Luke 1:39-45 / At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear!
But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill His promises to her!” (NIV)
President's Report
Hello all,
Here we are and another year has come and gone, elections are just around the corner. The December meeting is set for the first Monday of the month, come show your support. Thanks to Dennis NO5C for the use of the 145.410 repeater while the 146.700 was down. Hopefully soon we will have the packet back up and running. Also I hope we can get some classes scheduled for the upcoming year. Come be a part of the wave.
Merry Christmas
73' Charles Grisham
Vice President Notes
By the End of October 2018 we had 44 weeks of Net Check ins. Total Check ins at that point was 485 which is pretty fair. If you are where you can please check in on Tuesday Nights at 7 P. M. with the Meridian Area Emergency Net and at 8 P.M. the Meridian Weather Net on 145.410. Many thanks to Ted KG5IAX for calling the Net.
I look forward to seeing everyone at Western Sizzlin on December 3rd. KB5SZJ has a raffle planned for the group.
Reminder: When you are in town be mindful of your surroundings. In God We Trust.
Frank, KF5ETN
Next MARC Business Meeting
The next business meeting and Christmas Dinner will be held at the Western Sizzlin Restaurant on Monday, December 3rd beginning at 6 P.M. Come join us for dinner.
The 2019 Capital City Hamfest
The 2019 Capital City Hamfest is taking shape. We had a very successful 2018 hamfest and hope to see you there again this year. This year's hamfest dates are January 25th - 26th, 2019.
http://www.msham.org/2019-capital-city-hamfest
Big changes ahead for ARRL board
By Dan Romanchik, KB6NU
The results are finally in. No, I’m not talking about the national mid-term election results. As I'm writing this, some of those votes are still being counted. I’m talking about this year’s ARRL board elections. ARRL members have spoken, and they have elected four new faces to the board in what was the most hotly-contested election in a long time.
Three of the five incumbents, plus an incumbent vice director running for the Northwest Division director position, were defeated by candidates calling for more transparency and for changes in the way that the ARRL operates.
Here are the results:
Central Division Director
- Kermit Carlson, W9XA 1,898
- Valerie Hotzfeld, NV9L 1,755
Hudson Division Director
- Ria Jairam, N2RJ 1,292
- Mike Lisenco, N2YBB 1,239
New England Division Director
- Fred Hopengarten, K1VR 1,432
- Tom Frenaye, K1KI 1,383
Northwestern Division Director
- Mike Ritz, W7VO 1,589
- Bonnie Altus, AB7ZQ 1,308
- Horace Hamby, N7DRW 495
Roanoke Division Director
- George Hippisley, W2RU 1,891
- Dr. James Boehner, N2ZZ 1,365
In the only two contested vice director elections, Mark Tharp, KB7HDX defeated Daniel Stevens, KL7WM and Delvin Bunton, NS7U in the Northwest Division and in the Roanoke Division, William Morine, N2COP defeated John Humphry, W4IM. All newly elected officials will take office at noon on January 1, 2019.
I was kind of surprised here that Valerie Hotzfeld, NV9L, failed to win in the Central Division. She has certainly made many contributions to amateur radio, both in the DX/contest community and on Ham Nation. Apparently, though, she made some statements that she was forced to retract, and that probably hurt her campaign, and as some pointed out to me, Kermit Carlson, W9XA, was well thought of in the Central Division and in the VHF/UHF community.
Overall, though, I’m very pleased with the results. Although some of the margins of victory were small—K1VR won by only 49 votes and N2RJ won by 53 votes—I think it’s pretty clear that the members want change. Now, it’s up to the board, including its newest members to effect that change. As always, I’m ready to help in any way that I can.
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When he's not keeping up with ARRL politics, Dan blogs about amateur radio, writes exam study guides (www.kb6nu.com/study-guides), and operates CW on the HF bands, and lately some digital modes as well. Look for him on 30m, 40m, and 80m. Please email him your thoughts about the ARRL at cwgeek@kb6nu.com.
Quote of the Month
“In order to succeed, we must first believe that we can.” Nikos Kazantzakis
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