One of the "challenges" of being a reflector based contest club is the lack of
face to face interaction on a regular basis. Yes, this is an annual subject.
The result of the discussion gets everyone fired up about the comming contest
season. I can say without a doubt, if the SECC had a regular weekday night
meeting in the Atlanta area, that I would not attend. I am not going to drive
over to Atlanta from Huntsville to attend. I suspect that this is the case for
anyone living over 80 miles outside of Atlanta.
I like the "reflector based" concept simply because there is not enough
competetive contestors in Alabama who will enter contest and submit scores. If
I am going to submit a score, I would like it to be with a group big enough to
be in the top 10 or 15 clubs in their category. The SECC fell into that
category when K4AB told me about it years ago and that is why I joined. I also
don't care much for formal meetings because I don't want to read Roberts Rules
of Order again.
What does the president of the SECC do? When I was president, I didn't do much
simply because there wasn't much to do. I also remember not having any
opposition when it came election time. We did try to contact any station
worked in AL, SC, GA and TN that fell within the circle and tell them about the
SECC and let them know we were interested in their membership.
The SECC is not like the local clubs that I have attended in the past where we
all get together at a local resturant, hoping the ARRL has created another
country, hope Martti goes there so we can add another one to the list and then
wait til it happens again. I like that.
I am concerned about some of the newer members who have joined the club and are
reading the reflector for the first month or so wondering what they have gotten
hooked up with. It is not always like this but some of the exchanges are
necessary because good things will come out of this. For example, the website
has been updated in the past couple of days (Thanks Kent, Ben, Archie and
others who stepped up and got this rolling). As long as we don't run anyone
off, we will be a better group. We need all the contestors in the circle to
contribute to the club score no matter how large or small the number.
What does the club need right now? We need more communication on the
reflector. We are not a traditional club so we need some non traditional
methods of learning about the membership. I think we all need to take a few
minutes to fill out the following questionaire so we will learn a bit about
each person in the club. Post your answers to the reflector.
1. What got you interested in ham Radio?
2. What is your favorite mode and why?
3. What got you interested in contesting?
4. What is your favorite contest and why?
5. What is your current station line up? Rigs, antennas, etc.
6. Besides radio, what do you do for fun?
7. What do you do for a living?
8. What improvements do you plan to make to your station before the CQ WW SSB
contest in Oct 2004?
9. How long have you been licensed?
10. What part of the hobby do you like the least?
Thanks
Greg K4NO
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