Hi Gang,
Amazing!!...
That really doesn’t express it enough for what we’ve done this year! It has really
been a year of Traveling, Training, Ramping Up, and having FUN! But most of all,
enjoying immensely in being able to “serve” all of you for another 2 years as
your Section Manager.
There’s
so much to report on this time around that this review is very lengthy, so I do
apologize for that in advance. Because of its length, if I have missed
something in this report that should have been mentioned, I again apologize.
The Ohio Section is an extremely busy Section indeed. I should know, I’ve
traveled over 40,000 miles this year to be with YOU... In fact, I would say
it’s the busiest Section in the country!!
So, as
Paul Harvey would say... “Here’s the
rest of the story”.
January
2016
started out with a huge push to get all ARES members in the Ohio Section their
ICS training. Many of you had some of these courses completed already, so our
efforts were also concentrated on getting you back into the learning mode and
completing those ever so important 4 courses (IS 100, 200, 700 and 800). It
would become evident that even those 4 basic courses wouldn’t be enough to
satisfy the FBI and Secret Service for what we had to be prepared for. We would
later find out that we would also have to get our members trained and certified
to IS 701, 706 and 802 as well.
January
was also when the Ohio Section took the lead and was the very first
organization to become registered and credentialed for the brand new State of
Ohio Credentialing system. Stan and I both got our credentials and now we are
allowed to credential anyone from our organization when the time comes. We
didn’t know at that time just how this would set a precedence later down the
road for us to be the first to actually USE this system as well. More on that
later.
The
Ohio Section became very aggressive in making sure that all of your hard work
and volunteering time was counted, like never before. We implemented a program
where ALL of the Official Emergency Stations and Official Relay Stations are
now required to do monthly reports. The Ohio Section is leading the country in
this effort. By capturing these additional appointment reports we are making
sure that we capture as much of the true volunteer time as we possibly can.
The
Ohio Section Journal, like all the newsletters in Ohio just keeps getting
better and better. With stories from not only the Ohio Section Cabinet, but
also from YOU now. These additional reporters give all of us a much greater vision
to what’s really happening around the Ohio Section.
Utilizing
the latest technology available, we also are able to archive the past editions
so that everyone has the opportunity to look up past articles if they wish. They
are also searchable, so that if you just can’t remember when the article was
published, you can search for it. It’s no longer just a text email sent to you.
It now has color, pictures and graphics which makes it much more interesting to
read and get involved in, and WITH.
January
brought us an unexpected set of events in a community in our northeast
quadrant. During the week of January 18, some 8,100 water customers in Sebring,
Ohio, were notified that they had problems with high lead content in their
drinking water. On January 22, both Ohio and Mahoning County Emergency Management
Agencies began passing out bottled water in Sebring. Mahoning County ARES was
activated to help out. And, they did just that! ARES volunteers joined others
in moving and distributing pallets of bottled water, and another call went for
weekend duty. ARES members from neighboring counties also volunteered. All
told, the volunteers moved more than 166 pallets of water in 6 days. “This is a
perfect example of being ready to serve in whatever capacity we can, in order
to help our communities. Sometimes it doesn’t involve only operating a radio”
We had our very FIRST Annual Ohio ARES VHF
Simplex Contest in January too! Wow, what a success it was. We had a lot of
stations activated and on the air for this really FUN event. It was a blast,
and demonstrated to all that we have the ability to communicate on VHF SIMPLEX!
January
was also when Dave Sumner, K1ZZ, Chief Executive Officer of the ARRL was
presented with a decree from the Ohio Section Manager at the January Dayton
Amateur Radio Association (DARA) Club meeting. It stated that he was – from
this point forward – an Official Honorary Ohio Section Member. He was also
presented with an “Official” Ohio Section hat, which he proudly wore during the
meeting.
Our
Affiliated Clubs Coordinator, John Myers, KD8MQ started an even more aggressive
approach of making sure that our Affiliated and Special Service Clubs are
up-to-date on their annual reports. He also strongly encouraged a number of new
/ existing clubs to become Affiliated and Special Service Clubs as well. Our
numbers are growing like never before thanks to his efforts. As of this
writing, the Ohio Section now has 108 Affiliated Clubs on record, with 43 of those
clubs being Special Service Clubs!! That’s really an accomplishment for sure.
