[W8MWA] W8MWA Field Day Congrats!

[Spencer Graham]

I want to send out congratulations to our Monongalia Wireless Association for a GREAT 2016 ARRL Field Day event!  A loose count had more than 30+ people come up and fellowship... and even run some radios!  We were 3-Alpha this year and WR8S will give us the official score results soon once the logs are tabulated.  We had "Old Timers", "Elmers" and new hams there turning knobs, keying mics, making SSB phone contacts, CW and PSK31 contacts all weekend.  I want to thank everyone who came out to support Bill Shultz (WR8S) as our 2016 Field Day Team Leader for the set-up and tear-down and for everyone who sat at a station and racked up our points.  We hung some excellent dipoles high in between the tall trees, and fading Cicadas and they sang the MWA Song with sweetness all weekend.  The HF Bands were fairly responsive and came out to play the entire weekend on 80, 40, 20 and 15 Meters.  The MWA Field Day Committee knocked it outta the park and because of their efforts we were able to get new hams on the air for the first time and got even the Old Hams excited!  The WVU ARC was represented well and did very fine duty on station.  Well done, Bill and the entire MWA Field Day Team!  We even had one Station Team make a compelling LIVE and On-The-Air argument with a distant contact that there WAS... in fact... HONESTLY, WE SWEAR TO HIRAM PERCY MAXIM... an actual ARRL approved WEST Virginia SECTION that can be logged for their logbook record WITHOUT FEAR OF DISQUALIFICATION.  Sigh, alas, I continue to weep for doltish out of state ham people who surely failed 7th grade US Geography class... but I digress.  That Team was gracious in their geography lesson and exercised their powerful control of Tourette's Syndrome temptations toward the unlearned.   I was also impressed with a number of contacts that I made throughout the weekend from hams all over the country who expressed heartfelt care and concern for our widespread flooding situation.  We also had a pleasant visit from Bill Morine (N2COP) who is our ARRL Vice Director of the Roanoke Division as he made the trip up to our Field Day site to encourage us to keep up the good work!  Great guy!  Wants to see us all again at Jackson's Mill for the WV State ARC soon.  We made significant increases in our total Field Day contacts and even had an 8 year old YL who racked up 12 contacts in one hour on Sunday afternoon!  That sweet voice of hers had stations all over the country swarming on her like ducks on a June Bug and she had a pile-up in the making!  The food was excellent and the fellowship was sweet.  Field Day is a wonderful way to get to know longtime friends much better and even discover their unique niches of our hobby.  We actually worked pretty much around the clock for the contest and made over 275 CW contacts alone through the weeeeeeeeee hours of Sunday morning, at 2 points each.  New hams learned to use several different HF rigs, learned about HF digital comms and learned to log contacts.  We had the usual challenges that any ARRL Field Day event presents but overcame every one of them with excellent leadership and technological savvy.  Pictures and videos will soon be posted.  We have a wonderful club and our members are so enjoyable to be around and their depth of knowledge of the hobby is incredibly impressive.  The Monongalia Wireless Association takes our mission seriously and these types of events prove the worth to every member and friend.  If you missed it this year, be there next year... it is so much fun!  I think we ought to form an MWA Contest Committee to see about several other contesting opportunities throughout the year!  It was obvious that our club likes to work the air waves!  Sweepstakes or Straight Key Night, anyone???   EOM WT8WV

Spencer W. Graham, II   MBA  DSCE
Manager of Operations
WVU Information Stations
West Virginia University UR-Web
48 Donley Street
Marina Tower - Room 339
P.O. Box 6877
Morgantown, West Virginia 26501

(304) 293-0533

"Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming "Wow! What a Ride!"  - Hunter S. Thompson

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