[South Florida DX Association] SFL News update

[Bill Marx]

Hi everyone,

There are a few items that I want to share with you. Space is limited
in the monthly summary and since the last summary was written while I
was traveling, I am sending this additional message to you.

Hurricane season begins in a few days.  Check your personal supplies. 
Contact your local ARES group and verify that the information they have
for contacting you and your volunteer status is current.  

I recently returned from a long road trip during which I attended the
BirmingHamfest in Birmingham, AL and the Dayton Hamvention.  During
forums that I attended and during discussions with fellow hams several
concerns kept surfacing -- the state of Amateur Radio and the state of
the ARRL.  

What is taking place with Amateur Radio?  We are seeing an increase in
new licensees, an increase in upgrades for current licensees, and what
I call return licensees.  What is motivating this increase?  Several
factors are contributing to these increases.  EmComm and the desire to
assist the community are factors resulting from recent natural
disasters such as hurricanes, floods, and tornadoes.  The magic of
radio and the thrill of hearing your call sign returning from the other
side of the planet or from space have always been motivating factors. 
Many newcomers are fascinated by the radio and television technology to
use and experiment with.  The change in code requirement is
contributing to all of the increases. Many former hams are becoming
licensed again, many in retirement years, because the code requirement
that they felt was a hindrance in their past is no longer a factor.  

What is the ARRL doing to recruit and retain new hams and new ARRL
members?  Headquarters has reorganized and Education is once again a
separate department.  Education will not focus only on the schools and
space program but will review all educational materials both licensing
and continuing education for all of us.  Registered instructors have
already begun receiving communications from the Education Manager.

ARRL Membership is planning new gifts for renewals and new memberships.
 In late summer a new appointment of Membership Coordinator will be
unveiled.  This person will visit hamfests and clubs to promote
membership and will also contact lapsed members.

Interviews were conducted for the position of Emergency Response
Manager and we should hear of a decision soon.  This manager will
address critical issues of a national responder database, responder
credentials, responder background checks, and training policies. 
Regional Response Coordinators will be appointed to assist in
multi-section and multi-state response to emergencies.  Progress in
these areas will be slow and thorough; therefore we cannot expect all
of these tools and policies during this hurricane season.

What can you do as an individual?  Maintain your ARRL membership and
encourage others to join.  After all, where would amateur radio be
without the voice of the ARRL?  Welcome and elmer new hams and new club
members.  Promote amateur radio at every opportunity -- each of us is
capable of that.  Stay knowledgeable about the issues affecting ham
radio -- read the ARRL news page and the section news page at least
once a week.  Get on the air and have a QSO -- ham radio is a contact
sport. Participate in a contest, handle message traffic, support your
local club and participate in club activities.  Send me information
about your club and your individual activities. 

I will continue to update you on issues important to ham radio and to
relay news from the southern Florida hams.  The news page has been
updated recently with corrected monthly reports.  You can visit the
section news page at: www.arrl.org/sections/SFL.html 

Amateur Radio and the ARRL are alive and healthy -- let's keep them
that way.

Stay safe and stay on the air.

73,
Sherri, W4STB
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ARRL Southern Florida Section
Section Manager: Sharon T. Brower, W4STB
w4stb at arrl.org