Award

ARRL Year of the Volunteer: Ray Irwin, WA1FFT

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Ray, WA1FFTDouglas Sharafanowich, WA1SFH, writes:

Greetings:

2023 is the ARRL Year of the Volunteer.

It is my pleasure to introduce Ray Irwin, WA1FFT.

Ray recently stepped forward and volunteered to be the Emergency Coordinator (EC) for the town of North Haven (CT ARES – Region 2).

Ray is a person who gets things done. As a way to kickstart this new ARES team, and get some publicity, he contacted the local multi-town weekly newspaper. That paid off with an interview was published this week.
LINK:
https://www.zip06.com/person-of-the-week/20230221/raymond-irwin-ready-for-when-all-else-fails/

CT ARES NEEDS YOU!
We have several towns currently without an appointed EC, and need people to fill those roles.

“BE LIKE RAY”
Reach out to volunteer . . . just like Ray did.

Here is who to contact:
Regions 1, 4, 5: Phil – K1XFC (Section Emergency Coordinator) k1xfc@arrl.net
Region 2: Douglas – WA1SFH (District Emergency Coordinator) – wa1sfh@optonline.net
Region 3: Bill – AB1LZ (District Emergency Coordinator) – ab1lz@arrl.net
—
73, Douglas Sharafanowich – WA1SFH
ARES District Emergency Coordinator (DEC)
Region 2 – Connecticut Section

K1IR Appointed to ARDC Grants Advisory Committee

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Jim Idelson, K1IRFrom YCCC Scuttlebutt, February 2023:

Jim Idelson, K1IR, has recently been appointed to the ARDC Grants Advisory Committee. Jim, past YCCC President (2001 – 2002), has been involved in amateur radio since 1971, and he credits the hobby with helping him achieve a productive and fulfilling career in technology and business. He is an active contributor to the amateur radio community through his involvement in public service events, as an author, and through the Zero Falls Alliance – an initiative he created to focus on tower safety in amateur radio. Jim has also served as a volunteer with local, regional and national organizations. Other amateur radio activities include contesting, DXing, and experimentation. Congratulations, Jim!

Barnstable (MA) ARC Honored for Sixty-Five Years as ARRL Affiliated Club

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The Barnstable Amateur Radio Club on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, received a commemorative plaque from the ARRL board of directors for sixty-five years of ARRL club affiliation at its November 7 meeting.  BARC President Norm Caitlin, WA1NLG, accepted the plaque and certificate from Division Director Fred Kemmerer, AB1OC. 

BARC has conducted licensing classes and its members serve as volunteer examiners. They have also provided communications support for a number of public service events, including the Cape Cod Marathon, Falmouth Road Race, MS and Alzheimer’s walks, SKYWARN nets, ARES exercises and JOTA events.

Congratulations to the Barnstable Amateur Radio Club on this momentous achievement. 

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Quaboag Valley ARC Grant Will Develop Adult Ed Amateur Radio Classes

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ARRL Foundation logoThe Quaboag Valley Amateur Radio Club grant by the ARRL Foundation, which was awarded to the club in August, was designed to attract two very different groups to the amateur radio hobby and to club membership in local amateur radio clubs.

The first group addressed in the proposal was the adult population that may have had an interest in radio in the past but never had the opportunity to get licensed.  This group now can afford to get entry level equipment but needs help getting started.  They are the people with the intellectual curiosity and drive to enroll in adult education programs.  The program was designed to utilize existing evening school education programs to offer licensing courses at their facilities.  The grant received is helping to support the evening division Technician licensing course at Baypath Vocational Technical School in Charlton, Massachusetts.  The grant is paying for training materials and a free handheld transceiver upon successful completion of the Technician license exam. The course is currently running with 18 students. 

The second group will be for students at another vocational technical school; however it will be focused on tech school students whose training in various technical fields stimulated them to take advantage of a free program offered at their school that would lead to an Amateur Radio Technicians License.  This course is being planned for April, 2023.   The course, training materials and a pre-programmed handheld transceiver, to be awarded upon passing the Technician license exam at no cost to the student, will help to make the program affordable for interested students.

The program is being managed by Mert Kenniston, KC1KVA, and supported by Dennis Clowes, KC1LNL and Peter Baldracchi, KB1QGY, who are assisting in presentation of several of the instruction modules along with other club volunteers as “expert witnesses” for discussions.  Further development of this model to attract new hams to our clubs and our hobby is expected to be an ongoing topic at future QVARC meetings. 

ARRL Foundation Grants $270,000 to Amateur Radio Clubs

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ARRL Foundation logo

From ARRL Club News:

The new ARRL Foundation Club Grant Program, funded by a generous grant from Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC), has awarded $270,000 to radio clubs that participated in the first round of applications.

The Club Grant Program, introduced earlier this year, includes $500,000 to be awarded to radio clubs with projects that will have the most impact on amateur radio, the community, and the future of radio technology. The grants will fund transformative projects that encourage the growth of active amateur radio operators and training opportunities, education programs for student groups and schools, and club revitalization. A second round of applications to award the program’s remaining funding opened on September 7, 2022. The deadline for submitting an application is November 4th at 7PM Eastern time.

Twenty-four clubs were notified on Monday, August 29, that they are receiving grants. The ARRL Foundation received 128 applications in the first round, with requests totaling $1.74 million. The selection committee noted that it was difficult work deciding from many high-quality grant proposals, considering the finite available funds. Radio clubs that did not receive grants in the first round may revise and resubmit applications in the second round.

