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Dateline:
March 3, 2008
From December 2007, January and February Meetings |
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Newly Elected President Takes The Reigns
It's the changing of the guard as outgoing President Mary Jo Kruer KT4GB passes the gavel to our newly elected President Buddy Sohl KC4WQ. Mary Jo has been the president of BARS for the last two years and we appreciate her service to the club. Thanks for your great work. And now Buddy steps up to lead BARS once again. Buddy has been club president several times before, so the transition of leadership will be seamless.
Here's the entire list of this year's Club Officers:
President - Buddy Sohl KC4WQ
Vice-President - Joe Pollock K4ULW
Treasurer - Don Conrad N4CCJ
Secretary - Jim Vaughan K4TXJ
Assistant Secretary - John Sohl KG4WWE
Activities Director - Stu Kratz WX4ME (by election 2/15/08)
Assistant Activities Director - Laddie DePas AI4RQ
Board of Directors - Bob Myers K4RVM and Ken Weikel KF4BAR (second year of 2-year term), Tom Kruer AE4NU and Mike Crenshaw KF4BAP (first year of 2-year term)
Thanks to Keith Benet KA4TEU (VP), Dave Whittle N4FND (Sec), Pat Hartlage NA4NA (Asst Sec) for their support of the club last year. And special thanks to Buddy, Joe, Don, Stu and Laddie for their continuing dedication to BARS!
Plans for 2008
Buddy asks if anyone has ideas for 2008 to let him know! One thing Buddy wants to improve is operating activity for club members. Other ideas include a question and answer session at each meeting and having emergency information more accessible on the website, both of which have already been incorporated.
Don N4CCJ Becomes New Bullitt Co. Emergency Coordinator
Congratulations to Donald J. Conrad, N4CCJ for his appointment as the new ARES Emergency Coordinator in Bullitt County, effective Jan. 1, 2008. With his many years of experience in base and mobile amateur radio communications, his involvement will be an asset to the community.
2007 Awards Presented in December
The 2007 BARS W8INY Memorial Amateur of the Year Award was presented to Stu Kratz WX4ME for his "many years of selfless service to the Amateur community serving as Emergency Coordinator for Bullitt County, Skywarn Coordinator at the National Weather Service in Louisville, on the board of the Greater Louisville Hamfest Association, as an officer for the Bullitt Amateur Radio Society." Stu's service has benefited our club and this regional area and his efforts have elevated amateur radio in general and the Bullitt Amateur Radio Society in particular in ways that will continue for years to come. Thank you and congratulations Stu!
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The 2007 BARS Golden Mike Award was presented to Ken Weikel KF4BAR for his "promotion of amateur radio especially noting your initiation of the Worked All Members Award to increase radio activity in the community." His efforts have promoted amateur radio in general and the Bullitt Amateur Radio Society in particular. Thanks and congratulations, Ken!
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Question & Answer Session at Every Meeting
Our club has both new hams and old hams, but one thing for sure, we don't know everything. That's why, beginning with our January meeting, there will be a question and answer period. This is a great time to ask things about amateur radio that you don't know, want to learn about, or just aren't quite clear on. Everyone had to start at the beginning, so there are no dumb questions. As we all know, ham radio is a diverse hobby with new and old techniques and methods of communicating from spark gap to satellite. So write down your questions and bring them to the next meeting. We'll try to answer them for you, and if we can't, we'll look for an answer by the next meeting. It's a great time to learn together!
What To Do In An Emergency
What are our emergency procedures? What do you do if the repeater fails? What frequencies do you use? The answers are here on the website, but they were scattered all over. That's not practical. Now there is a red "IN CASE OF EMERGENCY" button on the home page that's linked to all the information needed to find out how to communicate in emergencies. The information is brief, but links to full detailed information in the category needed. This was a great idea and something that was way overdue to keep everyone informed.
Repeater Update
EchoLink has been running nicely since Buddy KC4WQ got eveything up and running. The repeater has also been in good operation as well as the APRS, although it still indicates the repeater is a satellite. Oops! For more information about our repeater, look in the menu heading Club Info and scroll down to Repeater Guidelines.
Treasurer's Report
Treasurer Don Conrad N4CCJ in January submitted the club budget for 2008 and a list of all checking activity for 2007.
January Balance: $1393.44 ($259 in the Repeater Fund)
February Balance: $1653.44 ($299 in the Repeater Fund)
May Meeting Moved to 4th Friday
As it happens every year, our May meeting has been moved. This gives everyone time to enjoy Dayton's Hamvention® without missing a club meeting. The meeting will be on Friday, May 23.
Robert Vernon Myers, Sr. WB4CMH had been a member of BARS for many years. He always enjoyed electronics as a hobby and a profession. He was a retired engineer from Naval Ordnance Station. Bob enjoyed amateur radio and could usually be heard on the club repeater in the afternoons talking to his son Bob Myers, Jr. K4RVM as he drove home from work. The regular communications was sometimes referred to as the Bob & Bob Show.
For many years, however, Bob Sr. was suffering with C.O.P.D. and emphysema due to heavy cigarette smoking in his earlier years. The last few years were especially difficult leaving him with little energy to get around, although he pushed himself to make it to the Louisville Hamfest just about every year. Finally, after complications due to pneumonia, Bob became a Silent Key on December 23, 2007. He will be missed by many old friends at BARS and by his son and wife, Pam.
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