As
an experiment in late 2015 I came up with a hair brained idea to encourage
people to visit the Ohio Section Website. I started the Handbook Giveaway
Contest, and it took off like a rocket. So, after doing a one question survey
on the Ohio Section Website about whether it should be a regular item, which a
resounding amount of you (over 1200) responded with a deafening YES, you wanted
to see it continue, it’s now a regular item that everyone is having FUN with!
February
The Section
Manager was very out and about attending a number of ARES meetings, hamfests
and club meetings of all sorts, and oh yes, I did visit with several groups
doing the annual “Freeze Your Acorns Off” HF contest, sponsored by the Portage
County Amateur Radio Service (PCARS) as well.
I got
attend several Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) meetings around Ohio
representing Amateur Radio, as well as the quarterly Ohio Public Private
Partnership (OP3) meeting in Cincinnati. I also attended the Ohio Voluntary Organizations
Active in Disasters (VOAD) meeting at the Ohio EMA. As you can see, February
was a busy month!
It
also found Stan, N8BHL our Section Emergency Coordinator (SEC) out and about
with a new EC / DEC training program. It was tailored to give better insight as
to the needs for ICS training and better guidelines for the EC / DEC in their
duties to the ARES program and their ARES members.
February
also had a major announcement that really shook everyone involved with
preparing for the Republican National Convention with the announcement from the
NAACP National Convention Committee. They announced that they had scheduled
their National Convention to take place in Cincinnati on the exact same week as
the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, as well as the Toledo National
Air Show. This was quickly turning into what could very easily be a history making
week in Ohio for sure. What the history books would write about this very huge
week of activities in July was what was on everyone’s mind for sure. Now even
more, our ability to get everyone their ICS certificates in time to help with
all of these events became the primary driver for many special planning
meetings and gatherings for Ohio ARES folks for months to come.
March
The
month of March began our planning for the Dayton Hamvention. Little did anyone
know that this would be the very last time we would be planning for Hamvention
at Hara Arena! I was also chest deep in planning details for the Second Annual –
National Section Managers Conference held just prior to the Hamvention.
It
was a month of attending hamfests and club meeting for sure. It seemed like
almost every night I was at a different function. I also had the privilege of
being able to present the Central Ohio Severe Weather Net Club with their
Special Services Club Certificate too.
April
On
April 14th Dave Sumner, K1ZZ retired from his duties as CEO of the ARRL for 40
plus years. Dave will really be missed by all the knew him, or even just met
him. He had a knack for remembering who you were, and where you were from by
just meeting with him once. He was remarkable. And, on April 18th our new CEO
took over, Tom Gallagher, NY2RF.
We
got to celebrate Dial Radio’s 75th anniversary with our Great Lakes Director
and Vice Director. It was a great time. I presented the club with the Ohio
Section Manager’s Special Recognition Award.
May
Right
at the beginning of May we had a curve ball thrown at us! Several times! ARRL Headquarters
called and wanted the Ohio Section to do a National Parks on the Air site at
the Wright Brothers Bicycle Shop in downtown Dayton while the Hamvention is
going on. Now, with a lot of planning on John, KD8MQ’s part, this turned into a
huge success.
Well,
I’m here to tell ya’ that there is still another story to be told that happened
before Hamvention. It seems that someone didn’t get the message to have a time
set aside for a forum for a National ARES program. Once again the Ohio Section
got the call. As with any great leader, our Section Emergency Coordinator (SEC)
Stan, N8BHL gave his dedicated time slot on Sunday morning to them. So, as you
see, the Ohio Section once again came to the aid and gave of itself. The
National ARES Forum was very well attended and our own Section Emergency
Coordinator was invited to be one of the forum members.
The
Thursday before Hamvention I helped host the Second Annual Section Managers
Conference. We had 25 Section Managers from all across the nation attend with
another 27 on a webinar connection that we had. Tom Gallagher, NY2RF, the CEO
of ARRL, and Rick Roderick, W5UR, the President of the ARRL as host speakers,
along with Steve Ewald, WV1X, and Debra Johnson, K1DMJ there as well. It was a
great time and very informative. As a side note: this conference gives all of
the Section Managers around the county the opportunity to learn from each
other. It’s really a great way for the Section Managers to learn how other
Sections operate and perform all that is expected. I’m very proud to be a part
of this wonderful opportunity.
