Greetings from Ken Read, call sign VE6CBZ, President of the Calgary Amateur Radio Association.

In a few months we’ll be having elections. Treasurer, Stephane Raimbault, VE6NR will be stepping down so we’ll need a replacement Treasurer. Stephane tells me the time commitment should be no more than ½ hour every few days. He will be available from time to time to help out whoever becomes the new Treasurer to become familiar with the role. To serve on the Executive, membership in good standing for at least three years is required. Anyone interested is asked to please let the Executive know.

Going forward the General Meeting has moved to the third Saturday of the month at 1 PM. However, due to a scheduling issue with the CSCC this month (their AGM), we need to schedule our meeting one week later for the month of March only. This next meeting is now scheduled for March 23rd. Ben,VE6SFX will be doing a presentation on his antennas.

The Cochrane Winter Rally 2024 certainly had some challenges this year. The biggest challenge was snow. There was so much of it that a number of radio volunteer blockers could not get in to their position. I didn’t learn of this until I arrived on site Sunday morning, otherwise I would have spread the word. We started late (again due to snow), but got caught up running all stages, and finished on time. A very big thank you for the efforts of our net controls Bob, VA6BM and Stephane, VE6NR, our blockers and those riding with race officials. I’m betting Peter VA6RPL really had a lot of fun with his tactical call sign for the day. Even though it was a lot of work, I really enjoyed the Radio Coordinator role and am already looking forward to the RMR.

The CARATELS Net runs every Tuesday afternoon at 1 PM on VE6RYC 2M. The Thursday Evening Rag Chew Net runs every Thursday evening at 7PM on VE6RYC 2M. The Monday Evening Rag Chew Net will take place on VE6RYC 6M at 7PM. Anyone who wishes to check in to any of these three nets is most welcome.

I also want to remind everyone of the Coffee Klatches that take place every Saturday morning at 9:00 AM. There is one held at Chinook Mall (near the A&W) and one held at Sunridge Mall (near the A&W). I (and my XYL) usually go to the Sunridge Mall Coffee Klatch, which is often well attended. These klatches are a great opportunity to share experiences, and not just about Ham Radio. The gatherings are open topic.
Have fun with which ever amateur radio activity you choose. That’s what it’s all about.

73,
Ken Read, VE6CBZ
President, Calgary Amateur Radio Association