Our club has accomplished a great deal in the last year. We have grown to over 130 members. We have introduced many new people to Amateur Radio, helped them to earn their Licenses and worked with them to get on the air and develop their knowledge and operating skills. We’ve also worked hard to provide opportunities to enjoy and learn about Amateur Radio for members of our club and for the Amateur Radio community which we are a part of.

Much of the credit for our club’s success this past year belongs to you, our members. We very much appreciate all that you have done to contribute to our success and the fun that we have all had as part of what we have done together. Your enthusiasm and support provide great encouragement and inspiration to the many new members who have joined us as well as to all of us who are part of our club’s Leadership Team.

We, as your club’s Executive Committee, have been working on a set of goals and plans to continue on this path during 2017 – to provide even better opportunities for our members to learn more about and to enjoy Amateur Radio, to continue to encourage people to join the Amateur Radio Service, and to provide opportunities for STEM learning for young people.

Our goals and focus for 2017 centers around continued success in and focus on the following areas to benefit both our members and our community as a whole:

• Education and Licensing through activities like our License Classes, our Tech Night Program, our Kit Building and Home Brewing activities, our CW Training Classes and other training opportunities
• Building our operational skills through on-air activities like Field Day, club participation in Contests and on-air activities such as the SOTA Program and the 13 Colonies Special Event
• Continuing and expanding our focus on STEM learning opportunities for young people through our High-Altitude Balloon Project, outreach activities through groups like MakeIt Labs and other activities focused on introducing young people to STEM learning through Amateur Radio
• Continuing our work to introduce and interest new people in Amateur Radio through our outreach efforts and get them involved in the activities and the work that our club is doing through membership

To do these things and to be successful as a growing club, we are also pursuing status as a 501(c)(3) non-profit. This will enable our club to more effectively secure support from other groups to further our work towards these goals.

Each of us has taken ownership for creating a focus on meeting different aspects of our goals for this year. We are planning to share more about our plans for 2017 at our February Club Meeting.

We are asking that each of you, as members, to consider how you can get the most from all of these and the other opportunities that our club provides. We are working hard to try to create something for everyone that can provide enjoyable opportunities to have fun, to contribute, and to expand the value that we all create and derive by being part of the Amateur Radio Service. We are also asking each of you, our members, to consider helping us with these initiatives in 2017.

• Jamey Finchum, KC1ENX – Membership Chairman
• Anita Kemmerer, AB1QB – Activities Chairman
• Brian Smigielski, AB1ZO – Programs Chairman
• Mike Ryan, K1WVO – Interim Secretary
• Wayne Wagner, AG1A – Treasurer
• Greg Fuller, W1TEN – Vice President
• Fred Kemmerer, AB1OC – President