Saturday
of Hamvention John, KD8MQ and I presented Norm Fusaro, W3IZ and Sean Kutzko,
KX9X with plaques of appreciation from the Ohio Section for their part in making
National Parks on the Air a very successful event. It was a great time, and it
was something that just no matter how you sliced it, couldn’t have happened
without the “going above and beyond” efforts of John, KD8MQ. Our hats are off
to you my man!
Then
there’s the Dayton Hamvention itself. As in past years, the Ohio Section had a
booth prominently displayed within the ARRL Field Services area. This year when
we went to setup, we were given 2 booths! Wow, what an unexpected opportunity that
we were given. Since we had the extra space we took advantage of it and really
spread out and displayed the new ARRL Ohio Section Banner and Logo in 2 areas
of the Hamvention!
We did
something very different this year at Dayton. This year we had a drawing for
not only 2 ARRL Handbooks, but we also gave away several gift certificates, and
a 2016 Field Day Shirt as well. It was absolutely fantastic! We had over 1,400
enter this one drawing. What more could be said…
June
We
had a wild ride for several days with the weather around the Lake Erie. Damage
to Cedar Point and the surrounding counties was extensive. Power was lost for
more than a day to not only the park, but also to several counties too. Lines
were destroyed and had to be replaced all around the cities near Sandusky. No,
it wasn’t a tornado, but rather a micro-burst.
June
for the Ohio Section was very busy and a great learning experience for what was
going to come in July. With our beloved Cleveland Cavaliers winning the
National Championship Title, our Ohio ARES group got to exercise their newly
acquired ICS training with a one-day event that had over 1.3 million people in
attendance in downtown Cleveland to celebrate with the Cavs. We got to see and
learn from what was happening, and we did gain a lot of “lessons learned
knowledge” for that little event that was yet to come in July!
The
Ohio Section Cabinet members and I traveled well over 2,000 miles to visit as
many Field Day sites as all of us could get to in that 24-hour time frame. I
know personally I checked in to 14 sites that weekend, with more than 986 miles
traveled. I passed several of our Section Cabinet members as we crisscrossed
the state visiting with all of you.
We
kicked off a one of a kind program to make sure all of our key ARES folks are “in
the loop” by receiving daily updates from the Fusion Center. These
Communications and Information Management System (CIMS) messages let our folks
know where the major events will be and what to possibly to expect for crowds
as well as what threats are out there. These updates are coming to us thanks to
our association with the Ohio Public Private Partnership (OP3).
July
It
started off with a bang with the 4th of July being celebrated all
over Ohio and our ARES teams out and participating in many events during the
4th.
On July
6th came a shocking announcement from Amateur Electronic Supply that it was
ceasing operations after 59 years of operation and all the stores would be
closed before the end of July. Just one week later an announcement from Ham
Radio Outlet that it would be taking over and opening up selected stores from
the AES acquisition, of which the Wickliffe Ohio store would not be one of them
reopening.
Then
came the events that we all have been planning on for more than a year, the
National Republican Convention, the NAACP Convention and the Toledo National
Air Show.
Friday,
July 22nd the entire State of Ohio took a very deep sigh of relief, for it was
all over, the largest multiple set of major events running concurrently in the
United States was successful, no one was killed or seriously injured at any of these
events. We also had the largest contingent of law enforcement officers in the
history of Ohio. There were 18 different states represented with more than
1,000 officers helping our own Ohio State Highway Patrol and county sheriffs,
as well as the full staff of the Cleveland Police Department and many other
local police departments from around the state as well. The total amount of
officers numbered above 5,500. Now, not only the police were involved, there were
numerous other municipal departments as well as the Ohio Department of
Transportation, Ohio EMA, U.S. Coast Guard and numerous other departments from
around the state and federal government. All in all, this was the largest set
of events that the state of Ohio had ever done. And they did it with OUR help!
To
finish up July it’s was a great honor to be able to introduce you to the 2015 Hiram
Percy Maxim Award winner, Christopher Brault, KD8YVJ. A number of months
earlier I had the honor of nominating him for this award, and he WON!!
August
August
started off with the major announcement by the Dayton Amateur Radio Association
(DARA) that it was moving the Dayton Hamvention to Xenia. The announcement had
been one of real shock to everyone around the country. But, with the knowledge
that Hara Arena would be no more, a decision was made. The new home of the
Dayton Hamvention would be the Greene County Fairgrounds just on the outskirts
of Xenia.
