This week, I want you to help somebody make that great leap into the great service we call Amateur Radio.

I wish I had an Elmer when I was getting into Amateur Radio. It would have saved me a lot of unnecessary trials and tribulations and maybe I would have gotten my license sooner.

I was so interested in Amateur Radio that I joined the ARRL long before I was licensed; so long, as a matter of fact, that after being a member for two years without a license, I received a letter from ARRL headquarters wondering what was going on. Was I just going to sit on my dupa and read QST for the rest of my life or was I going to get up off my dupa and get my license?

That letter motivated me and the rest is history. Well, maybe not history, but definitely my story. And if I had a little help along the way, my story might be different, but I guess it could have been worse--I could have missed the ham radio boat altogether.

Are you an Elmer? Have you ever been an Elmer? Have you ever tried spreading the word about our great avocation? Well, you should try it and by doing so, help Amateur Radio continue to be a vital service and a healthy hobby.

Download the "Leap Into Amateur Radio" brochure from the ARRL's Educational Materials Web page and use it to introduce kids to the magic of ham radio.

The ARRL can assist you in these efforts. The League has tons of stuff that you can use to spread the word about Amateur Radio and help folks get licensed and on the air. The Internet makes it so easy to obtain the stuff without getting up off your dupa; you can simply download a lot of stuff and order the rest of the stuff on-line. For example, the ARRL's Educational Materials Web page has some great stuff you can download to use while you get people enthused about Amateur Radio. And there is even more stuff available at the ARRL's Recruitment and Education Web page, so go for it and help somebody get licensed and on-the-air as quick as a bunny.

By the way, this is a leap year and this Sunday, February 29, is Leap Year Day. If you are an Amateur Radio operator lucky enough to be born on Leap Year Day, there is a Web page dedicated to you (believe it or not).

Happy Birthday all you Leap Year Day babies! Until next time, keep on surfin'

Editor's note: Stan Horzepa, WA1LOU, missed being a Leap Day Baby by 358 days, so he gets older four times faster than folks born this Sunday. You can complain about the inequity of that and anything else (like the weather or the A-Rod trade) by writing to Stan at wa1lou@arrl.net.

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