[Alexandria Radio Club Reflector] ARC: A Year End Summary and a Humble Request

[Sean Gallagher]

Alexandria Radio Club 2024
 
A Year-end Summary and a Humble Request
 
As we’ve now entered Eastern Standard Time and are quickly sliding up to the end of another ARC year, I thought it would be useful to review what we’ve done as a Club.
 
We began 2024 with a shuffle in leadership due to the unfortunate side-lining of our elected President for medical reasons.  Per our by-laws, I assumed the position of President and then had to scramble to fill the positions of Vice President and one of the Director positions as a result of the domino effect of the realignment.  Despite all the churn, we were able to complete the transition from DSL(copper) to FirstNet (5G cell) keeping our digital repeaters happily connected to the Internet.  Through the engagement of our member volunteers, we were also able to field teams for Winter Field Day in January, GW Parade in Feb, St Patrick’s Day Parade in March, VWS Winterfest in March and full scope Field Day in June.  Other events supported this year by the Alexandria Radio Club included National Night Out, Alexandria’s Commemoration of the 80th Anniversary of D-Day and the Alexandria’s Emergency Management Office Emergency Preparedness Fair.  All that participated improved their skills, gained additional knowledge of operations and had fun to boot!  Thank you for your participation!  Well Done!
 
We had some additional staff shuffling in March when our Secretary resigned due to outside work commitments.  Her position was filled by her own recommended replacement, and we were able to bring on a Membership Chairperson, filling a slot that had been gapped for over 6 months.
 
Although our plans to remodel our trailer were delayed, our former Emergency Coordinator was able to produce and deliver a full set of documentation for the equipment that is installed in the trailer.  Awesome!
 
Our efforts to further develop our weekly net participation have begun to bear fruit with participants checking in last week from College Park, MD and Hampton Roads, VA joining us via the 062B reflector on our weekly DStar net. There’s also been many new voices and some odd voices on the Thursday 2M FM net as well.  Jump on in and you’ll see what I’m talking about!
 
While we didn’t make the progress in certain areas that I had hoped for, we still had a very successful year taking in more than a dozen new members and maintaining a substantial balance in the treasury.  Scheduling work time amongst the Officers and the Board was more significantly more challenging than I’d considered given the fluid nature of everyone’s personal schedules, especially for those who are still gainfully employed.  In 2025, we will change the approach to be a more effective managing body for the members.
 
On a more personal level, I studied intensely and was able to pass my Extra class license exam.  I also began building out my HF capability to keep up with the big boys!  At some point, I will have to tackle those little dits and dahs!
 
Looking forward, while there are no monumental changes out on the horizon, we have a few areas we need to adjust and I would appreciate the opportunity to continue working as your President to improve the Alexandria Radio Club in 2025. 
 
To that end, I humbly ask for your vote for President in our election on Friday, Nov 8th.  Remember, to vote, you must be a member in good standing and you must be physically present in the meeting room.  See you all on Friday night!
 
73,
 
Sean
 
K4KBK