In
August the Ohio Section and the Aladdin Shrine Amateur Radio Club/Columbus
Hamfest hosted the Ohio Section Conference. This was a new location for the
Hamfest. It was a fantastic day for a hamfest and there was fantastic
attendance for not only the hamfest, but the Conference as well.
The winners
from the 24th Annual ARRL Ohio Section Newsletter Contest were announced:- 1st Place.... The Mike & Key
- 2nd Place... The RADIOGRAM
- 3rd Place....was a two way tie!!! The Voice Coil and ATCO Newsletter.
Honorable Mentions went to... The CARA Communicator and The Spirit of '76 and '88.
The
Ohio Section also celebrated the newest inductee of the Allan Severson Award
when I presented it to John Myers, KD8MQ.
Celebrating
at DX Engineering’s Summer Event in the middle of August I got to present the
Section Managers Special Award to Christopher "Chris" Brault, KD8YVJ for
becoming the latest Hiram Percy Maxim winner, and what a great honor it was.
I
also got to celebrate with the Queen City Amateur Radio Club 75th anniversary
with our Great Lakes Director and Vice Director. It was a great time. I
presented the club with the Ohio Section Manager’s Special Recognition Award.
I helped
celebrate a National Parks on the Air activation with a celebration sponsored
by Lake County Amateur Radio Club at the James Garfield Historical Home. It was
a very hot day, but fun event for sure. Even the Park Rangers helped celebrate.
September
We
all had fun with the Ohio Parks on the Air event (OSPATA) sponsored by the
Portage County Amateur Radio Service (PCARS). It has had a huge impact on
Amateur Radio, and since it’s being done in Ohio’s parks, it’s a great PR and
even more importantly, IT’S FUN.
We
also had our annual Ohio ARES Conference. This year it was held on the Marion
Technical College / Ohio State University – Marion Campus. It was a great
conference and everyone left with way more knowledge than what they came with.
Want to see it? It’s all on video. Just go to:
http://arrl-ohio.org/SEC/sec-conf-2016.html Sit back and relax as you view the more than
4 hours of video. Don’t worry, it’s broken up into individual segments so that
you can view them as your interest grows.
I
had a number of meetings, hamfests and even a county fair to attend in
September. It was great getting out and seeing everyone and I even got to
encourage a number of people to get studying and get their license. I also got
to have some fun with the OSSBN guys after the OH-KY-IN hamfest at the Blue Ash
Chili Restaurant. This is an idea that was born a few months earlier when it
was decided that we all need to have a sit down gathering and we had a great
feast at Tony Packo’s in Toledo. I know that there’s another gathering in the
works for 2017 coming.
October
October
started off with another fantastic Simulated Emergency Test (SET) around the
state. I did visit at a number of different exercises. It was great seeing
everyone in action.
Had
several conference calls with National VOAD over hurricane Matthew. Wow.. We
are lucky to be just far enough away from events like this. Unfortunately, our
SEC was tied directly to this storm. He’s part of the Hurricane Net and had net
duties for a number of days.
I
also got to visit a fantastic Junior High School Amateur Radio Club in Newton
Falls. The 20/9 club helps sponsor this, along with the Newton Falls Schools
and it’s great. They have about 40 kids involved with Amateur Radio. They are
even building a ham station there at the school! Their club call is: K8TGR.
It’s really neat as that their school mascot is none other than a TYGER..
I took a great trip back up to League Headquarters for an
adventurous couple of days. I visited with many of the staff, including Tom
Gallagher, NY2RF the CEO himself! It was great and YES, I did operate W1AW
several times in those 2 days. I didn’t make many contacts as that the bands
were really lousy then.
October
was also time for Jamboree On The Air (JOTA.) It was a huge success around the
state and the country. There were a number of Scouts on the air because of the
extra efforts from our Ohio Cabinet members...
Our
Scouting Program Manager, Scott Hixon, KC8ITN, got to attend the Simon Kenton
Council, Ohio Valley District Fall Camporee not only as a Scout Master with his
troop, but also as a ham radio operator. The camporee was held at Mount Oval,
just outside of Circleville, Ohio. It was a huge success.
November
November
started off by me being able to attend the Fall Ohio Public and Private
Partnership Conference (OP3) which was held at the Wendy’s International
Headquarters in Columbus. There was a great deal of information that came from
that conference, including many details about the Conventions in July, and new
ideas for security and safety in events.
