawney Phil did not see his shadow. Early spring? Let’s see!

January 12 I met with other division officials with Fred K1VR in Springfield and Paul W1SEX, Bob K1YO, Aaron KC1CXX and myself introduced our mentoring program which included the distribution of our guide to give to people just getting their license which can be customized to their local area to provide club, and contact information. This was met with very good reviews and was well received. I also traveled to Newington on the 23rd with it and it received the same rave reviews. Unfortunately, there were some copyright protection issues with the original copy that we published here on the website, so until we edit some things to resolve that we had to remove it. I am now looking into a different structure to this and my intention is to bring back an elmering/mentoring program to get our new hams started and on the air. Hang in there.

Now that February has come upon us, our thoughts turn to Hamfest’s starting with Marlboro which is Feb 15. I will be there with my goodies. It is a shame that Framingham has stopped their hamfest. It was a good one and can only hope it comes back. Mount Tom ARA Hamfest is around the corner and I plan on being there as well. As some of you know, I am in the midst of a career change and the new job I get may pull me in a different direction. Speaking of hamfests, most, if not all are aware of the change to what we used to call Boxboro which has now moved to Marlboro at the Best Western for July 24-26. The word that I have been hearing is this is a very positive change as it can accommodate a lot more there to the point that a national convention can occur there. My wish to this is it will bring back vendors that have drifted away from us over recent years.

January also is the time the League board gets together for their regular board meeting and at this time the board minutes have not been approved and released as yet. Two things of note is the departure of Howard WB2ITX. The board did not elect him and Barry Shelly N1VXY is back in as interim. There is no detail about why this all came about hopefully whatever the reasons are, it’s in the best interest for the league and the members. The good thing that came out of it is our Vice Director Mike Raisbeck K1TWF was elected First Vice President for the league. Bad for us is now there is a vacancy for the Vice Director which will be BIG shoes to fill and good for the league that they now have a respected voice with a bunch of years to his credit.

That’s enough razzle-dazzle for now. I hope everyone has a great February and hope to see you in my travels.

73,
Ray KB1LRL