The first ever Virginia Ham Radio Cruise-In is planned for May Day 2010 in Charlottesville, Virginia – a central point in the state with easy vehicular access. The Albemarle Amateur Radio Club in Central Virginia will sponsor the first Virginia Ham Radio Cruise-In on May 1, next spring, where hams can “Meet & greet, show their rig, see others rigs, share the fun and camaraderie of a great day with fellow hams and the public.” Records show that Virginia has over 16,000 licensed Amateur Radio Stations.

Many of are familiar with cruise-in events at restaurants, drive-ins, shopping centers or other venues, where participants drive their cars, trucks, motorcycles, whatever, to display and compete for awards. The owners of the vehicles take pride in their efforts to restore, modify or otherwise spruce them up and enjoy displaying them as much as the spectators enjoy seeing them.

Mobile ham radio operators are also proud of the time, effort and more than a few dollars that they have invested in their transportable Amateur Radio stations – hence the Amateur Radio Cruise-In. where hams can showcase their work.

• Quarterly Reports: Report forms are now quarterly and will be available prior to Dec. 26, 2009. Hopefully they will stay this way and we won't have to revert back to monthly. Along with the new report format, some changes have been made to the forms. Webteam hours and comments are now reported to the SEC (only the hours are sent with the SEC report email). The SUBMIT buttons on the EC, DEC and ASEC forms will not be available during the time period in which the reports should not be submitted (as described in Joe's instructions regarding quarterly reports), making it impossible to submit erroneous reports after the reporting period for each level is complete.
  
  
• Events Calendar: The Calendar of Events can be seen in the Main Menu and is a place for registered site members with a Virginia ARRL or ARES job function to record events or activities of interest to membership. See the User Menu for adding a new entry to the calendar. Registered members not holding a current ARRL or ARES job function, but needing the ability to add calendar entries for their local club or activities, simply make a forum entry under Web Site Help requesting authorization to add Calendar Events for a designated club.
• Gallery: Lots of us take pictures of our ham activities and now there is a place for registered site members to store their amateur related pictures for all to see. Click on Gallery in the Main Menu and give it a try. I am sure many have some excellent pictures that they want to show others. Be sure to include caption information, including names and call signs if you would like for your photos to be considered for use in articles that are published on the website. If additional help is needed to complete your gallery, simply add a Web Site Help forum entry requesting assistance.
• Forum: Last, but not least by any count, is an interactive forum to communicate your thoughts, ask questions, and look for help or technical discussion among your fellow peers, your ARRL Virginia Section  & ARES leaders and the webteam. While, technically, this forum functional capability has been around for a while, it’s importance is increasing as a source of assistance and question & answers for the site and these new functions.  Got a “How To Question” on the new Calendar and Gallery features, simply ask in the appropriate forum. Look for a response in a timely fashion and the response is visible to all.

73's

Congratulations to Joe Imburgia, KI4LXT, for his appointment as the Air Force MARS Section Emergency Coordinator (SEC) for the Virginia Section effective December 5, 2009.  Joe, who also serves as the ARES Assistant Section Emergency Coordinator (ASEC) for Districts 5-7-8-9, was appointed to his new role by the Section MARS Director (SMD) to organize and coordinate all state emergency communication (ECOM) activities.  These include planning for exercises, identifying contingencies, and providing support for actual emergencies.

As the Air Force MARS SEC, Joe will work closely with the SMD, the Regional Emergency Coordinator (REC) to develop a state emergency communications plan, to keep Air Force MARS leadership informed on all aspects of emergency communications within the state, and to promote Joint Service operation during exercises and emergency operations.

According to the Air Force MARS website, “The Military Affiliate Radio System is a Department of Defense sponsored program, established as separate managed and operated programs by the Army, Navy, and Air Force.  The program consists of licensed amateur radio operators who are interested in military communications. They contribute to the MARS mission providing auxiliary or emergency communications on a local, national, and international basis as an adjunct to normal communications.”

Please join us in congratulating Joe on his new position and thanking him for his service to the United States Air Force service members and their families.