Author: Deb KK7DEB

Thanks to all our members for a great turnout for the Spring Statewide ARES SET! We are working on correcting the technical issues we had for the SET but overall we did receive a good number of Damage Assessment forms via Winlink and the portable digipeater really helped with the process. Ralph AF7FE and the Alpha team had their hands full at the County EOC. They were able to complete all the state required tasks. Way to Go Alpha Team! We had an amazing 48 simplex net checkins on Friday and 36 operators on Saturday.

The Walk MS event was held at the Oregon Zoo this year and was quite a change from the past. Brian KE7QPV did an amazing job organizing and adjusting to the new needs of the event organizers. There were over 2000 walkers this year and our 23 ARES operators were flawless in keeping the flow of communications on track and providing eyes and ears for safety for the walkers. The Walk MS organizers expressed a deep appreciation for the service that we provided.

The group photo above was taken after some of our “Shadow” operators were dispatched so Carrie, Rochelle, and Matthew are not in the photo. Also missing is sweep operator Robert, and net control Neil. Adam, our Communications Leader, was the photographer. Great job everyone!

Now we look forward to SeaPac on May 31 and June 1 where the MCARES trailer will be on display. Please let leadership know if you would like to sign up for a shift at the outreach table next to the trailer.

June 22 and 23 is Field Day at Willamette Park. We hope you will be visiting and operating with us this summer. More details will be coming soon along with an opportunity to sign up to work a station or bring a dish to the Saturday pot luck.

Join me in welcoming our newest member, Todd K7EMI. Todd is a Legacy Good Sam Hospital responder and will be placed on our Supporting Members list.

Join me in welcoming our newest members. Todd KJ7DLZ and Matt KJ7DMW both join the Delta team. Paul K7PKC joins as a supporting member as he works for the City of Portland and is a PBEM ECC responder.

Yay! I think spring is finally happening. It has been a very interesting winter and I am looking forward to a little warmth and sunshine.

The last of this winter’s exercises from home is happening on March 30. We hope you all have a chance to participate in the SSTV drill. We start our outdoor activities on April 26 and 27 with the Spring Statewide ARES SET.

Walk MS will be May 11 and this year the event will be happening at the Oregon Zoo. Watch for an email from Brian KE7QPV for sign up details.

We have planned this year to keep everyone busy with many opportunities to keep their operating skills sharp and several Saturday workshops. The recent J­-pole build workshop was well attended. 15 members and one non­-member went home with new antennas. Our sincere thanks to John KI7LYP for making these workshops possible.

We are off to a great start to the new year with 71 folks attending the January meeting and 52 members joining in on the February 9 Winlink exercise. We also added two new members in January. A warm welcome to Greg KJ7CPK who joins the Echo team and Robert KI7VQR who joins the Bravo team.

The sign in sheet at our monthly meetings has become quite a time consuming task so we are starting a new procedure beginning at our February monthly meeting. There will be sign in sheets on the table to the left as you enter the meeting room. The sheets will list by team and all you need to do is find your team and name and initial that you are there. Pretty easy on your part but you must remember to check in. Our smiling greeter Ann KF7RBV will be there to remind you for the first few months. There will be a sheet for guests and others not assigned to a team so if you bring a friend direct them toward that sheet. We hope this change will make things easier and less distracting for our members. It will also make our bookkeeping easier.

Our February meeting will feature our EC, Nathan NA7EE, with a Multnomah County ARES overview. Our special guest, David Kidd KA7OZO, SEC and SM, will also talk to us about the State ARES and National ARRL organizations. There should be plenty of time to ask questions. We look forward to seeing you on February 28!

Please join me in welcoming our newest members. William (Bill) KG7GMR joins the Charlie team and Linda K7LJB joins the Bravo team.

Join me in welcoming our newest members.

Alpha Team: Evan K7FOS
Bravo Team: Laura KI7ZZQ
Charlie Team: Brian KG7QAC and Kandy KG7QAD

This brings our total active membership to 113!