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ARRL West Central Florida Section (WCF)Section Manager
Gerald D. Turner, N4GD 10132 64th St North Pinellas Park, FL 33782-3040 727-548-7474 n4gd@arrl.org |
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WEST CENTRAL FLORIDA: SM-Dave Armbrust, AE4MR, ASM W4DG, ASM-Legal K4LAW, SEC
AE4GB, TC KT4WX, BM KE4WU, STM AB4XK, SGL W1XO, ACC N3BUL, PIC WX1JAD.
Please welcome John Townsley, AE4GB, as the new Section Emergency
Coordinator for West Central Florida. John replaces Paul Toth, NA4AR, as SEC.
John has been active in public service, participating with Pinellas, Pasco and
Hillsborough ARES over the last 8 years. Prior to his appointment as SEC John
was serving as EC for Pasco County.
Paul Toth, NA4AR, has resigned as both ASM and SEC due to personal and
work commitments. It was Paul’s efforts that were largely responsible for the
creation of the ARRL West Central Florida Section. Paul has been a tremendous
aid to me since the creation of the West Central Florida Section. I have not
met another that has worked so hard for amateur radio as Paul has done for the
last four years. He will be greatly missed by all in the Section that have
come to know Paul. He does plan to remain active with Skywarn and MARS.
Please also welcome Norm Daerda, K4NRM, as the new EC for Pasco County.
Norm is replacing John Townsley, AE4GB, as EC of Pasco County.
The third annual club leadership conference that was scheduled for Jan.
18th has been postponed. The date was apparently a conflict for many.
Another date will be scheduled after the Hamfest season ends.
The next Hamfest in WCF will be the DeSoto Hamfest on January 25th. The
Miami Hamfest is the following weekend Feb. 1 and 2. Miami is the ARRL State
Convention this year. The Orlando Hamfest is Feb. 6, 7 and 8th. Back in WCF
the Highlands Hamfest is Feb. 15th and the Zephyrhills Hamfest is Feb. 22nd.
I will be at all of these Hamfest and look forward to meeting you at these
Hamfest if you can attend.
Sarasota ARES/RACES participated in a Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)
drill on December 18th in Sarasota. Both SEC Paul Toth, NA4AR, and myself
participated in the event as well. The amateurs were involved with sending
live Amateur TV signals from the disaster scene to the County Emergency
Operations Center. This was the first time ATV was used in a drill to send
live video back to the EOC. Several key individuals including the county
Emergency Manager were also “shadowed” by amateurs to handle critical traffic.
The amateurs also provided communication from the Red Cross chapter house to
all Red Cross vehicles used in the event. In the simulated chemical attack
all hostages were lost due to actions taken by the terrorist. I am happy to
report that in spite of being near the all the action all ARES/RACES members
did survive the simulation! It was a wonderful demonstration of how amateur
radio can play a very vital role in such man made disasters. 16 amateurs
contributed 239 man-hours to this event.
An ARRL Section appointment that I would like to talk a little about this
month is the Public Information Officer or PIO. The PIO is an individual
that works with the amateurs in an area to help get media coverage for an
amateur radio event such a field day. While this is so crucial to the growth
of our hobby this is a function that is often overlooked in many areas. If
you are already doing this for your club or if you are interested in becoming
involved in the Public Information program in the Section please contact our
Public Information Coordinator, Jack Doyle, WX1JAD. Jack can be reached at
941-485-0700 or wx1jad@arrl.net.
A basic Skywarn class is scheduled in St. Pete on Jan. 22nd and an
advanced class on Feb. 19th. All classes will be held at the downtown St.
Petersburg Times building, 490 First Avenue South. Classes will begin
promptly at 7PM and wrap up around 9PM. All of these programs are available
to you regardless of your license class.
Silent Keys this month include Sam Edwards, K1QV of Arcadia and Harvey
Wittner, KA4EEF of Lutz. Both have contributed significantly to the hobby and
they will be missed.
AB4XK STM reports for Dec: PHSR AE4MR 247, WB2LEZ 188, W4AUN 175, AB4XK
120, K4SCL 100, KF4OPT 100. SAR K4SCL 357, AB4XK 246, KF4OPT 89, W4AUN 15,
WB2LEZ 8, KG4FCD 8, AE4MR 7.
73 - Dave AE4MR (941)685-2081 or ae4mr@arrl.org