We
did have a very sad note to report to everyone about one of our really great
District Emergency Coordinators. Robert E. "Bob" Rhoades, KC8WHK, DEC
of District 3. Bob passed away on Saturday, November 19, 2016 due to an
automobile accident. Rest in Peace Bob.
Late
in November came that historic and infamous rivalry between that school up
north and the great Ohio State Buckeyes. I felt so bad for my counterpart in that
state up north for losing so many times to me over the years, that this year knowing
that the game would be played in the horseshoe, I didn’t even consider asking
him to wager. I’m kinda’ glad I didn’t. Even though it came down to 2
overtimes, Ohio State still won out in the end. I would have really felt worse
for him had we wagered. Yeah, right!! Go
Bucks!! On to another national title!
December
is now upon us
I once
again attended the Emergency Management Association of Ohio (EMAO) Winter
Conference. This was 2 days of intense meetings and seminars with all of Ohio’s
EMA Directors. It was very enlightening and informative, and Amateur Radio was
one of the topics discussed this year! There was a great presentation produced
- Amateur Radio 101 by Brent Stemen, KD8SCL, and Weldon Mathews, K8NQ that
really highlighted what our folks can do in helping in emergencies. Stan
Broadway, N8BHL our very own SEC also did a really great presentation about our
roll in the Republican National Convention and the NAACP Convention too.
Because
this was a 2-day conference there was some downtime after the presentations the
first day. This is where we all get to socialize with each other. It was great
to be able to keep Amateur Radio in their presence. This opportunity enabled me
to get to know them on a more personal basis during our afterhours sessions. I
also got to brag to all of them about how we have been working very diligently
all over the state in getting our folks trained in the Incident Command Courses
(ICS 100, 200, 700 and 800), and now have over 300 members logged in to our
database with all of these courses completed, with over 200 more that are
working on obtaining all 4 certifications before the end of the year. We know
that there are many more folks out there certified, but just haven’t turned in
their certificates to us yet. With all of this information, they now know that
we are truly committed to be ready when needed, and we’ve shown this year that
we can handle whatever they throw at us for sure.
The
Handbook Give Away Program has been a huge success for sure. We’ve even had
several months where there’s been extra giveaways as well, this month included.
It’s been a blast. I want to report that it’s been successful in doing what it was
designed to do - get people looking at the Ohio Section Website more often! We
have been averaging well over 1,500 people registering every month for this
giveaway, and we’ve gotten more than 20,000 entries this year, with a few more
days and giveaways yet to go!! I only see this program growing and getting
better for 2017.
A
new – old – mode of communication really took off this year, it’s called DMR or
Digital Mobile Radio. It seems that folks wanted a mode that didn’t cost a lot
of money to get started in, and DMR did just that. Hand-Helds being sold for
around $100 and right from Amazon. DMR Repeaters have been springing up like
wildfire all over the state, and the interest – folks registering for MARCS
ID’s – has more than quadrupled just within the last 6 months! I too had
involvement with its growth by really pushing the benefits of the DMR network
out to all of our ARES groups, as well as the EMA Directors here in Ohio. We
even got to use it during our convention week in July, and it worked
flawlessly. It’s great to be able to communicate from Columbus to Cleveland,
Cincinnati, Marietta and Toledo all at the same time, and all from my HT in my
easy chair! I foresee this mode growing even bigger and better for 2017. With
new inexpensive technology now giving us an opportunity to connect DMR to
D-Star and System Fusion, how can we not have FUN with this new – old mode of communication.
Finally,
the Section Cabinet has been very busy this year attending and speaking at club
meetings, public service events and hamfests all over the state. I congratulate
them all for their dedication and service to the Ohio Section, and YOU.
We
have a very PRO-active ARES program, and our Section Emergency Coordinator –
Stan, N8BHL has really gotten our ARES programs into high gear. He encourages
everyone to have “fun” while providing a very valuable “service” to the
community and our served agencies. This year has been an exceptional year for
ARES in Ohio. It’s growing and getting even better. You can find his monthly
reports on the Ohio Section website.
Our
Technical Coordinator – Jeffery Kopcak, K8JTK has been busy with programs and working
with a number of folks around the state with technical problems and teaching us
all some new tricks with the digital modes, computer software and yes, even
Raspberry Pi’s too.
