MCWA Meeting Minutes of June 6, 2023
Past President Ralph Iden (WB9ICF) called the June 2023 hybrid meeting (in-person and by Zoom) to order at 7:04 PM. Ralph noted that the program may be recorded. The Pledge of Allegiance followed, led by Dave Holmgren (K9AT). Ralph then asked everyone to introduce themselves.
Board members present were Kent Dulaney (K9KMD), Ralph Iden (WB9ICF), Gary Kaatz (W9TD) and David Whiteside (N9BSA).
A total of 33 members were in attendance and 3 guests: Charles Powe, who just passed his General, Rich Kittredge (nee KB9EJZ) and Doug Tucker (KD9PQI), an out-of-town member.
Approval of Minutes
The meeting minutes from the May 2023 meeting were previously posted to the MCWA website for review. Dennis Ryan (KA9PUC) moved to accept the minutes and Kent Dulaney (K9KMD) seconded the motion. Hearing no objections, the minutes were approved.
Membership and Financial Reports
Ralph presented the membership and financial reports for May in Treasurer Dean Hettel’s (WC9C) absence. MCWA has a membership of 132 full members including 11 family members and no Associate members.
| Opening Balance | $11,266.52 | |
| Deposits | $694.44 | ($59.10 Dues, $635.34 donation) |
| Expenditures | $6.53- | (Digital Ocean) |
| Interest | $0.00 | (TBD) |
| Final Balance | $11,954.43 | (not final) |
Ralph reminded the membership to pay their 2023 dues by PayPal, check or cash tonight at the meeting. John Cankar (W9JM) moved to accept the treasurer’s report and Jeff Pennoyer (KD9LNH) seconded the motion. Hearing no objections, the treasurer’s report was approved.
Announcements
The monthly McHenry Ham Breakfast is held the first Saturday of every month at Buddyz in McHenry at 8:00 AM. The next will be July 1st. Contact Dave (K9AT) for more information.
MCWA Field Day 2023 will be at Rush Creek June 24-25. We plan on operation class 2A with GOTA, CW, SSB + Digital, VHF and Satellite. The GOTA station is for anyone new to the hobby, coming back to the hobby or inactive on HF. The next (and last) planning meeting will be on June 14. Ralph noted that there are three other Field Day operations in the vicinity including the 415, about which Sam Haldiman (KC9GPY) spoke.
The McHenry County Century Ride was held on May 28 in Lake in the Hills. It was reported that there were 450 riders. The ride benefits two organizations, True Blue Dogs and People for Parks Foundation of Lake in the Hills. Of over 60 volunteers, the amateur radio involvement was more than 16. Wendell Smith (N9REP) thanked those volunteers from MCWA.
Ralph noted that well-known Amateur Charles Margelli (K7JA) passed recently. He also noted that the officer elections will be here soon and the nominating committee will be preparing a slate of nominees.
Hamfest and Event Update
Past:
ORC 43rd Annual Spring Indoor Swapfest: no reports
DeKalb Hamfest: K9AT attended
Hamvention 2023: reports in post meeting program
Starved Rock Radio Club Hamfest: no reports
Upcoming:
Six Meter Club of Chicago Hamfest, June 11, DuPage County Fairgrounds
Ron (KD9IPO) and John (K9JK) have advance tickets (cancelled)
South Milwaukee ARC Swapfest, July 9, American Legion Post #434, Oak Creek, WI
Karsfest, July 16, Will County Fairgrounds, Peotone, IL
Peoria Superfest, September 16-17, Three Sisters Park, Chillicothe, IL
Radio Expo, September 24, Boone County Fairgrounds, Belvidere, IL
Contest Reports
Microwave Spring Sprint: no reports
Indiana / Delaware / 7th call area QSO Party: no reports
VOLTA WW RTTY Contest: no reports
50 MHz Spring Sprint: no reports
CQ WW WPX Contest (CW): W9TD reported participation with almost 400 QSO’s
ARRL International Digital Contest: no reports
VOTA, all year long: no reports
Upcoming:
ARRL June VHF Contest, June 10-12
ARRL Kids Day, June 17
Stew Perry Topband Challenge, June 17-18
ARRL Field Day, June 24-25
13 Colonies Special Event, July 1-7
CQ WW VHF Contest, July 15-16
VOTA, all year long
Upcoming MCWA Presentations
August 1 – TBD
Future – Pico Balloons and Youth in Ham Radio by the Northern Illinois Bottlecap Balloon Brigade
Awards and license upgrades
Glenn Learnahan (KD9SQK) passed his General.
Old Business
Note that at the April meeting we voted to skip the July meeting as it would fall on the 4th.
New Business
John Cankar (W9JM) noted that the MCWA web site is out of date as the News and Updates section only shows 2022 activity.
Wrap up
Following the adjournment of tonight’s meeting, MCWA members will be sharing their experiences at HamVention.
The next regular meeting will be Tuesday, August 1, 2023 at the Algonquin Township meeting room. Open “eyeball” QSOs start at 6:30 PM, with the meeting starting at 7:00 PM. The program is TBD. A motion to adjourn was made by Roger Scott (KF9D) and seconded by Sam Haldiman (KC9GPY). The motion was approved by voice vote and the meeting was adjourned at 7:50 PM.
Prepared by Gary Kaatz (W9TD), MCWA Secretary.