The ARRL Foundation, established in 1973 by ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio®, administers the Club Grant Program. ARRL has long recognized that it is in the best interest of amateur radio to encourage and support amateur radio clubs. Clubs historically have recruited, licensed, and trained new radio amateurs and have provided the community setting for them to continue their education and training.

The new Club Grant Program will help clubs more easily provide and expand their important services. More information about the program can be found on the ARRL Foundation website, at www.arrl.org/club-grant-program.

The following clubs, in no particular order, were awarded grants:

Club Name Town State
Heritage High School Amateur Radio Club Brentwood CA
Newport County Radio Club Newport RI
Bristol County Repeater Association Tiverton RI
Holmesburg Amateur Radio Club Philadelphia PA
Quaboag Valley Amateur Radio Club Warren MA
Amateur Radio Club at Kansas State University Manhattan KS
Meriden Amateur Radio Club Wallingford CT
Anchorage Amateur Radio Club Anchorage AK
Andrew Johnson Amateur Radio Club Greeneville TN
Cape Ann Amateur Radio Association Gloucester MA
Yavapai Amateur Radio Club Prescott AZ
Cave City High School Amateur Radio Club Cave City AR
Fauquier County 4-H Ham Radio Club Warrenton VA
All Things Amateur Radio Association Carroll OH
Forsyth Amateur Radio Club Inc Winston Salem NC
Sunset Empire Amateur Radio Club Astoria OR
Barnstable Amateur Radio Club South Dennis MA
Orange County Amateur Radio Club Cornwall NY
Daleville Area Amateur Radio Service Daleville AL
Lake Washington Ham Club Kirkland WA
Radio Association of Western New York West Seneca NY
Prairie Dog Amateur Radio Club Childress TX
West Chester Amateur Radio Association West Chester OH
Gloucester County Amateur Radio Club Pitman NJ

 

ARRL Foundation Announces 2022 Foundation Scholarship Recipients

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ARRL Foundation logoThe ARRL Foundation Board of Directors has approved the recipients of the 2022 ARRL Foundation Scholarships as recommended by the Scholarship Committee. Foundation Scholarships totaling $921,250 will be awarded to 139 deserving radio amateurs pursuing higher education. Individual scholarship awards range from $500 to $25,000. Several young radio amateur recipients reside in New England:

 

Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC) Scholarships:

  • Abigail Finchum, AB1BY, of Nashua, New Hampshire ($25,000)
  • Jherica Goodgame, KI5HTA, of Avon, Connecticut ($15,000)
  • Michael Lefebvre, N1MPL, of Morris, Connecticut ($15,000)
  • Matthew Mowerson, KC1IIL, of Wallingford, Connecticut ($5,000)

The East Coast Amateur Radio Service (ECARS) Scholarships, $2,500 each:

  • Julie Knappik, KB1YTT, of Raynham, Massachusetts
    Matthew MacKenzie, KC1PXL, of East Bridgewater, Massachusetts
    Lee Schuett, KB1ETR, of Lebanon, Connecticut

The FEMARA Scholarships, $2,000 each:

  • Elizabeth Hull, N1LIZ, of Hancock, New Hampshire
  • Sarah Hull, W1SJH, of Hancock, New Hampshire
  • Simon Schwartz, KC1PYK, of Newton, Massachusetts
  • Megan Wagner, KC1FGH, of Westford, Massachusetts

The New England Amateur Radio Festival (NEAR-Fest) Scholarship, $1,500:

  • Yettive Crestohl, K1TG, of Marblehead, Massachusetts

The RFinder LLC — Arthur L. Greenberg, W2LH, and Madeline Greenberg, W2EEO, Memorial Scholarship, $1,000:

  • Dahnesh Upton, KB1OTB, of Mount Vernon, New Hampshire

A full list of scholarship recipients can be viewed at <http://arrl.org/news/arrl-foundation-announces-2022-scholarship-awards>.

Congratulations to all the recipients, and best wishes for success in their higher educational pursuits.

Rhode Island Club Awarded ARDC Grant

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RI Emergency Mesh Network screenshotRICOMU, a Rhode Island ARRL Affiliated Club, was awarded an ARDC grant of $83,000 for upgrades and expansion of the Rhode Island Emergency Mesh network, according to RICOMU President Gil Woodside, WA1LAD.

The project will include additional Yaesu Fusion repeaters linked through the RIEMN , new and upgraded mesh nodes, cameras and all the other accessories and equipment needed for the project to succeed.

W1NRG 75th Anniversary Celebration, June 23, 2022

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The Meriden Amateur Radio Club (MARC) and Wallingford Amateur Radio Group (WARG) is holding a 75th Anniversary Celebration with a lawn ceremony and reception from 6-8:30 PM on Hope Hill Road in Wallingford, Connecticut.

An ARRL plaque recognizing MARC’s 75 Years of ARRL club affiliation will be awarded to club president Ed Snyder, W1YSM, from New England Division Director Fred Kemmerer, AB1OC, and Vice Director Phil Temples, K9HI. Also, the CW Station will be dedicated in memory of Bill Wawrzeniak, W1KKF (SK) along with a special remembrance of Christian Sievert, WA1VXH (SK) and additional club recognition.

KM3T Inducted into CQ Contest Hall of Fame

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K9CT and KM3T receive 2022 CQ Contest Hall of Fame awards
Inductees K9CT (left) and KM3T 2022 CQ Contest Hall of Fame. -K8CX photo

Accomplished contester David Poscoe, KM3T, of Amherst, New Hampshire, has been inducted into the CQ Contest Hall of Fame which “honors those contesters who not only excel in personal performance but who also give back to the hobby in outstanding ways.”  [Full story]