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NARS is one of the best radio clubs to which I have belonged in my half-century of ham radio. We are a strong, active group which does numerous things of which one can well be proud. The club is about fifteen years old, yet it has a current strength of approximately 175 members. Here are some of the things we do, and we do them all with regularity.
1. Each year we conduct classes leading to the licensing of individuals interested in becoming Amateur Radio operators. These classes run for roughly ten weeks, with all classes being taught. by club members having strengths in the various facets of the hobby and the teaching program.
2. We have a six-page newsletter which is published monthly, mailed to each member, with additional copies being delivered to various radio and parts stores for pickup by interested individuals.
3. We have a group of Volunteer Examiners which conducts monthly exam sessions ten months each year. We skip June (conflict with Field Day) and December (conflict with Christmas).
4. We hold regular monthly meeting which are always well attended. Our Public Information Officer (KD5AYF) also serves as our Program Chairman, and he sees to it that our programs cover an interesting array of topics.
5. At our regular monthly meetings, George Carlson (KC5RCC) presents a mini-program (approximately 15 minutes) in the form of a "tech-talk" on a topic of current interest to the club. George is well respected for his technical knowledge and skill in presenting technical information.
6. Our Board of Directors has approved four specific annual events for which NARS has agreed to provide communications services. The four are:
a. A March of Dimes Walkathon, which is serviced by our operators and their handheld or mobile radio units.
b. The annual Buffalo Bayou Regatta, which is a charitable canoe/kayak race conducted on one of the major bayous which flow through the city of Houston.
Club president Jim Kirk, KJ5X, monitors canoers on the Bayou during the Buffalo Bayou Regatta |
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c. The SIRE event, which is a Self Improvement through Riding Education program, which provides funding and training resources which enable handicapped youth and teens to benefit from a structured riding regimen. The event which NARS supports is the major fund-raising event each year.
d. The Texas Trails Endurance Run, which is a 5Omile/5Okilometer event held at a State Park north of Houston. This event attracts upwards of 800 individuals from all over the world. It is always fascinating to see some of the "not-so-young" racers complete this strenuous race.
7. Our members, on individual bases, support countless other civic events in the Houston area, such as the annual Wings Over Houston air show, the annual Houston Marathon and other similar events. These are not approved by our Board as club-sponsored communications events, however.
8. NARS has one of the finest repeaters in the entire Houston area. From a location which is closely held to enable us to retain our premier site at 500 feet in elevation, our repeater covers most of the general Houston area, and much of Harris County. It is a completely open repeater and is available for use by all. Most of the active users are, of course, NARS members. The club recently funded a new $400.00 antenna replacement project.
9. Our newsletter contains several forms of information useful to its readers. Some of these include:
a. The NARS Resource List which identifies individual members who have knowledge of specific interest to members, such as, General Help, Antennas, DX, ATV, Satellites, Electrical. Design and Troubleshooting, Packet Radio, Computer Operations, Computer Programming, Interference (RFI), and Card Checking (for WAS, WAZ, DXCC, etc).
b. A roster of the current Officers and Directors of the club, along with e-mail addresses and telephone numbers.
c. Net Information, which includes the two weekly nets conducted by NARS (2 meters and 75 meters).
d. Our two Repeaters (144 MHz and 440 MHz) and our digipeater.
e. Our regular meetings, which include the regular monthly meeting plus two other informal gatherings of NARS members. These two latter assemblages include our weekly Saturday morning breakfast, normally attended by 20-45 members and visitors, and our Wednesday Lunch Bunch attended by 6-18 individuals.
f. Our NARS Reflector by which we can rapidly disseminate information to the members via the Internet.
g. Our NARS Web Site which serves a wide variety of functions.
10. Of course, we regularly participate in the Annual Field Day, which generally highlights our entire year. We regularly field a Class 2A team (SSB and CW stations), including rented tents and porta-pottys, borrowed and owned towers and antennas, emergency power generator, a Novice/Technician station, a VHF station, and a satellite station. Two years ago we decided to make it a serious contest entry and won the Class 2A section of the event. More generally, we plan for everyone to have fun and an opportunity to operate.
Jack Lingner, KM5LJ, in front of our Field Day Trailer. |
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11. Additionally, we have an annual Club Picnic at one of the public parks in our area, usually accompanied by one or more radio stations set up for folks to have fun operating.
12. Each January we hold our Annual Awards Banquet in January, at which we celebrate our successes of the previous year and salute those who worked so hard to make them possible. We present two commercially-prepared plaques each year, one to the outgoing President and one to the individual deemed to have provided truly outstanding service to the club during the previous year. We also award special certificates to all Board members, and others who have provided particular services to the club during the past year.
