[K3pzn-board] RE: [PVRC] CANCELLED: FARfest at the Howard County Fairgrounds

Thu, 01 Apr 2004 09:51:11 -0500

I'm reading this a little differently, let us contact FAR and ask them to 
"join forces" with us.  THIS COULD BE THE EXPANSION OPPORTUNITY WE ARE 
LOOKING FOR.  It would be good for both organizations.  They have the name 
and reputation, we have the location.  As a member club of FAR, is it not 
our duty to help them out?

Discussions please, Gentlemen.

73,

Keith Krichinsky - KB3HHK

----Original Message Follows----
From: "Stephen C Beckman" <[email protected]>
To: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected],     
    [email protected], [email protected], [email protected],        
[email protected]
Subject: [PVRC] CANCELLED: FARfest at the Howard County Fairgrounds
Date: Thu, 1 Apr 2004 07:39:06 -0500

Gentlemen;

FYI -- something you might be interested in reading about.

73; Steve, N3SB
----- Forwarded by Stephen C Beckman/TOW/Raytheon/US on 04/01/2004 07:35 AM
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|         |           "Frank Donovan"  |
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|         |           04/01/2004 03:37 |
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   |       To:       "pvrc" <[email protected]>                           
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   |       cc:       (bcc: Stephen C Beckman/TOW/Raytheon/US)                
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   |       Subject:  [PVRC] CANCELLED: FARfest at the Howard County 
Fairgrounds                                                       |

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After struggling to rebuild attendance from two relocations the past four
years, organizers in Maryland have cancelled the 2004 descendant of what
was
once the popular "Gaithersburg Hamfest" that dated back to the 1950s.

LACK OF VOLUNTEERS CITED

"There appears to be no support for this event from the member clubs of the
Foundation or their respective members," wrote Dan Blasberg, KA8YPY,
president of the Foundation for Amateur Radio (FAR).

The group consists of a coalition of ham radio clubs in the Maryland,
Washington, and northern Virginia region, and has used hamfest revenue to
fund scholarships. In recent years it co-sponsored the event with one of
its
member clubs, the Columbia Amateur Radio Association (CARA).

ADMINISTRATIVE PROBLEMS

Expressing his dismay that only two people had stepped forward from FAR to
help stage the hamfest that had been scheduled for Sept. 11-12 2004,
Blasburg, in a note tentatively calling off the event, said the lack of
volunteer help is "not fair" to "carry the burden of a project of this
magnitude and scope."

Blasburg concluded "it has been decided by the leadership of FAR and CARA
to
cancel Fall-Fest 2004 (due) to lack of volunteer participation."

RECONSIDERATION POSSIBLE

Blasburg's email, sent to members of an email reflector involved with FAR
activites and subsequently circulated more widely, suggested member clubs
were not fulfilling their obligations to the Foundation.

He said "If at some point the Foundation does happen to get any support
from
its member clubs pursuant to the Foundation by-laws and the membership
sheet
that all club officers have signed, then the Foundation will be more than
happy to continue with this event."

To clarify wording that indicated the decision had already been made,
Blasburg replied to a query on March 23 and held out hope that volunteers
would indeed step forward to save the event. He said in this follow-up
email
that a "final" decision will be made April 19th.

On March 27th, after this story was initially written, a FAR source at the
Timonium (Md.) Hamfest told several people that the Fall-Fest had indeed
been cancelled, and that the site reservation has been released and
subsequently booked by a non-ham radio event.

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