Happy Fall to all of the GCARA!! September 22, 2020 will be the first day of Fall and also our Monthly General Meeting on ZOOM. (CLICK for meeting details.)
WE are having a good time with the new HF Station capabilities and those who have used it are excited we have it. There is still come fine tuning and tweeking going on by the Administrators, Joe McGee, Al Flapan and Ricky Eaton and they ask that we all be patient as we traverse the Remote Hams world with it’s idiosynchrosies. Thanks for all of the positive feedback from users.
If you have not yet availed yourself to this wonderful Ham Radio opportunity, please check it out. Directions can be found on the W4BUG.org website as narrated by Joe McGee, NX4T, who did a demonstration at our August meeting. It will be well worth your efforts.
Being a good HAM means being a good citizen, a willing volunteer, and a loving host to newer hams. You will always follow the formal instructions of a net control operator in a NET and will always identify yourself, if asked, by your full call sign and phonetically in the case of the SEFTN at 6 PM daily. Remember, having fun does not have to sound “funny” or “ridiculous” to others. When on the air, stay polite and even tempered, identify yourself properly and respect the hobby by doing so. Be the best ham at all times. Thanks.
Thank you to all those people who are respecting social distancing in every day life and wearing their masks in public. The sooner everyone cooperates, the sooner this pandemic will abate. No one is more anxious than me to get back to “normal” but for now, I will follow CDC guidelines and stay pleasant while doing so. An unpleasant circumstance is always easier to tolerate with a positive attitude. Have an attitude of gratitude for every day, no matter what happens. You will be happier for it in the end.
Our club has taken several “hard hits” in the loss of persons like Donald Search W3AZD who was a consumate volunteer with his wife and life long friend Hope Smith WB3ANE, and our treasured Board Secretary, Roy Neiman, KJ4EGN, whose noteworthy contributions on a daily basis exemplified the best in HAM-manship whether he was on the SEFTN on Wednesday night or a host of other nets as well as being a valued volunteer in ARESRACES. These men were irreplacable at best and will be missed by myself and other club members. Chuck Gress, K3NXH, a digital guru and satelite buff, would give you the shirt off his back if he knew you needed it and was a very big support to the board and club in many ways. His cheerful attitude and generous nature will be sorely missed at meetings and the Field Days to come for sure. All three of these gentlemen will be honored with a Memorial Brick at the ARRL, supported by the donations from Palmetto Amateur Radio Club and Davie Cooper City Amateur Radio Club as well as our club. As good hams, we are working as a team, in these sad times to memorialize those we lost and to show gratitude for their selfless service. A man can gain no higher honor than to be remembered by the people he left behind.
We are about to embark on the holidays, so let me first wish Rosh Hashanah greetings to our Jewish friends and neighbors, a very Happy New Year to all, followed by the high holy day of Yom Kippur. Please celebrate and reflect in peace and joy, without conflict or grief. We will soon all celebrate Thanksgiving and we have much to celebrate in this life, despite the pandemic and challenges it has given us. That we rise above all strife, in good humor and with virtue intact, is a blessing. God bless us all in the coming days. Amen.
Melanie Fernandez, KJ4VCT
GCARA President