Our
Official Observer Coordinator – John Perone, W8RXX has been working hard at
enhancing the Amateur Auxiliary with our OO’s, including me, out there
listening and encouraging proper operator techniques. Did you know, the Ohio
Section started publishing a monthly report of how many hours the Official
Observers volunteer each month. Not only that, we also let you know how many
Good Guy and Bad Guy cards are sent out as well. We’re the only Section in the
country that is doing that.
Our
Affiliated Clubs Coordinator – John Myers, KD8MQ has been extremely busy
encouraging new clubs to “affiliate” with the ARRL and not stopping there we
have also seen an increase in Special Services Clubs as well. We aren’t where
we want to be, but we are growing and that’s what counts. John has also taken
on a second role for us this year. He’s been doing a special segment each month
in the Ohio Section Journal spotlighting the National Parks on the Air events,
and has kept up with the leader board and all the activations around the state
and country. Be looking for some other things coming up in the near future from
John as well.
Our
Section Traffic Manager – David Maynard, WA3EZN has been very active on the
various nets and recording and reporting the hours we spend passing important
messages in and out of the state. You can find his monthly reports on the Ohio
Section website. Like with the Official Emergency Stations, the Official Relay
Stations have been amped up to make sure we are getting those oh so important
reports for every hour spent volunteering. Dave’s really been pushing everyone
that even if you don’t have 70 points that the League requires for publication
in QST, that’s ok, we still want and need your reports. It’s paid off too!! We
are seeing very impressive numbers coming out of those PSHR reports and every
point adds up. Our ORS program is really shinning this year for sure.
Our
Public Information Coordinator – John Ross, KD8IDJ has been busy with the
newsletter contest and promoting Amateur Radio around the state. The newsletter
contest has become a model for other Sections around the country. I’m very
proud of all of our newsletter editors and the really creative ways they’ve
come up with to get that news out to everyone.
Our
State Government Liaison – Bob Winston, W2THU is busy keeping track of
everything that is coming through that might affect the Amateur Radio operators
in Ohio. He’ll keeping a special eye on the Antenna Legislation that will be
re-introduced into this next Congress.
We
have 2 very special Assistant Section Managers that take care of our Education
and Scouting – Anthony Luscre, K8ZT and Scott Hixon, KC8ITN. Both of them have
been very active this year with their individual programs as well. We are
starting to see the fruits of their labors with more activity starting in
classrooms and in the scouting programs.
I
want to also thank Kitty Hevener, W8TDA; Bob Johnson, K3RC, Lyn Alfman, N8IMW;
Fritz Tender, WD8E; Nick Pittner, K8NAP and Jim Yoder, W8ERW who have worked so
very hard on various special projects throughout the year. These are
exceptional folks for sure. They are all extremely dedicated to the goal of
making the Ohio Section fun, and the best Section in the country.
As
you can see, we have a lot going on in the state of Ohio at any given time. I
hope this little snapshot gives you some idea of just how much activity is
really happening in our great state. I’m very proud of all our people, and the
programs that we have.
Our
projections for the amount of hours donated back to the citizens of Ohio are
really strong for 2016. It appears that we are on target to have a total amount
of over 70,000 hours. This beats out last year by several thousand hours for
sure. Now calculating those hours into an actual dollar amounts (national
average for a volunteer) $23 per hour, this equates to over $1.6 million.
OUTSTANDING I’d say!
As
many of you have noted in your newsletters, I’m very active visiting with you
at your club functions and meetings. I’ve also been very active as a member of
the Ohio Voluntary Organizations Active in Disasters (OVOAD), the Ohio Public
Private Partnership (OP3) and the Emergency Management Association of Ohio (EMAO),
along with serving on several Local Emergency Planning Committees (LEPC)
representing all of you. Being active as I am in these organizations has given
the Ohio Section access to government agencies and decision making people that we’ve
never had before.
In
closing, I want to wish each and every one of you a Very
Merry Christmas and a very prosperous, but most of all – FUN – New Year. We are
ALL very blessed to have a great core of folks who are willing, and most
importantly, able to step up to the challenges and make things even better than
before. 2017 has the promise of being even more fantastic for Amateur Radio
here in Ohio, and I will do my very best to make this the best, and most FUN year
ever for the Ohio Section!
73,
Scott, N8SY
