Greetings Everyone!
Another month has gone by in the blink of an eye. It was nice having a month without Covid restrictions. I’m concerned that with new (changed again) CDC Guidelines, masks, distancing and shutdowns are coming again.
At least we had a few in person meetings and Hamfests. I was pleased to meet so many of you at the Harrisburg Hamfest, at the Murgas Hamfest in Wilke-Barre and the Valley Forge Hamfest.
This weekend (July 31st). I’m going to the Chambersburg Radio Club Hamfest (http://w3ach.org/). If you attend, look for the ARRL tables. Both EPA and WPA will be attending. Stop by to say “Hello”.
Other ARRL Sanctioned Hamfest that I am planning on attending are:
8/7 Reading Radio Club Hamfest Sinking Springs http://www.qsl.net/w3bn/
9/26 Eastern Pennsylvania ARA Hamfest East Stroudsburg http://www.qsl.net/n3is
10/2 Red Rose Repeater Association New Holland http://w3rrr.org/
On July 17th, the ARRL Board of Directors had their bi-annual meeting in Newington. Probably the most significant accomplishment was the creation of a new standing committee.
The ARRL Board of Directors approved By-Law changes creating a third Standing Committee that joins the existing Administration and Finance Committee and Programs and Services Committee.
The charter of the new Emergency Communications and Field Services Committee (EC-FSC) is to develop and recommend new or modified Board policy and programs for emergency communications through the Amateur Radio Emergency Service® (ARES®) and National Traffic System™ (NTS™) entities.
The committee also will offer enhanced support for its Field Organization leadership volunteers, including Section Managers, and an increased focus on ARRL-Affiliated Clubs.
The EC-FSC will further provide guidance to the CEO in translating Board policy into prioritized tasking, funding, and staffing of programs, services, and training in support of amateur radio emergency communications, field organization volunteers, and recruitment and retention of new and existing members through assistance to Affiliated and Special Service Clubs.
The EC-FSC will have additional responsibility for monitoring and assessing trends in emergency communications technology and participant skills worldwide, and for identifying “best practices” for voluntary emergency communications provided by ARES and NTS, coordinating and cooperating with other amateur radio national societies as appropriate.
This committee has been needed for a long time. I’m optimistic that the projects which are planned will benefit us all.
We are going to place special emphasis on supporting our clubs. Your club will be contacted soon by either Ralph Brandt, K3HQI or I will be contacting you to make sure all information on the League’s Clubs Database is up to date.
That’s the first step. We are going to rebuild our clubs Post Covid. Standby for more information as it becomes available.
Many other changes are coming with a new CEO and new hires at HQ. I’ll do my best to keep you informed. I understand as with any changes, we’re going to like some and hate others. Hang in there. We are doing our best to serve you. Keep in touch with me so I can represent you.
If you have any questions or need anything, please call me. One caveat, due to the astounding number off telemarketers calling, I’ve stopped answer calls if I don’t recognize the number. Leave a voicemail and I will call you back.
My car’s warranty is not expiring. I don’t need health insurance. I especially don’t need a medical alert device in case I fall. (This one seems to call 4 or 5 times a day. All from spoofed numbers so I can’t block them.)
I’m sure all of you are running into the same thing.
It’s good to be back to “normal”, even if its probably not going to last.
Hope to see you later this year.
73
George Miller W3GWM
Eastern Pennsylvania Section Manager
293 Woods Rd.
Wyalusing, PA 18853
Phone (570) 250-1007