[HCRA] CTRI Meeting

[Jim Mullen]

Hey gang!

I hope everyone had a chance to attend last night's meeting! The crew from
CTRI certainly showed how a small group of dedicated hams (1/3 smaller than
us) can accomplish a lot. I was impressed with the fact that beyond the
contesting and Dxpeditions other significant things. School classes,
hospitality rooms at the conventions, great raffles and fund raisers - all
without ANY yearly dues. It sure gives us some ideas and goals for the
future.

While talking with Bill after the meeting he told me CTRI will be doing
their first Field Day this year. He tossed out the challenge about a club
competition for FD score. Nothing formal, just a thought it might be fun to
compare our results for FD '05. Sounds like an interesting idea. An
outgrowth would be local club sponsorship of a high score plaque that many
local clubs might want to compete for. It wouldn't reduce the 'fun' aspect
(did you notice that CTRI is also based of having fun with everything they
do?) but might increase the exposure of FD to all the clubs. Getting more
people interested is always a good thing for the growth of the hobby.

Don't forget our blockbuster meeting next month featuring N2RLL from PopCom
magazine. Be sure to tell anyone you know that might be interested in any
aspect of radio and radio receiving. This should be a good one - a special
thanks to WB1DBY for securing a great assortment of meeting presentations
for this year.

We had one volunteer for a 2005/2006 board position last night. Anyone else
out there want to join up? Change is good, the club is healthy and we need
your participation to make it even better. I promise anyone that joins the
board will have fun and at the same time advance our wonderful hobby. What
are you waiting for? Just do it!!

Let's not forget about NEQP 2005, the fourth running of this super (but laid
back) contest. The New England QSO Party is a lot of fun and you could get
the chance to win the HCRA sponsored plaque for high score Hampden County.
Mark your May calendar for the 7th and 8th and visit http://www.neqp.org for
all the details.

That's it for now - have fun, work some good DX and most of all today - stay
dry!

'73...

Jim