November Section Manager's Report, Covering October

++Safety Note++

Hurricane season is winding down, but don’t discount the formation of other “smaller” storms, and their associated flooding and wind. Also, a lot of us are out and about working on our antennas, clearing tree limbs, and other yard work. Leaves are slippery, and tree limbs can go in unpredictable directions when cut. Even pros have gotten surprises. Be safety aware, and make sure you have a family member, friend, or neighbor keeping an eye out for you in case something goes wrong.

++Help Wanted++

Do you know someone you could recommend to be a part of the Volunteer Monitoring Program?

Are you an attorney and would like to be a volunteer counsel? (Remember, only the initial consult is no charge!)

Maybe you live in one of the areas where there’s not an ARES presence? Or just want to volunteer specialty services like IT support, mail group moderation, development of training programs, etc.?

Reach out to Jack KE4LWT and let me know what you think you could contribute to making our organization, and the amateur radio service, stronger. My e-mail address is at the bottom of this report.

++Affiliated Club Coordinator++

Mike WA8AHZ continues the hard work of getting the newly licensed amateurs data to the clubs, as well as acting as the lead on several calls with the affiliated clubs to develop best practices for improving the health of the clubs, and the ARRL in VA. He and I will be meeting (virtually) with many club Presidents in the coming weeks.

++Section Traffic Manager Report++

Va Section Traffic News

Station Activity Report (SAR) and Public Service Honor Roll (PSHR) Reports for October

KK4PUX – SAR – 48, PSHR – 235
N3SW – SAR-8, PSHR – 58
W4CAC – SAR – 34, PSHR – 166

Net Reports for October

Va Net (CW) – QTC – 30, QND-287, QNI – 158
Va Sideband Net – QTC – 12/11, QND-184, QNI – 192
Ports ARC – QTC – 0, QND-75, QNI – 37
Floyd ARS – QTC-0, QND – 85, QNI – 30
NVTN – QTC – 0, QND – 798, QNI - 51

Are you checking into traffic nets?  Are you an Official Relay Station (ORS) or Net Manager (NM)? If so, please report your activity to me. If you don’t report it, we don’t know that you are doing it.  We are collecting August figures now.  Please get your report to me early enough that I can turn in to ARRL by the 10^th of September.

This way the reports can be published in QST!

73, Carl, W4CAC
wa4cac@cox.net

++Upcoming Events++

+++Contest Calendar+++

October
15-16   EME - 50 to 1296 MHz

17-21   School Club Roundup

November
5-7       Nov. Sweepstakes – CW
12-13   EME - 50 to 1296 MHz       
19-21   Nov. Sweepstakes – Phone

+++Hamfests+++

There are currently no hamfests or conventions in the Commonwealth. Please submit any requests for an ARRL sanctioned event, go to http://arrl.org/arrl-sanctioned-events and follow the instructions there. Remember that all of the requests go through the Section Manager and the Division Director, so allow for plenty of time for these to be reviewed.

++Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES)++

+++Simulated Emergency Test (SET)+++

Marty KE4KEW, our Section Emergency Coordinator (SEC), distributed the 2022 SET exercise plan to the ARES leadership throughout Virginia. Please look at the link for the SET again as there have been changes predicated by the ARRL releasing their scoresheet. The previous scoresheet is recommended for your internal use to gauge the strength of your program.

If you are interested in participating in this exercise, reach out to your County/Independent City ARES Emergency Coordinator, or if you don’t know who that is, contact Marty at martinkrupinski AT comcast DOT net. You do not have to be a member of ARES in order to participate, and you can participate as much or as little as you’re able.

+++Statewide Interoperable Executive Committee (SIEC)+++

Did you know that the ARRL, as the Commonwealth’s only statewide organization representing the interests of amateur radio, has a seat at the Governor’s SIEC? As part of that, Jack KE4LWT routinely takes part in the meetings, and Marty KE4KEW is beginning to make those as well.

During the October meeting, Mr. Elias, the Statewide Interoperability Coordinator (SWIC), gave a brief on the Virginia Dept. of Military Affairs (DMA), Virginia Dept. of Emergency Management (VDEM), and ARRL cooperative effort to field many flexible capabilities radio packages throughout the Commonwealth. These radio packages will have HF/VHF/UHF capability and be able to be used on the Amateur Radio Service (ARS), Shared Resources (SHARES) HF, and other systems as needed. More information will be forthcoming as the details are ironed out.

The Virginia Section of the ARRL is also a member of the FEMA Region 3 Regional Emergency Communications Coordination Working Group (R3ECWWG). Jack KE4LWT took part in the October Tabletop Exercise (TTX) as part of the Commonwealth contingent. The distributed nature of the ARS and our many dedicated operators were recognized as a strength in the event of a situation in which communications in the Commonwealth are degraded.

+++ARES October Report Summary+++

October showed over 1460 hours of training benefit to the Commonwealth, representing almost $41,800 that our State and Local Partners get to benefit from, with no overhead investment on their part. This is very big deal, and demonstrates in real quantitative terms the value of the ARES to our partner agencies. Remember, the reports are due to Marty (either via the online reporting system or e-mail) on the 2^nd of each month.

Reporting: David Elkins KN4LQN, Mark Robinson N4MDR, Albert Brockwell KC2UZM, Glenn Wells KY4LP, Norm Corman N3MJC, Mike Moore K4MVM, Mark Lindsey KD6ACK, David Adsit KG4BIR, Scott Larimer KN4RPA, Steve Bowman KN4AOB,  John Norman WA4JN, Mike McPherson KQ9P, David Tanks AD4TJ, Bryan Daniels K4RMY, Geep Howell W4RTS, Manny Rodriguez K4MSR, Rory Griffin W4RJG, Gordon Winn WW4GW, Robert Hartley WB7EDM, William Siefers KM4YSI,Wayne Rogers N1WR, Terry Buzzard KA8TNF, Jeff Newsome K4JTN, Ron Shifflett KG4KRB, Stephen Cresti W4SVP, Howard Wood WA4PGI, Jerry Moats WD4ITN, Brendan O'Neill KM4HRR, Richard Bunn N4ASX, Scott Morse WB6EFW, David Lane KG4GIY

++Get On The Air (GOTA) For Life Initiative++

Ed KW4GF continues to lead the charge on the GOTA For Life Initiative and has meetings set up for this month. There has been a lot of very good information developed from these meetings, and we’ll soon have tools that we can use to aid us in continuing our efforts of keeping amateur radio operators involved and on the air.

++Section Manager Close-out++

The strength of our community lies in our ability to contribute to the greater community, whether it be by community service, training and mentoring one another, or by building and maintaining the bonds we have. Contesters, POTA/SOTA, STEM education, emergency communications, and public service communications are all ways in which we better our communities, large and small. Find a way that suits your interests, and then share that knowledge and experience. Get on the air!

73,

Jack KE4LWT