Hello fellow hams!
Way back in the Stone Age (or maybe it was the summer of 2011) I started to attend GNARC meetings, and immediately felt welcomed and included. Actually, I was so included in all of the goings on that for 2012 I was elected secretary of the club. After a year of doing that, 2013 saw me becoming vice president, which was quite a surprise to me. Now, in 2014, it is a great honor to be able to address all of you as the president of this fine club.

Thanks to lots of hard work and dedication, Tim Walker (W1GIG) secured us a meeting spot in the new Norwalk Fire Headquarters Emergency Operations Center. The work isn’t stopping there. Continuing efforts are being made by our new vice president/repeater trustee, Charles Lelievre (N1LLL), to secure antenna space for the club at this location. He’s also been working with the repeater committee to refurbish and upgrade all of the club repeaters. If you’ve used them lately, you know just how well they are working now. It is no surprise that our repeater system is the busiest in the area.

Now that we have a great location and a great repeater system, we need to focus on increasing our already fantastic membership. I know there are a lot of licensed hams who we haven’t heard from in a while. Why not give them a call and see how they are? When you see someone who isn’t a ham expressing interest in homebrewing, electronics, the magic of radio, or anything else we get into as hams, make sure you mention that ham radio is alive and flourishing, and get them to the next meeting. If you happen to see a new face at the meeting, make sure to say hi. You never know if your quick greeting will end up bringing in a future board member.

It is that time of year again where we must ask you to pay your dues. We ask that this be done before March 31, after which we’ll be recompiling the official membership list. If we notice that your name didn’t make it over to the new list, one of the board members will be contacting you to check in and see how you are doing. I know that for me events like the yearly picnic, field day, and the holiday party are extremely joyous occasions. However, there should be more to the club than just meetings and parties. Our bylaws heavily emphasize the need to provide learning opportunities. As such, we will organize educational workshops, group builds of simple projects, maybe even the go-box building or a fox hunt that has been talked about for a while.

To be able to do these things, GNARC needs operating funds. For the cost of a Baofeng, you will be getting a full year of ham radio fulfillment. And don’t forget all the raffles! It is your past contributions that have made GNARC a thriving club, and we thank you in advance for your continued support!

I’m really looking forward to all that will be happening in 2014, and I hope to see everyone at meetings and events.
73,
Sam Dick, NV1P
President