CALENDAR
January meeting: Monday, January 17 th , 6PM at El Maguey to eat and talk. Official business will be conducted by our new President Tom Crowell KD4DK and we will also hear from our new Lumpkin County ARES Emergency Coordinator Dave Burrows W9JWT.

Special Notice: 

Sykwarn Class scheduled Tuesday February 6. Park and Rec at 7PM .

Not for sale, for Free: If you have an older 500 series HP Desk Jet printer, I have a number of brand new black and color cartridges available. Up through 560C. Hate to see them go to waste. Contact K4SZ.

From the President's Desk

The new year has finally come and a change of reins is in order. I wish to thank Russ for his years of hard work in promoting our club to it's present level. Job well done.

The first challenge I face as your new president is to determine what direction the group wishes to pursue. During the first meetings of this year I hope to discuss options available to our group. Do we want to expand our membership? Do we want to become more active in local events? Do we want to become more active in disaster services? Do we want to run several "Special Event" stations? Where do we want to go? Please give some thought between now and the third Monday in January, when we will be meeting at El Maguey, about what you would like to see in an amateur radio club and where you want to be involved. We can make all kinds of grand plans, but if no one gets involved, the plans will never fly.

Dave Burrows has graciously offered to serve our group as EC of Lumpkin County. As our Emergency Coordinator, Dave's first task will be to gathering all manner of information and statistics on our current level of emergency preparedness. Dave has asked for 20 to 30 minutes at our January meeting to discuss his visions of the future. Part of his agenda includes introducing us to the new ARES and to pass out registration forms. The news of the tidal waves in the Indian Ocean should emphasize the thought that would we be prepared if the unthinkable happened?

I am hoping to have some information at the January meeting on some identification items for our group. To be active in the public's eye, we need to be identified as communications operators. I am working on getting prices on t-shirts with our club log on the front and the word COMMUNICATIONS on the back. Baseball type hats or polo style shirts are another thought I have had. I talked to some folk's at the last ham fest about magnetic signage for vehicles. If we want to be official, we need to look official.

Craig (KG4TJJ) has been working with our Emergency Manager, Don Seabolt, about scheduling a SkyWarn class in some time in February. Several opportunities become available to the county if a percentage of the population is trained in weather watching. This is a great class and I would encourage everyone to attend when it can be arranged. More information to follow....

I want to thank the people involved in helping with the Old Fashion Christmas. We could have used more operators, but we did a notable job with the handful of operators we had. Because of the success of the parade and the timing with the current parade manager, I have been asked to organize and manage the entire Old Fashion Christmas Parade in 2005. I will be looking for help.

We are three months out from the Salute American Veterans Festival. We have missed out on getting listed in QST as a Special Event Station, but we should proceed to put the station on the air anyway. Anyone with artistic flair, please bring your thoughts and sketches for a special QSL card for the event. Please put Saturday, March 19, on your calendar for this event. Line up for the parade will begin around 9:00am , the parade will start at 11:00am , the festival will run on the square all day, and a dance will be held that night at the Park and Rec. Center . All these activities will benefit from ham radio involvement.

Enough for now. Hope to see everyone at the meeting. Bring a friend.

73, Tom Crowell KD4DK

K4SZ Bulletin Board

Extra class exam preparation: Alfred Westbrook KT4VP reports that a series of classes preparing for the extra class exam will be held at the Blackshear Place Library in Hall county, beginning on January 10, and running for about seven consecutive weeks (and just $10 for all!). If you are interested, please contact Alfred at kt4vp@arrl.net.

Exam Prep classes for Tech, General and CW: In Forsyth County on Saturdays January 15 thru February 12 with exams being on that last day. For further information contact Jim W4JJM at 770-781-8082.

Great humor about ham radio e-mail reflectors. A good read whether you are subscribed to one or not. Go to www.eham.net Articles, Seach for “Doesn't this look like us?” (submitted 12/10/04 ).

Ham Radio Calendar of events for 2005.

Club meetings for 2005: Third Monday of each month. Jan 17, Feb 21, Mar 21, Apr 18, May 16m, Jun 20, July 18, Aug 15, Sept 19, Oct 17, Nov 21, Dec 19. No conflicts seen as of this writing. Some will be picnics and some may be changed, but notice will be given in the newsletters.

Hamfests:

Feb 26 Dalton , Mar 19 Kennehoochee, Apr 23 Calhoun, May 20 Dayton OH , Jun 4 Atlanta , July 9 Gainesville , Aug 13 Ellijay, Aug 20 Huntsville AL , Sept 3 Shelby NC, Nov 5 Lawrenceville.

Do a Google Search on the hamfest name. Many clubs have websites with maps and further info.

SouthEastern VHF Society conference: April 29-30 Charlotte NC (www.svhfs.org )

Contests: June 11/12 VHF QSO Party, June 25/26 Field Day, Sept 10/11 VHF QSO Party

Upcoming Event: GARS Techfest and Chili Cook-off in Lawrenceville January 22 (www.gars.org )