Greetings! Can you believe it’s June already? The noisy bugs are gone (thank you!!) and the tornado season is officially over (stay alert anyway!), and temperatures are rising rapidly.
Something else important is also approaching rapidly:
FIELD DAY!
Field Day is coming in four short weeks (June 22nd and 23rd), and we need to start planning and preparing now for our 71st consecutive event. Come to the meeting, throw out your ideas, volunteer to help in some way, and let’s make this event memorable.
Our meeting this month is one of our quarterly “eating meetings” on Tuesday evening, June 4th, at 6:00pm at Libby’s Catfish and Diner on Priceville Mountain off of Highway 67. Just leave Decatur and travel past the I-65 interchange, keep motoring through Priceville, and drive up the mountain. When you reach the big white cross on top of the mountain, Libby’s is just ahead on the right.
If you’d rather meet in the basement auditorium of the Morgan County Courthouse in Decatur, please arrive early at the lower entrance off of Lee Street and hope that you can convince someone to let you into the empty auditorium. Enjoy your conversations with the nice young men in the black and white cars with the flashy lights!
The meeting will NOT be streamed on Microsoft Teams for obvious reasons.
We’ll be finalizing our plans and the equipment we’ll need for the event. If you can volunteer to help out, especially on the radio or by helping to enter contacts in the log, you will find plenty of opportunities. We’re hoping to have some involvement with both Boy and Girl Scouts this year, so we’ll need those who can explain the setups and help the young people make their first contacts on the radio.
Field Day this year will be held at Flint City Park in the south side of Decatur. The park is conveniently located at a busy intersection and a railroad crossing not too far from Highway 31 South. Look it up on Google Maps if you need directions, or call someone on the repeater and we’ll help you find the place. And be sure you come and bring whatever supplies that we discuss on Tuesday! Most importantly, BE THERE!
Please continue to spread the word to fellow hams or those who are wanting to take a test for a new or upgraded license that the Decatur club is still scheduling license testing every month on the first Saturday of each month. The testing sessions will be held in the Decatur Public Library on 6th Avenue NE (Highway 31) at 1:00. Please bring ID (especially your FRN, which is required on the license application) and your $15 fee. And, most importantly, PLEASE send an email to DecaturHamTest@w4atd.org so we can have the testing materials prepared and available for you. July 6th and August 3rd are our next scheduled testing dates. PLEASE NOTE: WE ALWAYS NEED VOLUNTEER EXAMINERS TO HELP WITH THE TESTING PROGRAM! If you want to help in some way (Extra class license is normally required), please let us know! And if you send an email and do not get a timely response, please let the secretary know.
Remember also that the roster of current club members is now online at www.HamClubOnline.com. Set up your free account and if you have paid your dues (and the Secretary has updated the database) you should see that you’re associated with the DARC. If there’s an issue, let us know.
See you on Tuesday evening, June 4th, 2024, at the Libby’s Catfish and Diner in Priceville at 6:00! Don’t be late!
