CQ, CQ, CQ, FIELD DAY – We are Whiskey 4 Bravo Uniform Golf calling CQ.
What a two-day treasure of opportunity for many of us! The GCARA Board, with the help of many solid ham members, pulled off a very successful June Field Day. I want to say thank you to some people with some very special contributions to our Field Day.
First of all, I would like to thank Jeff Stahl K4BH, Dan Vasilca AI4WW, and Charlie Artner KN4VDW for contributing to the planning of the technical side of Field Day. We would not be able to operate our radios at all if there was not careful planning and proper execution of the setting up of antennas. To help them install the antennas, Joe McGee NX4T, Half Moon AJ4JG, Forrest Smorag KA4JHM, Robert “Liggy” Ligum KN4WII, Mike Wolf K2HXC, Kenny Hollenbeck KE4NC, Ben Echavarria N7BBE, David Crane K4RU, and others that slip my mind.
No Field Day is complete without the CHOW, and boy, was it delicious this time. Ricki Witte KJ4FSJ made her delicious homemade chili and helped cut down on plastic at the park by providing stainless flatware that was promptly washed and sanitized after use. Gerald (Jerry) Deitch W4LST was the Chef extraordinaire who cooked hamburgers and hot dogs to perfection and offered delicious homemade Beef Stew and some of Doris’s Pulled Pork. It was yummy in the tummy and a bargain with a small donation for food. Every side and every entrée was thoughtfully planned considering people’s dietary restrictions, and we owe a debt of gratitude that Jerry and Ricky were so excellent at shopping and preparing our feast.
New to us this year was Thomas Savoca K9TJS, the GCARA Director/PIO, who worked on getting us “press” for the event, along with Carol Sjursen KJ4AWB and Erik Olmer W4EJO, GCARA Treasurer. They ensured that pictures and invitations went out over social media for weeks before and during the event. Congratulations to Tom, who has since become an ARRL PIO for the club. Thank you, Tom.
We were joined by several visitors, none so prominent as Jeff Beals WA4AW, Barry Porter KB1PA, and Marty Falk KI4IQZ of the ARRL. We were delighted to see them again this year as their traditional appearance on our Field Day makes it “official” and garners points for the occasion. Thanks, gentlemen, for gracing us with your presence once again.
It was a joy to watch several people making contacts, and none other than Hope Smith WB3ANE graced the air making her first Field Day contacts in a long while. Her tears were testimony to the thrill she got from working the radio as Dan Vasilca AI4WW helped log for her. Several of us could hear her make contact with W1AW at ARRL Headquarters as she spoke to an old ham friend who was working the station. It was such an unforgettable experience for her. When her late husband Don Search W3AZD was alive, Hope spent her time supporting him while he operated the radio, leaving practically her no time to do so. Don and Hope were mainstays at Field Days of the past, and their memory will forever linger in my mind.
We saw old friends and made new friends on Field Day, and it was quite an amicable group who came, set up, stayed, worked radios, made contacts, and helped tear down the event. I am so thankful to know everyone and to have shared this experience once more with such generous, knowledgeable people. This is such a wonderful hobby and we will persevere to populate it with more enthusiasts, supporters, and newbies to the best of our ability.
73
Melanie Fernandez KJ4VCT
President of the GCARA